I am a Christian

What does it mean to be a Christian?

I make it no secret that I am a Christian. In previous posts I have identified as an evangelical Christian and said I am passionate about Christianity and the Bible. What does all of that mean?

There is a lot of confusion over what it means to be a Christian or what a Christian even is. There are a lot of misconceptions out there, even among people who claim to be Christian.

The dictionary definition of Christian is, “A person who has received Christian baptism or is a believer in Jesus Christ and his teachings.”[i]

That is a good definition for a census and for personal identity, but is that really an accurate definition? There are many people who call themselves Christians, but probably aren’t. According to the Pew Research Center, approximately 70.6% of Americans identify as Christian.[ii] However, according to the Barna Group, fewer than 10% of all Christians have a completely biblical worldview.[iii]

The Barna Group used the following points to determine if a person had a biblical worldview:

·         A belief in absolute moral truth.

·         Accuracy of the Bible in all principles it teaches.

·         Satan is a real spiritual person.

·         Salvation is by grace, through faith.

·         Jesus lived a sinless life.

·         God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ruling creator of the universe.

With only about 20% of Americans actually attending church each week[iv], It’s safe to say that fewer than half of the people in church each week actually hold a biblical worldview.

None of that really tells us what or who a Christian actually is. The fact is, claiming you’re a Christian doesn’t make you a Christian any more than claiming you’re a SEAL makes you a Naval Special Warfare Operator or even a semi-aquatic marine mammal. Going to church on Sunday doesn’t make you a Christian any more than walking into a garage makes you a car. Having a biblical worldview doesn’t make you a Christian any more than knowing all about Hogwarts makes you a wizard. Maybe that last analogy was a bad one, but I wanted to slip something nerdy in there somewhere and I’m sure you get my point.

We are still left with the question, who or what is a Christian? The shortest biblical definition I can come up with is this:

A person who has a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ and has assurance of eternal life based on their reliance solely in the vicarious and atoning sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.

There are a lot of technical terms in that definition and it doesn’t explain how a person gets to the point where they fall within that definition. I’m going to do my best over the next few posts to explain and I’m going to have to make a lot of assumptions, such as the inerrancy of scripture, the existence of heaven and hell and so forth.

The point of these posts will not be to defend each of those points, but rather to give an understanding of what a Biblical Christian actually is. At some point, I will probably post something along the lines of a statement of faith for anyone wondering what I actually believe. I will also probably post some Christian apologetics (defense of the faith) for people who want to know why I believe the way I do. In the meantime, I can always point anyone who asks in the direction of a number of great resources on these subjects.

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[i] "Definition of Christian in English:" Christian: Definition of Christian in Oxford Dictionary (American English) (US). N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2015.

[ii] Pew Research Center, May 12, 2015, “America’s Changing Religious Landscape”

[iii] "Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years." - Barna Group. The Barna Group, Ltd, 6 Mar. 2009.

[iv] "Fast Facts about American Religion." Fast Facts about American Religion. Hartford Institute of Religion Research,