“I Am a Christian” (Gal 5:16-26)

 

*Nicodemus Visiting Jesus, by Henry Ossawa Tanner (1899)

Marks of a Christian?
If someone asked you, “How do you know he or she is a Christian?” what would you say? One study found that 5 out of 6 young non-Christians say they know a Christian personally, but only 1 out of 6 says the lifestyle of those believers is noticeably different in a good way. The word “Christian” literally means, “someone who belongs to Christ” or “a follower of Christ.” But, what does it really mean to be a Christian? What are the marks of a Christian? Today’s scripture tells us there are at least two undeniable marks of a Christian: the cross of Christ and the Spirit of Christ.

The Cross of Christ
First, the Christian is a person who has been transformed by the cross of Christ. A Christian is someone who has died to self. Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus (Christians) have crucified the self with its passions and its desires.” (CEB) Their wills and affections have been changed. Suppose you have a pig. You give him a bath. You polish his hoofs. You put a beautiful ribbon around him. You sprinkle nice perfume on him. Now he smells good and looks good. Everybody says, “How nice! I’ve never seen such a lovely pig!” You open the door and let the pig out. Where does he go? He directly goes back to the mud-hole, because his nature has never been changed. He’s still a pig. In the same way, a person can dress nicely on Sunday morning, come to church, sing the hymns, smile, shake the pastor’s hand, and say, “That was a wonderful service.” But after church, that same person may return to the same old sins. Why? Because the nature has never been changed.

That’s why Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again!” Nicodemus was a good man, a good Pharisee, honorable, and conscientious leader. But he sensed that something was missing in his life. Perhaps he thought if he tried a little bit harder and improved his life, everything would be right. But it didn’t work. So he came to see Jesus at night. The very first thing Jesus said to him was, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again!” All of our efforts – living a moral life, doing good works, trying to improve ourselves – are not enough. Self-help cannot change our nature. Jesus says there is only one way to enter the kingdom. We must be born again, born from above, born of the Spirit! It is not enough to become a better person; we must become a new person in Christ.

And how does this new life come? By trusting who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Jesus explains it clearly to Nicodemus in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When we believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins, we become a new creation in him. In our natural state, the Bible says that everyone does what is right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25). We follow the desires of our sinful nature. But when we are born again, something begins to change. Our hearts change. Our desires change. We become dead to sin and alive to Christ. We begin to hate the sins we once loved. We turn away from things like sexual immorality, idolatry, hatred, jealousy, and division. Instead, we begin to love Christ and obey Christ—not out of fear, not out of duty, but out of love. After Charles Wesley experienced this new birth, he wrote these words: “I want a principle within of watchful, godly fear, a sensibility of sin, a pain to feel it near.” So let me ask you a simple question: Have you been born again?

The Spirit of Christ
The second mark of a Christian is this: we live by the Spirit and bear the fruit of the Spirit. From the moment we believe in Christ, it is as if we are grafted into the vine. We receive new life. We begin to grow. But, what does it mean to grow in the faith of Jesus Christ? It means to follow Jesus. Galatians 5:25 says, “If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit.” It’s a daily walk. It’s a long obedience in the same direction. Again and again, Jesus gave this invitation: “Follow me.” He was not looking for “fans” who simply admired him and his teaching. He was looking for “followers” who would give their lives to him. In his book Not A Fan, Kyle Idleman describes the difference:

Fans love rules; Followers love Jesus.
Fans glorify themselves; Followers die to themselves.
Fans settle; Followers sacrifice.
Fans create outcasts; Followers create followers.

Galatians tells us what that fruit looks like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Jesus said, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” So the question is not simply, “Am I doing good things?” The deeper question is this: Am I becoming more loving? More joyful? More peaceful? More patient? Am I more like Christ today than I was a year ago? When we keep in step with Christ, we become humble without losing conviction. We become holy without losing warmth. We become people of integrity without becoming rigid. Slowly we grow into the full stature of Christ.

I Am a Christian
In the early church, followers of Jesus were first called Christians in Antioch. They did not give themselves that name. Others gave it to them. Why? Because their behavior, their attitudes, their speech, and their lives looked like Jesus. They were filled with the Spirit of Christ, controlled by the Spirit of Christ, and empowered by the Spirit of Christ.

George Müller cared for more than ten thousand orphans and established more than a hundred schools in his lifetime. People often asked him, “What is the secret of your fruitful life?” Müller once answered with these words: “There was a day when I died—utterly died. Died to George Müller, his opinions, his preferences, his tastes, and his will. Died to the world, its approval and its criticism. Died even to the approval or blame of my friends. And since that day, I have studied only to show myself approved by God.” The apostle Paul spoke in a similar way. In 1 Corinthians he says, “I die every day.” And in Galatians he declares, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

So every day, by faith, may we say: “My old self has been crucified with Christ. Now Christ lives in me.” And that is what it means to say, “I am a Christian.” Amen.