5 Things Every Christian Does According to the Gospel

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Christianity is by far the world’s largest religion. A couple billion people on this earth claim to be Christians, but their beliefs, doctrines and practices vary widely. So what does being a Christian mean exactly? We can turn the Bible for answers. The word “Christian” is used three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). Followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians in Antioch because they believed in Christ and followed His example. Their behavior, activity and speech were like Christ Jesus. While the word was initially used by detractors in a derogatory way, believers embraced the term as a badge of honor. Reading the Bible is a way Christians receive communication from God. Scripture is where God allowed some of His thoughts to be written down for us to learn from Him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Holy Spirit is at work any time a Christian reads the Bible. To know what all Christians do, the best place to turn is Scripture. Here are five things every Christian does according to Gospel.

A Christian Responds to God’s Calling

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God’s Word is quite clear that one cannot just choose to be a Christian. There is a calling or invitation involved. God is not calling all of mankind at this time (Matthew 22:14; John 6:44), nor the particularly rich, famous or powerful of the world (1 Corinthians 1:26-27). God most often calls ordinary people who can more readily acknowledge their human weakness and learn God’s way. While the people have all made mistakes and know it, they also appreciate the forgiveness that God extends to them (Matthew 21:23, 31-32). According to Scripture, children who have a parent who is Christian are also invited by God to also become Christians. To be a true Christian, a person must really change. Acts 2:37-39 explains that Christians must “repent” and walk a different way of life. In biblical terms, there is a process of change that involves surrendering one’s life and turning it over to God.

A Christian Has Faith in Christ Alone

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True biblical faith is confidence in Christ. Every Christian has faith in Christ alone. It isn’t just that we believe in Jesus. This is a starting place, but not the full picture. To have faith in God is to believe in the power of what Jesus did on the cross. Because Jesus is God, He is perfect and had God’s perfect righteousness. He is the only person who ever lived who could be called fully righteous and sinless. When Jesus died on the cross, He took all the penalty (the punishment that we deserved) of our sin on Himself. On the cross, Jesus took our “sinful” level on Himself and gave us His “righteous” label. To have faith in Jesus is to have trust in what He did on the cross. It means that we do not boast or brag about what we have done, our good deeds, because we know that those are not what make us righteous.

A Christian Suffers for Him

The Bible talks a lot about suffering for the sake of Christ. In the era in which the New Testament was written, followers of Jesus were often ostracized by their own families and communities. Some of the worst persecution came from the religious leaders (Acts 4:1-3). Jesus told His followers, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10). He reminded His disciples. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18). 2 Timothy 3:12 says, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” As in biblical times, many Christians today have found that making a public declaration of faith in Christ can result in imprisonment, beatings, torture, or death. But that suffering isn’t just physical. Often our greatest suffering comes from within as we battle for control over a heart that must die to its own will and surrender to Christ’s lordship.

A Christian Knows Christ

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The only way to be a Christian is to know God. The Bible tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Our prayer time is our personal time with God. This is the time when we block out the distractions of the world, and concentrate our attention strictly on our Creator. By connecting with God in this way, every day, we put ourselves in a better frame of mind to deal with everything we will face in our daily lives. In order to consider ourselves to be “believers” we have to be absolutely clear on what it is we actually believe in. We can do this through prayer and others means, but the Bible is the best place as it is the very Word of God – the source for everything that we all believe in.

A Christian Reflects Christ

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God’s desire for all who know Him is for us to become more like Christ. We do this by growing in our knowledge of Christ. It stands to reason that we cannot grow to be like someone we don’t know. The deeper our knowledge of Christ, the deeper our understanding of Him, and the more like Him we become. Among other reasons, we are to know and understand Christ so that we will be secure in the faith. The natural consequence of knowing and obeying God is that He becomes greater and greater while we become less and less as we yield control of our lives to Him. Just as John the Baptist knew that “Jesus must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30), so the Christian grows to reflect more of Christ and less of their own nature.