Acts 11:26 (AMP)
“And when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. For an entire year they met [with others] in the church and instructed large numbers; and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.”
Everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour instantly has his spirit regenerated and made alive unto God; such a person is not alienated from God anymore; however, as per the standards of the Scripture, he is not yet a Christian, although he is born again according to John 3.
The name “Christian” was not the name the disciples of Christ were given initially. Before the name arrived, one question we must answer is, why were the disciples called thus? Being born again means being saved by faith in the finished works of Christ and the confession of the same, and immediately, one becomes a disciple of Christ.
A disciple of Christ is one who learns Christ and follows Him closely, and this does not in any way mean that such a person is as perfect as Christ. The Disciples of Christ in the Gospels were called Christians by Gentiles and Jews for one reason. The reason is that when they looked at them, they remembered that there was once a man called Jesus Christ who lived amongst them before He was killed, and these people were living exactly as He lived.
A Christian is, therefore, one who lives as Christ lived and can be testified to by unbelievers to be Christ-like in actions, speech, and lifestyle. Living like Christ and loving like Him. The disciples’ priority became preaching the Gospel to the unbelievers to have the knowledge of the Kingdom of God and how to be a part.
For you to be truly called a Christian, you must consciously live as Christ did. You are not a Christian just because you go to church or because you have a Bible name, but you are a Christian because you are Christ-like. Are you truly Christ-like?
Confession: I receive grace and strength to be Christ-like in all my dealings.
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