Believe it or not, the word “Christian” occurs only three times in the New Testament. But these few references don’t imply its insignificance. By digging into the passages that use the word, we can learn a lot about what it means to be a Christian.
We’ll treat this subject as a series, so we’ll examine a different passage each week for the next three blog posts. Today’s passage is in Acts 11:19-26.
After reading through these verses, I concluded that being a Christian is like having an ID badge. It identifies who we are.
Many of us need such badges for work. We can’t get into our buildings or offices unless we swipe our ID cards. Doing so gives us access to the resources we need to do our jobs.
This applies to remote work, too. Due to the coronavirus quarantine, many people have started to work from home. But those who do still need some form of identification. A physical badge isn’t required, but some digital version, like a passcode, is necessary. Without it, we don’t get in.
The ID badge identifies us as members of a company or business. It says we belong and we have a reason to belong. As Seth Godin puts it, “People like us do things like this.”
He was referring to a membership in a “tribe” but the description applies to any association. People like us. Doing things like this.
We find these in Acts 11.
“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.” – Acts 11:19
Persecution spreads the gospel. We may not like the idea of suffering, but God can use bad things to further His good purposes. If we make full use of our opportunities, we will see the Lord work in remarkable ways.
The disciples spoke only to Jews. They were following the track laid down by the first apostles and evangelists. From chapters 2-7 of Acts, the good news of Jesus Christ was broadcast to the Jewish people. Jesus was the Messiah whom they had rejected, but whom they could receive by repentance and faith. God was giving them a chance to get right with Him.
It made sense to preach to the Jews. They knew the Old Testament and could understand the gospel. In contrast, the Gentiles had little or no knowledge of the God of Israel. Were they worth the bother?
“Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” – Acts 11:20
A few decided that the Gentiles were worth pursuing. The Greeks weren’t “people like us.” They believed in idols, not the one true God. And they didn’t “do things like this.” They lived in gross immorality, violating the Mosaic law they’d never heard of.
But some disciples remembered Peter’s story about reaching the Gentiles (see Acts 10-11:18). They felt like they should try, too. Based on the work of Jesus, anyone could become “people like us.” And anyone who trusted Him could “do things like this.”
“The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” – Acts 11:21
God honored the efforts of these evangelists. Many turned their lives around and put their trust in Christ. They got new ID badges.
“News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.” – Acts 11:22
Hearing about the work in Antioch, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas, the most encouraging person they knew (see Acts 4:36). He could help these fledglings enjoy their status as members of the tribe (1 Peter 2:9-10).
This tells us that the church was willing to expand their vision. They recognized God was bringing in new “people like us doing things like this.”
“When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” – Acts 11:23
Barnabas was happy to observe what he did. He saw the grace of God in action and inspired the believers to stick with Jesus. They were on the right track and their instinct was correct. The Christian ID badge was available to anyone who acknowledged Jesus as Lord.
“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” – Acts 11:24
With outstanding character, Barnabas was an excellent role model for the church. And if he welcomed all who came to Christ, the church had no reason not to.
Yet this verse doesn’t say that Barnabas was evangelizing. It reports that large groups of people were getting saved, but it doesn’t say who led them to the Lord. If it wasn’t Barnabas, who was it? We don’t know their names, but God does! They’re “people like us, doing things like this.”
“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” – Acts 11:25-26
Barnabas might have felt the work was getting too big to handle by himself. So he sought the aid of Saul, the former Pharisee (Philippians 3:4-6). This served two purposes. It alleviated the load on Barnabas but it also helped Saul to see the Gentiles in a new light. And two chapters later, these two were off on the first missionary journey to the Gentile world (Acts 13:1-3).
Barnabas and Saul stayed in Antioch for a full year. They invested a lot of time discipling people and getting them grounded in the faith. And it was in this city that followers of Jesus were first identified as “Christians.”
There’s no evidence believers in Jesus called themselves Christians. It must have been the residents of the city who, observing this crowd, sought to label them. What most characterized “people like us doing things like this?” Jesus Christ! He forms the identity of us Christians!
And so it is, down to the present day. The term “Christian” is much more than a religious designation. It’s an ID badge that verifies our access to God’s kingdom and enables us to serve His purposes. We’re people like Christ, doing God’s will like other Christians do. This is who we are.
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