What does it mean to follow Jesus? When people put their faith in Him, what happens to them? How do believers in Christ refer to themselves? The answer to each question is the same. Those who rely on the finished work of Jesus Christ for salvation are Christians.
But as we pointed out in last week’s blog post, the New Testament uses the term “Christian” only three times. It’s a common word today, but not back then. The first verse that mentioned Christians, Acts 11:26, did so to identify those who allied themselves with Jesus as the Christ. The label “Christian” was like an ID badge.
The second of the three verses is near the end of the book of Acts.
In this setting, Jewish and Roman authorities had arrested the apostle Paul for disturbing the peace. But they had trouble making the charges stick. The apostle used his arrest as a platform to preach the gospel almost every time he had the chance.
Acts 25 describes how Paul shared his testimony with the Roman governor Festus. Since he didn’t know what to do with Paul, he offered him the chance to stand trial in Jerusalem (Acts 25:9). But worn out from the legal shenanigans, Paul would have none of it. As a Roman citizen (Acts 22:27-28), he appealed his case to Caesar (Acts 25:11), which Festus recognized and approved (Acts 25:12).
But the governor still had a problem. He confessed to the visiting King Agrippa that he didn’t know what he should charge Paul with (Acts 25:14-21). Agrippa offered to hear Paul (Acts 25:22), so the next day, the apostle shared his testimony and the gospel.
The story of Jesus in Paul’s life was too much for Festus to take. He thought Paul was crazy and told him so!
But the apostle remained calm and directed himself to the king. Paul knew that Agrippa was aware of recent history; he knew the basic story of Jesus. Paul pressed that point, forcing the king to respond.
And respond he did!
“Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’” – Acts 26:28
Paul wasted no time.
“Paul replied, ‘Short time or long–I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.’” – Acts 26:29
What does it mean to be a Christian?
A Christian is someone who is convinced that Jesus is Lord. The story of Jesus has won over his or her heart. This person trusts Jesus (and Jesus alone) for salvation from sin and for a relationship with God.
Persuasion might take a long time; some people need to work through a lot of issues before they yield to Christ. For others, that’s not necessary. The gospel is what they’ve been looking for, and they accept it fast. The good news is the relief they’ve always wanted.
As Paul said, time isn’t the issue; persuasion is. This has implications for Christians.
For their own benefit, believers in Jesus Christ should invest themselves in the Word of God. The more Scripture we feed on, the more we can grow in Christ.
We don’t have to fear our questions. As we pour over God’s Word, we’ll come across verses we don’t understand and passages that confuse us. That’s nothing to panic over; the Spirit who wrote the Bible is capable of helping understand the Bible. Let’s give ourselves the time to deepen our convictions.
Meditating on God’s Word isn’t only for our own benefit; it also helps us serve others. When we share the story of Jesus, and even when we relate our own testimony, people won’t always believe us. We’ll get peppered with skeptical comments or asked questions we can’t answer. Again, we don’t have to be afraid. A calm spirit grounded in Christ can weather all storms. It also serves as a safe haven for those struggling with the problems of life. We don’t have to have all the answers. We need only make ourselves available and trust the Holy Spirit to work through us.
A Christian identifies with Jesus. That’s what we learned last week. Why does the believer identify with Christ? Because he or she has been convinced of the truth of the gospel.
We’re persuaded.
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