On the Definition of a Christian

What does it mean to be "Christian"?  So many people bandy that term around or apply it to themselves or to people groups in general without understanding it.

• Someone who does good deeds and helps Christian charities is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who is remarkably loving is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who lives in America or in a particular region is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who has Christian parents is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who does not adhere to another faith is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who calls himself a Christian is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who regularly attends church services is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who believes in God and reads the Bible is not necessarily a Christian.
• Someone who knows and esteems Jesus’s teachings is not necessarily a Christian.

Rather,

• “Christian” literally means a Christ follower—someone who believes and obeys Jesus’s teachings from scripture... Not just on Sundays.  Not just sometimes.  Always.  (Though our human nature makes perfect obedience impossible for us.)
• “Christian” refers to a person who has asked for and trusts Jesus’s ability to forgive and save him from the eternal consequence of his rebellion against God’s authority.
• "Christian" refers to a person with God's Holy Spirit within him.
• “Christian” refers to a person who lives his life for God and not himself.  (This is radically different from that of the secular world where people only look out for themselves and perhaps their loved ones.  And again, no Christian is perfectly selfless, but they strive to be.) 
• “Christian” refers to a person who is holy—set apart for God’s sacred purpose, which is to glorify God in the world through the way one lives—not necessarily as a missionary or preacher, but as an ordinary follower every moment.  Whether one is sweeping the house or dealing with a difficult customer or coping with the loss of a loved one, the Christian seeks to have the Holy Spirit’s influence show in his life.  

Thus, to be Christian requires total commitment to Jesus.  It requires guts.  It requires faith—as well as faithfulness.

Non-believers who have formed general opinions about Christ based on people they believe to be Christians may need to reevaluate the truth of those claims and opinions, understanding that even real Christians may sometimes fail to show evidence of Jesus’ redemption in their lives.  Similarly, the “Christians” who consider Christ only on Sundays may need to reevaluate whether they really are what they claim to be.  If they wish to be Christ’s followers, perhaps they need to reevaluate the way they live their lives.

As Oswald Chambers wrote in My Utmost for His Highest, “A spiritually vigorous saint never… [thinks] of his life as being divided into the secular and the sacred... he has an attitude of unrestrained abandon and total surrender about him... Self-realization only leads to the glorification of good works, whereas a saint of God glorifies Jesus Christ through his good works” (July 11).

How do you view "Christians"?  Write your answers in the comments below.