What Is Christian?

Sometimes the headiest, most intelligent people are the ones that get being Christian the most muddled.

So what is being Christian?

Why all these denominations?

Who decides who is and who is not Christian?

How are there Christian bands and movies and books and schools?

Truth is, only people can be Christian. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like (I know we’ve all heard this a hundred times, but bear with me). Jesus was a man - yes, he was God too, but He was very much a man. He got hungry and sleepy and weepy and upset just like men do. Anyways, we also know that Jesus was not a book or a band or a school or artwork or a movie, etc. His words did become recorded in the Bible, but He was not a book. More author than book. So to say that a book is Christian is silly. A book cannot be lost or saved or Godly - only people can.

And herein lies the crux of the matter, in my opinion; God is looking for holy people. Jesus did not die to make holy water, or Christian bookstores, or holy buildings. He certainly didn’t die to create colleges and institutions. However, He did die to make men holy. “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate.” I love the line from the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free, His truth is marching on….” It’s always fun to find nuggets of core doctrinal truth hidden in popular literature and art.

So Jesus died for men to be holy. What does that have to do with what is Christian and what is not Christian? I think it has everything to do with it. I think this answers the question and challenge of denomination (divisionation). If Christianity is about men made holy, then it cannot be mere philosophy. It also cannot be about institution. Philosophy and institution cannot make men holy, only the Holy Spirit can. So why all the different denominations? Because men, swayed by the flesh, trend towards philosophies and institutions, because they appeal to the ego, to pride, to power/control, influence. Men want to make a name for themselves, to “leave something for the generations to come.” This is not of God, but of men. This is not spiritual, this is physical. And this is not Christian.

To be Christian is to be holy, and the only way for any man or woman to be holy is to be influenced upon, and changed by, the Holy Spirit from the very depths of the soul outward. We are none born holy, but we can be changed by the Spirit. From the moment of change, this moment being called Sanctification, the Holy Spirit becomes the chief advisor of the conscience and the heart, inflencing the emotion, the decision center, and a dispenser of knowledge. “For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,” While we act in cooperation with this advisor and helper, we are in communion with God, and we are Christian. If we pull away from the divine helper and act rebelliously, then we are no longer Christian. We are something else - sensual, devilish, foolish.

It seems to me that denominations are philosophy institutions. Whether Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopal, Nazarene, etc, the divisions are based on ideas and interpretations, not on holy or not holy. Matter of fact, most denominations have polluted the idea and term “holy”. I won’t dive into this thought much here, other than to share a quick story; a man visited a church one day and received a tour from the head of the parish. Upon the end of the tour he was asked, “what do you think of our little church,” to which the man replied, “well, I’ve seen the holy water and the holy books and the holy candles and the holy altar, but you haven’t shown me the holy people yet,”

I don’t suppose I will wriggle my way any further down this hole I am digging for myself in speaking on denominations, because in truth, I have no animosity personally against any man or woman who identifies themselves as Catholic or Baptist or Methodist or whatnot, but what I would like very much to see happen is for our conversations to not be on the differences between us, but rather to be on the matter of holiness. You are a Catholic. That’s really neat! You can trace the lineage of heads of church back to the Apostle Peter. I genuinely find excitement in this thought, in the history. But what I want to know is, are you a Holy Catholic. Are you a Sanctified Catholic. “Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?” This was the Apostle Paul’s question, and I want it to be the question of the entire church, worldwide. Are you a Sanctified Methodist? John Wesley and Francis Asbury were! Are you a Sanctified Quaker? George Fox sure was! Are you a Sanctified Baptist? Billy Graham believed in Holiness.

Let’s be Christians! The world is desperate for Gospel truth today, and it is our responsibility as the church to be united and lift Jesus Christ up for the world to see. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to “sanctifiy and cleanse THE CHURCH by the washing of the water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot nor wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it might be holy.”

So, I will ask you, dear reader, are you a holy person? Have you been sanctified by the Holy Spirit? I do not ask to divide or separate, but rather to encourage you forward in your walk with Christ. “Get wisdom, it is the principle thing.” Seek the gift of the Holy Spirit, ask God for it in prayer. Once you receive it, keep it, and you will be a blessing to the church and to everyone around you, and when you reach the end of this walk here on earth, and you draw your final breaths, all of Heaven will know your name, and be waiting for your arrival.