What We Believe at Bible Believer's Baptist

What a Real Christian Is!

There is a belief around the world that if a group, church, or individual calls themselves a Christian, they automatically are a Christian. That does not necessarily mean that they are. There can only be one true definition of a Christian, not several. The word “Christian” is found three times in the New Testament. They are Acts 11:26, 26:28 and I Peter 4:16. It is not mentioned in the Old Testament because there were no Christians then. There were people in the Old Testament that believed in God, and obeyed God’s word. But believers were not called Christians until Acts 11:26 which says, “The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

People have the idea that just because they read the Bible once in a while, or attend a church sometimes, or have been baptized by sprinkling or immersion (which is the only scriptural method - Acts 8:27-40, Matthew 3:13-17), or have joined a church, or live a good moral life, that means they are a Christian. That is a very false assumption.

I have talked to people who have told me that they are not a Christian, yet they read the Bible. There are atheists that read the Bible, perhaps seeking for the truth, or trying to find mistakes in the Bible, or to find ways to combat Christianity.

Notice that the word Christian has the word Christ in it. So there could not be Christians before Jesus Christ founded it. That same is true about Mohammedanism.

The truth of Christianity is clearly found in the King James Bible:

A Christian is a person:

  1. Who must believe that Jesus Christ is God - I Timothy 3:16, Isaiah 9:6, John 1:1
  2. Who has repented of their sins - Luke 13:3, 5, Acts 20:19-21
  3. Who is saved by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation - Ephesians 1:12-13, Acts 4:12
  4. Who is born-again by the Holy Spirit - John 3:3-7, I Peter 1:18-25 (v. 22-23). In John 3:6 there are two births mentioned. The first birth which is the natural birth, a water birth - “ That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” The Second birth is a spiritual birth - “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” This birth is defined in I Corinthians 12:13. This birth places a person into the Body of Jesus Christ.
  5. Who is a child of God - John 1:12, I John 2:1-2. Contrary to popular belief, everyone is not a child of God. The truth is found in John 8:44, Acts 13:10, Matthew 23:33
  6. Who is justified in God’s sight - “Just as if I never sinned” - Romans 5:9, Galatians 3:16
  7. Who is redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ - Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14, I Peter 1:18-19
  8. Who has the Holy Spirit dwelling within him - John 14:17, I Corinthians 3:16-17, 6, 19-20
  9. Who is sanctified (set apart) - John 17:17, I Corinthians 6:11
  10. Who has eternal security - John 3:36, 10:27-29, Romans 8:38-39, I John 5:13, Ephesians 4:30