Am I a Christian?
There is an extremely wide variety of people who tick the “Christian” box on their census, maybe you’re one of them. There are Christians of all ethnicities and nationalities, all political identities and economic classes, but is Christianity simply a religious identity to choose? In this article we will look at how the Bible defines “Christianity” and do our best to characterise Christian beliefs accordingly.
What Does “Christian” Mean?
The phrase “Christian” or “Christianity” is not actually used in the Bible, but originated later as a derogatory term for the followers of Christ. The phrase “Christian” translates to “little Christ”. But the term was adopted and the followers of Christ began to self-identify as Christians. It was fitting because the first followers of Jesus sought nothing more than to live and act like Jesus. This derogatory jab from their opponents at the time was high praise for the early church.
What do Christian Believe?
Christians are those who believe that Jesus was the Christ, or the Messiah. But what does that mean? Well, both Christ and Messiah translate to “anointed one”. Okay, well what does anointed one mean? A person or place which is anointed is a person or place where heaven and earth overlap. In the Hebrew Bible, kings, prophets, and priests are the main figures that are anointed. This is because these individuals are called to bring God’s rule, words, and presence, respectively, to the people. They are called to represent God to the people, they are places where heaven and earth meet. This is an extremely important concept in the Hebrew Bible because it’s entire story is about the marriage of heaven and earth.
The story of the Bible actually begins in a garden which was anointed, meaning that it was a place where heaven and earth overlapped. This is where God created the first humans. Humanity was born into a thriving garden, full of abundance, in the presence of God. The purpose of humanity, according to God, was to enjoy his gifts and to enjoy him forever. God created humans for delight.
But it was here in this garden of delight that the first humans forfeited the gift of God by choosing to be selfish rather than generous with the abundance they were given. This selfishness spread through all humans until the beautiful world of abundance began to look like a world of scarcity. The book of Genesis describes the result of this fearful selfishness as relational fracture. The humans experienced, for the first time, separation from one another, separation from God, and thus, the separation of heaven and earth. Ever since then humanity has lived and died in a land of scarcity, outside of heaven, away from God, the source of life. But God immediately promised that he would personally restore paradise, bringing heaven and earth back together, bringing an end to His children’s suffering and death.
Even since then, humanity has been looking for a place of anointing, a place where heaven and earth touch, where God can be known and where we the delight of the garden can be restored. Therefore, kings, prophets, and priests, which brought God's rule, words, and presence to the people were pillars of the Jewish faith. They were mediators between heaven and earth, establishing a means by which the average person could fulfill their purpose as humans to know God.
But this feels incomplete, people have to come to kings, prophets, and priests to know God. This is not the way it should be, each individual should have direct access to God, just like they did in the garden. But God was not done, He had not fulfilled his promised restoration yet, this was only a provision for the meantime and a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Who is the Messiah?
In part, all of these religious figures in the Jewish faith were types, or aspects, of the “anointed one”, aka the Messiah, who would restore the garden and bring the kingdom of heaven on earth. This Messiah would be the fulfilment of God’s promise to the first humans after the fracture of heaven and earth in the garden. The theme of Messiah was introduced in chapter 3 of the Bible and developed constantly through narrative text, prophetic vision, and poetic writings. It would not be a stretch to say that the entire Hebrew Bible is about the coming Messiah.
"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days."
Above are three interesting excerpts from 2 of the 17 books of prophecy included in the Jewish tradition, which together comprise over 250 chapters of material, all of them foreshadowing the coming Messiah and the fulfilment of God’s promise to bring heaven and earth back together. These may seem like random quotes, but I chose them because they make three specific claims about the coming Messiah. One, he will be born of a virgin and called Immanuel, meaning “God is with us”. Two, he will be pierced/crushed/wounded for the sake of all mankind and his wounds will bring healing to the world. Three, he will come from the town of Bethlehem. These may seem irrelevant if you are not familiar with the Christian Bible, but they are spot on descriptions of Jesus. Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7), of a virgin (Matthew 1:18,23), and He died a brutal death to heal mankind, bringing heaven and earth back together (Mark 15:38). Keep in mind, these books of prophecy were written nearly 800 years before Jesus’s birth.
These are three interesting examples, but the entirety of the 17 prophetic books are centered around characterizing the Messiah and his mission. These prophecies map on perfectly to the life and work of Jesus. For more compelling reading, check out Isaiah chapter 53.
Was Jesus the Messiah?
It is for these reasons and countlessly more (John 21:25) that the Jewish followers of Jesus were convinced that He was the promised Messiah, the fullness of the presence of God on earth. Although, many disagreed. In fact, Jesus was condemned to death for blasphemy by the religious leaders of His day. So the consensus was not universal. We are left asking: If Jesus so perfectly fulfilled the prophecies of Jewish tradition, why was He not accepted? This is a great question and is one that has been the topic of endless discussion. The biggest reason that Jesus was overlooked was because He did not fit the expectation of the religious leaders of the day.
Jesus was not the Messiah that the Jews were hoping for. At the time of Jesus’s ministry, and for much of Jewish history, the Jews were being oppressed by a tyrannical government. It was the hope of the religious leaders that the Messiah would come and lead a revolution, conquering the powers of the day, establishing the kingdom of God in Jerusalem. Jesus most certainly did not do this. In fact, He taught His disciples to pay taxes to Caesar, to pray for their enemies (Rome), and most outlandishly, if struck in the face by a Roman soldier, to offer their other cheek also. Jesus lived a life of weakness and preached a life of radical generosity for all who follow him. Jesus was simply not the conquering Messiah that the Jewish leaders were hoping for.
In a shocking twist, it became clear that Jesus did not come to bring the kingdom of heaven to the citizens of earth, but rather to bring the citizens of earth to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus commanded his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
See, Jesus understood that all kingdoms set up on earth will eventually be corrupted and come to nothing. He did not come to bring the kingdom of heaven on earth, but to restore humanity to heaven. Jesus counterintuitively fulfilled God’s promised restoration of the garden by eliminating the barrier between God and man and by destroying humanity’s greatest enemy: death. In a divine double-step, Jesus died an excruciating death, taking the penalty for our selfishness, bridging the gap between heaven and earth. Then He rose again from death, promising that all who follow Him will be raised likewise.
Jesus eliminated all barriers between us and God by His death and he defeated death by His resurrection. Now we don't need a king, prophet, or priest to mediate between us and God because Jesus has restored direct access to God. All you have to do is simply turn to God and receive the love He freely gives (John 16:23,24). Jesus has fulfilled God’s original promise, restoring the overlap of heaven and earth in the hearts of His followers.
Now we come full circle to that derogatory term that the Romans used to refer to followers of Christ: “little Christ”. We see why the followers of Christ found this to be a fitting title, for it means “miniature anointed ones”. There is no truer title for the follower of Christ. Since we have full access to God because of the death of Jesus, we are now the place where heaven and earth overlap, we are anointed.
What does it Mean to be a Christian?
Christians believe that, by connecting us to God, Jesus has quite literally made the hearts of his believers a place where heaven and earth are one. In this way, they now have the ability to bring heaven to earth. Since Christians now have direct access to God in Christ, they are obligated to share the love of God that they have received with the world the same way that Jesus did, by living sacrificially on behalf of others, following the commands of Jesus to live with radical generosity and love for all people. Christians ought to be ambassadors of heaven on earth. It would be wickedly selfish to do anything else with this position. So, if you want to know if you or people you know are Christian, you can evaluate yourself and others by Jesus’s criteria:
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."
“A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
Christian are those who follow Jesus and trust in His salvation, those who let his words shape their lives, those who love one another, those who serve one another, who not only desire to, but who truly obey the teachings of Jesus, and those who are unified in Love. Let the teachings of Jesus serve as your litmus test for Christians everywhere. Whether you are a Christian or not, you have the right and obligation to judge and assess Christians according to the teachings of Christ.
For more on Jesus’s teachings for his followers, read Matthew 5, 6, and 7, which is where Jesus lays out his manifesto for the kingdom of God.