Let's get it's right! Jesus Christ died, was buried and was raised!

How you view yourself changes everything. If you think you are evil, you will try and be coherent, and do evil. If you think you are good you will try to do good!

If you say you are a Christian, depending on how you define Christian you will act differently!

Definitions I've heard:

• anyone who claims to be/ wants to be a christian
• someone who believes in Jesus
• someone who receives Christian Baptism (I promise! that's the first thing i found in google!)
• the answer is not clear, even among Christian circles, so their probably is no correct answer.

But what is just amazing is that Christians act completely differently, depending on how they define what a Christian is! I want to define a Christian based on what the Gospel is. 

If we look at the Bible as a whole:

• God created everything Good
• God created man Good, but man sinned, which separated him from God
• The Whole Bible is about God's rescue mission for mankind. 

The Bible shows us how God as worked through different men to build a nation for Himself - Abraham, Jacob, Moses, then Judges, then Prophets, they all led to Jesus and his crucifixion, who were foretold throughout the Bible. Jesus came proclaiming the Gospel, that he was the fulfillment of all the scriptures. His ministry was about fulfilling the prophesies, and showing the who followed him who he truly was, and what he was about to do for mankind - saving them from their sins!

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul defines the Gospel very clearly: 

Now I would remind you, brothers,1 of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. 

A clear definition of the Gospel: 1 Cor 15:3,4  that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

To the his disciples the great commission Jesus gave them in Mat 28

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in2 the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Those who want to follow Jesus call them Christians if you want must be making disciples! Or wanting to make disciples! Training them to make their own Jesus disciples! (Mat 28), because Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day. (1 Cor 15).

These two go together Mat 28 and 1 Cor 15. You cannot be a Christian if you don't believe Jesus Christ, died for your sins, was buried, and then was raised. And you cannot be a Christian if this gospel, good news does not move you to be in the "creating disciples" process, which can look so different to different people!

Having said that - 3 things:
1. I feel like if you don't believe the Gospel, you just CAN't Be a Christian! SORRY! And you might argue that in the Gospels none of the disciples believed! My reply, DUH! Jesus did not die yet! When he gave the great commissions they all believed alright! And we see in the Book of Acts what great things they did because of their faith!

2. I'm not trying to be the "Jesus Police" trying to tell people who's a Christian and who's not so that I can feel good about myself, by saying I know better than anyone. But false security, is not good! So we must all be honest with ourselves, and test ourselves with the scriptures! (2 Cor 13:5).

3. At the risk of sounding legalistic! It's all about having your heart in the right place! Maybe you've been far from God for a while, but truly acknowledge the Christ is Lord! That he died, and was buried, and then was raised! And have not ever done anything about it, but see it as something you must work on, then I think you are a Christian! If on the other hand, you tell me you believe but it has not changed you one bit. You still live as you did before believing and deny the importance of being involved somehow in discipling (whatever that looks like!) to see people's lives change, then I would strongly recommend that you would test yourselves with the scriptures!


The Gospel is what defines Christianity, without it we are just moral people.