Six centuries before the birth of Christ among men, the prophet Isaiah foretold that a new name would be given to the people of God. The prophet wrote, "And the nations shall see thy righteousness and all kings thy glory: and thou shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name" (Isa. 62:2). The Lord was going to give his people a new name! This prophecy is not fulfilled until we come to the New Testament, to the eleventh chapter of Acts. By this time, Christ has come, given his blood for the sins of the world, and has been resurrected has from the dead. The church has now been established and the gospel is being preached among the nations. Thus, the stage is set for the giving of this new name, and in Acts 11:26 we read, "The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch
The name Christian is not a term of derision. Rather, this is the new name which God gave to his people, a name to be worn with joy and with thanksgiving. The apostle Peter wrote, "If a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name" (I Pet. 4:16). The name Christian glorifies God and honors Christ, for the name Christian cannot be spoken without pronouncing the name of Christ, our blessed Savior.
The name Christian is also an exclusive name, for, the disciples were called Christians at Antioch
Not all good people are Christians. Goodness is certainly a characteristic of the Christian, and without goodness one cannot be a Christian, but still not all good people are Christians. Morality is an obligation of a Christian, but morality ALONE does not make one a Christian. Consider some good people:
Nicodemus, the ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night. There is nothing to indicate that Nicodemus was anything other than a good man, and yet, Jesus taught that he had to be born again. The Lord said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God kingdom of God
Cornelius, the Gentile centurion was certainly a good moral man, exemplary in many traits of character, but when we read of him in Acts 10, he was not a Christian. At this point he is described as "a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always" (Acts 10:2). It is also said that he was "a just man, well reported of by all the nation of the Jews" (Acts 10:22). Yet, Cornelius was lost in his sins! Where is the evidence of this? From the words of an angel of God! The angel told him to send for Peter...WHY??? "...who shall speak unto thee words whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house" (Acts 11:14). What "words" did Cornelius need to hear? I submit that it was the words that Jesus gave to the apostles just before His ascension back to heaven. They are found at the end of each of the four gospels (cf. Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; John 17:18).
These words were the words preached by Peter and the eleven on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38. They were proclaimed to every person(s) in the book of Acts who had not been born again. They constitute the "form of doctrine" (Romans 6:17-18) that was consistently preached to sinners in the Bible, after Jesus had been made "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). It contains commands to be obeyed "from the heart" (Romans 6:17-18). Thus, we can read of those who will be eternally lost as including those who do NOT OBEY the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8), in addition to those who do not know God. There are many who do not know God, but many know God, yet haven't OBEYED THE GOSPEL COMMANDS THAT PERTAIN TO BEING BORN ANEW!
Not all religious people are Christians. Certainly, all Christians are religious people, but there are many religious people who are not Christians. One may be a heathen and yet be very religious. When Paul preached at Mars Hill inAthens , he stood at one of the centers of Greek paganism, and yet he said, "Ye men of Athens Jerusalem Lydia Ethiopia had traveled many hundreds of miles to worship at Jerusalem
These words were the words preached by Peter and the eleven on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38. They were proclaimed to every person(s) in the book of Acts who had not been born again. They constitute the "form of doctrine" (Romans 6:17-18) that was consistently preached to sinners in the Bible, after Jesus had been made "both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). It contains commands to be obeyed "from the heart" (Romans 6:17-18). Thus, we can read of those who will be eternally lost as including those who do NOT OBEY the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8), in addition to those who do not know God. There are many who do not know God, but many know God, yet haven't OBEYED THE GOSPEL COMMANDS THAT PERTAIN TO BEING BORN ANEW!
Not all religious people are Christians. Certainly, all Christians are religious people, but there are many religious people who are not Christians. One may be a heathen and yet be very religious. When Paul preached at Mars Hill in
Not all believers in Christ are Christians. Do you realize that you may believe in Christ—that He is the Son of God, and still not be a Christian? This likewise describes many religious people. They have 'faith' that Jesus is God's Son, they call Him LORD, but have not obeyed the commands that He gave to the apostles which are the "form of doctrine". This obedience is called "works of righteousness" elsewhere in the Bible. They are the kind of works that Abraham was commended for and for which it was "reckoned to him for righteousness". We read from the epistle of James, "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought, with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness and he was called the friend of God. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith" (James 2:20-24). Certainly, we are saved by faith, but not by faith ONLY. The apostle Paul writes of "the obedience of faith" in the first chapter of Romans. He also says, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor un-circumcision; but faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6). A saving faith obeys Christ. Christ is obeyed when His teachings are obeyed. When faith does not express itself in obedience, it is dead, barren and vain! Can a dead, barren and vain faith make one a Christian? No, not every believer in Christ is a Christian!
The only person who can rightly wear this glorious name, Christian, is the 'good', 'religious', 'believer' who has obeyed the gospel ('form of doctrine') that was given from God to Christ (John 12:49 - "...the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak."); which Christ gave to His chosen apostles (John 17:8 - "For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me...". Jesus commanded them to preach these words to "all nations" (Jew/Gentile), and thus be "born anew". Those words are known as the 'great commission', and are recorded in Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47; and John 17:18). The apostles' travels "into all the world" are recorded for us in the book of Acts. We also find from the book of Acts that ALL the conversions were uniform in both the "doctrine that was delivered..." (Romans 6:17); and the doctrine that was "obeyed from the heart..." (ibid). Those who "obeyed the gospel" then were to be taught "to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20). These 'things' to be 'observed' are also commands from God, to Christ, to the apostles, to us, which are found in the New Testament epistles (Romans thru Revelation).
The apostle Paul stated to those Gentile Christians in Ephesus, "If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ). Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit; THAT THE GENTILES SHOULD BE FELLOW-HEIRS, AND OF THE SAME BODY, AND PARTAKERS OF HIS PROMISE IN CHRIST BY THE GOSPEL" (Eph. 3:2-6).
The Gentile nations were offered salvation in Christ upon the same terms as the Jewish nation. Why? Because "God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." (Acts 10:34-35). When Gentiles obeyed the same form of doctrine as the Jews, then the time had arrived that was foretold by divine inspiration from the prophet Isaiah, "And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name." (Isa. 62:2)
As a result, we read that the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch
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