Christian Discipleship Course 3.

Question and answer: “If I go to church, does that make me a Christian?”

No! Not at all! I go into the bathroom every day and I have never turned into a toilet or a sink! When I walk into a garage (bump!) it does not turn me into a car. Going to church does not make me a Christian. It is also totally impossible to be born a Christian.

The name ‘Christian’ started off as a nickname to those people who followed Jesus and believed in His teaching. They belonged to that group of people. Christians are followers of Jesus Christ or people belonging to Jesus.

They were also called followers of ‘the way’ (Acts 9:2, 24:14). The people were first called ‘Christian’ in Antioch (Acts 11:26). It was like a church base where the Apostles hung out in between mission work (Jerusalem was the first mission sending base, Acts 11:19-22).

Fact: Christ = Anointed One in the Greek language. Most of the New Testament was originally written in Greek.

Wisdom: To be a Christian you have to repent and believe in Jesus, and then you must apply the Bible’s teaching to your life. Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. We should act like a true Christian, or we should stop calling ourselves by that name.

John 14:6 Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. See John 3:3, Acts 2:38.

Have you ever seen someone wearing the shirt of one football team and then supporting the rivals? You have to support the team whose shirt you are wearing. To wear Jesus Christ’s ‘shirt’ you must obey Him.

Think: True or false? God is all-powerful. If you obey Him, He can do more with your life, than you could have done on your own.

More Info: Ecclesiastes 3:15, Isaiah 55:6,7, Ezekiel 18:20, 36:20, Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 11:28, Mark 8:36, John 1:29, 3:15-18,36, 5:24, 6:35,47, 10:10,11, 11:25,26, Hebrews 1:7,8, 2 Peter 2:4-9.