When we use certain words too much, if we aren’t careful they can begin to loose their meaning.
In this blog, I want to unpack one of these words that we hear often; it’s the word Christian. When I’m out and about in the community, I often encounter people that are confused about this word, especially with many students in the school that I minister at. It’s a word that is used in America often, particularly in the Southeast where there are more churches. Although it isn’t wrong to use this word, I’ve encountered a lot of people using this word in more of a cultural and incorrect way.
As I recently thought of this word, I started asking myself some questions and digging into the answers. I thought I would share these questions with you and some initial thoughts to go with each:
- What does this word actually mean?
The word Christian means: little Christ, or representative of Christ.
- Where is this word used in Scripture?
The word Christian is first used in Acts 11:26 – “The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”
This word was first used by the Gentiles to actually mock those that followed Jesus. As the Early Church grew though, this term actually began to stick and would describ followers of Jesus.
It’s also used in Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16.
- What were followers of the Lord called throughout the Bible?
*Old Testament: Those that followed the LORD / YAHWEH were usually called Israelites, Hebrews, or the People of God. They were those that had faith in this God alone, strived to follow the law and commandments, made animal sacrifices for their sins to the priest, and anticipated the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. The nation of Israel had the first advantage to this since they were first surrounded by this way of living, but just because they were Israelites didn’t make them saved. They still had to have faith in the LORD, live by His law and commandments, make sacrifices for their sins, and then men had to be circumcised to identify as being set apart from others. People of other nations would be drawn to the LORD as well and be saved, as God used Israel to reflect Him to others.
*New Testament: Outside of the few verses I referenced earlier where the word Christian is used, followers of Jesus after His first coming were often called disciples. Yes, Jesus had 12 (11 after Judas) disciples that were in His inner circle, who would also become apostles, but He also had crowds and crowds of other people that trusted in Him for salvation, that He would call disciples (Matthew 28:19, Matthew 16:24, John 8:31, and more). This would continue on after His resurrection and will until He returns for His second, final return. The word disciple means learner and follower. So, followers of Jesus devoted their lives to learn and model His ways. Other words that are often used in the New Testament are Saints, Brothers and Sisters, and Believers.
- So, when should we actually use the word Christian?
The word Christian should only be used when referencing someone who has actually made a personal decision to follow Jesus Christ. These are people who have realized that their sin separates them from God, and they need to be saved. They have realized that apart from God, they have no lasting hope, so they repent of their sins and ask the Lord to save them and make them new (see Romans 3:21-24). They then receive His Holy Spirit, are baptized, and grow in their faith through community and personal spiritual habits.
The word Christian can also be used in the context of describing an organization, church, school, etc that is founded on and led by Christian principles and values. That doesn’t mean every person that is connected to that organization, school or church is a Christian themselves, though. Becoming a Christian is a personal decision for each person and has nothing to do with one’s background or cultural context.
So, if you have given your life to Jesus, you can identify yourself as a Christian, follower and disciple of Jesus, Saint, Brother or Sister in Christ, or Believer. The meaning of these words come from Scripture and we should strive to use them correctly, and also teach this to others!
I hope this was helpful for someone!
Grace & Peace
Matthew Weaver 
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