I am sure you have heard people say that they were a Christian. I know I have said that, but what does that really mean?
Typically, people call themselves a Christian to put themselves into a category that describes their cultural, religious or family heritage (https://billygraham.org/story/what-is-a-christian/). You may be thinking that is great, but that tells me absolutely nothing.
Lets start with what Jesus said to Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader.
John 3:3-6 New International Version (NIV)
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
So we need to be born again. This is not a physical rebirth, but a spiritual rebirth that can only come from God.
So a Christian is one who follows Christ, but to follow Christ, we need to be born again by the Spirit of God. To be a Christian means we must confess our sins to God, repent of our sins, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, confess by your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe God raised Him from the dead, and follow Christ in obedience. Doing all of this allows the Holy Spirit to make us alive in Christ and hence our rebirth occurs.
So the next time you call yourself a Christian, ask yourself if you have really been born again? I will venture to say that the answer is no for most of us. This is why Christ said:
Matthew 7:13-14 New International Version (NIV)
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
It is not impossible and for many of us it is a long journey with a bunch of twists and turns when the path could have been very simple as a straight line from point A to point B. It is a hard path to follow with many obstacles such as Satan constantly whispering in your ear, because the flesh wants what the flesh wants, and the world will typically hate you.