I recently read a blog article by someone who claims to be a Christian about what it takes to be a Christian.  I am sure that there are many blogs out there that address this issue in one way or another, but what was interesting about this particular post is what the author claimed he believed.  Or, to be more accurate, what he claimed to not believe.  The author stated that he does not believe that Jesus is God.  He does not believe that Jesus walked on water, healed the sick, raised Lazarus from the grave, was born of a virgin, was raised Himself after three days in the grave, or that He died for the sins of mankind.  So we may ask the question, why does he consider himself to be a Christian?  Reading on in the article, the author’s beliefs were based purely on what he “feels” about God.

     If the basis of religious truth is nothing more than how we feel about something, how could you ever prove what is true?  I may feel that one thing is true and someone else may feel that the opposite is true, so which one is correct?  Truth has to be based on facts.  I may feel that the water is cold.  Someone else may feel that the water is hot.  But if we take a thermometer and measure the temperature of the water, now we have established the facts.  Now we can know if the water is really cold or hot.

     If we are going to follow Jesus.  If we are going to be one of His.  If we are going to call ourselves Christians (meaning that we belong to Christ).  Then we need to pay attention to what He said and what He did.  Jesus established the basis of truth in His prayer to the Father, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NKJV).  What are the facts in this case?  What is it that we are to believe?  Let us look into the truth of God’s word for that answer, for without God’s word we would have no facts at all about who God is, what He is like, or what He desires for us to do.

     Jesus said that He was God. “And He said to them, ‘You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins’” (John 8:23-24).  In this particular passage Jesus says that unless you believe that “I am” you will die in your sins.  That “I am” statement should take us back to Moses and the burning bush, where God told Moses to tell the Israelites that I AM had sent him (Exodus 3:14).  If we are going to claim to be followers of Jesus, should we not believe what He said?

     Why claim to follow Jesus if He was not raised from the dead?  This does not make any logical sense.  If He was not raised from the dead then there is no basis for the Christian religion.  Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no foundation for Christianity.  Consider what the apostle Paul wrote by inspiration:

Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.  Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise.  For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.  And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable (1 Corinthians 15:12-19, emphasis added).

If Jesus was just another man, why follow Him rather than anyone else?

     The reason that Christians follow Jesus Christ is because He was not just a man.  Jesus is God (John 1:1-5, 14).  Jesus arose from the dead and was seen by many witnesses, which the people in that day and age were unable to discredit (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).  Because He rose from the grave, His apostles and disciples had a newfound courage to be able to go to martyrdom and not worry about losing their physical lives.  Now they understood that there was something more beyond the grave, and so they no longer turned away or deserted their Savior in times of trouble.  If Jesus had not been resurrected, this would not have been the case.

     If we are going to call ourselves Christians, it would seem logical to suppose that we are going to believe what Jesus said, and that we are going to do what Jesus said to do.  We can claim all day long to be one of His, but if we are not doing what He said, then that claim is false.  I can claim to be the King of Morocco, but claiming it does not make it so.  What is the truth of the matter?  Jesus said,

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ (Matthew 7:21-23).

We had better know what the will of the Lord is, which is based upon the truth of His word and not upon our feelings.  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).  You cannot prove it, if you do not know it!  However, we can know for sure what the Lord requires of us.  Paul wrote in Ephesians, “how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:3-4).  When we read God’s word, we can understand what He requires.  We can know what His will is.  Come and see what God’s word has to say on this subject and many others.  The Holy Bible can help us to cut through the fog of confusion and see the truth for what it really is!