What Does It Mean To Be Christian?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, today I want to challenge our understanding of what it truly means to be Christian. Far too often, we’ve reduced the faith to something that fits neatly into the box of religion, or even a cultural identity. But I’m here to tell you that Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is not a set of moral rules or rituals. It’s not even about being born into a Christian family or attending church on Sunday.

Christianity is about being Christ-like

Let’s start there: Christianity is not about following a religion. No, God cannot be a religion any more than you or I can be defined by a profession. You are not just a plumber, or an engineer, or a baseball player—you may do those things, but they are not who you are. You are a person, made in the image of God. So, it is with Christianity.

God is a being, and Christianity is not about rules and rituals but about being like Christ. It is about becoming more like God in our human nature, as revealed to us through the life of Jesus Christ. We cannot fully comprehend or visualize God in our limited human minds, so God became human—Jesus Christ—to show us His nature and to teach us how to live.

Jesus came to show us the way. He came to show us what it looks like to live with love, with humility, with grace, and with sacrifice. When we call ourselves Christians, we are saying, “I want to be like Christ.”

A Loving God Does Not Demand Religion

We must also understand this: A loving God would not demand that His creation conform to a man-made religion. Think about that for a moment. Would you ever demand that someone follow a set of political ideas just to be part of your family? Would you say, “If you don’t follow these politics, you’re not truly a member of this family”? No, of course not. In the same way, God does not use religion to segregate or divide. Religion is a political construct—a system created by man. It does not unite; it divides.

Even in the Old Testament, when we look at the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we see that God was not establishing a religion. He was establishing a relationship—a covenant—with His people. And that covenant was fulfilled, not through more rituals or laws, but in the person of Jesus Christ. In Him, God established a new covenant, a new temple—not a building of stone, but a temple made of people.

In John 2:19-21, Jesus says, 

“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 

When the people misunderstood, thinking He meant the physical temple, John clarifies, “But the temple He had spoken of was His body.”

We are the temple of God, the body of Christ. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus created a new way for us to live as His followers. When we accept Him as Lord, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we become part of that new temple, and God resides in us.

One God, One Truth, One Life

God made things simple for us, my friends. His nature, His love, His grace—these are not complicated, but simple to comprehend. One God, one Bible, one way, one truth, and one life.

So, if Christianity is about being Christ-like, then why do we have so many denominations? In fact, there are over 44,000 different denominations of Christianity in the world today. Why is that? The answer is simple: These denominations are not from God.

When we put an adjective before the word “Christian,” we change the definition of Christ. You cannot be a “Catholic Christian,” or a “Pentecostal Christian,” or a “Black Christian,” or a “White Christian,” or an “LGBT Christian.” There is no need to label Christianity with anything other than “Christian.” To be Christian means to follow Christ, to be like Christ, to live as Christ lived.

Jesus did not come to divide us. He came to unite us. He came to break down the walls that divide humanity and bring us together into one body, one temple, united in Him.

God’s Gift of Grace and Salvation

Brothers and sisters, let us remember that this unity is not based on anything we have done to earn it. We were all sinners, deserving of death, but God in His mercy sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. Romans 6:23 reminds us, 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Through Christ, we have eternal life. Through Christ, we are reconciled with God. And through Christ, we are called to live as He lived, to love as He loved, to serve as He served.

Christianity is not about religion. It’s about a relationship with the living God, made possible through Jesus Christ. It’s about becoming more like Him, being transformed by His Spirit, and living in unity with others who are also His body. Let’s stop dividing ourselves by labels and start living as one body, one temple, united in Christ.

Conclusion: A Call to True Christianity

As we leave today, let us reflect on what it means to be Christian. It is not about outward appearances or adhering to man-made systems. It’s about becoming like Christ, living as He lived, and loving as He loved. It’s about unity, not division.

So, let us commit ourselves to this: To be true Christians, in spirit and in truth. To live in love and unity, to seek to be like Christ in all we do. And may the grace of God empower us to fulfill this calling, now and always.

Amen.