If I were to ask you, “What is a Christian?” how would you respond? Many of us might quickly answer, “A Christian is a follower of Christ.” We understand that Christians are people who follow Christ’s example and live according to His teachings, but “follower of Christ” may not be the best definition.
We might know many wonderful people in our lives who treat others with kindness and love, who strive to practice honesty and morality, and who, to our knowledge, do not regularly engage in sinful behavior. Perhaps by all accounts, they follow the example of Christ, but those people may not be Christians.
A Christian is a person who belongs to Christ. Paul wrote that we are “baptized into Christ” and “have clothed” ourselves “with Him” (Galatians 3:27). Paul continued by describing Christians as those who now “belong to Christ” (Galatians 3:29). A person becomes a Christian when they put Christ on in baptism and through baptism, we become His.
While Christianity always includes following Christ, it requires more than being a follower. Christianity both requires and comes with the wonderful blessing of being in and belonging to Christ.
Matt Langfield