Jesus' Definition of "Christian"

Jno. 10:27 ... "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."

      Of all the definitions that might be given for "Christian," this statement by Jesus is for me the best. It will be noticed that it lays down four conditions which, when fully met, perfectly delineate the status of a Christian. First, a Christian is one who is a sheep in Jesus' flock. Sheep are frequently used in the Bible to represent the people of God. It says in Psa. 100:3 that "We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." Even more emphatic is the scene of the Great Judgment drawn by Jesus in Matthew 25. There all mankind is summoned before God and divided into two vast groups. We read in v.33 that "God shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." The significance of this division is made clear in the declarations of vs. 34 and 41. "Then shall the King say to those on His right (the sheep), 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' ... Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'" A Christian, then, is beyond doubt a person who qualifies as a "sheep" in the flock of Christ. This spiritual "flock" is identified in the New Testament as the church, (e.g., I Pet. 5:1-4). A Christian is therefore one who holds actual membership in Christ's church.

      Second, a Christian is one who hears the voice of Christ. Jesus used the verb "hear" in His teaching to mean "to listen attentively, respectfully, and obediently." At any point in life a person is always being exposed to numerous voices that would persuade him to put his faith in them and follow their way into some supposed utopia. Religions and philosophies, both esoteric and popular, line the roadside of life like billboards along a highway with strong appeals for us to turn aside into them to participate in their activities and conform to their interpretation of the human condition. But it is the distinctive trait of a Christian not to be distracted by these appealing voices. He will not "hear" them but will keep his attention riveted on Jesus. In Jno. 10:4-5 Jesus proclaims that "the sheep follow Him because they do not know the voice of strangers."

      Third, Jesus identifies a Christian as a person whom He knows. In this special usage of the verb "know" Jesus means both knowledge and approval. He certainly has knowledge of the vilest sinner, and in the End will visit eternal punishment upon him for his impenitent evil. But Jesus confers approval upon those whom He knows live in faith by His standard of righteousness. So we read in II Tim. 2:19, "The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, 'The Lord knows those who are His.'" To be known by the Lord is to belong to the Lord and to bear His own seal of approval.

      Fourth, a Christian is a person who follows Christ. He has developed the solid conviction that no leader or teacher on earth really knows where he is going or what lies ahead, except Jesus. For no one other than Jesus knows where or what heaven is, and no one but Jesus has the wisdom and foresight to know what lies ahead and whether it should be welcomed or shunned. Jesus always leads His followers through the shoals and narrows of life safely, but other leaders suffer their followers to shipwreck  their lives all along the way. Only Jesus, having finished His ministry, can say, "While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your (the Father's) name whom You have given Me, and I guarded them, and not one of them perished, (Jno. 17:11-12)."

A REMARKABLE CASE OF COURAGE

Jno. 9:30 ... "The man answered and said to them, 'Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet, He opened my eyes.'"

      The ninth chapter of John is devoted to the account of Jesus bestowing the gift of sight upon a man who had been born blind. As soon as the man, who is never named, went away from Jesus with the ability to see, it caused quite a stir among the people who were used to seeing him sit and beg to support himself in his blindness. Naturally, they wanted to know how he came to see. He answered very frankly, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight," (v.11). When the Pharisees heard about it, and took note that it had happened on the Sabbath, they got mentally all bent out of shape that Jesus had "violated" the Holy Day. So they called in the man and interrogated him closely about the event. Very frankly, they doubted the story. Moreover, they resented the man saying that Jesus was a prophet. Therefore they called in his parents, who testified that their son had indeed been born blind and had, somehow, that very day gained the ability to see. But because they feared the Pharisees would eject them from the synagogue, an act tantamount to being made pariahs in society, they refused to attribute the wonderful deed to Jesus. Instead, they referred these enemies of Jesus back to their son, saying, "Ask him; he is of age; he will speak for himself," (v.21).

      At once they had the man brought back before them, demanding that he "give glory to God" since they were convinced that "this Man (Jesus) is a sinner," (v.24). They were determined to coerce this fellow into denying the very One who had done something for him that none of the Pharisees could have done. The social and religious pressure they brought to bear upon him was enormous; in fact, it is hard for us, separate from the context of that ancient society, to realize how intense and frightful it really was. In view of it, we have to admire this anonymous man very greatly. He refused to cower before them and would not in the least retract the credit he had given Jesus. Not only did they mark out Jesus as a sinner, but they also questioned His origin. At this point the man very bravely replied, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet, He opened my eyes!" The rest of his answer really merits inclusion here: "We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing," (vs. 31-33).

      This man showed deep gratitude to Jesus, along with a growing faith in Him as being not just a prophet, but One who proceeded from God's very presence. For these convictions, expressed openly before the malicious theocrats, he was ejected from the synagogue and disenfranchised from that society, (v.34). But in that great loss he gained yet far more -- the privilege of becoming a disciple of Jesus. We read in vs. 35-38, "Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?' He answered, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?' Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him, and He is the One who is talking with you.' And he said, 'Lord, I believe.' And he worshiped Him."

      We can take a great lesson from this anonymous ancient man who forfeited his place in society rather than deny Jesus. Too many of Jesus' disciples today will hardly renounce any aspect of our culture which offers pleasure, fashion, status, and community sanction to witness their identity in Christ. We need to be inspired by this brave man's conviction and resolute defense thereof.