What is a Christian?

It is my understanding that the word "Christian" was first used to refer to followers of Christ during the time of the first generation of believers in a city called Antioch. (see the book of Acts)
I believe it was initially used as a derogatory term meaning "little Christs".

Now someone who refers to themselves as a Christian can mean a wide variety of things. In some countries, it can simply refer to the fact that they are not Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or atheist. Some throughout history have been Christian because if you were born in a certain country or part of the world, you were considered Christian. Some are raised in cultural Christianity where it is as much or more social than a spiritual identifier. Many are raised in church and simply follow the traditions of their parents and grandparents.

I suppose the truly important question I am getting at may not even be who or what is a Christian because what I am pursuing predates that term altogether. Perhaps the real question is who is truly a follower of Christ? or who is truly in dwelt with the Holy Spirit?

Before I proceed to far into this line of thinking, let me offer up that ultimately I know that God knows for a certainty who are His. People thinking that they can pin point who does and does not belong to Christ is a common trap that is fallen into all the time. I don't think many would have pointed to the thief on the cross as a particularly likely candidate, but I also believe it is made crystal clear that he was as much a receiver of the free gift of salvation as myself or some of the great men and women of God. God sees the heart, and this is where conversion takes place or doesn't take place.

With that having been said, I do believe that the scriptures and especially the letters from Paul, John, and Peter are full of messages to us that is meant to guide us in our understanding about what constitutes genuine saving faith and what does not. They expound on Christ's teaching and the Old Testament helping us to know general principles to use as we navigate our pursuit of Christ.

Finally, we arrive at the primary purpose of this post. I believe that one of the most basic general principles about saving faith is that it is faith characterized by obedience. I believe that in pointing ceaselessly to the scriptures that say essentially, "saved by grace through faith," we can potentially be guilty of painting an unbalanced picture of what is truly Biblical salvation. It is not that we must obey to earn our salvation. It is that the Bible teaches that true saving faith is always accompanied by repentance. If repentance represents a spiritual/moral uturn in our lives from self-centered to God-centered, then obedience simply represents remaining on the same course heading. I do not dispute that we all fall short of completely yielding ourselves in obedience. I think this is painfully obvious to anyone who has tried to follow Christ faithfully for any length of time. It is a path that inherently challenges us deeper and deeper to "die to ourselves" so that He may live through us. However, I am referring to an underlying current of thought that can use verses that point to only belief to mislead us as believers into thinking that we are not called to pursuing "as the deer that pants for water" a life that is yielded and obedient to Christ.

Please do not take these comments as condemning. John 3:17 makes it clear that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it, but that the world through Him might be saved. When a chastisement from God is turned into condemnation, this is the point that the devil has hijacked the scripture to try to use it to make a believer think that he/she cannot possibly live a life pleasing to God. Ironically, he is right but not in the way he intends it. We are called to become aware of this because each time we become aware of how woefully inadequate our own strength and ability is BUT then choose to be broken by that on the rock of Christ is when we genuinely grow that much in our faith in the power of the Spirit.