In the last 7 years or so an interesting this has happened. More and more people are discussing their belief systems. It was clear that since the 2000 presidential election in which George W Bush won the election by making it very clear that he considered himself to be a “Christian”. Since then people (mainly candidates) have been coming out of the woodwork to proclaim their “Christianity”. Although some of these people are clearly doing it for political gain many others seem to be sincere in what they say they believe. But how many people that claim to be Christian really are?

 First, I believe we should define what a Christian is. The Word Christian first shows up in the Bible In the book of Acts (Chapter 11) in the city of Antioch. The disciples of Jesus Christ were first given that name then. It is very clear that the reason for the name was given to people that followed Jesus Christ. They read the Holy Scriptures (the Bible) and they believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and only through faith in Jesus as the son of God could a person be considered “saved”, that is to have a relationship with the God of the Bible. As a matter of fact they were so set on this belief that the vast majority of the first Christians willingly gave their lives for this belief. Compromise to them was not an option.
 A couple of things should be clear from the Bible; First, in order for you to be considered a Christian it means that you have to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that He died so that all who follow Him would be saved (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-11). Secondly, they fully believed in this fact and they were even willing to give their life for what they believed. And lastly, all of this information is derived from the Bible.
 I am not for one minute trying to tell anyone what they should believe in. One of the beauties of the God that I serve is that He wants us to choose to follow Him. I cannot nor will I ever try to force you to have faith, which is a personal thing. I do, however know that you should be clear about what you believe in.  It is a sad state of affairs when most of the people that say they are Christians either A) don’t really know what that means and/or B) everything that they believe is contrary to the Bible. Please people, pick a side and stay on it!
 If everything you believe contradicts the Bible, then I hate to inform you but you sirs are not a Christian. If you believe that Jesus Christ was “a way” but not “the way” then you ma’am are not a Christian. If you believe that Jesus was not who He said He was then….you guessed it, you are not a Christian.
 I recently heard a snippet from one of Oprah Winfrey’s shows where she stated that there was just “no way” that Jesus was the only way to God. She even goes so far as to say that she is a “Christian” and she knows that is not true. Well Ms. Winfrey, I hate to say it but no, you are not a Christian.
 I don’t want anyone to think that I am placing myself as some self appointed expert on who is a Christian or not. I am simply using the first reference rule which basically states that the first time you see a term used will determine the truest usage of the Word. Therefore we must look at the first time the term “Christian” is used to determine the intent of the term. The first time the Word is used was to describe followers of the teachings of Jesus Christ. That purpose was to bring mankind into the knowledge of God’s love towards us which was to “repent (The Greek word denotes ‘a change of heart or mind,’ i.e. ‘a conversion.’) for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2). This means to change your mind to adapt to God’s way of doing things, not the other way around.
 Contrary to what presidential candidate Barak Obama recently stated, your opinions about life and morals should be based on your religious beliefs. That is why you become a Christian. The truth of the matter is that being called a Christian means that you have given your life to the belief that there is one way to the God of the Bible. It is not an easy way and it is not a very broad way. Being a true Christian means that you have given your life over to your belief that “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life”. Be clear of what you believe.