“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’     Matthew 7:21-23 NASB

If someone were to ask you about your religious practices, what would you say? According to Wikipedia 65% of American citizens claim to be a Christian. This number is down from a poll conducted in 2012 where 77% claimed to be Christian. The United States has the largest Christian population of any country in the world. Of the 65% that claim to be Christian 45% claim to be church members. But what do these things mean?

If you were to answer a poll, would you say that you are a Christian? And if so, what does that mean to you? What if someone asked what being a Christian means to you? How would you respond?

The Bible has plenty of scripture passages that tell us what it means to be a Christian.

Ephesians chapter 4, verses 29-32 talks about all the things that we need to remove from our lives as Christians. These include corrupt talk, bitterness, wrath, anger, fighting, slander, and malice. It tells us that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit. It also tells us to be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as Christ forgives us.

Galatians 2:20 explains it as a crucifixion of our flesh where our old self dies and Christ comes to live inside of us. John 13:34 says that others will know that we are Christians by the way they see us love one another. How does that look for you right now? Galatians 5:22 tells us that as Christians, we will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit which includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness?  These verses give us a good idea of what being a Christian includes and what it should look like to those around us.

Our scripture passage today tells us that many who claim to be Christians will not make it into heaven. So, I beg of you today if you claim to be a Christian, be sure that your walk matches your talk. By this I mean be sure that others see the love of Christ in you. Be sure that you are following Christ and living your life according to God’s will to the best of your ability. Be sure that you are quickly confessing your sin and repenting when you do wrong.

Because if you don’t, Revelation 21:8 tells us that the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars will be thrown into the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Oh, and one more question before I close, what does it mean to be a church member? That could cover a broad spectrum. Some church members are happy to go and adorn a pew every Sunday, but may not exhibit their Christian love or their fruit of the Spirit during the week. To some being a church member means that you show up occasionally drop a little in the collection plate and are too busy to go most of the time. To some it means simply having their name on a church roll. But what does that mean to you?

If you are not sure what it should mean to be a church member, Thom S. Rainer wrote a little book about it. I say a little book because it is a small, short book that only takes about an hour to read. We use it at our church as a training tool for new members. In this book, Mr. Rainer gets to the point about what it truly means to be a church member. He uses scripture to teach us what God intended church membership to be.

If you consider yourself a Christian, then I want you to consider what that truly means. Our scripture passage is very clear on the fact that there are many who believe themselves to be Christians, but will never see the kingdom of God. Be sure that you don’t fall into that category before it’s too late. And if you don’t consider yourself a Christian, look around you. If you can find someone that has this peace that doesn’t make sense and maintains a level of joy no matter what is going on around them and shows love for others, that person is a Christian. Just check them out and you may find that you want a large of dose of what that they have.

Have a great day!