Are You Related to Christ?

There are as many answers to this question as there are denominations. Current Events: New Barna Poll shows wide diversity in levels of religious activity among different denominations. New edition of “World Christian Encyclopedia” published a tabulation of 10,000 distinct religious groups, including 33,830 Christian denominations. That’s right; 33,830 church groups claim to be Christian. “So, how does a person know what to believe?” I’m glad you asked me. There are many things to build a belief system on in the Bible. Yet, there are not a variety of ways to be a Christian.

In the Book of Acts 11:26, you will find that it was here that believers were first given the name “Christian.” Let’s learn a little grammar. The suffix “ian’ sheds light on what it means to be a Christian. Notice: -ian suff. 1. Of, relating to, or resembling: Bostonian. 2. One relating to, belonging to, or resembling: academician.

Dividing the word “Christian,” you can define it as “relating to or resembling Christ.” So, a Christian is someone who is related to Christ; and, therefore, resembles Him. Two questions emerge: “Am I related to Christ” and “Do I resemble Christ.” In order to find out if you belong to Christ, you need a blood test. Testing of blood that has been dried on filter paper is a well-established technique which has been used for nearly 40 years. Dr. Robert Guthrie first used the procedure in the early 1960s to collect blood by heel stick, for measurement of phenylalanine in newborns. It is necessary for growth in infants and for nitrogen equilibrium in adults.

If you will be related to Christ, it is to come through the blood, which means you must accept His work as a free gift and for the pardon of your sins (Romans 3:20-31). This has been the marquee of the Christian faith for centuries. The question is clear: “Does your church pass the blood test?” “Does your minister teach propitiation, atonement, the substitutive death of Christ (1 John 2:1-2; Rom. 5:8-20)?” If your minister doesn’t teach that the blood of Jesus is the only thing that can make you a child of God, he is bringing you into the church house but not the Family of God.

Part Two - tomorrow
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Do You Resemble Christ?*

*Word for Today*

Propitiation - Something that propitiates, especially a conciliatory offering to a god.

*Quote for Today*

"...if you believe in it, it is a religion or perhaps 'the' religion; and if you do not care one way or another about it, it is a sect; but if you fear and hate it, it is a cult."
- Leo Pfeffer. A humorous quotation, but one that is uncomfortably close to reality.