What does it mean to be a Christian?

First of all, being a Christian means that we follow Christ in His teachings, in His life-style, and in His purpose. It means that we study His Word as it is written in the Bible, and we write it on our hearts…meaning that we try our best to live by what God has told us through His Holy Word. His Holy Word means that it is set apart. As Christians, we live in the world, but we are not a part of it, as we are set apart to live lives that truly glorify God instead of ourselves.

What are the marks/evidence of a Christian?

There are various stages/levels of Christianity, which is why it is called a journey. Christians are not perfect. But one mark is that we reflect internally on our behavior and try to turn from any sin that is present. We confess that sin to God and pray that God will help us in that process. The Bible refers to it as pruning…taking off the dead branches that are worthless so that we can blossom into the person God is calling us to be. It is helpful to call on the name of God to help us with this process, as it is impossible to do it on our own. When we ask Christ to come into our hearts, we open the door for Him to change us to be more like-minded with our Creator, desiring to be obedient to His Holy Word. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the fruits of the Spirit as taught in Galations 5:22-23 in the new testament. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, faithfulness, goodness, and long-suffering.” A Christian will desire fellowship with other Christians as we help each other grow in our faith and ask others to help us on our journey.

What is the benefit of being a Christian?

There are benefits both in this world and the next. In this world, there is a joy that the world does not know. God is the Creator of joy. Contrary to Darwinian purist, evolutionists, we did not come from rocks or matter. We were designed by God with love because of His lovingkindness. We are Created in His image. Not to look like Him, but to have the qualities and traits of Him. No evolutionist can explain where feelings come from, yet we know they exist. No evolutionist can tell us how a deer can graze on grass all day, be a vegetarian, yet when the deer is killed for food, it is meat. God’s magnificent plan includes us. Our relationship with Him is our purpose. When we find our purpose/realize our purpose, what we get in return is peace which surpasses all understanding. People in the world have an unquenchable desire for wealth, prosperity, fame, etc. They can never be satisfied. But Christians know and understand that this world is temporary. It is short. Whatever we gain here in the way of material goods will only be with us while we’re here, dwelling on Earth. But when we live as Christians and share our wealth, our love, and be generous and kind to others, we are living the lives that God wants us to live and as we live in obedience to our loving Father, we are storing up riches that will follow us into Heaven. Heaven is the benefit of the world to come. The promise from God for eternal life after we leave this world.