https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/WhatDoesItMeanToBeAChristian.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: I Peter 1:13-25<\/p>\nI. Over 75% of Americans claim to be Christians, a percentage that has been steadily\n declining while the non-religious rises. \n A. Still, it is a high number, but it appears to be in conflict with Jesus’ warning –\nMatthew 7:13-14\n
B. What actually makes a person a Christian?<\/p>\n
II. For some it is a feeling of love<\/p>\n A. Thoughts about God and Christ makes the person feel good, therefore they\nconclude they are Christians\n
B. Yet, feelings are deceptive – Provers 28:26<\/p>\n
1. It is walking wisely, according to God’s word that saves – Proverbs 3:3-7<\/p>\n
III. Is a claim enough?<\/p>\n A. Let’s be clear that claiming to be Christian is important – Matthew 10:32-33. But\nis it sufficient?\n
B. Words alone are not enough – Luke 6:46-49<\/p>\n
1. Without action, words alone are like a house without a foundation<\/p>\n
2. It looks good until trouble arises<\/p>\n
C. This is why you know people by looking at what they produce – Luke 6:43-45<\/p>\n
D. You know when you do – I John 2:3-6<\/p>\n
IV. Is a claim of faith enough?<\/p>\n
A. John 12:42 – Many believed but would not confess<\/p>\n
1. We already saw that without confession you cannot be saved.<\/p>\n B. James 2:17-24 – It again comes down to the fact that without action, words are\nnothing more than words.\n
V. Is doing good for Jesus enough?<\/p>\n A. Others will point out that they are nice people who help others or are active in\nvarious religious events\n
B. Matthew 7:21-23 – Jesus rejects people who do not do the Father’s will<\/p>\n 1. It isn’t enough to pick a few things that you think will please God. God\ntells us what pleases him.\n
2. Christianity is not a build your own religion<\/p>\n C. In the same way, doing some things right, while doing others wrong isn’t good\nenough – James 2:11\nVI. A Christian is not a title but a description of a person who has given up everything to\nfollow Christ’s teaching – Galatians 2:20\n
A. Everything done is with Christ’s authority – Colossians 3:17<\/p>\n
B. It comes from deep within, driven by love – I Peter 1:22<\/p>\n
C. Transformed from the world – Romans 12:1-2<\/p>\n
\n
Sources:<\/p>\n
• http:\/\/www.gallup.com\/poll\/187955\/percentage-christians-drifting-down-high.aspx<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Peter 1:13-25 I. Over 75% of Americans claim to be Christians, a percentage that has been steadily declining while the non-religious rises. A. Still, it is a high number, but it appears to be in conflict with Jesus’ warning – Matthew 7:13-14 B. What actually makes a person a Christian? II. For some…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[642],"class_list":["post-50202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-christianity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":91573,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-it-means-to-be-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":0},"title":"What It Means to Be a Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel Download Audio","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46265,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-a-christian-should-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":1},"title":"What a Christian Should Be","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47523,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/resurrection-and-the-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":2},"title":"Resurrection and the Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Seeking God","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39190,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/every-christian-is-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":3},"title":"Every Christian is Necessary","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8357,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/being-a-christian-will-not-save-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":4},"title":"Being a Christian Will Not Save You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jude 1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Why did you become a Christian? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For most of us, we desired the promise - Ephesians 1:13-14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We wanted forgiveness of our sins, but more importantly, we want to go home. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sadly, few actually make it - Matthew 7:13-14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul sought heaven,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69964,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-purpose-of-the-universal-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":50202,"position":5},"title":"The Purpose of the Universal Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 28, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by David Bunting Understanding Christ's Church","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50202\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}