In 1975 I became convinced that a god created, but which god? At that time sectarian groups labeled Catholics and Protestants by news readers were killing each other in Ireland over social issues stemming from the 1800’s and earlier. I also remember a newsreel from Lebanon featuring a bearded priest firing away with his machine gun from behind a column. The god I was looking for couldn’t be the God of the Bible I thought. A year later, when despite these things, I indeed became a Christian an insurance agent called on me. He inquired why I was surrendering several of my many insurance policies. I said that now that my security was in God I no longer feared being a victim of the many trivial things I had personally insured myself against.
He responded with a story. He said that some months earlier he had been called out by the pastor of a church to insure the large valuable window in the chapel. When it came to signing the contract the pastor asked ‘Would you mind if we back-dated the policy by a day?’. ‘Why would you want to do that?’ asked the agent. “Because, the window actually got broken yesterday and we would like to put in a claim’. “What do you think of that Charles?” he asked. “In all my years in the insurance business I never got asked to do such a thing before. And by a Christian of all things!” I was ashamed but not taken altogether by surprise. I had heard of similar things before which had turned me off too at the time. I noted sadly that he was another case of someone who had been gradually immunized against Christianity for decades for one reason or another. How does one combat that? Therefore, as followers of Jesus Christ, we wish to make it plain to all that religious office or public show of piety does not necessarily make a Christian.
So what is a Christian? I got varied responses when I asked close Christian friends, “a person who believes in and follows Jesus, or received something from Jesus, or a person who is ‘born again’, or someone who does good deeds, loves people and walks by faith, someone who reads the Bible and has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin, etc. etc.” Such attributes are certainly part and parcel of being a practicing Christian, but surely, I thought, none of that can be sufficient because Jesus will distance Himself from nominal believers on Judgment Day who expect to be received with outstretched arms. Yet He will call them ‘lawless’ and claim that He never knew them (Matthew 7:23).
Perhaps it is that a genuine disciple of Jesus is humble and teachable, worships and serves the Father’s will, and delights to gather regularly and fellowship in the Word of God. But more than that, he or she desires to obey the Word and those God appoints accountable over them rather than serving their own agenda. Christians have a certain way about them. In fact, they used to be known as people of The Way (Acts 9:2; Acts 19:23). People of The Way first became known as Christians in Antioch Syria about 50-60 years after the resurrection of Christ.
Charles Pallaghy
