Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Are you taking the time to pray? Christ is the answer in times of need

    https://christianforums.net/threads/psalm-70-1-save-me-o-god-lord-help-me-now.108509/

  • The Gospel of Jesus Christ

    Heard of "The Gospel"? Want to know more?

    There is salvation in no other, for there is not another name under heaven having been given among men, by which it behooves us to be saved."

  • Depending upon the Holy Spirit for all you do?

    Read through the following study by Tenchi for more on this topic

    https://christianforums.net/threads/without-the-holy-spirit-we-can-do-nothing.109419/

  • Focus on the Family

    Strengthening families through biblical principles.

    Focus on the Family addresses the use of biblical principles in parenting and marriage to strengthen the family.

  • Have questions about the Christian faith?

    Come ask us what's on your mind in Questions and Answers

    https://christianforums.net/forums/questions-and-answers/

  • How are famous preachers sometimes effected by sin?

    Join Sola Scriptura for a discussion on the subject

    https://christianforums.net/threads/anointed-preaching-teaching.109331/#post-1912042

When did we become Christians?

Classik

Member
A sort or popup ....on my mind. So when exactly did we become Christians? (I will be departing very briefly.)
 
Acts 11:
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

They were called Christians as they spent a year at Antioch allowing the Holy Spirit teach them so they would go out into the world with the mind of Christ as all of us are followers of Christ being a Christian/ Christ in us.
 
An interesting question but first we should ask - 'What is a Christian?'

Remember that there were a great many 'Biscops' with their own versions of Christianity, many of them wildly different from the Christianity that you may now practice.

My answer to your question is therefore 325AD when the 'official' Christian doctrine was agreed and the creed penned specifically to define a Christian.
 
If you are looking for the point at which believers in Jesus Christ became known as "Christians", I think @Blev and @for_his_glory gave a good answer.
 
...And what led to our being Christians?
1. The might of the Roman Empire.
2. Priests being looked up to because they were some of the best educated people around.
3. Priests telling the local king that he was chosen by God and thereby getting his support.
4. Priests telling the populace that the king was chosen by God and it would be a sin to oppose him.
5. Kings changing their nation to Christianity to avoid being attacked by their neighbors (the most famous example being King Blue-tooth who later gave his name to the blue-tooth you probably use with your 'phone).
6. Peer pressure and threat of torture and death from the state or from the church.
7. Lack of any educated people challenging the priests.
8. Ignorance of the origins of the earth and it's occupants.
9. Ignorance of the origins of the Bible.
 
And when did I become 'a' Christian?
Only you can answer that. We can't see into your heart. When did you put your full faith, trust and hope in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, abide in you to give you new life and believe that he would finish the work in you that He started? Pinpoint that, that is your answer.
 
1. The might of the Roman Empire.
2. Priests being looked up to because they were some of the best educated people around.
3. Priests telling the local king that he was chosen by God and thereby getting his support.
4. Priests telling the populace that the king was chosen by God and it would be a sin to oppose him.
5. Kings changing their nation to Christianity to avoid being attacked by their neighbors (the most famous example being King Blue-tooth who later gave his name to the blue-tooth you probably use with your 'phone).
6. Peer pressure and threat of torture and death from the state or from the church.
Completely inapplicable to the first believers...and modern believers, like Classik and myself. In fact, the priesthood and the Roman Empire were the very reasons NOT to become a Christian in the early decades of the church. But many did become Christians anyway despite them leading/forcing people away from becoming Christians.


7. Lack of any educated people challenging the priests.
In the beginning decades of the church, it was actually uneducated people who challenged the priests who were against Christianity and became Christians anyway.


8. Ignorance of the origins of the earth and it's occupants.
Your ignorance of the origins of the earth and it's occupants hasn't led you to being Christian. So, why should it for us?


9. Ignorance of the origins of the Bible.
Faith comes from the voice of God Himself speaking into the heart via the Holy Spirit about sin, righteousness, and the Judgment to come. That voice is not refuted by arguments and contentions about written words, but rather the other way around. And the Bible has been tested and tried and found to be the very Word of God he speaks into men's hearts and which confirms what we now know to be the Holy Bible. If that were not true, Christianity would have gone the way of Zoroastrianism by now.
 
Acts 11:
25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul:

26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

They were called Christians as they spent a year at Antioch allowing the Holy Spirit teach them so they would go out into the world with the mind of Christ as all of us are followers of Christ being a Christian/ Christ in us.

I agree! In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit filled believers and thousands more were granted saving faith as they heard the preaching of Peter. THE CHURCH was born at Pentecost . While they were first called Christians at Antioch , we , the body of Christ, came into existence at Pentecost.
 
I agree! In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit filled believers and thousands more were granted saving faith as they heard the preaching of Peter. THE CHURCH was born at Pentecost . While they were first called Christians at Antioch , we , the body of Christ, came into existence at Pentecost.
I wonder:

17 "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." (Matthew 18:17 NIV1984)
 
Back
Top