Some struggle to know what it means to be Christian. The word gets thrown around constantly. Politicians and celebrities claim it with their words. Churches invoke it through their traditions. Nations proudly wear it as a badge of cultural identity.
When the apostle Peter wrote, “Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (1 Peter 4:16), he wasn’t talking about cultural Christianity, political affiliation, or religious tradition. He was talking about something that would cost you everything.
The Bible explains what it means to follow Christ. It paints a picture so clear and so demanding that it should make you pause before claiming the title for yourself.
Why Do We Follow Christ?
But first, a word on why we follow Christ. Our reason deserves a much deeper discussion than space allows for here. In this post, I want to stay focused on the issue of authentic Christianity. So, here is a brief explanation of why we follow Christ.
Since creation, God has always wanted to be in relationship with us, His creation. This relationship, however, was damaged when humanity fell into sin. God’s plan to restore this broken relationship involves sending Christ to reconcile all things to Himself and ultimately heal all creation. We follow Christ because through His sacrifice, we get to participate in God’s mission of restoration and become part of His plan to make all things new.
The World Saw Something Different
In Antioch, around 42 AD, people referred to followers of Jesus as disciples, believers, saints, or people of “the Way.” The pagans noticed something about these people that was so distinctly different from followers of other religions.
They saw people whose lives revolved around Christ in a way that could not be thoroughly expressed in the language of the day. So they created a new word to describe them. Christianos.
The term means “Christ-like ones” or “followers of Christ.” It wasn’t meant as a compliment or a title. It was an observation. These people were so obviously devoted to Jesus that their entire identity centered on Him.
The Tests That Reveal The Truth
To understand how Jesus’ followers became so recognizable, the Bible provides clear answers. The apostle John establishes three tests that separate Christians from those who call themselves Christians.
The Doctrinal Test: Confess that Jesus came in the flesh. “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2). This means recognizing Jesus as fully God and fully man, the unique Son of God who lived a sinless life while on earth, died for our sins, and rose from the dead. Without this foundation, everything else fails.
The Moral Test: Keep His commandments. “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3-4). John’s words are direct. If your life shows no evidence of moral transformation or a growing pattern of obedience, then your profession is empty. This doesn’t require sinless perfection, but it does require clear direction.
The Social Test: Love all fellow believers. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14). Love for fellow believers isn’t optional for Christians. Jesus said this love would make disciples recognizable: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). The love of Christ allows us to extend this same love to others, also those outside the faith.
These are the unconditional characteristics of authentic Christian life.
The Cost Jesus Never Hid
John shows us what authentic Christianity looks like. Jesus shows us what it costs. He never tried to make it sound easy to follow Him. In fact, He went out of his way to make sure people understood exactly what they were signing up for.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)
In these verses, Jesus explains this requirement in three parts.
Deny yourself. This means surrendering your right to be the ultimate authority over your life. You stop being the judge between right and wrong. You stop setting your own agenda and stop determining your own purpose. Christ becomes the ultimate authority instead of you.
Take up your cross. In Jesus’ day, the cross meant death. This requires the death of your personal agenda, your rights, your plans, and your reputation. Everything that defines you apart from Christ must die. We understand this not to be a physical death, but a complete change from your old ways to a new way in Christ.
Follow Me. This is the call to an active, ongoing commitment. It’s not a one-time decision, but a daily choice to let Jesus set the direction, the pace, and the priorities of your life.
Jesus made it even clearer in Luke 14:26, when He said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
As a Christian, loyalty to Christ must supersede every other relationship and commitment. This is why He said the gate is narrow and the way is hard (Matthew 7:14).
God’s Transforming Gift
The ability to meet this impossible standard comes as a gift. It’s not something we can boast about as an achievement. We receive it from God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Paul describes it as becoming a “new creation”: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God makes you into someone new.
Recognizing Authentic Christianity
As a new creation, God calls believers to participate in His mission of restoration. This transformation enables us to become more like Christ.
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know I measure the evidence of a life in Christ against the fruits of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
This is how we know a Christian.
Unconditional love sacrifices for others. Joy persists through suffering and loss. Peace remains calm when storms appear. Patience endures extended waiting. Kindness helps those who offer no return. Goodness does right when no one watches. Faithfulness keeps promises without considering the cost. Gentleness restrains power in the face of violence. Self-control says no when the flesh entices.
The Challenge
As I’m writing and reading this again, I have to honestly admit this is a daily struggle for me, too.
The Bible’s definition of a Christian is demanding. It describes someone fundamentally changed by God’s grace, someone who accepts the cost of following Jesus, and someone who shows character that only comes from God’s Spirit.
The term was never meant to be claimed easily. It was meant to describe a life so devoted to Christ that everyone could see to whom we belong. Stop claiming the title. Live the life.