Christians

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Acts 11:26 says, “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.”

     If you are from a certain state, you may have a nickname.  People from Indiana were known as “hoosiers.”  There are a couple of stories as how the name originated but I feel that the true story was from a park ranger in Vincennes, Indiana.  According to him, the term “hoosier” was a label that the British at Fort Vincennes who called the local residents of the territory, “hoosiers.”  To them, it meant “country simpleton.” Inhabitants of Pennsylvania are “Quakers” and residents of Ohio are “buckeyes.”   

     A nickname of sorts was given to the early church  which had previously been called people of “The Way.”  Perhaps that came from John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life…”  The early believers, according to the above passage, were called “Christians” in the city of Antioch. The Greek word, “Χριστιανούς,” is only used once in the Bible but is almost a transliteration from Greek to English,  It simply meanest one who was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, such as a “disciple.”  The term has been degraded somewhat over the past 2000 years.  Many people use the term to describe their faith but do so without really being a “disciple” or “follower” of Christ.  Many will say they are “Christians” just because of their ethnic background.  When I joined the navy, I had to make a choice to put on my dog tag.  The choices were, “Protestant,” “Catholic” or “Jewish.”  On a recent hospital stay, I asked a  nurse if she was a “Christian,” and she honestly  answered, “No.  I don’t know what  I am.”  People have more of a tendency to reply as to their denomination rather than to say they are a Christian or not.   One author once stated, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”There will be a day in the near future, when you and others will have to declare if you are a Christian or not.  The question for us today is “Am I a disciple of Christ or a disciple of the world system?”  Being a Cornhusker, a Sooner, a Hoosier or a Buckeye won’t make any difference at all at that final judgment but being a disciple of Christ, a Christian, or a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will be the most important labe, if one is to have a label, in all the world.  The outcome make an eternal difference.  Praise God today  for His leadership in all areas of life, both here on this earth and t hat  which shall be in heaven for all eternity.