Authentic Christianity
Acts 11:26 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.
Intro: For centuries, there have been many false ideas concerning what it means to be a Christian.
From the earliest days of Christianity, the church of the living God has been attacked, diluted and infiltrated with imposters.
As a matter of fact, the core nucleus of Christianity was none other than the 12 Apostles.
Even Jesus acknowledged in John 6 that his inner circle was not free of the false pretenders.
· John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
Many of the writers of the New Testament alluded to the fact that not all professing Christians were TRUE CHRISTIANS.
From the writings of the Apostle Paul, the early church was harassed by men pretending to be a Christian, but wasn’t.
· 2 Corinthians 11:26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
· Galatians 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
Bottom Line: Not everyone that says they are a Christian really is.
Not everything that has the “Christian” label on it really is.
You have Christian rock music, Christian rap, Christian country, Christian homosexuals, Christian radio, Christian TV, Christian dating sites, Christian dancing, Christian night clubs – all trying to portray their own brand of “Christianity”.
An authentic, New Testament, biblical Christian will be:
I. Activated by their Faith – Acts 11:21 “…a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.”
A. It Involves a Conviction – “…a great number believed…”
BELIEVED: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in; the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
Here’s the thing: Everybody believes in something.
· The Evolutionist believes in the Big Bang.
· The Humanist believe in the value of humanity.
· The Atheist believes in himself.
Christians on the other hand believe the Biblical account of the Gospel.
Unlike other people – we do not believe in the Bible because we reject all other beliefs.
We reject all other beliefs because we’ve accepted the Biblical account as truth.
Faith cometh by hearing. When we heard the truth, it produced faith, and we were able to believe.
NOTE: In Acts 11:19, their faith was a product of the “preaching of the word” and vs. 20 “preaching the Lord Jesus”.
With that preaching came a DIVINE ASSISTANCE to believe – the hand of the Lord was with them
B. It Involves a Conversion – “…and turned unto the Lord…”
The word: TURNED – means to turn about; to turn from and to turn to
Notice what Jesus said: Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
New Christians are called “converts”.
They turned from sin and from self and from Satan and turned unto the Savior!
When did you turn from death unto life?
When did you turn from darkness unto light?
When were you converted?
When did you turn?
They didn’t pray a rosary.
They didn’t put their faith in Mary.
They didn’t follow some church creed or get confirmed.
They didn’t get sprinkled when they were babies.
They put their faith in the Gospel message and turned to God!
C. It Involves a Confession – vs. 22 “Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church…”
One of the characteristics of a true Christian is they TELL IT. They talk about it.
They confess it to others – and to the church.
· Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
They don’t keep it to themselves.
They go a step further – They do everything they can to persuade others to become a Christian!
· Acts 26:27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as I am, except these bonds.
II. Authenticated by their Following - Acts 11:23 “…that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.”
A. The Expression of the Grace of God – vs. who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God…
It was the Grace of God because of…
1. It was a result of the scattering caused by the persecution of Stephen. vs. 19
2. They weren’t preaching to the Gentiles to start off with. vs. 19
3. They weren’t preached to by the Apostles, but new converts preaching the Lord Jesus. Vs. 20
B. The Exhortation of the Man of God – was glad, and exhorted them all
1. The story in verse 22 is exactly what happened in verse 1.
2. They heard that Gentiles had believed – that they had received the word.
3. They sent Barnabas to confirm the reports.
4. When he arrived, he saw – and was glad.
5. Then, he preached unto them their first discipleship message.
NOTE: God will always send a man to people that are searching for the truth. (Acts 13:43)
C. The Expectation of a Walk with God – that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord
ALL – every convert needs to be a disciple!!
If you just got saved, or if you’ve been saved for 30 years – if you’ve never been disciple, you need to be!
Not a single convert should be allowed to live, or try to live for God without understand what is expected of them.
Notice the pastor’s commission:
· Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
– that with purpose of heart
Following Christ is not something you do by accident.
Or half-heartedly. Or with reservation. It is only done with PURPOSE of heart.
ILLUSTRATION: We’ve got too many “test-drivers”. The only thing they’ve purposed in their heart to do is NOT to commit. They’ve purposed to “continue to explore their options”.
· They are “TEST-DRIVING” their church. If things don’t go their way, they’ll bail out and find another.
· They are “TEST-DRIVING” their companion. If they’re not happy, they’ll just get a divorce and start over.
· They are “TEST-DRIVING” their child-training. They’ll work hard to train them for a while…then we’ll see…
· They are “TEST-DRIVING” their convictions. That family looks so happy living that way. We’ll try that awhile…
· They are “TEST-DRIVING” their Compass. (if they don’t agree with the Bible, they’ll find something else to follow)
– they would cleave unto the Lord
· Joshua 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
· Joshua 23:8 But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.
It might sound awkward, but it won’t if God saved your soul!
ILLUSTRATION: A missionary saved my life one summer when I was about 9 years old in Natchez Mississippi. I was choking and he did the Heimlich Maneuver on me and saved me life.
The first thing I did was grab him and hug him as tight as I could!
· Cleaving unto the Lord is not awkward if He saved your soul from Hell!
· Cleaving unto the Lord is not awkward if you realize that He died for you.
· If he forgave all your sins and gave you eternal life, it is not awkward for you to cleave unto the Lord!!
III. Affiliated with the Faithful - Acts 11:26 “They assembled themselves with the church and taught much people”
These new converts were CALLED Christians. They didn’t call themselves Christians. They were called. This was an indictment against them. The world – those around them – the unbelievers labeled them as CHRISTIANS.
A. They were Faithful to Gather – vs. 26 – “…a whole year they assembled with the church...”
These believers were tagged by the world as “Christians” because they went to church.
Question: Why is it that people today think they can be Christians without going to church??
B. They were Faithful to Grow – “…and taught much people.”
These new believers had a hunger to understand more about their new Savior.
Their hunger was so intense, that it prompted Barnabas to go look for Saul in order to help him.
· 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
NOTE: It was only at this point that they were called Christians!!
It was not a label they gave themselves; it was a name given to them by others.
When was the last time someone else called you a Christian??
C. They were Faithful to Give – vs. 29 “…every man according to his ability, determined to send relief…”
- vs. 28 Agabus…signified by the Spirit there there should be a great dearth…
This problem hadn’t even occurred yet.
Agabus was telling them of a need that was going to occur.
The man telling them this wasn’t even from their church. He was from Jerusalem.
He stood and told them by the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
The dearth was going to impact the whole world.
I have to believe that also included them and their families.
YET – their love for the brethren compelled them to participate.
– vs. 29 every man according to his ability
Everybody may not be able to give the same, but everyone is able to give.
These new converts – new believers – these Christians – EVERY MAN GAVE.
If you are a Christian, you will have a giving spirit and a giving heart.
A follower of Christ, a disciple of Christ, cannot be selfish, self-consumed, stingy, tight-fisted.
They will follow the example of Christ and they will give to the need that is presented.
– they determined to send relief
The word DETERMINED means they made an appointment.
It wasn’t an emotional decision – it was a premeditated, planned and predicted decision.
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