Common misperceptions about the title "Christian"

Have you noticed how generic the title "Christian" has become? Take a look into a Christian book store and see the array of products that they sell: everything from Bibles to first communion gifts to books about "Christianity" that are actually promoting Eastern mysticism in disguise to Cd's of "Christian" groups whose music sounds just like that of secular bands to "Christian" accessories. So many things that have no relation to Christ are accepted as "Christian" because so many people have misconceptions about what it means to actually be a Christian.

Here are some of the misconceptions I have run across: if you live in America, you MUST be a Christian; if you are a church member, you must be a Christian; if your good works outweigh your bad, you must be a Christian. (By the way, according to Scripture, "all our righteousness is as filthy rags." Even our best works are filthy to God; thus, we have no good works to weigh against our bad ones.) That is just a small sampling of the many misconceptions that people associate with the word "Christian."

A Christian is a person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, realizing that His shed blood on the cross is the only payment that God will accept for the debt of our sins and trusting in Christ alone for salvation. Jesus Himself said that many who call him "Lord" will not enter into Heaven. If you had to convince God to let you into Heaven, what would you say to Him? If you cited your good works, church membership, water baptism, or anything other than Jesus' blood atonement, God would not let you enter Heaven, for none of those can pay the debt of your sin. "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith..."