Christian Identitiy: A Believer

As Christians we are defined by our faith, so much so that we are frequently called "believers." This perhaps is the main way the Bible refers to those who have faith in Christ.

When Christ walked the earth his message was, "believe in me." And from that point on the world has been divided into those that believe and those that don't.

But the understanding of who or what a believer is has become quite skewed in today's society. One can be tagged a believer if he comes forward at a camp meeting after having an emotional experience of some sort. One can even refer to himself as a believer, simply because he grew up in a Christian home.

But the chief aspect of this nomenclature, "believer," refers to the content of the faith. That is to say, a believer is someone who believes certain things to be true. Someone might ask, "What do you believe?" When they pose this question they are looking for a set of propositions or doctrinal statements in return.

At the very outset, a person becomes a "believer" by accepting the truth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who gave his life to reconcile sinners unto God. After they are converted, they continue to grow in the knowledge of the truths God has revealed in Scripture--thus increasing their belief.

Early in the history of the church Christians began formulating their faith in a very didactic way. Before converts would be baptized they would undergo extensive discipleship. Since they would be baptized in the Name of the Father, Son and Spirit, they would be they would be taught about the Trinity and each of its persons. (This most likely grew into what we now know as the chief expression of Christian belief, the Apostle's Creed.)

Admittedly, knowledge is not the only facet of belief/believers. Faith also involves trust, or, as the Heidelberg Catechism states, "a firm confidence which the Holy Spirit works in my heart by the gospel." Yet, the basis of faith are the propositional truths of God's Holy Word. Trust is not possible without knowledge, just as the second story of a house cannot exist without the first.

Ironically, churches today have a tendency to downplay doctrinal distinctives. In its place emotional experiences and sentimentality are emphasized. The extent of this is revealed in a recent poll among college students. Almost all of those students, who claimed to be evangelical believers, could not articulate the cardinal doctrines of the faith. Another survey found that many (not all Christians, but some) thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were married.

Yet it is in today's age, where sects, cults and Christian parodies abound, that belief needs to be defined all the more. Believers need to have the basis of their belief instilled in them that they might live up to their name.