What does it mean to be a Christian?

         Over and over again I see pastors preaching and teachers teaching about what it means to be a Christian. They say “These are the things you do” and “These are the things you say” and “This is how you respond in this situation”. We hear these things all the time, which are by no means bad things. But these statements should prompt the Christian thinker (which we all should be) to wonder "what does it really mean to be a Christian?" Another thing that I hear over and over again is that it is your sin, or lack there of, that defines your Christianity and spirituality. 

       
 Really church? My lack of sin makes me a Christian? No person has ever lived without a lack of sin except Jesus. Everyone around you has done worse things than you’ll ever know. We have ALL sinned and ALL fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). In this world we cannot escape sin , even as followers of Christ. Until the day we die, we will be tempted and we will fail. We will sin and we will deserve death for it. It is not your sin that defines who you are or your Christianity; it is your repentance. All men sin, not all repent. Repentance is the defining factor. Genuine repentance comes from a realization of your sin and a confessing of your sin before God. After that, you pray to God to give you the strength to turn from your sin.

It is an absurd notion that if you don’t sin that makes you a good Christian. No Christian avoids sinning and no amount of good deeds or lack of bad deeds will buy you a ticket to the Kingdom of God. Repentance defines your Christianity.