You might have thought that the Bible – or at least part of it – would be titled ‘How to be a Christian’. Ah, somebody will say, that’s not the right question. We should be asking: ‘How do I become a Christian?’ Which suggests that becoming – i.e. repenting and believing – is the first and decisive step to take. Half-true. The other half of that is that we continually repent and believe. Being a Christian (though the Bible does not talk in that way) is not an open and shut case. Once done, we can forget about it. No, it’s more like how to be a swimmer. That involves moving into a new type of existence – water: no longer being on the surface of the earth in thin air but in a significantly different ambience.
Well, is learning to be a Christian different from learning to be a plumber or an electrician or a footballer? Yes and no. Yes, because there are new things to take on board. No, because being a Christian affects our very being. It is like being a citizen or a grown-up. We change in ourselves.
So why is it that the Bible does not give us a simple answer to the matter of how to be a Christian? We bump into the fact that the word ‘Christian’ is at the heart of the problem. It means everything and nothing. It misleads a serious inquirer. The New Testament has better ways of looking at this issue. That is why some exponents of Christianity prefer to talk of being born again or acknowledging that Jesus is Lord or confiding in one who was crucified and rose again. This kind of language gets nearer the heart of the matter than using the dubious short-cut word ‘Christian’.
If we want to know how to be a Christian, we have to start, then, with accepting the need for a change in our life. We can then think in terms of what is expected of us in the Sermon on the Mount and the second half of Paul’s letters. That may well prove to be difficult and demanding.
DUNDEE STEEPLE
The Steeple church, Dundee is an example of the extensive reach of the Alpha project within and beyond the Church of England. The Steeple church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, and is planning to cope with the post-lockdown world as a city-centre church built in 1788 with. a complex of buildings developed in 2012 providing opportunities to proclaim the Gospel. It has a full programme for church members and others. At present it has a vacancy. Its minister, Robert Calvert, retired early this year.
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