Knowing Who You Are

Eight Surprising Images of Christian Identity

Gill

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781498218054
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Throughout the history of the church, many excellent books have been written addressing the theological significance of Christian identity. Such works have delineated important doctrines such as adoption, justification, and sanctification. While these studies of being "in Christ" have been fruitful, and numerous, they have often neglected one of the most useful tools in understanding Christian identity, namely, the use of metaphor. A search of Scripture reveals that Jesus and his apostles frequently utilized images from everyday life to illustrate spiritual truths about our identity. In this fresh work, Knowing Who You Are invites the reader to explore eight lesser-known images of Christian identity found in the New Testament. Among others, the author investigates how being a Christian is like being a boxer in ancient Corinth, a citizen in Philippi, a farmer in Galilee, and a sheep in a flock. This engaging assessment of first-century images will draw the reader in and leave them challenged, encouraged, and often surprised as they discover afresh what it means to be "Christian."

1

The Christian

What’s in a Name?

“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”

—Acts 11:26

Polycarp of Smyrna was an old man when incarcerated by the Roman authorities. Hardly a rabble-rouser, the eighty-six-year-old Polycarp was in the twilight years of his life and by all accounts a peaceful and highly respectable man when mounted police and soldiers closed in on his small rural cottage to arrest him. Aware of his impending capture, Polycarp remained composed and simply prayed for God’s will to be done. When the authorities finally arrived they were greeted not by a reluctant and adversarial criminal but by an aged man of grace who kindly beckoned them in. The document, Martyrdom of Polycarp, records:

. . . when he [Polycarp] heard that they had arrived, he went and talked with them, while those who were present marveled at his age and his composure, and wondered why there was so much eagerness for the arrest of an old man like him. Then he immediately ordered that a table be set for them to eat and drink as much as they wished at that hour, and he asked them to grant him an hour so that he might pray undisturbed. When they consented, he stood and prayed, so full of the grace of God that for two hours he was unable to stop speaking; those who heard him were amazed, and many regretted that they had come after such a godly old man.1

The soldiers arrested Polycarp and escorted him off to be tried by the proconsul. As he entered the stadium where he faced his trial the tumultuous crowd awaiting his appearance rose to their feet in one voice baying for his blood. Facing the raucous crowd the aged Polycarp looked around and paused when a voice from heaven was heard to say, “Be strong, Polycarp, and act like a man.” Remaining composed Polycarp stood courageously before the proconsul and the trial began. “Swear by the Genius of Caesar,” the proconsul demanded. To swear by the “Genius of Caesar” signified one’s allegiance to the emperor, and this was something Polycarp could not bring himself to do. With firm resolve Polycarp stood silent and refused the demand. Again the proconsul pressed him, “Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile Christ.” With conviction in his voice, Polycarp responded, “For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” He continued, “If you vainly suppose that I will swear by the Genius of Caesar, as you request, and pretend not to know who I am, listen carefully: I am a Christian.”2

For Polycarp, and for thousands in the centuries that have followed, identifying with Christ meant everything. As he stood on the precipice of death, Polycarp so valued the name of “Christian” that he would willingly choose execution over the betrayal of Christ. His identification with Jesus of Nazareth meant more to him than freedom and physical safety. Owning Christ was ultimate in the thinking and practice of Polycarp.

The difficult and costly decision of following Christ demonstrated by Polycarp is something that is mirrored everyday in the lives of “Christians” all over the world. While death is not always on the line, the cost of allegiance to Christ remains high for those who choose to be known as “Christian.” It is the pastor in Asia who, as a result of being a “Christian,” finds himself in a cold prison cell facing hardship and the very real possibility of death. It is the young man living in Indonesia where his confessing Christ has resulted in his inability to find a job. It is the Australian couple who, because they are “Christians,” abandon their lucrative professions in order to care for street kids in Brazil. All over the world people sacrifice their comfort, careers, and relationships to demonstrate their allegiance to Christ. But why do they make such extreme choices? The answer is bound up in the very title that they ascribe to themselves; namely, “Christians.”

What is a “Christian”?

I wonder what comes to your mind when you hear the word “Christian”? Were you to pose to the average person on the street what is meant by the name you would quickly gather there is considerable confusion over the term. For some the title of “Christian” is clearly negative. In the popular and long-lasting TV sitcom, The Simpsons, one of the minor characters of the show is Ned Flanders, who is presented as the archetype of a Christian. In the show Ned portrays the well meaning religious guy who attends church, tries to lives out his beliefs, and is generally a friendly and pretty moral person. Although he is characterized in this way, he is also presented as one who has a naïveté and a general ignorance of the world. A sincere person that, though likeable, is more interested in keeping rules than dealing with reality. For many people, Ned Flanders is a picture of the quintessential Christian. They perceive that being a Christian involves basically attending church, keeping rules, and trying to be a good person.

Others, however, understand the term “Christian” as an indicator of one’s cultural heritage. When I was a boy at school, for example, we had a class called “Religious Education” where one of the options of self-classification was “Christian.” At the start of the year the class teacher would ask each student to state his or her religious affiliation. Many of my friends who had no apparent connection to any church or any awareness of the teachings of Christianity would, nevertheless, classify themselves as “Christian.” When asked why they would simply shrug their shoulders and say, “I was born in Australia so I guess I’m a Christian.” This schoolyard assessment of religious faith is common even among many adults. For many, categories such as Christian, Jewish, Muslim are not so much related to beliefs and practices that they adhere to but indicators of one’s cultural heritage or place of birth. Whereas some conclude that a Christian is simply a conservative rule-keeper, others assume that a Christian is someone from a particular cultural heritage. As one author explains:

For some, being “Christian” is primarily cultural and traditional, a nominal title inherited from a previous generation, the net effect of which involves avoiding certain behaviors and occasionally attending church. For others, being a Christian is largely political, a quest to defend moral values in the public square or perhaps to preserve those values by withdrawing from the public square altogether. Still more define Christianity in terms of a past religious experience, a general belief in Jesus, or a desire to be a good person.3

Clearly there is a general haze surrounding the commonly used term “Christian.” In light of this, to best understand what a “Christian” is, we should probably begin with the title’s origin.

The Title “Christian”

The term “Christian” finds its beginning in the Bible where it is found three times.

So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28)

However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (1 Pet 4:16)

A few observations can be made about the title from these verses.

Christian: The Need for a Name

The first thing to be observed about the name “Christian” is the infrequency of the actual term. Although the term was used early in the history of the church, it was not the primary or initial branding of the movement that followed Jesus. Titles such as “disciple” and “followers of the way” were far more frequent than the title “Christian.” As Acts 11:26 points out, the early followers of Jesus were most commonly referred to as “disciples.” In Jewish culture it was not unusual to be the “disciple” of a rabbi or religious teacher. The early church perpetuated the Jewish practice and were simply “disciples” or “learners” who had attached themselves to the rabbi Jesus from Galilee.

With the early church being predominantly Jewish there was no obvious need for the movement that accepted Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) to have its own unique title. The early church viewed its existence as an extension and indeed the continuation of the people of God from the Old Testament. The followers of Jesus believed that he was the fulfillment to the great promises of the Old Testament where God spoke of his Messiah who would rule on David’s throne forever (2 Sam 7:8–16).

As the early church grew, however, it shifted from being a predominantly Jewish gathering to a collective that was largely non-Jewish, that is to say Gentile. Jesus had charged his disciples to take the gospel to “the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) and by the time of Acts 11 we find that the church was beginning to flourish outside of Jerusalem and Judea in places like Antioch. Although Antioch had a sizeable Jewish community it was largely non-Jewish in demographic. It was in this chiefly Gentile city that “the disciples were called Christians first” (Acts...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Abbreviations
• 1. The Christian
• 2. The Christian as Pilgrim
• 3. The Christian as Citizen
• 4. The Christian as Combatant
• 5. The Christian as Farmer
• 6. The Christian as Steward
• 7. The Christian as Soldier
• 8. The Christian as Laborer
• 9. The Christian as Sheep
• Bibliography