July 8, 2025 • 25 mins
What makes someone a genuine Christian? It's a question that strikes at the heart of faith itself, and one that Pastor Timothy Mann addresses with remarkable clarity in this enlightening message from Providence Church.
Nicholas Kristof once had a public conversation with Pastor Tim Keller that was published in the New York Times. In this exchange, Kristof asked if he could be considered a Christian while rejecting core Christian doctrines—a question that reflects the spiritual confusion of our age. Pastor Mann uses this as a springboard to develop a comprehensive framework for understanding authentic Christian identity.
At the core of this message are three essential pillars: what a Christian believes, how a Christian behaves, and where a Christian belongs. Pastor Mann skillfully demonstrates why this order matters profoundly. Christianity begins with belief—not just any belief, but specific convictions about God's existence, our sinfulness, and Christ's saving work through his death and resurrection. Drawing from Romans 10:9 and other key passages, Mann establishes that certain doctrines like the virgin birth and bodily resurrection are non-negotiable for genuine Christian faith.
With pastoral wisdom, Pastor Mann warns against the dangerous heresy of moralism—the false gospel that suggests we become Christians through good behavior rather than through faith. Instead, he clarifies that our behavior changes as a result of our belief, not as a prerequisite for it. When we truly believe, God declares us righteous (justification), and through the indwelling Holy Spirit begins making us righteous (sanctification), producing virtues like those described in 2 Peter 1:5-9.
Whether you're questioning your own faith, seeking to understand Christianity better, or wanting to grow in your ability to explain the gospel to others, this message provides the biblical clarity you need to address life's most important question with confidence and hope.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Now here's Pastor Tim teachingthe Word.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I would like you to turn in your Bibles this morning
, if you have them with you inthe New Testament, 2 Peter,
chapter 1.
2 Peter, chapter 1, verses 1through 11.
Everyone needs to ask thatquestion Am I a Christian?
2 Peter, chapter 1.
The Bible says Simon Peter, abondservant and apostle of Jesus
(00:45):
Christ.
To those who have obtained likeprecious faith with us by the
righteousness of our God andSavior, jesus Christ, grace and
peace be multiplied to you inthe knowledge of God and of
Jesus.
Our Lord, as his divine power,has given to us all things that
pertain to life and godliness,through the knowledge of him who
(01:08):
called us by glory and virtue,by which have been given to us
exceedingly great and preciouspromises that through these you
may be partakers of the divinenature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the worldthrough lust, but also for this
very reason, giving alldiligence, add to your faith
(01:31):
virtue to virtue, knowledge toknowledge, self-control to
self-control, perseverance andto perseverance, godliness to
godliness, brotherly kindnessand to brotherly kindness, love.
For if these things are yoursand abound, you will be neither
(01:52):
barren nor unfruitful in theknowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
For he who lacks these thingsis short-sighted, even to
blindness, and has forgottenthat he was cleansed from his
old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be evenmore diligent to make your call
and election sure, for if you dothese things you will never
(02:15):
stumble, for so an entrance willbe supplied to you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom ofour Lord and Savior, jesus
Christ.
Let's stop there.
So Peter here is writing toChristians, he is writing to the
church and, interestingly, hesays down in verse 10, make your
(02:39):
calling and election sure.
Make your call an election sure.
What is he talking about?
He's saying make sure that youare a Christian, make sure you
are a Christian.
Every Christian shouldrecurrently ask the question am
(03:02):
I a Christian?
I can't think of a moreimportant question and, honestly
, when it comes to ResurrectionSunday, I can't think of a more
relevant and urgent question.
The urgency of the questioncomes down to the fact that,
evidently, nicholas Kristofarranged for a conversation with
Pastor Tim Keller in order toask him if he, kristof, was a
(03:25):
Christian.
I want to tell you how toanswer that question.
In order to answer the question, am I a Christian?
I'm going to give you threepoints in advance, right now, in
order to answer the question amI a Christian?
We need to understand, first ofall, what a Christian believes,
how a Christian behaves andwhere a Christian belongs.
(03:47):
What a Christian believes, howa Christian behaves and where a
Christian belongs.
Those are the three ways weanswer the question am I a
Christian?
First of all, what a Christianbelieves.
Now, the Bible is very clearthat Christianity is a
discipleship.
(04:07):
It is a way.
As a matter of fact, in theearly church, the book of Acts
you can read about it Christianswere referred to as those of
the way, following the way.
And so it is a way.
It is a discipleship, but itbegins with belief.
It begins with belief.
(04:29):
Over and over in the NewTestament we hear believe in the
Lord, jesus Christ, and besaved.
The centrality of belief forthe Christian life is never more
clear than in Romans, chapter10, verse 9.
That says that if you willconfess with your mouth Jesus is
(04:50):
Lord and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.
In John chapter 14 and in Johnchapter 20, jesus himself points
to what it means to follow him,and and he begins with believe
in me.
When he starts havingconversations with his disciples
(05:10):
, he begins with believe.
He ends his time with hisdisciples with believe.
So what beliefs are mandatory?
Is there a theological ordoctrinal minimum that is
necessary for one to be aChristian?
Well, the answer to that has tobe yes, yes, and if so, then
(05:34):
it's really important to figureout what that is, don't you
think it's pretty important?
Very interestingly, this verything is what drove Nicholas
Kristof to seek out Tim Keller,and he asked a series of
questions and, of course, heprints the entire conversation
for the whole world to read inthe New York Times.
He asked a series of questions.
(05:55):
In question one he starts offand says Tim, I deeply admire
Jesus and his message, but amalso skeptical of the themes
that have been integral toChristianity the virgin birth,
the resurrection, the miraclesand so on.
Let's start with the virginbirth.
(06:15):
Is that an essential belief orcan I mix and match?
I tell you I respect NicholasChristoph for asking the
question so honestly.
I mean, I believe I think thereare a lot of people who feel
the same way, but just don'thave the nerve to go seek out a
pastor and ask the questions,much less print the conversation
(06:38):
in the New York Times.
I'm also very thankful for TimKeller's conviction.
If you read it, you'll see thatit comes through very clearly.
But the answer is yes.
Yes, you do have to believe inthe virgin birth.
It is necessary for theidentity of Jesus.
It is necessary to understandhow Jesus could die in our place
(07:01):
, sinless, and bear the penaltyof our sins.
You have to understand.
This morning, to deny thevirgin birth begins something of
a domino effect where truthsfall and if they fall, we are
not saved.
Christoph presses his point, hecontinues on.
He asks another question whichbasically says is it really
(07:27):
necessary that I really believethat Jesus was literally bodily
raised from the dead?
Well, that's a good question.
I mean, it is a good question.
And, by the way, we shouldnever be offended by someone
asking that kind of question.
Never, we should never beoffended by someone asking that
kind of question.
Never, we should never react.
(07:52):
Oh, I can't believe you wouldask something like that.
We should never be offended bythat kind of serious inquiry.
This is not a gotcha kind ofthing.
You should read the article.
I think Christoph is searching.
But the answer is yes.
Yes, the resurrection iscentral to Christianity.
If there is no resurrectedChrist, then there is no victory
(08:13):
over sin, there is no hope fora future day If there is no
resurrection of Christ.
This is as good as it gets.
That's a bummer.
Christoph goes on to ask otherquestions, questions you might
expect if you were on a collegecampus or maybe surrounded by
secular co-workers.
In that very first question heasks can I mix and match these
(08:38):
beliefs?
In other words, do I have tobelieve it all in order to be a
Christian?
Do I have to believe it all?
I mean, it's even in the titlePastor, am I a Christian?
And by the end of the article,tim Keller had to tell Nicholas
Kristoff you're not a Christian,but he wanted him to be one.
(09:02):
Now, we are probably not livingaround a lot of people right now
who will come right out and askthose kinds of questions.
But if there was someone inyour life who asked that
question Ray, am I a Christian?
David, am I a Christian?
(09:24):
Linda, am I a Christian?
Dj, am I a Christian?
Friend, am I a Christian?
What would you tell them?
How would you answer that?
I believe that our answer has tobe true, it has to be biblical
(09:45):
and it ought to be hopeful.
It ought to be hopeful.
I mean hopeful in the sensethat when I tell them the truth
about the gospel of Jesus, thatthey will seize upon it and
believe it and repent of theirsins, and that they will join
with us, hopeful in that sense.
So if the first way we answerthe question is by looking at
what Christians believe, and ifwe're honest, that means that
(10:09):
there has to be an irreducibleminimum, there has to be a
lowest common denominator thatyou can't go below.
What would those things be?
What does every Christian havein common in belief?
What do all of us have tobelieve?
(10:29):
Let me offer you a few biblicalpoints here.
First of all, we have tobelieve that there is a God.
I know that sounds so simple,but that's where the book of
Hebrews begins, hebrews 11, 6,that if we're going to please
God, we first of all have tobelieve that he is.
We have to believe that thereis a God and that he created the
(10:53):
world and that he created meand you, not just me.
We have to believe that and wehave to believe that we have
sinned and fall short of theglory of God.
See, before we ever get to whatwe believe about what God did
(11:14):
for us, we have to start outwith why God did what he did to
save us.
The why is important.
So we must believe that everysingle one of us is a sinner who
desperately needs a savior.
And then we also have tobelieve that God so loved the
(11:35):
world that he gave his onlybegotten son that whosoever
would believe in him would notperish but would have
everlasting life.
There's that belief factor inthere again.
What does it mean to believe onChrist, to believe in him?
What does that mean?
Here's where that very longconversation in the last half of
(11:58):
the book of John that Jesus hadwith his disciples comes in.
He said here is what youbelieve about me.
You believe that I died foryour sins.
You believe that the Fatherraises me from the dead for your
salvation.
He said in John 14, verse 6,.
He said I am the way, the truth, the life, and no one comes to
(12:20):
the Father except by me, exceptthrough me.
And he didn't just arbitrarilysay that out of the blue.
He said that in the context oftalking about his life, death
and resurrection.
He's saying my life, my deathand my resurrection is the way,
the life, the truth, and it'sthe only way anybody ever comes
(12:43):
to the Father.
Again, romans 10, 9, that, ifyou will confess with your mouth
Jesus is Lord and believe inyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved.
Now, christians, as we grow ingrace and knowledge, we believe
(13:05):
a great many other things I mean.
The truth is we want to receiveall that is taught in Scripture
and the Christian life, and youknow this if you've been saved
a long time and you'reattempting to grow.
The Christian life is one longwalk of learning about God and
about his ways and his will andhis work with every step.
(13:26):
It's one long walk of that.
But there has to be an entrylevel into the Christian family
and faith.
There has to be knowledge ofwhat it is required to believe
in order to be saved.
So what is necessary to besaved?
I must know and believe andadmit that I am a sinner.
(13:49):
I must believe that Christ diedfor my sins and, being raised
from the dead for my salvation,has accomplished everything that
is necessary In order to makepeace with God and he paid the
penalty for my sin and by hislife and by his death and by his
resurrection I can be saved.
(14:11):
Am I a Christian?
Well, the first way we answerthat is by looking at what a
Christian believes.
The second way we answer thatis by looking at how a Christian
behaves.
Now, this is really dangerous.
I admit this on the front end.
That's a really dangerousconcept because there are a lot
(14:35):
of people in asking the questionam I a Christian?
Would put that answer first.
They would put that answerfirst.
They would say well, certainlyI must.
I a Christian?
Would put that answer first.
They would put that answerfirst.
They would say well, certainlyI must be a Christian because
I'm well behaved.
Some would say, when they'reasked, some would say who don't
know the Bible.
When they're asked what must Ido to be a Christian, they would
(14:56):
say something like well, youneed to stop living with your
boyfriend, or you need to stopliving with your girlfriend, or
stop getting drunk, or stop thisor stop that.
Stop these things.
You behave and then you are aChristian.
(15:17):
Ladies and gentlemen, that isnot at all what the Scripture
teaches, nowhere.
That is not at all what theScripture teaches.
That is the closest heresy tothe gospel.
That's a false gospel ofmoralism, and the false gospel
of moralism says that, basically, what God requires of us for
our salvation is that we behave.
(15:38):
The primary problem.
In other words, according tothat false gospel, the primary
problem is that we have badbehavior and that we need to fix
it.
It's like God is a cosmicparent who is primarily
concerned with the fact that hiscreatures aren't behaving, and
what he first demands of us isbehavior.
But here's the sad news thismorning there's no one who can
(16:00):
behave well enough to go toheaven.
There's not one of us who canbehave well enough to eliminate
the problem of sin.
The apostle Paul went so far asto say in Romans 7 that the more
I try to behave, the more Idon't want to.
The more I try to behave, thedirtier I get.
(16:22):
And you know how that works.
Because we are rationalizingcreatures, aren't we?
We rationalize all the time.
We will hold ourselves to astrict standard.
Until we don't, we will screwdown and tighten down certain
issues in our life and claimvictory while the door is open
(16:46):
somewhere else.
Is there anybody in here thismorning?
Are you all listening to me?
And furthermore, even our ownefforts to deal with our
misbehavior end up being allmixed up with pride and
self-sufficiency and ego.
(17:07):
Listen, we are robbing God ofhis glory when we try to behave
our way to salvation, we'rerobbing God of his glory.
That's why the scripture neverbegins salvation with behave.
It begins with believe, but itdoes get to behave, and the
(17:33):
order is so important.
It is not that we behave inorder to become a Christian or
to be a Christian.
It is that, once we are aChristian, our faithfulness to
Christ and our obedience to God,to the Lord Jesus, means that
we are increasingly seeing achange in our behavior,
(17:53):
precisely because we don't loveourselves anymore.
We belong to Christ and we lovehim.
That's exactly the main pointof the text we read together at
the beginning In 2 Peter 1, whenhe says basically, make sure
that you are a Christian, he'sreferencing the sanctification
(18:13):
process in our lives.
That's a five dollar wordsanctification.
It means the process of thechange that goes on in your life
.
See, when you believe, truly,savingly believe, god declares
you righteous and the HolySpirit of God takes up residence
within you, indwells you, liveswith inside of you and through
(18:33):
that process he makes yourighteous.
When you believe, he declaresyou righteous.
You're not, he just gives youthe righteousness of Jesus and
you're declared righteousnessThrough the process of
sanctification.
He makes you righteous.
That's how you know you're aChristian.
Verse 5 and forward.
In the text we read chapter 1, 2, peter.
(18:56):
But also, for this very reason,giving all diligence, add to
your faith.
There's that believe aspect.
Again, add to your faith.
Virtue to virtue, knowledge toknowledge, self-control to
self-control, perseverance toperseverance, godliness to
godliness, brotherly kindness tobrotherly kindness, love, for
(19:19):
if these things are yours andabound, you will neither be
barren nor unfruitful in theknowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
For he who lacks these things,is short-sighted, even to
blindness, and has forgottenthat he was cleansed from his
old sins, is this you Are thosethings.
See, that's the behavior.
(19:41):
That's the behavior.
The scripture does give us veryclear guidelines about how we
are to believe that we do belongto Christ and that we are his.
And we know that we are hisbecause we find ourselves
thinking differently, findourselves acting differently.
We even notice changes in ourattitudes.
We notice changes in our wants.
(20:01):
We notice changes in ourdesires.
The more we love Jesus, themore your desires change.
The behavior follows thebelieving, and the behavior is
very important and it's madevery clear.
And it starts with repentance.
See, the gospel also includesrepentance.
(20:24):
It's necessary for the gospel.
We do not become a Christianuntil we have repented of our
sin.
If we do not come to the placethat we recognize the reality of
our sin and that god has madeprovision in the sun and his
death and his burial and hisresurrection for the payment of
(20:45):
the penalty of our sins and wewant to turn from that sin, we
cannot be saved unless that'sreality in our lives.
To repent means to turn awayfrom, and unless there is a
turning away, peter here wouldwarn us don't think that you're
(21:06):
a Christian.
To be a Christian does not meanthat all those sinful desires go
away permanently or that aChristian does not sin, but it
means that Christians, when wesin, know we sin.
We know we sin.
And when we sin and we know wesin, we know what to do about it
(21:30):
.
We know what to do about thatsin.
We confess it to the Lord andturn from it.
1 John 1, 9,.
If we confess our sins, he'sfaithful and just to cleanse us
from our sins, to forgive us oursins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
That promises to a Christian.
In the context of that verse,the behavior follows belief, but
(21:52):
the behavior does follow, itdoes follow, it does follow.
So to answer the question am Ia Christian?
We look at what does aChristian believe and how does a
Christian behave, and if youget those out of order, it can
(22:13):
be disastrous.
The third way we answer thatquestion is by where a Christian
belongs, and that haseverything to do with why we are
here today, on Sunday morning,april 16, 2017.
We are here because this iswhere we belong.
(22:36):
We are here because this iswhere we belong Now.
When I say here, I am talkingabout this nice worship center
on this beautiful property herein Ormond Beach.
But what I really mean is herein a bigger sense.
First and foremost, jesus.
In Matthew 16, he's asking hisdisciples who's everybody saying
(22:57):
that I am?
And he says to them, or theysay to him some are saying
you're Elijah, some are sayingJohn the Baptist come back from
the dead.
Or Jeremiah or one of the otherprophets.
And he asked them who do yousay that I am?
Peter pops up and says you'rethe Christ, the son of the
living God.
And Jesus says Peter, you'reright, and upon this rock I will
build my church and the gatesof hell will not prevail against
(23:22):
it.
Do you recognize this morningthat where a Christian belongs
is in the church of the LordJesus Christ.
In the church, and do yourecognize that the church is
made up of people who have beendead a very long time as well?
In other words, we are part ofthe blood-bought church of the
(23:46):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Where a Christian belongs inthe old lingo, the old folks
used to say is in the communionof the saints, in the fellowship
of the saints.
That's where a Christianbelongs.
We now belong to Christ, and webelong now to all Christ's
(24:09):
people.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
We belong to each other.
You've been listening toFoundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, Ormond Beach, Florida.
Providence is located at 1151West Granada Boulevard, Ormond
Beach, Florida.
If you'd like to contact orlearn more about Providence
(24:32):
Church, go online totheprovidencechurchorg.
If this program has ministeredto you, please feel welcome to
call the church at 386-310-4997or write us at 1151 West Granada
Boulevard, Ormond Beach,Florida, 32174.
If you feel led by God tofinancially support Foundations
(24:56):
of Truth on this station, visitthe giving link at
theprovidencechurchorg.
Until next time, continue tobuild your life on the
Foundations of Truth throughJesus Christ and God's written
word.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, ormond Beach, florida.
Providence Church is a localassembly of followers of Jesus
Christ dedicated to helpingpeople become committed and
mature followers of Jesus Christ.
Now here's Pastor Tim teachingthe Word.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I would like you to turn in your Bibles this morning
, if you have them with you inthe New Testament, 2 Peter,
chapter 1.
2 Peter, chapter 1, verses 1through 11.
Everyone needs to ask thatquestion Am I a Christian?
2 Peter, chapter 1.
The Bible says Simon Peter, abondservant and apostle of Jesus
(00:45):
Christ.
To those who have obtained likeprecious faith with us by the
righteousness of our God andSavior, jesus Christ, grace and
peace be multiplied to you inthe knowledge of God and of
Jesus.
Our Lord, as his divine power,has given to us all things that
pertain to life and godliness,through the knowledge of him who
(01:08):
called us by glory and virtue,by which have been given to us
exceedingly great and preciouspromises that through these you
may be partakers of the divinenature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the worldthrough lust, but also for this
very reason, giving alldiligence, add to your faith
(01:31):
virtue to virtue, knowledge toknowledge, self-control to
self-control, perseverance andto perseverance, godliness to
godliness, brotherly kindnessand to brotherly kindness, love.
For if these things are yoursand abound, you will be neither
(01:52):
barren nor unfruitful in theknowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
For he who lacks these thingsis short-sighted, even to
blindness, and has forgottenthat he was cleansed from his
old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be evenmore diligent to make your call
and election sure, for if you dothese things you will never
(02:15):
stumble, for so an entrance willbe supplied to you abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom ofour Lord and Savior, jesus
Christ.
Let's stop there.
So Peter here is writing toChristians, he is writing to the
church and, interestingly, hesays down in verse 10, make your
(02:39):
calling and election sure.
Make your call an election sure.
What is he talking about?
He's saying make sure that youare a Christian, make sure you
are a Christian.
Every Christian shouldrecurrently ask the question am
(03:02):
I a Christian?
I can't think of a moreimportant question and, honestly
, when it comes to ResurrectionSunday, I can't think of a more
relevant and urgent question.
The urgency of the questioncomes down to the fact that,
evidently, nicholas Kristofarranged for a conversation with
Pastor Tim Keller in order toask him if he, kristof, was a
(03:25):
Christian.
I want to tell you how toanswer that question.
In order to answer the question, am I a Christian?
I'm going to give you threepoints in advance, right now, in
order to answer the question amI a Christian?
We need to understand, first ofall, what a Christian believes,
how a Christian behaves andwhere a Christian belongs.
(03:47):
What a Christian believes, howa Christian behaves and where a
Christian belongs.
Those are the three ways weanswer the question am I a
Christian?
First of all, what a Christianbelieves.
Now, the Bible is very clearthat Christianity is a
discipleship.
(04:07):
It is a way.
As a matter of fact, in theearly church, the book of Acts
you can read about it Christianswere referred to as those of
the way, following the way.
And so it is a way.
It is a discipleship, but itbegins with belief.
It begins with belief.
(04:29):
Over and over in the NewTestament we hear believe in the
Lord, jesus Christ, and besaved.
The centrality of belief forthe Christian life is never more
clear than in Romans, chapter10, verse 9.
That says that if you willconfess with your mouth Jesus is
(04:50):
Lord and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.
In John chapter 14 and in Johnchapter 20, jesus himself points
to what it means to follow him,and and he begins with believe
in me.
When he starts havingconversations with his disciples
(05:10):
, he begins with believe.
He ends his time with hisdisciples with believe.
So what beliefs are mandatory?
Is there a theological ordoctrinal minimum that is
necessary for one to be aChristian?
Well, the answer to that has tobe yes, yes, and if so, then
(05:34):
it's really important to figureout what that is, don't you
think it's pretty important?
Very interestingly, this verything is what drove Nicholas
Kristof to seek out Tim Keller,and he asked a series of
questions and, of course, heprints the entire conversation
for the whole world to read inthe New York Times.
He asked a series of questions.
(05:55):
In question one he starts offand says Tim, I deeply admire
Jesus and his message, but amalso skeptical of the themes
that have been integral toChristianity the virgin birth,
the resurrection, the miraclesand so on.
Let's start with the virginbirth.
(06:15):
Is that an essential belief orcan I mix and match?
I tell you I respect NicholasChristoph for asking the
question so honestly.
I mean, I believe I think thereare a lot of people who feel
the same way, but just don'thave the nerve to go seek out a
pastor and ask the questions,much less print the conversation
(06:38):
in the New York Times.
I'm also very thankful for TimKeller's conviction.
If you read it, you'll see thatit comes through very clearly.
But the answer is yes.
Yes, you do have to believe inthe virgin birth.
It is necessary for theidentity of Jesus.
It is necessary to understandhow Jesus could die in our place
(07:01):
, sinless, and bear the penaltyof our sins.
You have to understand.
This morning, to deny thevirgin birth begins something of
a domino effect where truthsfall and if they fall, we are
not saved.
Christoph presses his point, hecontinues on.
He asks another question whichbasically says is it really
(07:27):
necessary that I really believethat Jesus was literally bodily
raised from the dead?
Well, that's a good question.
I mean, it is a good question.
And, by the way, we shouldnever be offended by someone
asking that kind of question.
Never, we should never beoffended by someone asking that
kind of question.
Never, we should never react.
(07:52):
Oh, I can't believe you wouldask something like that.
We should never be offended bythat kind of serious inquiry.
This is not a gotcha kind ofthing.
You should read the article.
I think Christoph is searching.
But the answer is yes.
Yes, the resurrection iscentral to Christianity.
If there is no resurrectedChrist, then there is no victory
(08:13):
over sin, there is no hope fora future day If there is no
resurrection of Christ.
This is as good as it gets.
That's a bummer.
Christoph goes on to ask otherquestions, questions you might
expect if you were on a collegecampus or maybe surrounded by
secular co-workers.
In that very first question heasks can I mix and match these
(08:38):
beliefs?
In other words, do I have tobelieve it all in order to be a
Christian?
Do I have to believe it all?
I mean, it's even in the titlePastor, am I a Christian?
And by the end of the article,tim Keller had to tell Nicholas
Kristoff you're not a Christian,but he wanted him to be one.
(09:02):
Now, we are probably not livingaround a lot of people right now
who will come right out and askthose kinds of questions.
But if there was someone inyour life who asked that
question Ray, am I a Christian?
David, am I a Christian?
(09:24):
Linda, am I a Christian?
Dj, am I a Christian?
Friend, am I a Christian?
What would you tell them?
How would you answer that?
I believe that our answer has tobe true, it has to be biblical
(09:45):
and it ought to be hopeful.
It ought to be hopeful.
I mean hopeful in the sensethat when I tell them the truth
about the gospel of Jesus, thatthey will seize upon it and
believe it and repent of theirsins, and that they will join
with us, hopeful in that sense.
So if the first way we answerthe question is by looking at
what Christians believe, and ifwe're honest, that means that
(10:09):
there has to be an irreducibleminimum, there has to be a
lowest common denominator thatyou can't go below.
What would those things be?
What does every Christian havein common in belief?
What do all of us have tobelieve?
(10:29):
Let me offer you a few biblicalpoints here.
First of all, we have tobelieve that there is a God.
I know that sounds so simple,but that's where the book of
Hebrews begins, hebrews 11, 6,that if we're going to please
God, we first of all have tobelieve that he is.
We have to believe that thereis a God and that he created the
(10:53):
world and that he created meand you, not just me.
We have to believe that and wehave to believe that we have
sinned and fall short of theglory of God.
See, before we ever get to whatwe believe about what God did
(11:14):
for us, we have to start outwith why God did what he did to
save us.
The why is important.
So we must believe that everysingle one of us is a sinner who
desperately needs a savior.
And then we also have tobelieve that God so loved the
(11:35):
world that he gave his onlybegotten son that whosoever
would believe in him would notperish but would have
everlasting life.
There's that belief factor inthere again.
What does it mean to believe onChrist, to believe in him?
What does that mean?
Here's where that very longconversation in the last half of
(11:58):
the book of John that Jesus hadwith his disciples comes in.
He said here is what youbelieve about me.
You believe that I died foryour sins.
You believe that the Fatherraises me from the dead for your
salvation.
He said in John 14, verse 6,.
He said I am the way, the truth, the life, and no one comes to
(12:20):
the Father except by me, exceptthrough me.
And he didn't just arbitrarilysay that out of the blue.
He said that in the context oftalking about his life, death
and resurrection.
He's saying my life, my deathand my resurrection is the way,
the life, the truth, and it'sthe only way anybody ever comes
(12:43):
to the Father.
Again, romans 10, 9, that, ifyou will confess with your mouth
Jesus is Lord and believe inyour heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved.
Now, christians, as we grow ingrace and knowledge, we believe
(13:05):
a great many other things I mean.
The truth is we want to receiveall that is taught in Scripture
and the Christian life, and youknow this if you've been saved
a long time and you'reattempting to grow.
The Christian life is one longwalk of learning about God and
about his ways and his will andhis work with every step.
(13:26):
It's one long walk of that.
But there has to be an entrylevel into the Christian family
and faith.
There has to be knowledge ofwhat it is required to believe
in order to be saved.
So what is necessary to besaved?
I must know and believe andadmit that I am a sinner.
(13:49):
I must believe that Christ diedfor my sins and, being raised
from the dead for my salvation,has accomplished everything that
is necessary In order to makepeace with God and he paid the
penalty for my sin and by hislife and by his death and by his
resurrection I can be saved.
(14:11):
Am I a Christian?
Well, the first way we answerthat is by looking at what a
Christian believes.
The second way we answer thatis by looking at how a Christian
behaves.
Now, this is really dangerous.
I admit this on the front end.
That's a really dangerousconcept because there are a lot
(14:35):
of people in asking the questionam I a Christian?
Would put that answer first.
They would put that answerfirst.
They would say well, certainlyI must.
I a Christian?
Would put that answer first.
They would put that answerfirst.
They would say well, certainlyI must be a Christian because
I'm well behaved.
Some would say, when they'reasked, some would say who don't
know the Bible.
When they're asked what must Ido to be a Christian, they would
(14:56):
say something like well, youneed to stop living with your
boyfriend, or you need to stopliving with your girlfriend, or
stop getting drunk, or stop thisor stop that.
Stop these things.
You behave and then you are aChristian.
(15:17):
Ladies and gentlemen, that isnot at all what the Scripture
teaches, nowhere.
That is not at all what theScripture teaches.
That is the closest heresy tothe gospel.
That's a false gospel ofmoralism, and the false gospel
of moralism says that, basically, what God requires of us for
our salvation is that we behave.
(15:38):
The primary problem.
In other words, according tothat false gospel, the primary
problem is that we have badbehavior and that we need to fix
it.
It's like God is a cosmicparent who is primarily
concerned with the fact that hiscreatures aren't behaving, and
what he first demands of us isbehavior.
But here's the sad news thismorning there's no one who can
(16:00):
behave well enough to go toheaven.
There's not one of us who canbehave well enough to eliminate
the problem of sin.
The apostle Paul went so far asto say in Romans 7 that the more
I try to behave, the more Idon't want to.
The more I try to behave, thedirtier I get.
(16:22):
And you know how that works.
Because we are rationalizingcreatures, aren't we?
We rationalize all the time.
We will hold ourselves to astrict standard.
Until we don't, we will screwdown and tighten down certain
issues in our life and claimvictory while the door is open
(16:46):
somewhere else.
Is there anybody in here thismorning?
Are you all listening to me?
And furthermore, even our ownefforts to deal with our
misbehavior end up being allmixed up with pride and
self-sufficiency and ego.
(17:07):
Listen, we are robbing God ofhis glory when we try to behave
our way to salvation, we'rerobbing God of his glory.
That's why the scripture neverbegins salvation with behave.
It begins with believe, but itdoes get to behave, and the
(17:33):
order is so important.
It is not that we behave inorder to become a Christian or
to be a Christian.
It is that, once we are aChristian, our faithfulness to
Christ and our obedience to God,to the Lord Jesus, means that
we are increasingly seeing achange in our behavior,
(17:53):
precisely because we don't loveourselves anymore.
We belong to Christ and we lovehim.
That's exactly the main pointof the text we read together at
the beginning In 2 Peter 1, whenhe says basically, make sure
that you are a Christian, he'sreferencing the sanctification
(18:13):
process in our lives.
That's a five dollar wordsanctification.
It means the process of thechange that goes on in your life
.
See, when you believe, truly,savingly believe, god declares
you righteous and the HolySpirit of God takes up residence
within you, indwells you, liveswith inside of you and through
(18:33):
that process he makes yourighteous.
When you believe, he declaresyou righteous.
You're not, he just gives youthe righteousness of Jesus and
you're declared righteousnessThrough the process of
sanctification.
He makes you righteous.
That's how you know you're aChristian.
Verse 5 and forward.
In the text we read chapter 1, 2, peter.
(18:56):
But also, for this very reason,giving all diligence, add to
your faith.
There's that believe aspect.
Again, add to your faith.
Virtue to virtue, knowledge toknowledge, self-control to
self-control, perseverance toperseverance, godliness to
godliness, brotherly kindness tobrotherly kindness, love, for
(19:19):
if these things are yours andabound, you will neither be
barren nor unfruitful in theknowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
For he who lacks these things,is short-sighted, even to
blindness, and has forgottenthat he was cleansed from his
old sins, is this you Are thosethings.
See, that's the behavior.
(19:41):
That's the behavior.
The scripture does give us veryclear guidelines about how we
are to believe that we do belongto Christ and that we are his.
And we know that we are hisbecause we find ourselves
thinking differently, findourselves acting differently.
We even notice changes in ourattitudes.
We notice changes in our wants.
(20:01):
We notice changes in ourdesires.
The more we love Jesus, themore your desires change.
The behavior follows thebelieving, and the behavior is
very important and it's madevery clear.
And it starts with repentance.
See, the gospel also includesrepentance.
(20:24):
It's necessary for the gospel.
We do not become a Christianuntil we have repented of our
sin.
If we do not come to the placethat we recognize the reality of
our sin and that god has madeprovision in the sun and his
death and his burial and hisresurrection for the payment of
(20:45):
the penalty of our sins and wewant to turn from that sin, we
cannot be saved unless that'sreality in our lives.
To repent means to turn awayfrom, and unless there is a
turning away, peter here wouldwarn us don't think that you're
(21:06):
a Christian.
To be a Christian does not meanthat all those sinful desires go
away permanently or that aChristian does not sin, but it
means that Christians, when wesin, know we sin.
We know we sin.
And when we sin and we know wesin, we know what to do about it
(21:30):
.
We know what to do about thatsin.
We confess it to the Lord andturn from it.
1 John 1, 9,.
If we confess our sins, he'sfaithful and just to cleanse us
from our sins, to forgive us oursins and cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
That promises to a Christian.
In the context of that verse,the behavior follows belief, but
(21:52):
the behavior does follow, itdoes follow, it does follow.
So to answer the question am Ia Christian?
We look at what does aChristian believe and how does a
Christian behave, and if youget those out of order, it can
(22:13):
be disastrous.
The third way we answer thatquestion is by where a Christian
belongs, and that haseverything to do with why we are
here today, on Sunday morning,april 16, 2017.
We are here because this iswhere we belong.
(22:36):
We are here because this iswhere we belong Now.
When I say here, I am talkingabout this nice worship center
on this beautiful property herein Ormond Beach.
But what I really mean is herein a bigger sense.
First and foremost, jesus.
In Matthew 16, he's asking hisdisciples who's everybody saying
(22:57):
that I am?
And he says to them, or theysay to him some are saying
you're Elijah, some are sayingJohn the Baptist come back from
the dead.
Or Jeremiah or one of the otherprophets.
And he asked them who do yousay that I am?
Peter pops up and says you'rethe Christ, the son of the
living God.
And Jesus says Peter, you'reright, and upon this rock I will
build my church and the gatesof hell will not prevail against
(23:22):
it.
Do you recognize this morningthat where a Christian belongs
is in the church of the LordJesus Christ.
In the church, and do yourecognize that the church is
made up of people who have beendead a very long time as well?
In other words, we are part ofthe blood-bought church of the
(23:46):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Where a Christian belongs inthe old lingo, the old folks
used to say is in the communionof the saints, in the fellowship
of the saints.
That's where a Christianbelongs.
We now belong to Christ, and webelong now to all Christ's
(24:09):
people.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
We belong to each other.
You've been listening toFoundations of Truth, the Bible
teaching ministry of PastorTimothy Mann and Providence
Church, Ormond Beach, Florida.
Providence is located at 1151West Granada Boulevard, Ormond
Beach, Florida.
If you'd like to contact orlearn more about Providence
(24:32):
Church, go online totheprovidencechurchorg.
If this program has ministeredto you, please feel welcome to
call the church at 386-310-4997or write us at 1151 West Granada
Boulevard, Ormond Beach,Florida, 32174.
If you feel led by God tofinancially support Foundations
(24:56):
of Truth on this station, visitthe giving link at
theprovidencechurchorg.
Until next time, continue tobuild your life on the
Foundations of Truth throughJesus Christ and God's written
word.
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