Will you please turn to the book of Acts?
They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled through Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none but unto Jews only.
But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they had come to Antioch, spake unto the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord.
And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch; who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.
And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.
And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
But declared first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judaea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.
For this cause the Jews seized me in the temple, and assayed to kill me.
Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand unto this day testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses did say should come;
How that the Christ must suffer, and how that He first by the resurrection of the dead should proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles.
And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad; thy much learning doth turn thee to madness.
But Paul saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but speak forth words of truth and soberness.
For the king knoweth of these things, unto whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him; for this hath not been done in a corner.
King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.
And Agrippa said unto Paul, With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian.
And Paul said, I would to God, that whether with little or with much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this day, might become such as I am, except these bonds.
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened unto you:
But insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of His glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy.
If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you.
For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evildoer, or as a meddler in other men’s matters:
But if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name.
For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?
And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?
Wherefore let them also that suffer according to the will of God commit their souls in well-doing unto a faithful Creator.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Lord, how we do praise and thank Thee that we can gather together in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We do thank Thee for Thy precious words that we have just read.
We ask that Thy Holy Spirit will open Thy Word to our hearts. Let Thy Word speak to us. Lord, we do desire to be what Thou callest us to be. We commit this time into Thy hand, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Our theme is the whole counsel of God. We mentioned yesterday that the whole counsel of God touches upon three areas: that which concerns Christ, that which concerns Christians, and that which concerns the church.
Christ is the origin. The church is the destiny. The Christian is the process—but it is a necessary process.
My burden is on the Christian. God willing, we would like to touch upon this matter this morning: the meaning of Christian; then later on, the life of a Christian; and finally, the passion of a Christian.
When I first came to this country, back in the early fifties, I was told that this was a Christian country. In this country, if a person is not a Jew, he is a Christian.
Of course, I came from China. In China, it is a heathen country, and all are Gentiles.
But, brothers and sisters, today we use the word Christian very loosely. It does not give us that distinction. It does not tell anything about identity.
Because of this, we feel that we need to go back to the very beginning of that term, Christian, and see what that name really means. Also, in the light of Scripture, may we be challenged to see whether we are ready to be called Christians.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, many believed in Him. Those who believed in Him, He called to follow Him, to be His disciples.
He laid down very clearly the conditions for discipleship. His conditions for discipleship were absolute. Just listen to what He said.
One day, great crowds followed Him. He turned around and spoke to them:
If any man cometh unto Me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
And whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.
So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.
He is not satisfied just with people who believe in Him. He demands that all who believe in Him be His disciples. But to be His disciples, there are certain conditions.
He said, unless you hate your father and mother, wife and children, and even your own self, you cannot be My disciple. I think we are shocked by that word. We do not like that word hate, because to us it has a very bad connotation.
But actually, the word hate is a neutral word. It just expresses a very strong feeling against something or someone. As a matter of fact, if we do not know how to hate, we cannot know how to love. If you love, you have to know how to hate.
Here our Lord Jesus uses this word hate. To love our father and mother, our wife and children, and even ourselves is natural. It is called in Scripture natural affection. It is something given by God naturally; we are born with it.
Not only that, but even in the Word of God we are commanded to honor our father and mother, to love our wives as Christ loves us, and to nurture and bring up our children in the discipline of the Lord.
The Bible says that no one hates his own body. We all love and cherish ourselves. It is natural.
But unfortunately, because we have fallen, even our natural affection is contaminated. It is ruled by sin and by self.
When our Lord Jesus comes into our lives, He is determined to purify our emotions. The way to purify our emotions is to call us to hate our father and mother, wife and children, and even ourselves.
In what way? When the Lord Jesus comes into our life, His love toward us is so pure, so perfect, so great. That love ought to purify even our natural affection.
We will be constrained by His love, and His love begins to detach us from any person, even from ourselves, and attach us to Himself.
Brothers and sisters, unless emotionally we are detached from all our natural relationships, we cannot be His disciples. It does not mean that from now on we literally hate our father and mother, wife and children, and ourselves.
It means that we love the Lord more than anybody else. We will not allow anybody else, even the nearest and closest to us—and even ourselves—to deter us or distract us from our Lord Jesus, from following our Lord Jesus.
We love Him so much that we detest anything that would deny or displace Him through every human relationship, even our own self.
It is only when we are emotionally purified, when our love is all centered upon Christ, and it is in Christ that we love our father and mother, wife and children, and ourselves—it is only then that we can be the disciples of Christ.
That is a very strict condition. As a matter of fact, if you go along with the Lord, you will discover how necessary this is.
The Lord Jesus said, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.” What is the cross? Where comes the cross?
It is when Christ comes into our life that you find, oftentimes, our own will and the will of our Lord Jesus cross each other. We want to go this way, and yet the Lord says we should go the other way.
When such a cross comes into our life, what will be our reaction? Do we yield to our own will, or do we take that cross and follow the Lord?
Unless there is a surrendered will, we cannot be the disciples of Christ. We can prove it in our Christian life. Oftentimes, when we find the will of God and our will crossing each other, how we struggle over this matter.
But a surrendered will, a yielded will, would rather take up the cross and follow our Lord Jesus.
Then the Lord Jesus said that he who would be His disciple must forsake all that is his own and follow Him.
Brothers and sisters, we accumulate a lot of things in our lives. The older we get, the more things we accumulate. In a sense, these are our things.
You know, we have an instinct of possessiveness. Even a child has an instinct of possessiveness. Grandchildren are playing, and how they struggle over a toy. A child says, “This is mine.”
Unless we are delivered completely from what we consider as our own—our right, our possession—we cannot be the disciples of Christ.
No wonder, when our Lord Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Peter and Andrew. They were casting the net. The Lord said, “Come, follow Me.” They left the nets and followed the Lord.
He went a little further and saw the two sons of Zebedee, James and John. They were there mending the nets, and the Lord said, “Come, follow Me.” They left their father, their companions, and their nets, and followed the Lord.
The Lord passed by Matthew and said, “Come, follow Me.” Matthew left the table and followed the Lord.
In every instance in the Bible, you find that when the Lord calls for discipleship, they literally forsook all that was their own and followed the Lord.
Many followed the Lord, and the Lord turned to them and said, “If you do not do this, if you do not let go of that, you cannot be My disciples.”
In John 6, you find that many came to Him for bread. The Lord said, “Do not labor for the things that perish, but for the things that are of God. I am the bread of life. I came from heaven. Eat My flesh and drink My blood, and you shall have eternal life.”
Many of His disciples said, “This is a hard saying,” and the Bible says they left from following Him. The Lord turned to the twelve and said, “Would you also go away?”
Thank God, Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. We know that Thou art the Holy One of God. We are stuck with Thee.”
A young man came to the Lord, and the Lord said, “Sell all, and follow Me.” This young man was very rich, and he went away sad.
So the Lord said, “With men it is impossible; with God all things are possible.” Do you think it is easy to be a disciple of Christ? Do you think that He will accept everyone without condition?
He will accept us without condition when we come to Him for salvation. But as far as the matter of discipleship is concerned, it is very difficult. The condition is very strict. The call is very absolute. Are we His disciples?
The Lord went to the cross. He died, was risen, and ascended. On the day of Pentecost, you find one hundred and twenty of His disciples gathered together in that upper room in Jerusalem.
They were there for ten days, praying with one accord. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down, and in one Spirit they were baptized into one body. That is the beginning of the church.
On that very same day, three thousand were added. Now look at these three thousand one hundred believers. They were together. They persevered, devoted to the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
They loved one another. They were completely delivered from self-possessiveness. Those who had would give to those who had need.
They rejoiced in the Lord. They broke bread from house to house. They praised and worshiped God in the temple area and in the houses.
In other words, you begin to see on earth something that you had never seen before. When people looked at these people, they saw a people who lived so differently, in a manner completely different from any manner of life found in this world.
The Romans had their way of life. The Jews had their way of life. The Greeks had their way of life. But here they found a people who lived in a way that the world had never seen before. There was no self, only Christ.
People looked at them and did not know who they were. Gradually, you find a term that comes forth in the Bible: the Way, the Christian way. There was a way of life so completely foreign to this world.
A new way of life, the Christian way, had appeared. So, in the beginning, aside from being called disciples, this peculiar people came to be identified with the term the Way.
You find this mentioned a number of times in the book of Acts. In Acts 9:2, Saul the Pharisee went to the high priest and asked for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Men and women of the Way. There was a way of life so distinct that you could find these people. Saul’s purpose was to find them, bring them to Jerusalem, and sentence them.
Again, in Acts 19:9, Paul was in Ephesus. When some were hardened and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, Paul left them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
In Ephesus, people began to speak evil of the Way. When this happened, Paul separated himself from the synagogue and began to teach in the school of Tyrannus.
In the same chapter, Acts 19:23, we are told that there took place no small disturbance concerning the Way. Paul had been in Ephesus for a long time. Many came to the Lord, and a way of life began to appear in Ephesus, so different from the Roman way and from the Greek way.
Because of this, the idol-makers suffered a great deal, and a great disturbance came. It was because of the Way, because of that way of life.
Again, in Acts 22:4, Paul, defending himself before the people, said that he had persecuted this Way unto death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
Saul so hated the people of this Way that he was determined to wipe them out.
Then finally, in Acts 24:14, Paul said:
But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets.
Paul, instead of trying to wipe out men and women of the Way, was now serving the God of his fathers in the Way. To the Jews, they considered it only a sect of Judaism.
In Acts 24:22, Felix, knowing accurately the things concerning the Way, deferred them. So, brothers and sisters, in the beginning those real believers in the Lord Jesus were called disciples—learners of Christ.
Later, when there were many disciples and they were all together, they began to live a new way of life. Christ is the Way. So the world began to call them men and women of the Way. They lived so differently. Are we?
In the beginning, they considered the Way as just another sect of Judaism. Why? Because in Jerusalem, most believers—indeed, all believers—were formerly Jews.
But the situation gradually changed. In Acts 11, because of the persecution in Jerusalem, the believers began to scatter. They went to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.
The Jews who became Christians—believers, disciples—probably spoke only to the Jews residing in these cities. But there were Cyprians and Cyrenians, and when they came to Antioch, they began to preach the glad tidings of the Lord Jesus to the Greeks.
The hand of the Lord was with them, and many came to the Lord. Many repented, turned, and believed in the Lord Jesus.
When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they were concerned. So they sent Barnabas to visit them. Barnabas was a Hellenistic Jew; he was from Cyprus. They sent him to Antioch just to visit and see what the Lord had done.
Barnabas was a good man, a son of consolation, a man with a big heart, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. When he saw what the Lord had done among these people, he was so glad.
He exhorted them to abide with the Lord with all purpose of heart, and the Lord began to add more. Barnabas began to realize that it was more than he could handle, so he remembered Saul.
He went to Tarsus, found Saul, and brought him to Antioch. The two of them taught the disciples—those who believed in the Lord in Antioch—for a whole year.
This reminded me: in 1942, I fled from Singapore to India during the war. There I had the opportunity to meet with brothers and sisters there in India. They had been meeting for just over a year.
I was told that when they first began, they met together twice a day. Early in the morning, before people went to work, they came together to be taught. After work, they came together to be taught.
Literally, these brothers and sisters were discipled unto the Lord for a whole year. You could see the result of it.
Here you find the people in Antioch: they believed in the Lord Jesus, they abided with the Lord with all purpose of heart, and they were taught the things of the Lord. The result was that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
The term Christian comes first in history here. It was a name not given to the believers by themselves. It was a name given to the believers by the world.
The world always likes to figure things out. If you cannot figure a thing out, or figure a people out, you feel threatened and insecure. It is a tendency of mankind to try to figure people out.
When they looked at these people, they said, “Who are they? Well, they used to be a Jewish sect, like the sect of the Pharisees, the sect of the Sadducees, the sect of the Essenes, or the sect of the Nazarenes.”
But you could call them that in Jerusalem; you could not call them that in Antioch, because most of the people were Gentiles who had come to Christ.
So they looked at these people and gave them a nickname. They said, “Who are these people? These people are obsessed by Christ.”
They knew nothing but Christ. They believed in Christ Jesus. They were baptized in the name of Christ Jesus. They gathered together in the name of Christ Jesus. They sang to Christ. They prayed to Christ. They talked about Christ from morning till night.
They knew nothing but Christ. They lived for Christ. They displayed Christ in their lives. They followed Christ—Christ, Christ, Christ—nothing else. “Oh, they are Christians.”
They regarded these people as an obsessed people.
Brothers and sisters, are we obsessed by Christ? Does Christ fill our horizon? Does it seem as if He has blinded our eyes, that we can see no one but Jesus only?
Are we such a people? Do we really live for Him and Him alone? Is there anything else that occupies our heart other than Christ?
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, when He was twelve years old, He visited Jerusalem. He went there as a son of the law, but He stayed in the temple.
When His earthly parents found Him, they said, “Son, why hast Thou done this to us?” He said, “I must be occupied with My Father’s business.”
He was a Person occupied with His Father’s business, possessed by His Father’s will. If Christ was occupied and possessed by His Father, should we, who are His, not be occupied and possessed by our Lord Jesus?
In 1 Peter, you find that we are a people for God’s own possession. Who possesses us? Who fills our heart? Who occupies us?
May we possess that which we are possessed by—the Lord.
This is the beginning of the name Christian. Brothers and sisters, remember: Christian is a name earned. They earned that name from the world.
Today we call ourselves Christians. Does it identify us? Does it distinguish us from the world? Are we worthy to be called Christians? Have we earned that name, Christian?
The second mention of the word Christian is found in Acts 26. Paul was brought before King Agrippa, and he was given the opportunity to defend himself.
Listen to his defense. I think in this whole world you cannot find, in a court, any defense that is given in this manner.
When you are given the opportunity to defend yourself, what do you do? You try everything you can, every way you know, to defend yourself—that you are innocent, that you are righteous, that there is nothing wrong with you. It is all misunderstanding and false accusation.
But Paul was given, we would say, almost the last chance before he would be sent to Caesar to defend himself, to get himself off the hook, that he might be released.
But when you listen to what he did, he was not defending himself. He was defending Somebody else. He was defending Christ all the time.
Christ must suffer, and then He would be raised from the dead and be the first to announce the light to the Jews and to the nations. Paul defended Christ with such eloquence.
Festus, the governor, could not help himself. He lost his dignity. He cried out and said, “Paul, thou art mad. Thy much learning hath turned thee to madness.”
Paul said, “Most excellent Festus, I am not mad. I speak words of truth and soberness. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest.”
Agrippa said, “With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian?” I do not know whether he was trying to find some cover for himself, but that is what he said.
Paul said, “Not only you, but all who are here, I hope that you will be like me, except for these bonds.”
Brothers and sisters, this second mention of the word Christian is a mocking word. “Do you think with little persuasion you will make me a Christian? Oh, no way. I am almost persuaded.”
In the eyes of the world, a Christian is a mad person. If you put yourself first, you are wise. If you deny yourself and put another person first, if you prefer Christ more than your life, you are mad.
But Paul, he was madly in love with Christ. Love, is it not? Love is irrational.
Brothers and sisters, we are too clever. We want to get the best of two worlds. Our love toward the Lord is not enough. We are not crazy enough to be called Christians.
First love is what the Lord is looking for. In the eyes of the world, first love is madness. They cannot explain it. They do not understand it. But we ought to go where He is.
The third mention of the word Christian is found in 1 Peter 4. There Peter said, “Do not think it strange that you suffer.”
You know, we have that idea: in the world there are many troubles, but when we turn to the Lord, all sufferings should pass away. Our lives will be smooth sailing.
It is a surprise to many believers. They seek the Lord, escaping from suffering. But when they come to the Lord and follow the Lord, they find more suffering than ever before—but of another kind.
That is very strange. Why should this happen? When we were in sins and transgressions, we ought to suffer. That is our wages.
But now we have come to the Lord. We live a holy and righteous life. We are to be praised by God, amen. Why should we suffer?
The Apostle Peter told them, “Do not think it strange for you to suffer. As a matter of fact, you are just sharing in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ.”
When Christ was on earth, He was the perfect Man, the Man without sin, who knew no sin, who pleased God in all things. Look at the sufferings He went through. Are you better than your Lord?
Of course, we have no part in His vicarious suffering. When He died on the cross to bear our sins and suffered even unto death, there He suffered alone. We have no part in that. We reap the benefit of it.
But on the other hand, you find there are sufferings of Christ in which we are called to fellowship with Him. He suffered for righteousness’ sake—just to be right.
In this world, if you want to be right, you will suffer. If you do not compromise, you will suffer. If you do not follow the crowd, the custom, the tradition, the fashion of this world, you will suffer.
You suffer for conscience’ sake. You suffer for the name of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, throughout history, many of God’s people suffered even unto death for one reason: because they confessed the name of Jesus Christ.
Many martyrs died for no other reason but because they believed in the Lord Jesus. The Bible says, if you suffer for the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rest upon you.
Do not suffer because you murder or do wrong things. But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed. Give glory to God.
Here the Apostle Peter borrows that word from the world. In other words, here you find, for the first time, the word Christian taken from the world.
To the world, it is a word of despising. But to us, it becomes an honor—that we should be worthy to suffer as a Christian.
In the eyes of the world, Christians are fools. Only a fool appreciates suffering. All our lives, we try to avoid suffering.
But listen to what the Apostle Paul said: “Allow me to be a fool—a fool for God. The more I love you, the less I am loved. I am willing to spend and be spent for you. I will travail until Christ may be formed in you.”
Brothers and sisters, here is a man who is willing to suffer for others. In the eyes of the world, he is a fool. But to God, he is glorious.
Dear brothers and sisters, are we willing to be God’s fools? Do we care for ourselves so much that we do not care for our brothers and sisters? Do we not bear in our hearts the burden of God’s church?
We just want to have a good time for ourselves. We are not willing to suffer as a Christian.
If we today suffer with Him, one day we shall share His glory.
So, brothers and sisters, when you go back to the Word of God, you will find that the word Christian, in the eyes of the world, is always a despicable, despised word.
But to us, it is an honor. The question to us is: are we worthy to be called Christians?
Are we really fully occupied with Christ? Are we madly in love with Christ? Are we willing to suffer? That is a Christian.
May the Lord have mercy upon us. We know that His grace is always there with His calling. He never calls us into anything without supplying the grace for it.
In a sense, it is impossible for us to be Christians. With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
If we look to His grace, He will enable us to be worthy of that name and demonstrate it.
Dear Lord, Thou dost desire that we be what Thou art, because it is Thou who hast made us what we are.
We do pray, Lord, that we may be so occupied, obsessed, and possessed by Thee; that we may be so deeply in love with Thee that we will be willing to suffer, to share in Thy sufferings.
O, may we be what Thou wouldst have us to be. May Thy grace be upon us, that we may be worthy to be called Christians.
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.