Yesterday, we had a guest preacher, Dr. John Perkins from Jackson, MS. In a discussion before his sermon — and then he added this to his sermon – he distinguished “becoming a believer in Christ” and “becoming a Christian.” Dr. Perkins, who is not a Methodist, reminded us that this was a distinction John Wesley knew well. One “becomes a believer in Christ” and then, by justifying grace, God reckons us righteous. But we’re really no different than before. We’re still sinners at heart. We are reckoned righteous, a relative change, but we are not REALLY righteous in our actions. So by sanctifying grace, God changes us inside out and brings about a real change in who we are. We sin less, we grow more loving toward God and others. God’s goal in all this is to really change us, to grow us until the image of Christ — long hidden by sin — is restored in us. Sanctification is therefore distinct from justification in Methodist theology.
So Dr. Perkins reminded us that “becoming a believer in Christ” and “becoming a Christian” are two different things. Most people, especially here in the Bible belt confuse the two. One becomes a Christian when you place faith in Christ and become a believer. But does belief alone make one a Christian? I can profess faith in Christ and not really change who I am or what I do! Or does discipleship, growing more Christlike, make one a Christian?
The distinction is important especially when we use language like “learning to become a Christian.” This communicates the idea that while something very important takes place when we place faith in Christ, that is not the end of the story … or our responsibility. As broadcaster Paul Harvey likes to say, “the REST of the story” is sanctification — God restoring in us the image of Christ, and our responsibility not to be mere pew sitters, happy with our “ticket to heaven,” but to actively co-operate with what God is doing in us.
Let it be clearly stated for the record — while I have certainly placed my faith in Christ, I am still learning to be a Christian. What about you?
