What is a Christian?

If we are to discuss the percentages of Christians in this country, we must define what we mean by a Christian.

If you define a Christian as everyone who identifies himself as a Christian, then 84% of Americans are Christians. Unfortunately, the beliefs and/or practices of many of those people bear little resemblance to historical Christianity. A cursory examination of the media, culture and society will reveal that Christianity is being redefined in America. The issue is not which people will accept the label of "Christian" but which ones are really adherents of the historical faith. We must refine our definition.

George Barna of the Barna Group classifies survey respondents based on their responses to questions about their beliefs and commitments. It is important to note that these classifications DO NOT look at church or denominational affiliation or behavior - just beliefs and stated convictions.

Born Again

Barna has one classification which he refers to as "Born Again." which includes everyone who meets the following criteria.

• Have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today.
• Believe that after they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

Historically, from the time of the protestant reformation onward, these would be considered the minimum criteria for salvation - i.e. to get to heaven.

According to Barna, in 2007, 42% of Americans were classified as "Born Again."

Evangelicals

What Barna Calls “Evangelicals” meet all of the following criteria:

• Have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today.
• Believe that after they die they will go to Heaven because they have confessed their sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.
• Believe that the Bible is totally accurate
• Believe that they, personally, have a responsibility to tell other people their religious beliefs.
• Strongly agree that their religious faith is very important in their life.
• Believe that the devil, or Satan, is a living being not just a symbol of evil.
• Believe that being good, or doing works does NOT earn a place in Heaven.
• Believe that when He lived on earth, Jesus Christ was divine and sinless.
• Believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the universe who rules the world today.

We are not talking about the finer points of theology, (whether you sprinkle or dunk, pre-mill vs post-mill vs amill, Calvinism vs Armenianism, etc.) but rather the basics of historical Christian faith.

Throughout this blog (not just this post, but the entire site) when I refer to "Real Christians" or "Bible-Believing Christians" or "Historical Christians" I am referring to the same group that Barna calls "Evangelicals."

By the way, according to Barna, only 8% of the US population are evangelicals in 2007 down from 9% in 2006.

Able to Teach Others

Some might complain that this definition is too narrow. It is possible to get to heaven without meeting all these criteria. (See Born Again) But for the purposes of this blog we are not talking about just getting to heaven. We are talking about passing on the faith to another generation that can in turn pass it on to another generation and so on.

(2 Tim 2:2 NASB)  "And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."

The only ones who can pass the baton are those who have embraced it.