themselves a Christian?

Before answering that question we need to define two really important words: "Christian" and "church".

What is a Christian?

The word "Christian" appears only three times in the Bible, and was first used by the people of Antioch to describe the growing group of the disciples of Jesus (Acts 11:26). It was an outside term used to label a disciple of Jesus. Today, being a Christian means many different things to different people. Culturally speaking, someone who is born into a family tradition that included going to church once or twice a year may label themselves a Christian. Someone who is a moral person, or someone who hails from the promised land of Abbotsford may label themselves a Christian. People who regularly attend a church may call themselvesChristians, but not truly be. Scripturally speaking, ethnic identity, family history, church attendance, moral uprightness all have nothing to say about whether someone is truly a Christian. A Christian is someone who by God's grace is saved through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:5). A Christian is someone who has believed and confessed Jesus as Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9). And a demonstration of this is a growing sense of desire to live life for Jesus. For His glory. His renown. His pleasure. In joyful submission to His authority as Lord. In awe and wonder of the gracious realities of the transformed identity of the Christian: forgiven, redeemed, adopted as a child of the King, saved from death, brought into life.

What is the Church?

The term "church" is much more