Almost a Christian

The Bible makes it very clear what being a Christian is about, but for new believers, it’s important to explain the qualities that come with being a Christian. Apostle Paul understood this, and used his life to share what being a Christian means with King Agrippa, a Hebrew King, and Festus, a Roman pro-counsel in Acts 26.

He shared how he was headed towards Damascus under the authority and commission of the chief priests. He also shared how he saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around him and his companions.

“We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’”

“’I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied, ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven,” Paul said.

The power of the Gospel pushed Paul to rise up and stand. Acts 22:10 says that God told Paul to “Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.”

God was essentially telling Paul that He appeared to him to appoint him to his calling. This was despite the fact that Paul was a persecutor of the church, consented to the killing of saints, and caused many to blaspheme Christ (Acts 22:3).

Now, Paul was God’s servant and witness. As such, he would be able to receive God’s power (Acts 1:8).

With God’s power, Paul was able to go to sinners “to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:18).’”

All of the above abilities mentioned are contingent on a response of faith to grace. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

God’s forgiveness of our sins provides us with a release of bondage; the removal of the guilt of sin and the cancellation of a debt. Believers who have been sanctified have been given a gift that neither Satan nor his demonic forces can take away.

Paul shared this with the rulers, and Festus interrupted Paul’s defense of Christianity. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” In response, Paul told Festus that what he was saying “is true and reasonable.”

Agrippa, the Jewish King, knew the stories that Paul was sharing, and knew them to not be insane ramblings. As a matter of fact, he told Paul that he almost persuaded him to be a believer (Acts 26:28-29).

Being almost a believer, almost saved, is not enough. God has called us to stand up for Him and share his message. What is holding you back from being a total and complete Christian?