The Christ and the Christian Acts 11

 

Christ  "the anointed one" Maschiah or Messiah. "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."

Question 31: Why is He called Christ, that is anointed?

Answer: Because He is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption; and to be our only High Priest, who by the one sacrifice of His body, has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession with the Father for us; and also to be our eternal King, who governs us by His word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in (the enjoyment of) that salvation, He has purchased for us.

In The Old Testament:

Priests were anointed  (Lev. 8:12, 30).

Prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16 Elisha)

Kings were anointed

They were called by God to an office and task

Psalm 2:2 "..the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed."

Psalm 45:7

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound."

Psalm 110:4, saying, "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."

Psalm 2:6, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."

32. Q. Why are you called a Christian? Because I am a member of Christ by faith..

A W Tozer wrote ""A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passeth knowledge." The Root of the Righteous

"The name Christian is derived from Christ, and denotes one who is a disciple of Christ—one who follows his doctrine and life, and who, being engrafted into Christ, has communion with him. There are two kinds of Christians; some that are only apparently such; and others that are really and truly such." Zach Ursinus

Anointed and Sealed with the Spirit

2 Corinthians 1:21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Ephesians 1: 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

1. A True Christian is Saved by Christ 

Have you Heard deeply the gospel?  20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

Have you Believed? 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

Have you Turned To Him From Everything Else?

This is the Grace of God. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose,

Have You Devoted Yourself To Him?

St. Patrick around 600 AD wrote: "the Lord opened my hard and unbelieving heart to a remembrance of my transgressions and led me to turn with my whole soul to my Redeemer."

32. Q. Why are you called a Christian?

A. Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in his anointing, so that I may as prophet confess his name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to him, and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with him eternally over all creatures.

2. A True Christian Stands For Christ:

Acts 26:¹⁶ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you,¹⁷ delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles---to whom I am sending you¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' ¹⁹ "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,²⁰ but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance… ²⁸ And Agrippa said to Paul, "In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?"

You Are Called To Stand For Christ

You Are Called  Appointed and anointed

You Are Committed  Confident in your calling

You Are Challenging   Making the impossible things possible

You Are Consecrated  Blessed to be a blessing

3. A True Christian Suffers For Christ

Expect Trials 1 Peter 4: ¹²Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Employ Trials ¹³ But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Endure Trials ¹⁴ If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Examine Trials ¹⁵ But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?¹⁸ And "If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"

Entrust Trials  ¹⁹ Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

 

Justin Martyr  "Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin and his Companion".

The saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome whose name was Rusticus. As they stood before the judgement seat, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: "Above all, have faith in the gods and obey the emperors." Justin said: "We cannot be accused or condemned for obeying the commands of our Savior, Jesus Christ."

Rusticus said: "What sort of teaching is that?" Justin said: "Worship the God of the Christians. We hold him to be from the beginning the one creator and maker of the whole creation of things seen and things unseen. We worship also the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was foretold by the prophets as the future herald of salvation for the human race and the teacher of distinguished disciples. For myself, since I am a human being, I consider that what I say is insignificant in comparison with his infinite godhead. I acknowledge the existence of a prophetic power for the one I have just spoken of as the Son of God was the subject of prophecy. I know that the prophets were inspired from above when they spoke of his coming among men."

Rusticus said: "You are a Christian, then?" Justin said: "Yes, I am a Christian."

The other martyrs also said: "Do what you will. We are Christians; we do not offer sacrifice to idols."

The prefect Rusticus pronounced sentence, saying: "Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws." 

Glorifying God, the holy martyrs went out to the accustomed place. They were beheaded and fulfilled their witness of martyrdom in confessing their faith in their Savior.

 

 

Polycarp Bishop of Smyrna

The constables set out against him on Friday at evening with a squadron of mounted men and their usual arms. Late in the evening they came upon him and found him in an upper room of a small cottage…They were amazed at his great age and his calm dignity…He immediately ordered food and drink to be served them, as much as they wanted, and he asked them to give him an hour for undisturbed prayer…And when the moment of departure came, they seated him on a donkey and in this way brought him into the city.

But the proconsul pressed him further, and said to him, "Swear and I will release you! Curse Christ!"

And Polycarp answered, "Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has never done me any harm. How could I blaspheme my King and Savior?"

When the proconsul still pressed him saying, "Swear by the genius of Caesar," he replied, "If you desire the empty triumph of making me swear by the genius of Caesar according to your intention, and if you pretend that you do not know who I am, hear my frank confession: I am a Christian.

Thereupon the proconsul declared, "I have wild beasts. I shall have you thrown before them if you do not change your mind."

"Let them come," he replied. "It is out of question for us to change from the better to the worse, but the opposite is worthy of honor: to turn round from evil to justice."

The proconsul continued, "If you belittle the beasts and do not change your mind, I shall have you thrown into the fire."

Polycarp answered him, "You threaten me with a fire that burns but

for an hour and goes out after a short time, for you do not know the fire of the coming judgment and of eternal punishment for the godless. Why do you wait? Bring on whatever you will."

As Polycarp spoke these and similar words, he was full of courage and joy. His face shone with inward light. He was not in the least disconcerted by all these threats. The proconsul was astounded. Three times he sent his herald to announce in the midst of the arena, "Polycarp has confessed that he is a Christian!"

No sooner was this announced by the herald, than the whole multitude, both pagans and Jews, the entire population of Smyrna, yelled with uncontrolled anger at the top of their voices, "He is the teacher of Asia! The father of the Christians! The destroyer of our gods! He has persuaded many not to sacrifice and not to worship." This they shouted, and they demanded of Philip, the high priest of public worship, that he let loose a lion upon Polycarp. He explained that he was not allowed to do this since the wild-beast combats had been closed. Then there arose a unanimous shout that Polycarp should be burned alive. In this way the vision had to be fulfilled in which he had seen his pillow burning while he was praying. To the faithful who were with him he had spoken the prophetic words, "I must be burned alive."

Now everything happened much faster than it can be told. The mob rushed to collect logs and brushwood from the workshops and the public baths; the Jews as usual were especially zealous in this work. When the woodpile was ready, Polycarp took off all his outer clothes, opened his belt, and tried to undo his shoes. This he had not usually done himself because each of the faithful was eager to be the first to touch his body. Already before his martyrdom he had been very much honored because of the goodness of his life.

The fuel for the pyre was very quickly piled around him. When they wanted to fasten him with nails, he refused. "Let me be. He who gives me the strength to endure the fire will also give me the strength to remain at the stake unflinching, without the security of your nails." …When he had spoken the Amen and finished his prayer, the executioners lit the fire.  In the end, when the godless mob saw that his body could not be consumed by the fire, they ordered the executioner to thrust a dagger into his breast…When the tempter, the slanderer and evil one, the enemy of the race of the righteous, saw the whole greatness of his martyrdom and his blameless life from the beginning…he prompted Nicetes, the father of Herod and the brother of Alce, to ask the proconsul not to give up the body…"for fear," those were his words, "that they should abandon the crucified and start worshipping this man." They said this through the instigation and urging of the Jews who also had been watching when we wanted to take him out of the fire. They do not know that we will never abandon Christ. He suffered for the salvation of all those who are being saved on the whole earth, the one without guilt for the guilty ones. We can never worship anyone else. We worship him because he is the son of God. To the martyrs we give the love we owe them as disciples and followers of the Lord. They have, after all, loved their king and master with boundless love. How we wish that we may become their companions and fellow disciples! When the officer in charge saw the commotion caused by the Jews, he had the body put in the middle of the pyre and burned, according to their custom.