Why are followers of jesus called christians

And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. It has been a title used by many yet it would seem to this writer that, based on the Bible, there are really but a few who can actually bear the name. I know that you do. Of the three times it is used in the NT only once does an apostle actually pen the name and that is in First Peter Learn about the riches He gives to all who are His.

This book will bless and encourage you, give you hope, and help you live in the joy of your salvation and the riches of Christ that are yours. This is not a Got Questions?

But it's so popular it ranked among the top pages viewed:. Where did OT Saints go at death? Three Heavens? How are they different?

Or Yahweh? Or Yeshua? Enter Christ-followers. Enter the Gospel. People from all parts of the city—Jews and Gentiles alike—were suddenly coming together. This group of people was redefining community in a radical and unprecedented way, so much so, that a new word was needed to categorize what in the world was happening. But in Christians, they saw something different. In each reference, the emphasis, inherent in the original Greeek, is on the fact that people from outside the faith recognized Christians as a distinct group.

In Galatians we can see just how central the diversity of the Antioch situation was to the definition of what it meant to be a Christ follower. Peter, who had been living side-by-side with Jews and Gentiles, broke the unity of the community when he chose to withdraw from the Gentiles in a kowtow to a group of conservative Jews who had come to town.

This led other Jewish believers to do the same and withdraw from their non-Jewish brethren. Peter has a record of struggling to get his heart to change in line with what he knew to be true. This case was no different. Paul confronts Peter on this and admonishes him publicly in order to set the record straight vs. Calling Peter out in public was harsh, but the future of Gentile Christians was at stake.

This group of people was redefining reality in a way that was previously unknown and so radically that a new definition, a new word, was required for people to categorize what was happening.

The significance of the name, emphasized by the word order in the Greek text, is that people from outside the faith recognized Christians as a distinct group. The church was more and more being separated from Judaism and any other preexisting experience. Furthermore, it is a name the early church clearly adopted and owned as the appointed name for those within the Church as the body of Christ. In Galatians —17 we can see just how central the diversity of the Antioch situation was to the definition of what it meant to be a Christ follower and how this experience is built into the meaning of our given definition.

Peter, who had been living side-by-side with Jews and Gentiles, broke the unity of the community when he chose to withdraw from the Gentiles in a kowtow to a group of conservative Jews who had come to town.

This led other Jewish believers to do the same and withdraw from their non-Jewish brethren. Peter has a record of struggling to get his heart to change in line with what he knew to be true. This case was no different. Paul confronts Peter on this and admonishes him publicly in order to set the record straight vs.

Paul is angered with this behavior of conformity and this divisive posture of Peter. Calling him out in public was harsh but the future of Gentile Christians was at stake. This fear of rejection that led to disobedience was not only out of line, but untrue because of the Gospel. No one should neither experience division nor fear rejection because of the truth of the Gospel.