What does it mean to be a "Christian"?

Those of us who have been baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins often call ourselves “Christians”. But what is a Christian? Are we still living a life devoted to Christ or do we just call ourselves “Christians” because we go to church regularly and think we’re ok? Are we doing everything we should be doing to help those who don’t know the truth? Do you meet the standard of a true Christian?

http://www.dictionary.com/, defines a “Christian” as “exhibiting a spirit proper to a follower of Jesus Christ; Christlike”, “a person who exemplifies in his or her life the teachings of Christ”. The true Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ; a person who at all times is aware of their actions and tries to do the right thing regardless of the consequences. The true Christian is not out to harm other people by gossip, negative thoughts or actions, but is always positive, kind, and tries to help his brother find the truth through love. 1 John 2:10 says, The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. The true Christian is a person trying to keep His commandments as 1 John 2:4 says: The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;

There are many of us that make it a point to attend every service as Hebrews 10:25 says: not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Will attending all the services make us a “Christian” or make us acceptable to God? Attending the services will help us to grow in faith and knowledge, but we have to have the right attitude as we enter into the service. We have to place all other thoughts and ideas aside as we worship. I have been at worship services many times where I let other things consume the service. When I walk away from those services, it is hard to remember what the lesson was about. We also have to live what we have learned through attending worship and self study. We must Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

It is not good enough for us to only live what we have learned by applying it to our daily life, another responsibility we have as Christians is found in 2 Tim 4:2: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. It is our responsibility to teach those we come in contact with on a daily basis. We should be examples to everyone by the lives we live and the choices we make. Our responsibility is not only to those outside of the church, but also to those in the church. There are many in the church that need as much help through encouragement and knowledge transfer as those outside. We all have to keep each other in check by making sure we are not wavering from the truth in any aspect and by guarding against false teachings. As 2 Tim 4:3 says: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, There are many different people both inside and outside of the church that are lax when it comes to certain issues. If you want to believe something that isn’t correct and you look hard enough, you will find someone who will make you think it is ok. We have to guard against this false teaching and hold fast to the word as Titus 1:9 says: holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

Being a true Christian is a challenging responsibility. If we were all fulfilling our responsibilities as outlined in the bible, there would not be enough room in any building to hold everyone. After writing this I see that I have a lot of work to do, what about you?