Acts 11:25-26
25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
Quickword: Change our Name or Change our behavior...
This text for our Quickword today ends with the confirmation that the disciples of Jesus were first called Christians at Antioch. The physical location of Antioch is not as significant as the actions of those who followed Jesus were. At this point in time, the followers of Jesus were seen as opposition to the norms of the day. This upstart movement and Jesus himself were seen as a threat to the political and religious leaders of the day. The followers of Jesus were not in the mainstream or the majority, matter of fact they did not give themselves the name of Christians. The name came from those who were in opposition to the teachings of Jesus. Because of their surrender th the teachings of Jesus Christ, they were called Christians. Stephen had been murdered for defending the faith ( Acts Chapter 7), Saul in chapter 9 of Acts had an authentic encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road and converted to being a follower of Christ. Because of the persecution of Stephen and orher believers of Jesus, the followers/believers of Jesus had scattered for their safety to Phonecia, Cyprus and Antioch. Barnabas left the city of Taurus looking for Saul ( Paul) and found him at Antioch. It was here at Antioch that the believers were called Christians. They were called Christians there because their conversations and actions demonstrated they were believers in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, we have a lot of people who have proclaimed themselves as Christians. Pastors, preachers and churches have aligned themselves with political parties and ideaoligies who proclaim that they are Christians but the behavior , actions or policies don't represent the Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus paraphrasing says when the Son of Man comes, He will reward those who carried out His desires for humanity and those who failed to do so will be separated from Him. An excerpt of the text is Matthew 25: 44-46: we find these words, 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”) The treatment of the least among us, the treatment of women, the unwillingness to protect children with real gun control and safety measures using the Constitution as the basis for decisions as examples of self proclaimed righteousness; that's ok for government and the world but as Christians, as true followers of Christ, the word of God triumphs over all. I simply say and encourage those of us who confess to be Christians, to either Change our name or Change our behavior. We are the light of the world; when the Lord returns we want to be found righteous in the sight of the Lord.
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