11 verse number 19, it says, Now they, which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Thenes, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none, but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was up with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was at Jerusalem. And they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch, who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God was glad and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave on to the Lord. For he was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus for to seek Saul. When he had found him, he brought him on to Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people, and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem on to Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should be a great dearth throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. In the disciples, every man, according to his ability, determined to send relief on to the brethren which dwelt at Judea, which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Amen, and we'll conclude our reading at the end of the chapter. Whenever a person becomes a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, they get, many, a new thing. They get a new nature. they get a new heart, they get a new family, and they get a new eternal destiny. But there's something else new that they get. They get a new name. That new name first appears in Scripture here in Acts chapter 11 and the verse 26. For it was in the city of Antioch that the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were called Christians, for the first time. This name, Christian, appears only two other times in the entire New Testament, both times appearing in its singular form. It was used by King Agrippa when Paul preached before him with tremendous power and apparent effectiveness. In response to Paul's preaching, King Agrippa said, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Peter then uses this same name in his first epistle when discussing and setting forth the matter of the Christian and suffering. Peter writes in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 16, Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. Whenever you come to consider all of those then three references in which this name Christian or Christians appears, it seems to be that the name was never used by Christians themselves. That is certainly the case in Acts chapter 11. and in Acts chapter 26 whenever Agrippa uses this term. The third reference in Peter is one where Peter is writing to fellow believers, some of whom were suffering as a Christian. And this, it seems to be that this was more like a label that was placed by others who were hostile to Christianity. It certainly wasn't a badge of honor in the first century to be identified with the Galilean troublemaker who claimed to be the Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, tonight we want to consider and to continue our studies with regard to Christian identity. And we want to think about this particular name, by which we are called by others and we ourselves refer to ourselves today as Christians and see what lessons that we can learn from this particular name. And to do that we want to simply take the three references and draw a singular truth out of them tonight. Whenever we consider then this first reference here in Acts chapter 11 in the verse 26, When the word Christians appears, we come to see, first of all, that a Christian is someone who is under instruction. A Christian is someone who is under instruction. Now, there's always a context in which any word is found is important. Persecution against the church during the time when Stephen was stoned to death saw to the scattering and to the dispersing of the saints of God, who at that moment of time, or up until that moment of time, had really congregated in the city of Jerusalem. But those who had congregated in the city of Jerusalem up until now, they now fled for their lives, and they found themselves in places like Venice, which is really a province of Syria, Cyprus, and Antioch. We read that in the verse number 19. What was intended for the hurt and destruction of the church actually worked out for the church's good. I say that because those who were scattered abroad They came to share the gospel with every individual. Individuals that they came to meet, just because these disciples had become displaced, did not mean that they gave up on the task that was entrusted to them by the Lord Jesus Christ at His ascension, to go into all the world and preach the gospel. And I suppose there is a quick lesson for us to learn. When the road of life gets rough and times get hard, we should never stop serving the Lord Jesus Christ. These people could have very easily done that, and yet they took the opportunity, as they were scattered abroad, as they moved away from Jerusalem, and as they went into Judea and Samaria, and then into the uttermost parts of the earth, they just simply came to share the gospel with others. They might have been fleeing persecution, But they did not flee their post, their post of Judah. We find that the men who came from Cyprus and Cyrene, whenever they came to Antioch, they spake on to the Grecians who were providentially living there about the Lord Jesus Christ. And God blessed their evangelistic efforts because we read in the verse number 21, that the hand of the Lord was upon them and a great number believed and turned on to the Lord. Matthew Henry, the commentator, he put it so well whenever he said this, the enemy's designed to scatter and lose them. Christ designed to scatter and use them. The enemy's designed to scatter and to lose them. Speaking of the believers, but Christ designed to scatter and to use them. Thus the wrath of man was made to praise God. Those who would have not heard the gospel have now come to hear of Christ, for that's the message that they preached. It says in verse 29 that they preached the Lord Jesus and having heard that message we are told that a great number believed and they turned on to the Lord. Now news of this move of God and the move of God's Spirit came to the ears of the apostles who themselves had remained in the city of Jerusalem. Wanting to confirm the veracity of this news that had come from Antioch and also desiring to help with the discipling of these new converts at Antioch, The apostles, they commission and they send Barnabas to that particular city. In verse 23 we're told that Barnabas came and whenever he saw the grace of God in the lives of these believers, it was very evident that they had come to faith in Jesus Christ, that gladdened Barnabas' heart so much so that he exhorted them all that with purpose of heart that they would cleave unto the Lord. In other words, to stick to the Lord, not to forsake the Lord, but to cleave unto the Lord. As a result of Barnabas' ministry, We're then told that much people was added on to the Lord. Verse 24, a man full of the Holy Ghost and faith, and as a result of that, much people of his ministry, much people was added on to the Lord. Here we find a little nucleus of people, beginning so small, and now we see a church expanding. We see a church growing. We see a church in growth. Here we see, as it were, the blessing of God. We see the church advancing into the kingdom of darkness, one soul after another. And oh, for a church like that here in Portland, Owen, a church in growth, a church advancing, a church progressing into the kingdom of darkness. Now, Barnabas was a good man and a man who was full of the grace of God, and he was a man full of the Holy Ghost, and he was a man full of faith, but Barnabas knew his limitations as a minister, as a preacher. And folks, it's always good when preachers know their limitations, because every preacher, no matter who it is, every minister has their limitations. Well, Barnabas knew his limitations, and he, knowing his limitations, he knew that the Antioch believers would benefit from the ministry of another person, from the ministry of the apostle Paul. And so what Barnabas does, he leads the saints in Antioch, and he travels to Tarsus, he finds Paul, or Saul, And he brings Saul, Paul, back to Antioch. And in verse 26, we're told, for a whole year, Paul and Barnabas assembled themselves with the church and taught much people. And we're told that the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. And so whenever we read this verse, where we find this term now, Christians, it appears that the term does not seem to have originated within the church. It tells us here that they were called Christians, these disciples. That's how they were known within the church. They were known as disciples, but it says that the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. You know, the Christians, as I've said, they were known here as disciples. We're also told in verse number 29 that they are also referred to as brethren. and in other places they were known as saints. And so it seems to be that in the early days, these individuals, these people who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, did not use the term Christian whenever they, as it were, met each other to identify who they were. They would have been maybe more likely have described themselves as followers off the way. Followers off the way. Or they would have been called disciples or saints or the brethren. And so, in all probability, this name was invented by the people in Antioch to distinguish this new movement that had arisen among them in their vicinity, to distinguish them from other groupings that had come to find their home in also their city too. One commentator said, the people of Antioch were notorious for inventing names of derision. and for turning their wit into channels of ridicule." Now, whether this name Christian was used as a term of derision or not, it was people who were now being instructed in the doctrine and in the truth of God's Word by the New Testament's theologian, the apostle Paul and his friend Barnabas, who were now the people that were being designated as being Christians by those outside the church. Men and women who were being schooled in the Scriptures by godly men were now ones who were being called Christians. And that is what a Christian is. A Christian is one who is under biblical instruction. under biblical instruction. Now, today it seems that everybody is a Christian. You go to church now and again, and you're classified as a Christian. You live in a Christian country, and therefore you are a Christian. You've been baptized. You've went through the rites of a church. you're termed and classified as a Christian. But a Christian is someone who has come to believe the Word of God and the record concerning Jesus Christ, and they are also continuing under that biblical instruction. Christians continue under biblical instruction. So we find here that these individuals were called Christians. These were people who were marked out as those who loved the Word of God, and those who came then to live out the Word of God in their day-to-day lives. It's very interesting and noticeable that it was the people of Antioch that called these people Christians. They didn't need to advertise that they were Christians. They didn't need to carry around signs or wear badge lapels saying, I am a Christian. No, by their lips and by their lies, these people evidenced that they were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you and I live like a Christian, and if you and I live like a Christian ought to live, then, brethren and sisters, it should be plain and clear to those outside the church that we belong to Jesus Christ. We shouldn't need to advertise it. They should know it. The outside world, the ungodly world, know rightly who a genuine Christian is and who is not by what they see and by what they observe. And so these Antioch Christians, or these Antioch citizens, they said they were Christians. Remember in the New Testament and the Gospels that spoke about the Herodians, the Herodians, these were people who followed Herod. Well, just in that same way, so the believers, they followed after Christ. I wonder by what name does the world know me by? Could they put the name Christian to my life? or would they have to coin another name? Alexander McLaurin, he said, the clear impression made by our conduct should be that we belong to Christ. The eye of an outsider may be unable to penetrate the secret of the deep sweet tie uniting us to Jesus, but there should be no possibility of us overlooking the fact that we are his. Jesus Christ should manifestly be the center guide, impulse, pattern, strength, and reward of our whole lives. What a name we bear as Christians. James spoke about that name. In James 2, verse 7, he spoke about the worthy name by which we are called. The worthy name by which we are called. Oh, to live up to that worthy name. Oh, let us do nothing to dishonor that name. Let us seek to advance that name and glorify his name in all that we say and do. I thought this was a very good definition of a Christian in light of this instruction, biblical instruction. A Christian is someone who gathers to learn. and then goes out to live. A Christian is someone who gathers to learn and then goes out to live. We learn how we are to live as we sit under the preaching of God's word, and then we go out to live out what we have learned. It really isn't that complicated, brethren and sisters. Where the problem seems to arise is somewhere between closing amen of the service and the getting up from the pew. That's where the problem seems to be. That's where the bottleneck seems to be. It's not that we don't know how to live, we're taught how to live, the word of God is preached, but it seems to be that just there between the amen and us actually getting up from the pew, we seem to have a problem and bringing all the things that have been brought to our attention to actually begin to live it out in our lives. It's not the hearing of the truth that's the problem. It's really the heeding of the truth that causes the difficulty. And I'm as guilty as anyone else. We know what we are to do, but we fail to put it into practice. And for this, we need the help of God. But a Christian is someone who is under the constant, faithful, consistent, biblical instruction of redeemed men. For that's what happened for an entire year. Paul stays in Antioch, and he preaches on to them the word of God. That's what a Christian is. They are someone who is under biblical instruction. The second reference is there in Acts chapter number 26 and the verse number 28. And there we find that a Christian is not only someone who is under instruction, but a Christian is someone who is under impulsion. Impulsion. Under divine impulsion, I speak of. No, it mattered not where the Apostle Paul found himself. It mattered not who the Apostle Paul spoke to, but he was always keen to share with them the gospel. He spoke about how he had witnessed to both small And that was very evident when we come to read about his appearance before King Agrippa. The result of his audience with Agrippa and all that he said was that Agrippa replies to Paul's preaching, Through the preaching of the Apostle Paul, this man, Agrippa II, almost sided with Christ and nearly sided with those who were the Savior's followers. And Paul responds to Agrippa, You just imagine Agrippa if he had have become a Christian that day. If Agrippa had have become a Christian that day, that would have indicated a number of things. It would have indicated, first of all, that Jesus Christ had now become the sole object of his faith. You see, belief in a system of theology does not save us, however good and however biblical that system of theology is. I believe in a code of ethics doesn't save us either, but it is Christ alone that saves us. And in Christ alone, we must trust if we are ever to experience salvation in Jesus Christ. Christians are those who have come to believe exclusively on Christ for salvation. And if Agrippa had to become a Christian that day, he would have been indicating that Jesus Christ was now the sole object of his faith. Not only that, but Agrippa would also have been indicating that a new relationship had been forged between him and the Savior. In Bible times, as now when women marry, they take on the name of the husband. We find that in Isaiah 4 in the verse number 1. If we receive Christ's name, calling ourselves Christians, It can only be because faith has brought us into a real and into an intimate union with Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what the Bible teaches. The believers are joined on to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6 verse 17. The name Christian speaks of our union and identification with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Agrippa, if he had become a Christian that day, he would have been indicating that now a new relationship has been forged between me and the Savior. And that's what happens in salvation. He would have also been indicating that he had become a new person. See, Christians are those who are given a new nature. nature that is radically different than the sinful nature that they were born into this world with. To be a Christian is to become a new creature. Malcolm Watts, preacher over there in England, he said these words, God gave, for example, new names to Jacob and Peter as indications of new characters they were to become. There must surely be something of the idea here. When we respond believingly to the gospel, we are called Christians. And not simply because we have a close and precious relationship with Christ, but because through God's transforming grace, we are different people. And so he would have been indicating, I am now a new person. Not only that, but he would also have been indicating that he was now a follower of Jesus Christ. Christ's little ones is how someone has defined the name Christian. I don't know what veracity there is with regard to that little definition, but is that not what we are to be? Carbon copies? Not of the minister, but carbon copies of Jesus Christ. He is the example that we are to imitate. Those early disciples were called Christians because they became followers of Jesus Christ and often his gospel. Robert Hall wrote the proper import of this name as a follower of Christ. It denotes one who, from mature deliberation and unbiased mind, embraces the religion of Christ, receives his doctrine, believes his promises, and makes it his chief habitual care to shape his life by his precepts and example. Not only that, Agrippa would have been indicating that he was going to identify himself with others who were also Christians. No other names they tend to divide people, but this name, the name of Jesus Christ unites all those who have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How blessed it is, it is to be among those who truly are Christ ones, Christians, redeemed of the Lord. We're united under one name. We can go to places in the world. We can meet our brethren and sisters. They are our fellow brethren and sisters in Christ. They're Christians. They have taken the name of Jesus Christ as we have. We identify with them, other believers. Paul, as a Christian, he found himself then under divine impulsion to make Christ known to this ungodly king, King Agrippa, when he came to stand before him. A Christian is under divine compulsion to share Christ with others. I wonder, Do we share in that divine compulsion? Is sharing the gospel what we do? Do we do it out of duty simply, or do we delight to do it? Do we love to speak of Christ? I read this little statement, too often we're like some rivers that you find in Canada during the winter, frozen at the mouth, frozen at the mouth. Oh, may God melt our hearts with calvary love that will in turn melt our frozen mouths to speak just a word for Jesus. Thank God many of you do that. Let me encourage you to keep doing that. Take up the opportunities that come your way to speak of the Savior. Oh, may the love of Christ constrain us to do that. A Christian, a gripper, Paul stands before him, understands that a Christian is someone who is under divine impulsion to share Christ. Here's a man. Here's a man who's a Christian, and he's sharing with me the gospel. That's what Christians do. That's what we should be doing. But a Christian is not only under instruction and not only under impulsion, but a Christian is someone who is under incursion. or under attack. Under attack. This is what Peter speaks of when he uses the word Christian. He's speaking about the Christian and suffering. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. Here were people who were suffering because they were now identifying with the Lord Jesus Christ. As we know from our own personal experience as Christians, we are under attack on three different fronts. We're under attack from the world, we're under attack from our flesh, and we're under attack from the devil. And Peter reminds us that the person who lives as a Christian and as a Christian should live, that that individual will suffer. We're not to be surprised at this. In fact, we are to expect suffering as a Christian. This world is no friend to grace, and it's no friend to God. And our enemy, the devil, is no lover of the child of God either. We are the object of the world's scorn and mockery. We are at times the butt of many a canteen joke. We're the easy target of the comedian and the radio pundit. But Christ reminds us that we are to rejoice when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great will be our reward in heaven. Now, brethren and sisters, we have to be very honest that we live in a bubble here in Northern Ireland. We know very little of what it is to suffer as a Christian. But I want you to think of the thousands of Christians Across our world tonight that are suffering for their faith, believers who meet in secret in communist countries, others who live under constant threat in Muslim nations, individuals who are in prison for their faith, We know very little of what it is to suffer as a Christian. Oh, yes, we might be overlooked for a job promotion because of our biblical views and principles. Someone might poke fun at us at school or at work because we don't do certain things or go to certain places because we are a Bible-believing Christian. But really, we in the West are not suffering as others are presently suffering. I wonder, as I thought of that, wonder would I be as faithful as my persecuted brethren and sisters if I was in their shoes this evening. Would I suffer as they suffer? Would there be anything in my life that would put me on the radar of hostile government agencies with regard to me living out my Christian faith in a non-Christian nation, although there's no such thing as a Christian nation. But you know what I mean, a nation that has been affected by the gospel. I wonder, would there be anything on their radar? Would I, as it were, would I be a marked man? Would I be a marked man? You know, suffering times for the church are often sifting times. It's then that we come to know who really are Christ. Maybe you are suffering as a Christian. I don't know what you faced at school today. I don't know what your friends or your mates or your classmates said about you. Maybe at work it was difficult today. You were taking a stand for the Lord. I don't know if you suffered as a Christian today. Maybe you feel very isolated as a believer. Let me encourage you that your light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Soon our suffering days will be ended. We'll leave this veil of tears. We'll leave this place of suffering behind. but until that day comes, may we seek grace from the Lord to suffer patiently as our Savior did, as the Master did, who when He was reviled, He reviled not again, and when He was threatened, He threatened not. If any man suffer as a Christian, it happens. And so the Christian is one who is under incursion, under attack, So what are we to do? We are to take to ourselves the whole armor of God. We're to clad ourselves about daily with that armor as we go out to meet the foe, as we go out into a world that is hostile to the things of God, and as we meet the enemy who wants to trip us up and see to the destruction of our testimonies. or to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and the armor of God and seek the infilling of the Spirit of God each day, that we might be able to go out and face the enemy. Maybe we should ask the question, if I'm not under attack, if the devil isn't on my back, if I never face persecution in the workplace, am I truly the Lord's? Am I truly the Lord? Samuel Davis, he asked the question, are we in reality what we are in name? Are we in reality what we are in name? No, we say that we're Christians, but are we actually Christians? He went on to say this, to be a Christian is indeed to be like Christ, from whom the name is taken. To be a Christian indeed is to be a follower, an imitator of Christ. To be a Christian, indeed, is to have Christ's spirit and temper, and to live as He lived in the world. In short, to be a Christian is to have our sentiments, our character, and our practice formed upon the sacred model of the gospel. We are Christ's ones. We are Christians. Let us rejoice. in that fact, and then let us live up to that worthy name by which we are called, a Christian under biblical instruction, Christian under divine impulse, Christian under daily incursion or attack. This is what a Christian is. May God help us to live up to the lovely name by which we are identified by, Make our friends and loved ones and neighbors know that we are Christians. May God bless His word to our hearts. Let's just unite briefly in a short word of prayer. Our loving Father, we thank Thee for the name, that lovely name, the name of our Savior. Lord, we take that name to ourselves so gladly, so willingly. or that name that we once despised and hated, even the mention of his name, that name that, Lord, maybe at times we took upon our lips as a blasphemy and take upon it as an oath. Now, Lord, we cherish that name. We love his name. Lord, we desire, Lord, to do nothing to tarnish his name. We want to uplift his name, want to glorify his name, want to exalt his name, want to make his name known far and wide. all that we come into contact with, O God, help us to live under the daily instruction of thy word. And Lord, then to go out with divine impulse. Lord, to spread forth the name of Christ. And Lord, as we do so, help us to remember that as we do that, we're going to come under the attack of the enemy. But Lord, we rejoice, Lord, in the fact that we are counted worthy to suffer for that name. Lord, answer our prayer and lead us, Lord, soon around the throne of grace. We offer prayer in and through our Savior's great name.