What is a Christian?

Mark chapter 10 verse 13 to 16 and Alvina is going to come and read for us.

Mark 10:13–16

Good morning.

Okay. People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them

but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he was indignant. He said to them

let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to

such as these. Truly I tell you anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child

will never enter in. And he took the children in his arms placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Thank you so much Alvina. Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help as we look at his word. Let's pray.

Father we do want to ask just now that you might give us open hearts to understand and receive your

words. There are many things that would snatch it away many things that would distract us.

Please we pray help us to trust what you say and hear it carefully in Jesus name. Amen.

Now I think this morning that the passage itself is really very very simple. If you're a child in

the room I think even you would have understood the passage this morning unless you zoned out while

Alvina was reading it. It's very simple isn't it? People are bringing children to Jesus probably

parents or maybe older siblings or some of the older children might be coming themselves but the

disciples stop them. They don't do that. Jesus rebukes them tells them off and say the children

are allowed to come to Jesus and he blesses them. And that's it right? That's that's all there is in

the story. But despite the story's simplicity what I want to suggest to us this morning is that this

story in the New Testament is really really really important. It appears in all the synoptic gospels.

It's there in Matthew. It's in Mark and it's in Luke. And its importance comes from the fact that

what you've got in this very small very simple story is a summary of what it means to be a Christian.

It is if you like a visual illustration of what it means to live the Christian life. It's an active

parable of of what a Christian is how you become a Christian and then how you know that you're a

Christian. And so I thought it would be good for us at the start of this new term to start

here with a very simple sermon very clear sermon hopefully on what it means to be a Christian how

you become a Christian and then how you know that you're a Christian. Those are three really

important questions and I want to show you how this very simple story answers them. So the first

one is this what is a Christian? What is a Christian? Now I want you to notice that Jesus's assumption

here is made in his rebuke of the disciples. I don't know if you noticed it noticed it.

I think this might be the trickiest thing this morning so if you get this you'll get it all.

It's there at the end of verse 14 when Jesus says of the children the kingdom of God belongs to such

as these. Notice Jesus's assumption with me. Notice that he is assuming that it is a good thing

to have the kingdom of God belonging to you. The kingdom of God is the prize of the passage. It's the

treasure and Jesus's rebuke of the disciples is based on the idea that these children have received

something which the disciples themselves should want for themselves. They should be and should want

to be recipients of the same thing that the children have. In fact in the story they think

they already have it but turn out not to. Now that's worth thinking about some more. Let's just

state it really simply and unpack it a bit. Jesus's definition of a Christian here is someone who has

received a place in the kingdom of God. The kingdom belongs to them to use the language.

Now I'm guessing that might sound strange to you this morning. Maybe you're not a Christian this

morning and if someone was to ask you you know what what is a Christian or maybe you are a Christian

and someone asked you tomorrow you know what does it mean for you to be a Christian? I don't think you

would state it like this probably. You might say oh a Christian is someone who has faith or a Christian

who is someone who who thinks in a certain way about the world or a Christian is someone who is

committed to moral living. But that's not what Jesus says is it? He doesn't say to such belongs

great faith or great morality or great insight. They have the kingdom of God. No he doesn't say it like

that does he? Rather he says to such belongs the kingdom. Now why would he speak that way?

What is the kingdom of God? Well to see that we just need to zoom out a little bit from this story

and listen to what Jesus has been saying all the way through his ministry and you'll find that Jesus

has been repeating this idea of the kingdom of God over and over and over again. The very first words

of Jesus recorded in Mark's gospel are these, the time has come, Jesus said, the kingdom of God is near,

repent and believe the good news. In other words Jesus's message is that God has a kingdom, a place,

a place where God rules. It's a place of goodness, a place of grace, a place occupied by people who

belong to him and Jesus says listen don't think about that place as being Jerusalem, it's not Galilee,

instead that place is a place that I am bringing. You find the place where God rules, God reigns,

a place of grace and mercy in me. The kingdom is near says Jesus because I am near. I have arrived

so the kingdom has arrived. So Jesus follows up those words with his second words in Mark's gospel

which are come and follow me. If you think about it for a moment it makes total sense doesn't it

to talk about it like this way. Many of our experiences of life come don't they from the places

that we live? A kingdom if you like to which we belong. It works nationally doesn't it? The citizens

of certain nations face certain things because that is what is being faced by their nation.

Some of them that's really difficult and hard isn't it if it's war and bombing and destruction.

Others it might be great joy and great happiness. I think the survey suggests that Norway I think is

is the happiest country. Citizens of Iceland face severe cold and months of darkness.

It works locally as well doesn't it? The place that you live locally. If you live in London

you live in a very different place to the rest of the UK. If you live in Kilburn you live in somewhere

which is different to Kensington or Chelsea or Fulham. Why? Well because our experiences of life

are a result of the place that we live. That's why people move around seeking a better life a better

place to live. But Jesus says essentially that the earthly kingdom to which we belong is really if you

like a time-limited geography tied image of a greater reality. A reality that he teaches which is in fact

that there are in this world two great kingdoms. The kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of this world as he calls it which is the kingdom into which we're all born.

A kingdom dominated by death with a future of judgment. A kingdom where we live to please

ourselves. We kind of crash into one another causing each other pain and hurt. A kingdom where we think

we're in charge but really we're told we're under the power of the ruler of this kingdom. The prince of

the power of the air as he's called. The devil. And where we share in his eternal destination in the

judgment of hell. That's one great kingdom. The other great kingdom is the kingdom of God.

The place where God rules. Where peace and justice reign. A place of eternal life. A place of healing

and wholeness and flourishing. A place where there's no death. A place where there's no judgment because

there is no evil. A place where the devil is banished and defeated. And Jesus's assumption is that in a

in a world of two great kingdoms. The kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. You and I the

disciples and the children will want to be in the kingdom of God and not the kingdom of this world.

And he says you can only get there through me. I am the gatekeeper of the kingdom of God he says.

I alone are the one who brings access to this great kingdom of God.

So that being a Christian is about belonging to the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ.

Now let me say to you this morning if if you don't get this definition of what a Christian is

then it will be impossible for you to make sense of the demands that Jesus makes of his followers

or what how he even talks about living the Christian life. Now if you think for example that the

Christian life like lots of preachers on the internet tell you if you think that being a

Christian is really mostly about having your best life right now or being a Christian is about how to

get your kids through uni without a scratch or how to get the job that you aspire to or how to get the

home that you long for. If that's what you think a Christian is then you have massively reduced the

Christian life compared to what Jesus says. You know nor is being a Christian about getting God on your

side. I've heard some young people talk about it like this as if being a Christian is knowing that

God is on my side as if he's on my team not by my side like we were singing but on my side as if God

takes my commands and does what I want him to do. No the Christian life as Jesus presents it in this

story is way bigger than any of that. Being a Christian according to Jesus' definition here is

nothing less than moving your eternal destination from the kingdom of this world to the kingdom of God.

Being a Christian says Jesus is about entering a kingdom and receiving a citizenship in the

kingdom of God that will stretch through the suffering of this life and into eternity into a

resurrection life in a world remade by his power and his glory when Jesus returns when what we receive

spiritually now takes over even our physical lives when Jesus returns and brings the kingdom of God with him.

That's why isn't it that when you become a Christian life doesn't suddenly become easy.

If you become a Christian it's not that all your struggles in life get fixed.

Christians still face cancer and redundancy and relationship breakdown and homelessness and

depression and anxiety because the transfer of citizenship from the kingdom of this world

to the kingdom of God reflects something that is still yet to come and not here and now.

Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand but it's not yet finally here. Jesus is not yet finally here. He has not yet returned.

So this is the story's definition of being a Christian. It's being a citizen of the kingdom of God.

Someone who has been transferred from death to life. From hell to glory. From rebellion to life with God.

From seeking to live their best life now to knowing that the best is still to come when Jesus returns.

That's what a Christian is. Someone who has received a place in the kingdom of God through Jesus Christ.

Second point then. How do I become a Christian? How do I become a Christian? Now this is the real meat of the passage isn't it?

And why it's so important for us this morning. This is what is acted out in the story in a way that you can't miss.

Access to the kingdom of God as we were hearing earlier with the children is not by religious heritage.

It's not by obedience. It's not even by actions that are only doable by adults.

No. Citizenship of glory belonging to the kingdom of God is received as a gift.

In other words the unmistakable lesson of this simple story is this.

It's profound but it's very simple. You cannot through any action of your own make yourself a Christian.

You can't do that because it is not an action of your own that makes you a Christian.

It is receiving the action of the Lord Jesus that makes you a Christian.

You receive Christian life from Jesus as a gift.

That's why children are such a good example isn't it?

We were learning this weren't we? It's not because children are innocent.

You don't have to hang out with children for very long before that myth is busted right?

Children are not perfect.

Nor is it even because all of these children here would become Christians at some time in the future

and Jesus was just anticipating it. No.

The point is that children are brilliant at accepting gifts.

So they teach us what a Christian is.

Just look again at what he says.

Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

People like them.

Truly I tell you anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

There was a church in Oxford that one Christmas time decided that a really brilliant way of inviting people to their Christmas services

was to set up a stall in town giving away chocolate and mince pies to passersby

and then handing them an invitation to their carol service and Christmas services and trying to spark up a conversation with them.

They discovered very quickly that it's quite difficult to give adults chocolate and mince pies and free stuff

because they wouldn't take it as they walked past.

But what they noticed was that a small group of children had worked out what was going on

and were walking past taking chocolate, walking around the block and walking past again and taking chocolate

and walking around the block again and taking chocolate

and were rinsing them for all the mince pies and chocolate that they'd set out.

So much so that the church members had to say to them,

listen kids, on your bike, leg it.

Because we don't want you stealing all our chocolate.

Kids are so good at receiving things, aren't they?

They know, don't they?

That if they are going to receive it, they're going to have to accept it freely.

They're good at receiving.

The why, why kids are good at receiving gets expanded in the verses that follow

in the story of the rich man who is unable to enter the kingdom of God

because he is unable to give up his money.

Because here's sort of the nuance of it or the twist of it.

Access to the kingdom of God is available as a gift, right?

You have to receive it like a little child.

But here's the thing.

You need an empty hand to receive it.

You need an empty hand to receive it.

You need to empty yourself of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-trust.

That's why children are so good at receiving gifts, isn't it?

Because they know unless they receive it, they won't have it.

And so we need to empty ourselves of our self-confidence,

of any confidence in past performance or present performance

or promised performance in the future.

The only hand that can receive the gift of the kingdom is an empty, childlike hand.

All that I have, I need to receive.

That's why, isn't it, the prayer of faith,

the prayer of starting the Christian life, if you like,

is not, Lord, rescue me and I'll be good in the future.

It's not, Lord, have you seen all these good things that I've done,

that I've started coming to church?

No, it's this, isn't it?

This is the prayer of faith.

Lord, I have nothing.

I have no credit.

I have no moral merit.

There are no reasons that you should add me to your kingdom.

All I am asking is, will you give me what I don't deserve?

A place in glory through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Let me say this, that the Bible tells you that this is the hardest thing about being a Christian.

The Bible calls this the stumbling block to Christian faith.

The trip hazard, if you like, that most people fall on.

You might think that the trip hazard to access to the kingdom of God

is because it's really difficult to prove the resurrection

or it's science that's disproved God.

No, it's none of those things.

It's actually relatively easy to give good answers to that question.

Scientists, any scientist who's really worth their science

will tell you that science has significant limits, hasn't written off God.

Now, the reason that most people will not contemplate becoming a Christian

or won't live the Christian life seriously

is because by nature we will not accept

that we can bring nothing to God to save ourselves.

It's so hard for us to do that.

To admit that we are hopeless and helpless, sinful and wicked,

devoid of any reason in ourselves why God should give us a place in glory,

that we are citizens by nature of the kingdom of this world, destined for hell.

That is incredibly offensive.

It's called the offense of the gospel.

You see it in Jesus' words.

Jesus is basically saying to the disciples,

listen, if you want to be a resident of the kingdom of God,

you have to become like these despised little children.

Like the people who in your culture no one pays any attention to,

who no one really bothers with,

someone who has no credit to pay,

with no status to draw,

nothing to lean on other than the generosity of an adult.

You know, our culture kind of deifies children, don't we?

We think children are brilliant.

We love kids in our culture,

until they turn about 14 and hang out on the street corners,

and then we hate them.

But before that, we kind of think that they're brilliant, don't we?

But in the first century, children were the lowest of the low.

They were to be ignored, to be passed over, not to be bothered with.

So for Jesus to say, you know, to become a Christian,

you need to become like a little child,

he's in effect saying to become a Christian is to become a nobody.

To become a Christian, to receive the kingdom,

is to accept this truth of yourself,

that you have no merits, no status, nothing.

Of course, it's really important, isn't it,

to say that a Christian doesn't just do that blindly.

They're not doing this because they've got no self-worth,

or they don't understand reality.

It's not that, is it?

No, becoming a Christian is actually recognizing

that the evidence of all of our lives and our world

points to the very truth of that statement.

It's unbelief that denies reality, not belief.

The sobering truth is that for all of our boasting,

our lives are largely lived outside of our control.

We have no say in when they start.

We have no say in when they end.

We have very little capacity to change the things in between.

You didn't decide the gifts that you had.

You didn't decide your physical capacities,

your intellectual ability.

You didn't decide where you were born.

You can't even insist that your mind works properly.

And then at the very center of history

is not an action of humanity, is it?

At the very center of history,

a history kind of littered with, ah, screw-ups.

At the center of history is a great act of a merciful God

who came into this world in the person of the Son

by donning human flesh,

born in a manger, raised in a carpenter's workshop,

killed on a Roman cross,

who says in Mark chapter 10, verse 45,

Mark 10:45

if you look down at it,

that he did not come to be served,

but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

So the offering the gift of the kingdom

is something that Jesus has the right to do

because he alone has the moral obedience,

the power of justice to make good on his promise.

He alone is the one who can open the door

to the kingdom of God and let us in.

It's not blind trust, is it?

This is a concrete,

considering the great realities of life and God's word,

that Christ has everything.

I have nothing.

Nothing in my hand I bring,

simply to thy cross I claim.

I've got a dear friend who's not a Christian

but goes to church.

It's a bit of a strange thing, I suppose.

He basically, over a number of years,

has become completely persuaded that the Bible is true.

He would argue for it, even.

I think the Bible's true.

I think the resurrection happened.

But he's not a Christian.

You ask him, why are you not a Christian?

He says this.

He'll tell you honestly, because he's an honest kind of guy.

He says, I'm not a Christian

because it would cost me too much.

It would cost me too much.

I cannot say that I have nothing to bring.

I cannot say that I'm willing to accept

that I have an empty hand

and need Jesus to give me everything.

I can't accept that.

I won't accept that about myself, he says.

He refuses to become a child and accept the gift.

I said to him in a conversation a while ago,

I said, listen,

will you go to hell for your pride?

Would you?

And the answer of his life is yes, he will.

Unless he changes his mind, repents and turns to Christ.

So let me ask you this morning, what about you?

Have you accepted that all you have is an empty hand

to receive the gift that Christ is offering?

Have you accepted that the citizenship that you really need,

you have nothing to offer for it?

No people smugglers can get you there.

No one can buy you a visa to that place.

No birthplace can appeal to it.

No heritage you can claim for it.

No parents can do it for you.

Instead, each of us this morning,

individually and personally,

need to come to Christ with the empty hand and say,

Lord, I have nothing.

Please give me what I really need,

which is access to your kingdom.

I think one of the big dangers for churches

is that we assume this.

We assume it of one another.

We assume that just because you are in church

or in around church,

this must be true about you.

Or because your parents come

or because you used to come regularly

or because you serve on a rota.

But actually, we must accept

we do not become a Christian by attending church

or by having the right parents

or by saying the right things.

The only way to become a Christian

is like becoming like a despised first century child.

Which brings us to my final point,

which is this.

How do I know if I'm a Christian?

This is obviously a really, really important point,

isn't it?

If belonging to the kingdom of God

is what a Christian is,

and I become a Christian by receiving it

as a gift from the Lord Jesus Christ,

but I live my life waiting, essentially,

for the fruit of receiving that gift,

how do I know today

if I'm a citizen of the kingdom of heaven,

the kingdom of God,

which still in large part is still to come?

How can I tell that I have moved

from the kingdom of this world

to the kingdom of God?

How can I know that my sins are forgiven,

that I am freed by God

and I can live my life for him and his glory,

waiting for Christ's return?

What's the mark of that?

Well, let me tell you,

I think it's very surprising.

Look with me closely at the passage

and you'll see this.

I think the biggest surprise in the passage

is one word in verse 14.

In fact, it's such a rare word.

It hardly ever appears in the Bible.

It's here when we're told

that Jesus is indignant with the disciples.

He's furious with them.

Now, notice that is an overreaction, yeah?

It seems to be an overreaction.

All the disciples did

was try and stop these children

from coming to Jesus and hassling him.

The disciples of Jesus

are trying, essentially, to protect him.

They're trying to give him some space,

allow him a bit of me time.

You know, surely, you know,

Jesus has been working hard,

he's been preaching

and he's been going around.

Look, Jesus, just have a bit of time to yourself.

We'll deal with these kids.

We'll stop them coming.

You know, I kind of think

when you see it like that,

surely something more gentle

is in order from Jesus, isn't it?

Listen, don't worry about it, guys.

I don't mind.

I'm not that tired.

I've got enough time for these kids.

Just let them come.

Let them come.

It'll be all right.

Just let them come.

Just don't worry about it.

But instead, what you're told

is that Jesus is indignant.

He is super cross with him.

He's like angry, angry.

Why would he be so cross?

Well, the answer to that is in chapter 9.

In the previous page,

chapter 9, verse 33.

Turn back a page

and you'll see it in your Bible.

The disciples here

have been having a discussion,

I suppose really an argument,

about who is the greatest.

They want to know

who's the most important disciple.

And Jesus responds to them like this.

Look at verse 35.

Sitting down,

Jesus called the 12 and said,

anyone who wants to be first

must be the very last

and the servant of all.

Listen, this argument

about who's the greatest,

that is totally irrelevant

because you've got things upside down.

And he took a little child,

verse 36,

whom he placed among them.

Taking the child in his arms,

he said to them,

whoever welcomes

one of these little children

in my name welcomes me.

and whoever welcomes me,

sorry,

and whoever welcomes me

does not welcome me,

but the one who sent me.

Sorry, my eye's doing tricks there.

Whoever welcomes

one of these little children

in my name welcomes me

and whoever welcomes me

does not welcome me,

but the one who sent me.

Do you see this?

Jesus says that welcoming the child

is the sign

that you've welcomed Jesus.

And welcoming Jesus

is the sign

that you've welcomed the father.

And welcoming the father,

essentially is the sign

that you belong

to the kingdom of God, right?

I'll bring that back

to chapter 10.

And now you can understand,

can't you,

why Jesus is so indignant

with the disciples.

Why is Jesus so indignant

that the disciples

are not welcoming the children?

Because it's not the children

they're rejecting,

but him.

Do you see that?

They're not just rejecting Jesus,

even, are they?

They're rejecting

his father in heaven.

You see,

this is the diagnostic.

How do you know

at this point

what the disciples

think about Jesus?

If you'd asked the disciples,

hey, what do you think

about Jesus?

I'm sure they'd have had

a great deal of respect

for Jesus.

They would have even told you,

because Peter's already said,

that he's the Messiah.

But the sign

that they hadn't

really understood yet,

that they hadn't really

empty-handedly accepted

a place in the kingdom of God,

was not what they said

about Jesus,

but how they treated

the children

who wanted to come to him.

Children,

they're inclined

to despise

and overlook

and think aren't

worthy of Jesus' attention.

See, here's the Mark 10 test

to see whether you're

a citizen of the kingdom of God,

if you're really a Christian.

And notice,

it's not what you say

about Jesus,

as important as that is.

You know you're a Christian

by how you treat

other children

of the kingdom.

The empty-handed,

humble,

nothing to claim

for themselves,

ones that our culture

looks down on,

how you treat them

exposes what's going on

in your heart.

So much so,

the story tells me

this morning,

that if I call myself

a Christian,

but I have no time

for God's people,

if I call myself

a Christian,

but I look down my nose

at the members

of the church,

if I call myself

a Christian,

but I think,

do you know what,

how dull to be

around God's people.

They're all a bunch

of losers.

Church is so terribly boring.

I'd rather watch TV.

I'd rather read a book.

I'd rather even read

my Bible

than go to church

and be around those people.

If you think like that,

then Mark 10 suggests to you

that you are not yet

a Christian.

You see,

it's an obvious dynamic,

isn't it?

You see it all over the place.

Who are the best people

at helping run support groups

for alcoholics?

People who've been alcoholics,

right?

Who are the best people

at encouraging those

with wayward children?

Those who've experienced

wayward children.

Who are the best

at supporting those

struggling with singleness

or childishness

or divorce

or unemployment

or grief

or loss?

Well, it's those

who've experienced

such things.

And why is that the case?

Why is it if you're experiencing

one of those things,

are you more likely

to go to someone else

who is struggling

with those sorts of things

or has struggled

with those things?

Why?

Because you know

they will not judge you.

That's why, isn't it?

Because they will not

look down their nose

at you and say,

I was never like that.

And that's what's going

on here, isn't it?

The disciples reject

the children.

They look down on them

because they haven't yet

accepted that that's

exactly who they are

spiritually.

Oh, get those children away.

Get those children away

because they don't see

that that's what

they are like.

You see, if I look down

my nose at the church,

if I despise the gatherings

of God's people,

oh, that's really dull.

Those people are really boring.

They're all a bunch of losers.

I don't want to be around them.

What am I saying?

I haven't yet accepted

that that's exactly who I am.

I have nothing to claim of God.

So if you refuse to accept

the weakness of the people

of the church,

if you refuse to attend,

if you think you can just

sort of catch up online

on a later date

without the messiness

of actually engaging

with the real people in church,

well, then it means

you've not yet understood

what it means to be a Christian.

Let me try and pull all this together

as we just conclude.

A Christian is someone

who is a citizen

of the kingdom of God,

someone who belongs

through Jesus Christ.

You become a Christian

by receiving it as a gift,

not by anything that you do.

And you know that you have

accepted that gift

by your attitude

to other believers.

You don't look down your nose,

but you recognize yourself

as a sinner along with them

who has an empty hand

that has received

everything they need

from the Lord Jesus Christ.

And the brilliance of this story

is not only its usefulness

in explaining the gospel

to someone

who's never heard it before,

but it describes for us

a dynamic with which

we live our Christian lives.

There is a posture

in Mark 10,

a way of living,

a way of being a Christian.

That a Christian

isn't someone

who starts off

by accepting

that they're a little child

and then grows up

into thinking

that they don't need

anything anymore.

No, a Christian

is someone

who constantly recognizes

their childlike status

before a God

of grace and mercy

who gives them

everything they need.

And so if you're

a Christian this morning,

this story is to remind you

that you are never more

or never less

than an empty-handed child

who has received

everything they need

from the goodness

and grace of God.

So let's pray

and give thanks.

Loving Heavenly Father,

we accept before you

that we have nothing to claim,

nothing to boast about,

no goodness,

no morality,

no works,

no actions,

no deeds

that are worthy

of citizenship

in the kingdom of heaven,

the kingdom of glory.

We deserve by nature

to carry on

in the kingdom

of this world

destined for hell

and judgment.

But we thank you

and we receive

with open,

empty hands

the gift

of the Lord Jesus Christ,

access to your kingdom

through faith

in him alone.

Please, Lord,

we pray,

help each of us

personally

in our own hearts

to receive

that great gift,

to accept

of ourselves

what you say

is true

in your word

and help us

to demonstrate

that we have received

that by our attitudes

to one another,

that we wouldn't look

down our nose

at each other,

that we wouldn't think

we don't need

one another,

that we wouldn't think

one another

are dull

and boring

and not to be hung out with,

but that we might

love one another.

By this,

all men will know

that you are my disciples

if you love

one another.

So help us,

we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.