Intro: In languages, word meanings can change over time because of cultural and social influences. For example,the words “cool”, “boss”, and “pot” are a few examples. When read ancient documents or documents that are of a different time and culture, we have to apply a historical, grammatical approach as to how the original writers and hearers understood the words and their meanings. Then and only then can we draw the real meaning from the original writing. One the the words whose meaning has been changed and devalued over the years is the word, “Christian”. It has come to mean someone who isn’t Jewish or any other religion. One who is affiliated with a church even loosely affiliated with God. I would suggest to you that the church has to recover the real original meaning of what it means to be call Christian. In Acts 11:19-39, Dr. Luke records for us the profile of a Christian through  the life and actions of Barnabas and others. You and I can learn a lot from this passage. It can serve as a guide to evaluate our understanding of what it means to be a biblical Christian. A Christian is a Whole Hearted Follower of ChristOne who has come to a personal knowledge of the person and work of ChristThrough repentance of sin and faith in ChristThere is a sense of new ownershipAdopted into the family of GodChrist’s righteousness exchange for our sin, guilt, and shameOne who is committed to life long learning and spiritual maturity from the inside outStudent of the WordPrayerSubmitting to the Holy SpiritWorshipFellowship and the fellowship of sufferingSharing and living the gospelA Christian is One Who is Committed to Mentoring and EncouragingGod created us to be relational peopleGod created us to be: Firstly dependent on Him in all we do, and Secondly, be dependent one one anotherIt is not either/or, it needs to be both for healthy spiritual maturityThe goal is to progressively become more like Christ in our journeyThis love comes from the inside our through submitting to the Word and Holy SpiritIt is a love that loves the unlovableIt is a love that will encourage and correctIt is a love that is attractive to people who are seeking what is really missing in lifeClosing: I think we can all agree that none of us is a perfect Christian. But in order to ask Jesus to help us mature into what He wants us to be, we must recover the real meaning of what it means to be called a Christian. For Christ followers, it is a name we didn’t earn or deserve. It should tell the world to whom we belong, love, and follow. We should be sharers of the gospel, understanding that when we put our trust in the person and work of Christ, we belong to Him and are His ambassadors to the world. We should be committed to worship, studying the Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, encouraging and mentoring.