I’m not a pastor or a bible teacher so I will not act like I fully understand what it means to be a christian or a disciple. However, like those individuals, I have access to the Word, Holy Spirit’s clarity, and Jesus’ example; which has helped me along the way to truly understand what it means to live this life out.
Understanding your purpose is not only a moment of collecting information and receiving something from God but a fullness of who you are and freedom to walk boldly in it on this earth. Let’s understand the back story regarding being a “Christian” and begin to dive into the bible to understand more.
How did Christians begin?
The first mention of Christians did not occur until the book of Acts. This term was coined shortly after the day of pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The word Christian was actually used as a word to categorize followers of Christ in the early church of Antioch which some saw as a benefit and some as a scam.
Yet, God reminds us to not be ashamed to be called Christian, we should be glad to bear that name. Look in the scripture:
“Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus.
The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.
Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
During this time some prophets traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up in one of the meetings and predicted by the Spirit that a great famine was coming upon the entire Roman world. (This was fulfilled during the reign of Claudius.)
So the believers in Antioch decided to send relief to the brothers and sisters in Judea, everyone giving as much as they could. This they did, entrusting their gifts to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders of the church in Jerusalem.”
Acts of the Apostles 11:19-30 NLT“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs.
But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”
1 Peter 4:12-19 NLT
Understanding Your Purpose as a Christian
Understanding your purpose as a Christian can help you weed out all the performance and religious activities that do not align with what Jesus has called for us to do in being a follower of Christ.
Many of us have been on this journey being a believer of Christ but not necessarily stepping into the fullness of having a relationship with God and the ability to be a true disciple of Christ. In other words, living our life having the same attitude/mind of Christ.
Below I share with you the key aspects of our role and purpose as brethren, believers, followers, Christians, and as disciples after we give our life to Christ.
All verses courtesy of Bible Gateway in the NLT version.
Your purpose is to LOVE.
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” — John 13:35 NLT
“Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning”. — 2 John 1:6 NLT
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” — Matthew 22:37 NLT
Your purpose is to SERVE.
“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.” — John 12:26 NLT
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. —Galatians 5:13 NLT
God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. — 1 Peter 4:10 NLT
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. — Romans 12:11 NLT
Your purpose is to WITNESS and SHARE Jesus.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
— Matthew 28:19-20 NLT
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” —Acts 1:8 NLT
For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. —Acts 22:15 NLT
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. — 1 Peter 3:15 NLT
Your purpose is to CHALLENGE and BUILD each other up.
When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. —John 15:8 NLT
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. — Acts 2:42 NLT
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. —Acts 2:46-47 NLT
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. — 1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT
And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. —Hebrews 10:25 NLT
Your purpose is to IDENTIFY with the Kingdom of God, His truth, and The Gospel.
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings.”
— John 8:31 NLT
Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” —Acts 2:38-39 NLT
And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. I am so glad that you always keep me in your thoughts, and that you are following the teachings I passed on to you. But there is one thing I want you to know: The head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.— 1 Corinthian 11:1-3 NLT
For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”
For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. —1 Corinthians 11: 23:31 NLT
For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. —1 Peter 2:21 NLT
Your purpose is to LIVE by FAITH.
“But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ””
— Matthew 4:4 NLT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. —Romans 12:2 NLT
My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. — Galatians 2:20 NLT
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved. —Hebrew 10:38-39 NLT
By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises.
These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises.
Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. — 2 peter 1:3-9 NLT
All in all,
Take your time through the bible verses and scriptures to get a better understanding of what your purpose is as a Christian. However, I feel like this one sums everything up:
In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
—Colossians 3:11-17 NLT
I pray your journey as a believer and follower of Christ reaps much fruit, fullness, peace, and joy. Your transformation and understanding of your purpose as a Christian will make a path that seems so foreign feel more and more at home. In Jesus name, Amen.