Are You a Christian?

By Lance Lambert

Direct Address on Christian Identity

I would like just to read two verses, Matthew 16:26. What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? In the new version, it is put like this: what will a man gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self? Or what can he give that will buy that self back? I read that again. What will a man gain by winning the whole world at the cost of his true self? Or what can he give that will buy that self back?

I want to speak very simply and directly this evening. I'm not going to apologise for speaking directly, although I naturally would feel like doing so. But I think that sometimes we can be helped by very straight speaking. And I want to speak to those of you this evening, I'm going to confine myself to those of you who are not really sure as to whether they are Christians.

If I were to ask you a simple, direct question, it is this. Are you a Christian? And I expect most of you would say, yes, I am a Christian.

I want you, as we look at the Scriptures this evening, I want you to keep in your mind this question. Are you a true Christian? A real Christian? Do you know what it means to be a Christian? Do you know what the Lord Jesus said about being a Christian?

The Changing World and Humanity's Enduring Need

You see, we are living in a world that's changing. It's an amazing thing that life has gone on quietly and slowly for thousands and thousands of years. And then suddenly, within the last century, the whole of life is changing rapidly. Things that have lasted for thousands of years are suddenly vanishing. New things are appearing. All the things that people have trusted in for generations are breaking up and dissolving.

And man is no nearer, humanity is no nearer to an answer to its need than it was thousands of years ago. Humanity has always been in need. The human race has never yet found and experienced in a general way an answer to its need.

And now, in the 20th century, here we all are, the product of the 20th century. And still we are as far away from an answer to humanity, to our problems, our world problems, our national problems and our personal problems than we have ever been. With all our inventions, with all our education, our literacy, our social standards, our culture and so much else. We still have not got the basic answer to the need of the human race.

And so I want to ask you what at first may seem to be a rather peculiar question. Are you a Christian? Because in fact, it is the answer to that question which determines your future. It determines where you stand, whether you are part of this world, or whether you are part of that which is to come. Whether you are a citizen of this age and all that belongs to this age, or whether you are a citizen of heaven, whether you are a subject in the kingdoms of this world or whether you are a subject in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Common Misconceptions About Christian Identity

You see, there are few people who know what a Christian is. Many people think that it is all to do with where you were born. If you're born in England or Norway or Denmark or France or Germany or Switzerland, then of course, you are a Christian. If you are born in India, then evidently you are not a Christian. If you are born in Japan, you are not a Christian unless your parents had you baptised when you were born or unless somehow or other you joined a Christian organisation.

But, you see, the whole point is this: being a Christian is something inside. It is something inward. Nothing that any person can do from outside to you can make you a Christian. It is something the Holy Spirit must do inside of you. In other words, whatever comes from without cannot save you. Only by the Holy Spirit inside you doing something can you become a Christian.

The Doctrine of Spiritual Rebirth

The Lord Jesus summed it up in this word. He said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of heaven."

Born again. What a tremendous thing it was when we were born. What a commotion. What a fuss. What travail, what excitement, what joy. What a revolution took place when you and I came into the world. Oh, it's only a personal revolution. It was only a family revolution. But, you know, birth is a miracle. It is a miracle that even now, with all our understanding and education, we still have not understood completely or discovered. It's a miracle.

Jesus, the Lord Jesus said we must be born again. Something as miraculous, something as remarkable, something as revolutionary, something as exciting as our first birth must happen all over again. But this time it's got to be inside. It's not seen. It's not physical, it's not material. It's practical, but it's unseen. We have got to be born again. When we are born again, we become a Christian.

So you will, I hope, see that the Lord Jesus made it abundantly clear that where you and I are born, in what country or family or anything else does not make any difference to us as far as being a Christian is concerned.

The Example of Nicodemus

There have been those who have been born in the most pious and devout families who are not Christians. And there are those who have been born into the most evil and godless families who have become Christians. It is not to do with our family or our country or our nationality or our education or anything outside. It's not even to do with religious observance. For when, when Jesus, the Lord Jesus, said this remarkable thing, He spoke to the greatest and most religious man of His day. A man acclaimed by everyone as a just, good, decent, moral and godly man. Nicodemus. Everyone knew him as such.

To him, the Lord Jesus said, not to a blackguard, not to some down and out, not to someone who was immoral and wicked and evil, but someone so righteous. The Lord Jesus said, "Nicodemus, the key to everything is being born again."

Now, if you have been born again, you are a Christian. You are a Christian. You may hardly understand anything about the Bible. You may hardly know how to pray. You may know nothing about the history of the church and everything else. But if you have been born again, you, you are a Christian.

On the other hand, you can know an awful lot about the Bible. Your mind can be filled with theology. You may know everything about Christian things, about the church and church history, and yet not be a Christian. You think you are a Christian like a chameleon you have taken on the colour of the surroundings, but you are not truly a Christian.

Oh, if we can only understand that. We have already the answer to our question. Are you a Christian?

The Enduring Nature of Christian Identity

You see, becoming a Christian does not mean that you are no longer human. You are as human as ever. You have all the fears, the doubts, joys and the sorrows that belong to the whole human race. But you have a tremendous rock upon which to build. Let the world be blown up with its H-bombs. Let the whole thing disintegrate in flame. You, if you are a child of God, are as eternal and as safe and as secure as God Himself.

When you become a Christian, you become part of Christ. You become a partaker in God's nature. You become a partner in God's life. That life is indestructible. The safest place to be is in Christ. The safest place to be is to be with Christ. To have given yourself to the Lord Jesus. To belong to the Lord Jesus.

The Failure of Human Solutions

I know some of you will think, oh, he's such a prophet of gloom and doom and misery. But you see, there is no, there is no future for the human race. No future at all. Most of you have lived at least through the immediate post-war years. You remember all that talk about a utopia, peace forever, the golden age being ushered in. Everyone was going to love each other. There was going to be no more war, no more division, no more disunity, no more unhappiness. What has happened? What has happened? Whenever you look all over the world, the thing they said wasn't going to happen has happened. What has U.N.O. been able to do? Nothing.

All the efforts of good men. Good men, underline it. Good men are just hopeless in stemming what is a tide downhill.

Look at our country. Oh, forget those of you who come from other countries, look at this country. What has happened to it? We've gone through a war and when we came out of it, oh, it was all going to be so wonderful. What's happened? We've got the highest murder rate in Europe. Everywhere now, old men and women are afraid to go out alone. People like my mother have got to be escorted to their home in the dark. What's happened? This didn't used to be so, even in the war.

What has happened to the nation? What's going wrong? The whole thing is sliding down. All the promises, empty wind, all the hopes. They're foundationless. They have no rock beneath them, you see, everything is gradually disintegrating. Oh, we hope, we hope because we human beings have an amazing capacity for hope. All the time we hope, we hope, we hope. All the time we think that just round the corner there's a new era.

But you see, people have been hoping and hoping and hoping. And you would have thought that with all the modern inventions and everything else, well, we would be somewhere, somehow, we would have a key. For even I can remember when we were told that education was the answer, and I'm not very old, I can remember when we were told that education was the answer. Educate the people. That's the answer. Educate them. Not an answer at all.

You know that as well as I do. I think it was Sir Winston Churchill who said, if you educate devils, you just make them clever devils. That's all. The point is, what is there, basically? What is there, basically? If you have a fallen humanity, all the attempts of good men to somehow or other stem the tide of evil are no good.

The Holy Spirit's Restraining Work

Of course, the Bible says that the key to it all is the Holy Spirit. It says that the Holy Spirit is restraining evil. But at the very end of the human story, of human history, the Holy Spirit will withdraw His restraining hand. And then it is said it will be as in the days of Noah, evil will overwhelm the earth on every side.

So you see, when I ask you, are you a Christian? it's not that I'm being impertinent or not that I'm trying just to be personal in a wrong way. I am asking you that question because everything depends upon the answer you give. And if the answer is true of you, our only safety in this world is to be Christian. Our only hope is to be children of God. The whole answer to this world is in Christ. But as long as this world rejects Christ, there will be no answer to the human problem.

You can accept Christ in theory and reject Him in practice.

The Nature of Authentic Christian Faith

So you see, I want just to underline this whole point of what it means to be a Christian. It means that the Lord Jesus Christ has come by the Holy Spirit to live in you. It's a miracle, isn't it? That's what the Lord Jesus meant when He said, it's like being born again. That God Himself, in the person of Christ, by the Holy Spirit, should live in you and in me.

This word Christian means Christ ones. It means people who are possessed by Christ, people who are indwelt by Christ. People who've got Christ inside. That's a Christian.

Salvation by Grace Alone

Does it seem impudent and arrogant to say you are a Christian? For me to say I am a Christian? But you see, it is not by any works that we can do. It's not by our goodness or our righteousness or our religiousness or anything else that you and I can be Christians. It is by the grace of God alone.

When Christ came into this world, He laid down His life for the whole world. He allowed the world after He'd shown to them what God wanted of a human life, He allowed the world to do its most evil and most wicked work in crucifying Him.

If it wasn't, then everything has been done that could be done at Calvary. God would break again into the world and would be prepared to die all over again to show the world that He loves the world. But He's done it. He has done it, says the Scripture, once for all time. It will never be repeated.

Now this message is proclaimed that you might be obedient to it. That's all, that you might, by faith, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your salvation, as your righteousness and as your life. That's all.

Faith Through the Proclaimed Word

We are told in the scripture that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God and the word of God, by those who preach it. In other words, you and I are saved through the Gospel of God. The Gospel is a good news. The good news of God. God has good news. That's all it means. What is His good news? His good news is this: there is hope. But only one hope. It is in Christ.

If you and I will let go of this world and will take Christ as God, take Christ as the salvation of God, as the righteousness of God and as the life of God. Then you and I will pass out of this world and all it's heading for into the kingdom of God.

The Christian as Pilgrim

Of course, we're still down here. As it says in scripture, we're in the world, but we're not of the world. Dr. Campbell Morgan, used to call Christians lodgers. All Christians are lodgers. They have no permanent dwelling place down here. That's what the scripture meant when it says, we are pilgrims.

You see, when you were born into this world, you were an inhabitant of this world. But when you and I were born again, you and I became pilgrims in this earth. We're no longer. We don't belong. We don't belong here. Doesn't mean that we're to shut our eyes to human misery or to shut our eyes to all the practical need that is around us. No, far from it. We've got to get down to it. But you see, we're still not of the world.

The Lord Jesus was in the world, but not of the world. That's why the world crucified Him in the end. That's why the world has always persecuted and crucified His own, His followers, ever since, to this day. Some people are like ostriches. They bury their heads in the sand. But you know, to this night, there are people who are in concentration camps and people in prison and people who are dying for the sake of the Lord Jesus, in this present world. The story does not end. Just in the same way that our freedom was won by men and women who went to the stake in this country and were burnt for their faith in God. So elsewhere in the world, notably in a country like China, many have laid down their lives for the sake of the Lord Jesus.

The Preciousness of the Human Soul

So, you see, I want to sum it all up by the scripture that we read together. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

Do you realise the preciousness of your soul? Do you realise that your soul is the thing about you? Why, if I could take your soul out of your body, you would be nothing. And you know, not a soul would be interested in you. You'd just be a body. There's not much in a body. It's the soul inside that interests everyone. The soul is you.

There comes a day when the body dies. The soul never dies. The spirit and the soul, they live on. You, the real you, you can't die. There comes a time when the body is laid aside, but you go on. And so the Lord Jesus was saying, why are you all worried about your bodies? What you shall eat, what you shall drink, what you shall wear, where you will live, all these things.

The Lord Jesus wasn't being silly. He knew that we were all practical, temporal people. He knew that we had to worry about these things. But He was saying, Why do you all worry about these things, and you never worry about your soul? None of you ever worry about your soul. You're all the time worried about the job you're going to be at 8:30 tomorrow morning or 9:00 or 10:00 for others. You're worried about your boss or your employees or whatever it is, the people you're responsible for. You're worried about food tomorrow, how you're going to work it out, especially when it gets nearer to Wednesday, how you're going to get everything in on the money you've got left, and so on and so forth.

You see, you're all the time worried. You're worried about where you're going to live and how you're going to do it. And the taps leaking and something else. And the ceilings coming down, chairs breaking up. And you worry and you worry and you worry and you worry and you worry and you worry. All your life is spent with worrying about these things. But you do not ever sit down and really worry about your soul.

You don't worry about your soul. Isn't it strange? There are very few people who sit down and really get worried about their soul. Oh no. So the Lord Jesus said, look at you. You're all worried about the things to do with your body. But don't you realise it's the soul that counts? The soul is the real you. If you're going to worry about these other things, please worry more about your soul.

The True Object of Fear

The Lord Jesus said, don't fear those. Now listen to this carefully. It comes in just the passage before the one we read. The Lord Jesus said, don't worry about those who can kill your body. Now that's a pretty severe thing to say, isn't it? Don't worry about those who kill our body. Most of us are fearful of anyone who will do any damage to our bodies. Lord Jesus, don't worry about those who will kill your body. Fear Him who can not only destroy your body, but your soul in hell.

In other words, the real you. It's far worse to have a soul that goes out into the hands of Satan than to have a body that's killed. The Lord Jesus said, it's rather better to have your body killed and go into the hands of God than to have your body killed and go into the hands of Satan.

So you see, what shall a man profit if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? His soul is the most precious thing. It's the real you. It's your true self, as the new version puts it. If you lose that, you've lost everything. Your 70 years, if you get to it, spent in worry and trial and concern about the things of this life. Year after year, week after week, you worried and worried and worried. And then finally, suddenly you're gone. And only then do you realise that you worried about the wrong thing. It's your soul that counts.

The Eternal Perspective on Worldly Gain

And think of it. If the soul is so precious, what does this little word, gaining the whole world mean? Well, that's a pretty big thing. The Lord Jesus put it like this. Here is one man's soul, and here is the whole world. Now, imagine it. Just supposing that you could win the whole world. The whole world, all the kingdoms, all the glory, all the wealth, all the resources, everything in life, the whole world. Your mind surely reels at it. How could you win the whole world? But Jesus said, if you could, it wouldn't profit you anything if you lost yourself. If you lost your soul, the whole thing would not be worth that.

Historical Examples of Worldly Success and Spiritual Loss

Of course, we have great examples of this. People who have had a lot, who've gained very much of this world. And where are they? Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler. Where are they? They gained so much and lost their own soul.

The other day I read in the paper, the man whose name's known to all of you, I suppose, at least most of you. Vanderbilt. He shot himself. One of the richest men in America. He just shot himself. I had all the money Vanderbilt had. I wouldn't think of shooting myself. Or would I? Or would I? All of us think if I had the money so and so's got, or the position so and so's got, or the temperament so and so's got, or something else, I would be so happy. But you see, you can have it all and lose your own soul and have nothing.

Counsel for the Young

What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world? Some of you are young. Pardon me if I speak to you like an old man. I'm not very old. I'm a little older than some of you now. The first time I've ever said that. I'm afraid I'm now beginning to get like that. I'm older than some of you. And some of you are just thinking about your careers. Some of you are just thinking what you're going to do with your life. Listen, if you're not careful, you will start into the system of this world, young, full of hope, full of vigour, full of anticipation.

And gradually you will be absorbed into it, into the routine of this world. Week after week, month after month, year after year, with all the cares and the worries of this life. You will not think about your soul until suddenly you're gone. You're gone. Then it's too late. It's too late when you're gone. Do you not see what I'm getting at?

You see, you are at the beginning. Some of you are at the beginning of your life. Therefore, at the beginning of your life, make sure that you are a Christian. Make sure that you are a child of God. Make sure that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then go out into the world. Then you have nothing to fear. If only you will be faithful to Him and walk with Him, all the darkness of the future will be nothing. It's lit with a bright silver lining. For those who know the Lord Jesus Christ, it means hope for them. For when they see these things come to pass, the Lord Jesus said, lift up your heads, your redemption draweth nigh. For you it is an exit. For the others it's a destruction.

The Days of Noah and Sudden Judgement

And so it shall be in the days as in the days of Noah when men were eating and drinking and getting married and giving in marriage. And then, all of a sudden, without warning, came the flood and carried the whole human race into oblivion, suddenly. And the Lord Jesus, no lesser authority than the Lord Jesus, said that as in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man. Suddenly it will come just like that. So do you understand what I mean? What will it profit you if you gain your career that you want, if you gain the family that you want, if you get the position that you want, if you get the money that you want, what will it gain you? What will it profit you? What will you gain if you lose your soul?

The Irreversibility of Spiritual Loss

And I want also just to point out what comes out so clearly in the new translation. And what will you be able to give to buy back yourself? Isn't that terrible? It doesn't come out in the old authorised version in the same way, does it? What shall a man give in exchange? No, the thought is, once you've lost your soul, how will you buy it back? Having become a derelict, having become a ruin, having become just a tramp. What will you have in the end to buy back? You will have nothing. You see, when death comes, then that's final. It's the end. There's no way of buying back your soul.

Parable of the Fox and the Vineyard

I may tell you a little story, an old Jewish story that always used to take my fancy very much. An old Jewish folk tale which lies behind a certain scripture. It went like this. There was an old fox who knew a certain vineyard around which there was an iron railing. It belonged to a very wealthy man and the vines in it were of the very best kind. They had the biggest, juiciest grapes. And the old fox used to go up, well-fed old fox, and he used to sit outside and look through the bars at the juicy grapes and think, oh, I'd love to get at those grapes. But he couldn't. He tried to get in and all he could get through was his head. He couldn't get through anything more. Then he hit on an idea. I'll fast for three days.

So for three days the old fox fasted till he was so thin the wind could have carried him away. Then he went up very slowly and he was through the railings. Then he sat down and for a whole day he ate the grapes. And then when he was really happy and really satisfied, he said, now it's time to go home. And then he found he couldn't get out. So he had to fast for six days until he was thin enough to get back out of the railing.

That's what was behind the little comment of James. We brought nothing into this world and it is certain we shall carry nothing out of it. We came in with nothing and we shall go out with nothing. I remember once hearing Lindsay Glegg some years ago when he told us about the first edition of Sacred Songs and Solos. And he said, you know that there was a misprint in that famous hymn, Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah. And instead of saying land me safe on Canaan's side, he said, land my safe on Canaan's side. I remember he said to us, they had to destroy that first edition. They couldn't let that edition out with that misprint. You see, you can carry nothing onto the other side.

What you came into this world with is what you'll go out with. A spirit and a soul. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. So you see, once you have died, what have you got? You can't buy back your soul if you've lost it.

The Way to Eternal Life

Now, I want, therefore, just to sum it all up by reminding you that in John, chapter 11 and in verse 25, the Lord Jesus said these wonderful words.

Are you a Christian? Are you a child of God? Do you want to become a Christian? How can you become a Christian? By taking the Lord Jesus Christ as your only righteousness, your only salvation and your only life.

The Simplicity of Faith

How do you take the Lord Jesus? You just open your heart, open your life, give yourself to Him. It's as simple as that. It's so simple we overlook it. It's not emotional, it's not necessarily dramatic. It's an act of faith whereby through the grace of God alone, you give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord Jesus Christ gives Himself to you.

When that happens, you become a child of God.

Can you do that? Are you a Christian? Are you? Answer it in your heart. And if you're not, do you want to become a Christian? If you do, in your own heart, the quietness of your own heart, give yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ.