In the New Testament, followers of Jesus Christ are identified as those who have put their faith in Him and seek to live according to His teachings. The term is first used in Acts 11:26, where it is noted that the disciples were called Christians in Antioch. As 1 Peter 4:16 and other passages indicate, being a Christian is not just a label, but a way of life that is characterized by devotion to God and service to others. The letters of Paul, such as Romans 14:1, and James, such as James 4:1, provide guidance on living out this faith, while Jesus' own words in Matthew 6:24 emphasize the importance of singular loyalty to God.
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But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.
and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these! They are the kind who worm their way into households and captivate vulnerable women who are weighed down with sins and led astray by various passions, who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith. But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone. You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.