Saved by Jesus, Sent as Christians
We are not called Jesusians. We are called Christians because the life of faith does not end with believing that Jesus saved us. It begins there. Jesus saves, but Christ leads. Jesus died, but Christ reigns. Jesus forgives, but Christ anoints, fills, empowers, and sends.
The tragedy of much modern Christianity is that many identify as Christians while following only a historical Jesus, a moral Jesus, a comforting Jesus, or a Sunday Jesus. But the Jesus of Scripture is not merely the One who died for us. He is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Spirit-filled Son of God who walked in holiness, carried the fruit of the Spirit, preached with authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead, and revealed the Kingdom of God with power.
Jesus was not called Christ because it sounded religious.
He is the Christ because He is the Anointed One.
At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended and rested upon Him. From that moment, His public ministry moved in the power of the Spirit. When Jesus preached, heaven did not remain silent. The Word was preached, and power was displayed. Miracles followed. Deliverance happened. Bodies were healed. Demons trembled. Crowds followed Him not only because He spoke beautifully, but because the Kingdom of God broke into their suffering with visible power.
That same pattern continued with the apostles. They did not preach polished religion. They preached the risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Their message was not merely explained. It was demonstrated. The gospel came with conviction, signs, wonders, courage, holiness, and transformation.
Therefore, if we are born again, we must not stop at being saved by Jesus. We must follow Christ, the anointed Jesus. To follow Christ is to walk Spirit-filled. To follow Christ is to bear the fruit of the Spirit. To follow Christ is to carry the power of the Spirit. A powerless Christianity may preserve religious language, but it cannot fully represent the Christ of Scripture.
This is why so much preaching today sounds like history without fire, doctrine without demonstration, and religion without resurrection power. When preaching is not Spirit-filled, it becomes information without impartation. It may describe God, but it does not reveal Him in power. But when the Spirit fills the messenger, preaching becomes more than speech. It becomes a divine encounter.
We preach Jesus because only Jesus, the Son of God, suffered, died on the cross, rose on the third day, and brings us to the Father. But we follow Christ because the saved life must become the anointed life. We are called Christians because we are called to live under the same Spirit, the same Kingdom, the same holiness, the same compassion, and the same power that rested upon Him.
Jesus saved us from sin.
Christ anoints us for witness.
Jesus brought us to God.
Christ sends us into the world.
If we are truly Christians, we must not only believe in the crucified Jesus. We must follow the anointed Christ.