One of the most practical questions raised by the Heidelberg Catechism—and for that matter one of the most practical questions anyone in the church of God can raise today—is that question presented in Lord’s Day Twelve, “But why art thou called a Christian?”

We may take that question as it is presented by the Catechism and ask ourselves what it means and should mean to us that we are Christians. And we will then be reminded of a host of things that are our duty and calling. If we are then earnest and sincere in our presentation of this question to ourselves, the answer will have practical value for us. It will show us how Christianity is and must be practiced. It will assure us that the word “Christian” is not simply a name that is appended to certain individuals, but that the name “Christian” is to be applied only to those upon whom the Spirit of Christ has performed a most important and wonderful operation. The Christian is a man who has had something performed in the innermost recesses of his being.

Of practical value is the question also if we ask it from a slightly different viewpoint than that used by the Catechism. We may ask it thus, “And why art thou called a Christian?” Then proceeding in the light of the answer to our first question and knowing just what a Christian truly is, we ask why this or that individual, why you and I are called Christians. Then the question becomes, “and what is there in me that I can dare to allow myself to be called by that name?”

Christians—Are we? Men call us that, but are we? What is God’s judgment of us? Does Christ after whose name we are named by men say also of us that we are christians?

It is to this matter that we would devote a few pages in this department. We do so under the general theme: “Called To His Praise”. For that is indeed the calling of the Christian. Through Isaiah the Lord Himself declared, “This people have I formed for Myself; They shall show forth My praise.” The apostle Peter declares, to the Christians in his first epistle, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” That is also the gist of the answer to that question in the

Heidelberg Catechism, “But why art thou called a Christian?” For the answer as given by the authors of the Catechism is as follows, “Because I am a member of Christ by faith, and thus am partaker of His anointing; so that I may confess His name, and present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him: and also that with a free and good conscience I may fight against sin and Satan in this life: and afterwards reign with Him eternally, over all creatures.”

Christians—Are we? The Christian is called to His praise. The Christian does praise Him! God forms us for Himself, but also calls us to His praise. And only those have the right to be called Christians whom God has called to His praise. It is not simply enough to be called by the name Christian. THE question is whether God has called us to BE Christians. When John says in John 1:12 that “as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the sons of God” it is evident that this is far more than that they are simply called sons of God by men. John speaks of their becoming sons of God. Thus, here, the important thing is not really whether we are called Christians but whether we have become Christians.

The Christian praises God. Christians—Are we? Let us consider this matter and honestly place ourselves before what the Scriptures teach us of our calling as Christians to praise God.

This week we would like to pen down a few preliminary yet tremendously important facts concerning this matter of being Christians. If we ignore them, our consideration of this practical subject will fail miserably. And our forefathers in the Catechism show that they grasped the truth and therefore were able to give us such a rich answer to the question, “Why art thou called a Christian?” Notice that the Catechism says “. . . .that so I may confess his name. . . .present myself a living sacrifice. . . .fight against Satan. . . . and. . . .reign with him eternally over all creatures.” Confess! Present a sacrifice! Fight! Reign eternally! Those are powerful words!

And powerfully these words condemn all that superficial thinking whereby any man who is not a barbarian or a heathen is called a Christian. Confess Christ! Present ourselves a living sacrifice to Christ! Fight for Christ’s cause! Reign eternally with Christ! Many whom men call Christians do none of these and are not interested in them.

A civilized man is not necessarily a Christian, nor is a nation that is civilized and highly cultured a Christian nation. When Israel was in Egypt, Israel was the people called to God’s praise, but Egypt was far ahead of Israel and many other nations of that time in culture and civilization—whatever that last word means when the inhabitants of civilized countries run as naked and as painted as the heathen and use and invent weapons of brutality and destruction more terrible than the wildest tribes in the jungles, and live more immorally than the most depraved pagans. And was not highly cultured Greece the seat of immorality as well as the seat of culture at the same period of its history? We need clear thinking today, and we will need it even more in the future. Antichristianity must not be confused with Christianity. As long as we hold to this answer in the Heidelberg Catechism we are safe because it is based on God’s Word. And let us remember that the Antichrist is a false, deceptive christ. And he likes to have you call him a Christian. He will feel insulted if you do not. It is also necessary for his program of deception that his followers be called Christians even while they perform very unchristian deeds.