What Does It Mean to Be a Christian?

By Grace Through Faith

¹jAnd you were kdead in the trespasses and sins ²lin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following mthe prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in nthe sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in othe passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body1 and the mind, and pwere by nature qchildren of wrath, like the rest of mankind.2 ⁴But3 God, being rrich in mercy, sbecause of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even twhen we were dead in our trespasses, umade us alive together with Christ—vby grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and wseated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable xriches of his grace in ykindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ⁸For zby grace you have been saved athrough faith. And this is bnot your own doing; cit is the gift of God, ⁹dnot a result of works, eso that no one may boast. ¹⁰For fwe are his workmanship, gcreated in Christ Jesus hfor good works, iwhich God prepared beforehand, jthat we should walk in them.

One in Christ

¹¹Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called kthe circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹²remember lthat you were at that time separated from Christ, malienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to nthe covenants of promise, ohaving no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were pfar off have been brought near qby the blood of Christ.