A Christian is someone who is a follower of Jesus Christ. It means "Christ-like" or "Little Christs" and was used to mock early Christians. They liked the term however and it stuck with us, even till today. Christians today are people who have committed to follow Jesus everyday of thier lives because of wat Jesus has done for them.
So what does it mean to be a Christian? The Bible tells us:
"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." The book of Romans, Chapter 10, Verses 9 & 10.
Lets look at each bit of this a little:
1) Confess that Jesus is Lord: This means that we hand ourselves over to Jesus for him to lead us. It also means that Jesus is the most important thing and that we put him first in our lives. When the Bible uses words like 'Lord' it is trying to make us think of Jesus as a king and to follow him as such.
2) Believe that Jesus was raised from the dead: This is supposed to remind us of the Easter story. Jesus came to Earth as both human and God to die on a cross and then to raise from the dead three days later. This means that the wrong things we do that hurt others and seperate us from God (sometimes known as sin) have been taken away by Jesus and that he has beaten death so that although our bodies will die now, Jesus will rise us up from the dead just like he rose from the dead. These promises of God are for those who believe in Jesus.
3) Saved: We all know what this word means but the Bible uses it in a way which we do not in our culture anymore. Here saved means that the wrong things we have done have been dealt with by Jesus so that we my have a relationship with God now and when die Jesus will bring us back to live, fix all the wrong in the world and that we will live with him for eternity.
So this is what a Christian is:
1) Someone who believes that Jesus is King of their life.
2) Someone who believes that Jesus, as both God and human, died in our place to sort out the wrong we have done because we couldn't do it ourselves, and rose from the dead so that we will also one day.
3) Someone who has said sorry for the wrong they have done and seek to live for Jesus as their king now.
I believe that a Christian called Arminius summed up well what a Christian believes when he wrote:
"...Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer, according to the word of the gospel of John 3:16: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And in the First Epistle of John 2:2: "And [Jesus] is the [one who paid the price] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
(Article II of The Remonstrance)
If you want to become a Christian then please read this prayer (prayer is just talking with God) then if you believe it then say it to God and you will have become a Christian:
Dear God,
Thank you for sending Jesus. I am sorry for the wrong things I have done and admit that I cannot be good enough without you. I ask that you will forgive the wrong I’ve done and accept me as your follower and your child. Please help me to follow you as king everyday and to tell others of you,
I ask this because of what Jesus has done for me,
Amen (This means you agree with that was said)
If you said that then welcome into the family of God. I encourage you to go to a local church and tell them what you have done. They will help you to grow as a Christian and to understand it more. If you didn't pray then I ask that you look more into what Christianity is. Maybe try a local Alpha course at one of the churches in your area.
