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1. A Christian in the strict and proper sense is a person who so experiences Jesus, immediately or mediately, as to come to obedient faith in God decisively through him – -- where "obedient faith" means, first, entrusting oneself to God without reservation; and then, second, living loyally to God and to all to whom God is loyal without qualification.

2. As such, a Christian at least implicitly believes certain things to be believed (credenda) and does certain things to be done (agenda) – -- namely, whatever is necessarily presupposed or implied by coming to obedient faith in God decisively through Jesus, in the sense of unreserved trust and unqualified loyalty to God and to God's cause.

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4. On the contrary, one may believe all the things that a Christian believes and do all the things that a Christian does, and even do both sincerely, without having the obedient faith in God, the unreserved trust in God and the unqalified unqualified loyalty to God and to God's cause, to which one is decisively called through Jesus and which alone suffices to Inake make one a Christian in the strict and proper sense.

5. But, surely, one who sincerely believes what a Christian believes and sincerely does what a Christian does must be a Christian in some sense – -- if only in a broad and improper sense; in fact, what is ordinarily understood in distinguishing a Christian from a non-Christian is precisely a person who believes and acts in just this way.

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8. Of course, it is only in the broad and improper sense of being a Christian that it is possible to say this; for to be a Christian in the strict and proper sense is precisely what it means to be a child of God decisively through faith in Christ Jesus and thus to be one with all who have been baptized into Christ and have put Christ on through faith – -- non-Christians as well as Christians, Greeks as well as Jews, slaves as well as free persons, females as well as males.

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