Why were believers in Jerusalem not called Christians in the Bible?
Jerusalem believers were not called Christians because they stayed under the Judaistic umbrella, believing only that Jesus was Israel's Messiah. The name Christian first appeared at Antioch among primarily Gentile disciples who believed Paul's gospel: that Christ died for their sins, shed His blood, and rose again.
Les explains that the Jerusalem church had already been holding forth for twelve years, yet the Bible never calls those Jewish believers Christians. They were under the Judaistic umbrella and had only believed that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. At Antioch, however, the disciples—primarily Gentiles—were called Christians first. They believed Paul's Gospel: that He had died for them, His blood had been shed for their sin, and He had been raised from the dead. Antioch was being presented with Paul's Gospel, which God had kept secret until it was revealed.
Why does the Bible never call the Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Judea Christians?
Scripture reserves the term Christians for the believers at Antioch, where the gospel of Paul was presented. The Jewish believers in Jerusalem and Judea remained under the Judaistic umbrella, having only believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, not that He had died for their sins, shed His blood, and risen from the dead.
Why were the Jewish believers in Jerusalem not called Christians?
The Jerusalem believers were not called Christians because they remained under the Judaistic umbrella, having only believed Jesus was the Messiah of Israel. The name Christian was first used at Antioch for disciples, primarily Gentiles, who believed Paul’s gospel: that Christ died for their sin, shed His blood, and was raised from the dead.