Kanye West says he's a Christian... Well, is he? 11 questions to ask.

Iconic rap star Kanye West's recent comments on the Kris Jenner Show sparked a question: Does Yeezus, the emcee of Jesus Walks fame, truly walk with Jesus?


Kanye West - Jesus Walks pt. 3 by channelzerotv

On a video uploaded to YouTube on Aug. 23, 2013, Jenner asked West about his WWJD bracelet. The bracelet question, which I first learned about on one of my favorite Web sites Rapzilla.com, appears at the 27:30 mark of the interview.


The exchange goes like this:
  
Kanye: So actually Rob (Kardashian) gave me this ... It's just What Would Jesus Do? I love it. It's just such a cool bracelet...

Kris: I like that. 

Kanye:  I'm a Christian, and I always wanted to let people know that that's what's on my mind...

Kris: "That's what's important to you."

Kanye:  "It's important to me that I grow and walk and raise my family with Christian values... 

It begs the question. Is Kanye West a Christian? However, there's an even bigger question. How can you know if someone - not just a famous someone - is a Christian? 

Before we get to the test, let's start with a definition. A Christian is a person who has responded in faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is the good news of God's rescuing work in the world through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

When this process happens in the life of a person, we call it regeneration. Since it's fall, think of a jack-o-lantern. We gut out the inside of a pumpkin to put a light inside. The outside is still a pumpkin shell, but the inside is totally changed.

This is what happens to Christians. God cleans us up from the inside-out through the gospel. The Bible teaches that the fundamental problem of all mankind is that we are born with a desire to live independently of the God who created us.

God solves this problem. Jesus willingly took the punishment rebellious humans deserve at the cross, so that we can have the perfect relationship with God that only Jesus deserved. It's a great exchange. One of my favorite musical artists Flame (whose new project Royal Flush I highly recommend) poses a series of questions on his song, Who Can Pluck Us, that helps us determine whether our Christianity is genuine.

• Do you enjoy fellowship with God?
• Are you sensitive to sin? 
• Do you obey God's word? 
• Do you reject evil? 
• Do you eagerly await Christ's return? 
• Do you see a decreased pattern of sin in your life? 
• Do you love other Christians? 
• Do you experience answered prayer?
• Do you discern between truth and error? 
• Do you have the (internal) witness of the (Holy) Spirit?
• Are you rejected and persecuted for your faith?

 I write these blogs with hopes of starting conversations. I would love to hear your thoughts on genuine Christian faith.


 Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower,  husband to Emily (read her guest blog post here), father of five wonderful kids, and a Young Life leader in his hometown of Staunton, VA. He has written for The News Leader, Rapzilla.com, HipHopDX.com, Young Life Relationships  and other publications. Moody Publications recently published his first book, You're Grounded, which you can read about here.