Lucian's one-word confession and its meaning

He also remembered the table of those three young men, who were taken as youths and had no one to protect them, yet in a foreign and barbarous land showed such self-discipline that their courage is sung about even to this day. The Jews, who had their own land, acted impiously, and even while spending their time in the temple they worshipped idols; but those young men, carried off into a barbarous land where idols and every occasion for impiety surrounded them, kept guarding their ancestral way of life to the end. If captives, slaves, and youths before the time of grace showed such self-discipline, he said, what pardon could we possibly deserve if we cannot even reach the same virtue they had?

Reasoning through all these things, he laughed at the devil's wickedness, despised his malice, and yielded to none of the things he saw. When that foul one saw that he was gaining nothing more, he brought him again to the tribunal, and while torturing him he kept putting forward question after question. But to each question Lucian answered only, 'I am a Christian.' And when the executioner said, 'What is your homeland?' he said, 'I am a Christian.' 'What is your occupation?' 'I am a Christian.' 'Who are your ancestors?' To everything he answered, 'I am a Christian,' striking the devil's head with this one bare phrase and dealing him wound after wound in rapid succession.

He had in fact received a secular education, but he knew clearly that in contests like these what is needed is not rhetoric but faith, not cleverness of speech but a soul that loves God. One phrase is enough, he said, to turn back the whole phalanx of the devil. To those who do not examine carefully, the answer seems irrelevant; but if someone pays attention to its meaning, he will see the martyr's wisdom even in this. For by saying 'I am a Christian,' he revealed his homeland, his family, his occupation, and everything. How? I will tell you. A Christian has no city on earth, but the heavenly Jerusalem. For the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother (Galatians 4:26). A Christian has no earthly occupation, but fulfills the way of life above. For our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). A Christian has all the saints as relatives and fellow citizens. For we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household (Ephesians 2:19). So with one phrase he taught with precision who he was, where he came from, who his people were, and what he continued to do.

And with this confession he ended his life, and departed carrying the deposit safe to Christ, and by what he suffered he urged those who came after to stand firm and fear nothing except sin and denial alone. Since we know these things, let us train in time of peace for the things of war, so that when war comes we too may set up a shining trophy. He despised starvation; let us also despise luxury, and let us tear down the tyranny of the belly, so that if a time comes demanding such courage from us, having trained beforehand in smaller things, we may appear radiant in the arenas. He spoke boldly before rulers and kings; let us do the same now. Even if we sit in gatherings of rich and prominent Greeks, let us confess the faith with boldness; let us laugh at their error.