still thinking - you gots to cover your ass in this place man, otherwise things can get outta hand.
What makes Christians Christian??
by noni1974 39 Replies latest jw experiences
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noni1974
I started this topic because some people believe Jesus was real, yet they are not Christians. Muslims for example believe that Jesus was a prophet and very real, yet they do not believe he is the son of god, just a prophet like Moses or Abraham. Some people claim to be Christians yet they don't act like Christians. They lie, cheat, and steal some in the name of god and still call themselves Christians.
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Christ Alone
The generic answer is believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, lived on earth, died, and was resurrected.
Some people would say that being part of a specific religion makes you a Christian. Some would say, "I was raised a Catholic, so I am a Christian." Or I was raised a "Lutheran so I am a Christian."
I submit that joining a church, being part of one, being raised in one, etc... does not make you a Christian necessarily. I do not believe that religion has any part of being a Christian or not. I've heard it said that religion is man searching for God, but Christianity is God searching for man.
I usually avoid the Bible in certain discussions because many here do not view it as an authority, but I'll post a bit about what I believe it says about being a Christian. I'm not going to argue with anyone if these points are true or not. I don't want to let this thread descend into another atheist v believer thread. So these are just scriptures that I feel have a bearing on the subject.
Romans 10:17 says that faith is the key. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. So to be a Christian FAITH is essential. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
Romans 10:4 says that Jesus is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who BELIEVES. So RIGHTEOUSNESS that is given by Grace and not works is essential. And being declared righteous only comes from believing.
John 14:6 says that Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Jesus. So going directly to Jesus Christ and asking Him for salvation of your sins is essential to be a Christan.
So what about works? Most people say that you must be Christ-like. In my view, this is actually not technically accurate. Good work and acting like Jesus is not what saves you. Eph 2:8,9 says that it is by grace that we have been saved through faith; and not that of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. Gal 2:16 says that man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ.
So in my view, works do not make you a Christian. However, works DO show that you already ARE a Christian. It demonstrates your Christianity to others. It allows others to say, "He must be a Christian because he tries to live as he preaches."
Like has been brought up, this is shockingly missing in many believers. They claim to be Christian, but when you look at their actions, they couldn't be further from what Jesus taught in the 4 gosples.
So I'd break Christianity down to this: HEARING the message, PRAYING to Jesus about the message, BELIEVING the message, having FAITH in the message, LIVING the message. Note that man made religion has no part in that. Religion and Christianity are often used as synonyms, but they are very different.
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NewChapter
I think it is a very subjective term. People have different ideas about what a Christian is, and when they see someone acting as they think a Christian should, they think they are a Christian. If they see someone acting the way they don't think a Christian should, they will say they are not really a Christian. If you ask the person they have judged 'not Christian' you may find that they have a completely different idea of what a Christian is, and that they are most definitely Christian. JW's say no one but them are Christian. Someone recently said that Mormons are not Christian---although I think Mormons consider themselves Christians. Some people don't think Catholics are Christian.
So it's just a bunch of people defining the term and then deciding who they think fits their definition.
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Pterist
Christ....is anointing.....So to be ChristIAN we need to be anointed with Holy Spirit that Jesus purchased for all who want to change their lives to his.
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tec
What Pterist said.
So bottome line: Christ.
Christ decides who is Christian; who is not.
People who are not christian can act christ-like, so that is not the defining factor.
Peace,
tammy
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cofty
People who are not christian can act christ-like
What if you are the very epitome of kindness, empathy and generosity but you just don't think Jesus was very admirable, does that still make you christ-like?
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tec
Could you still be Christ-like?
Why not?
Not thinking Christ is admirable, could simply be based on the idea that you did/do not understand/know him.
Peace,
tammy
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ÁrbolesdeArabia
Hi noni! 1 Corinthians is so open to anyone with eyes, if humans don't display love, charity, kindness, generous heart, compassion, altruism, in my opinion they cannot be Christians or followers of Jesus Christ.
John 13:33-34: " 33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can't come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."
"
Love Is the Greatest
13 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; [ a ] but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages [ b ] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.
11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. [ c ] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.
13 Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.
The anti-Christian qualities are what bring us together on support message-boards like JWN, how many brothers and sisters would be battling self-doubting depression, feelings of worthlessness (your never can do enough in the Organization of "time-cards", "magazine placements.....", if our Organization attempted to treat the whole spiritual being, instead of partial symptoms.
I know many JWs whose reasoning is akin to Bildad's and assume when bad things happen to you, you must not be living like a Christian. How Satan uses faulty logic to attack Jesus Christ's little sheep. If Satan thought his attacks would work on someone as special as Job, how much more does he attempt to remove any self-esteem Christians have now? Don't listen to Satan's lies and believe "When things go wrong, it must be God or Jesus punishing you for doing something wrong", try not to listen to faulty logic of unlearned clowns. Jesus does value everyone, his selflessness and love paved the way for his imperfect people to learn and mimic "Love".
The Modern JW style follows in Bildad's argument to crush Job's spirit:
Bildad's First Response to Job
8 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job:
2 "How long will you go on like this?
You sound like a blustering wind.
3 Does God twist justice?
Does the Almighty twist what is right?
4 Your children must have sinned against him,
so their punishment was well deserved.
5 But if you pray to God
and seek the favor of the Almighty,
6 and if you are pure and live with integrity,
he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
7 And though you started with little,
you will end with much.8 "Just ask the previous generation.
Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
9 For we were born but yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
10 But those who came before us will teach you.
They will teach you the wisdom of old.11 "Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?
Can marsh grass flourish without water?
12 While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut,
they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
13 The same happens to all who forget God.
The hopes of the godless evaporate.
14 Their confidence hangs by a thread.
They are leaning on a spider's web.
15 They cling to their home for security, but it won't last.
They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.16 The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine,
its branches spreading across the garden.
17 Its roots grow down through a pile of stones;
it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
18 But when it is uprooted,
it's as though it never existed!
19 That's the end of its life,
and others spring up from the earth to replace it.20 "But look, God will not reject a person of integrity,
nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.
21 He will once again fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.
22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
and the home of the wicked will be destroyed." -
Pterist
**** Christ decides who is Christian; who is not****
The gift of Holy Spirit is available ALL. It is Jehovah's desire that all accept.
1 John 5:9-13
We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Shalom