What Does It Mean To Be A Christian?

Let me begin by saying that I am not, nor have I ever, consciously claimed to be a Christian! When I consider what I know God commands of His chosen ones, His Elect, His Predestined, with what I know of myself, my life, my thoughts, my behavior, the things I say and do, I just cannot see any evidence of Personal Salvation. I cannot look at my soul through rose-colored glasses. I can easily fool and mislead myself, and I indeed would be a fool to believe I could deceive the LORD. God states emphatically, “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 This isn’t just the Ten Commandments, but the whole counsel of God, the entire Bible.

Additionally, consider Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Know of anyone like this in your social circles? If so, then you are indeed blessed. I have never had the privilege.

You see, there are no large numbers of saved people. The Bible refers to the chosen children of God as a few, a “remnant.” When buying a remnant at a carpet store, you hardly get the entire carpet. Get the picture?

I cite the following passages of Scripture: Romans 9:27 "Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:” Jeremiah 31:7 ”For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.” Jeremiah 23:3 ”And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.” Isaiah 10:21 “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.” Isaiah 10:22 ”For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” Isaiah 1:9 “Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.” Do your own “comparing of spiritual things with spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 2:13 These citations are not exhaustive.

When I first met my wife, Joy, in 1981, I was a die-hard, out-and-out atheist. No one could talk to me about God. I did not want to hear it! I hated authority and God is the quintessence of Authority. It logically follows, considering He was the One to not only create everything we see about us, but all authority. Christ has been gracious to allow me to “change my mind” about Him, and to understand much about His Salvation Plan, but that hardly assures my own salvation, and it certainly does not make me special. Remember Lot’s wife?

I have been studying the Bible for about fifteen years now. My zeal for study was most intense. For a time within the past my interest waned. Now, thank God, my interest in the LORD and His Living Word is returning.

There are many who have studied their whole lives, even sixty to seventy years. My point being that it is nothing we do, it is what the LORD reveals to each and every one of us. Intelligence and longevity of study play no role in what one learns and knows of the Bible. Everything we know and understand, everything we have or ever will have in this life, is because it is part of His Plan, for reasons we do not, nor probably ever will fully comprehend.

Even the concept of “free will” has nothing, no thing!, to do with a faith that will save us. It isn’t our faith in Christ that leads to Salvation, but that of the faith of Christ. Gal 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." Gal 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

It is His Works, not ours, that saves us, even to His very choice of choosing us, not the other way around. To even intimate or think that He waits for our decision to accept Him is not only lunacy, but sheer, unadulterated human arrogance. His acceptance is the only thing that matters!

Please refer to the citations below, taken from God’s Word, The Holy Bible, for the final and absolute authority on what has been declared above. And incidentally, there is another passage in the Bible of particular reference, not only in this discussion, but in all Biblical discussions: 2 Peter 1:20 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.”

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”

2 Timothy 1:9 “Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”

Ephesians 2:9 ”Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Galatians 5:19 ”Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.” Is there anything here that even remotely intimates our participation in any part of the Plan of God?

Galatians 2:16 “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Romans 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Romans 9:11 “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth).”

The following are additional citations, for your additional edification. Pay close attention to the number of personal pronouns referencing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

Ezekiel 36:22-38: “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD." Notice, here, who is doing all the doing? Is there the remotest inference of our having anything at all to do with our salvation?

If you are thinking I'm implying that I am someone special that God has chosen, may I remind you that God has often used others, the non-Elect and unsaved and, yes, even Satan himself, for His own good pleasure? I am no one special.

Having touched on the concept of arrogance, I am always amazed by the arrogance and self-righteousness of so many who readily profess they are Christian. Like my Mom used to say, “talk is cheap.”

Let’s consider a for-instance: When someone comes along and postulates ideas taken from the Bible that, at first blush, appear to contradict what is in the Bible, rather than demonstrate a Biblical willingness and Christian love to discuss these “new” premises to see if they do indeed correspond to the teachings of God’s Word (1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world”), these “Christians” not only turn their backs on the ideas proposed, but shun the person proposing them.

Isn’t there mention made somewhere in the Bible about loving your neighbor, not to mention your enemies? These are rhetorical questions, incidentally. Near as I can figure, loving one's neighbor is a command, not a suggestion, though I suspect there are many who view the Bible as just a bunch of "nice stories" with moral implications, nothing more.

Now, curiously, this is not their fault, which is one very good reason I suspect the LORD has commanded that we not judge others. Consider the following: 2 Thessalonians 2:10-13 “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:” Romans 9:15 ”For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” Romans 9:18 ”Therefore hath He mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will he hardeneth.”

In a nut shell, what we think, what we believe, what we hope will be, what we imagine will be, all of our combined collective wills and desires and wishes in no way influences the thoughts and plans of the Lord Jesus Christ. What arrogance to believe we actually do! Isaiah 55:8 ”For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.”

I pray this writing will cause all of us to take a closer look at how we are in relation to His teachings.

i believe y'all's making it more complicated that it ought to be...i believe your prophet told folks that he came to give them a new commandment:

love one another.

Reckon if we all chewed that simple piece of wisdom it would settle the rest. Forget all that "thou shalt not" business and the this'n begat that'n...it just doesn't matter.

If you love your fellow man then all the other "commandments" would just naturally take care of themselves. For example if you live by the one "commandment" you won't kill, steal, or screw your neighbors spouse.

I think the succinct nature of the statement was the whole point. The brevity of which has been lost on the fearmongers who want to scare a tithe out of you.

When people start to explain christ to me i quote them a line from william blake's everlasting gospel:

THE VISION OF CHRIST that thou dost see
Is my vision’s greatest enemy....

....Both read the Bible day and night,
But thou read’st black where I read white.

i'm not belittling your belief system, just voicing my opinion that all the "scripture" references, "proofs", and "salvation" claims lend no more credence to that system than that one line attributed to your "savior".

Wonderfully put; a rabbi once told me the hardest part of "love your neighbor, as yourself" is the second part

If God's intention was to be as simplistic and to-the-point as you declare, then why did He create such a Book that has caused derision and confusion and exasperation and contention for roughly 2,000 years? Part of the answer lies, I believe, in this passage: 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

I believe you are correct when speaking of loving one another. That is clearly a command, not a suggestion, of God. Granted, the world would be so much better a place to live if most followed this edict. But God's Word is far greater than that of loving one another. He also commands that we carry this to its ultimate: loving one's enemies. Whew! What a command!

And then we have this: John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments." The entire Bible is His commandments! Consider the enormity of that... And here is the piece de resistance: Rom 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

It is clear to me that following His teachings is not simple, rather it is the most complicated endeavor ever to be attempted by any mere mortal, and certainly is not possible without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

I believe one of His reasons for the enormity of obeying His Word has to do with keeping our noses to the grindstone, so to speak. If we keep our eyes and ears and minds focused on His Word, then there is less chance of us straying and being torn away from Him.

If god can not be bothered to contact me directly then it can not be that important.

I once went to see a Kansas City Royals baseball game with my dad, and a college friend of mine. During the game, Dad asked this guy where his father was. He said, "I haven't spoken to dad in years." I was a little shocked, and learned that I didn't know this buddy of mine as well as I thought I did. We started talking. It seems that when my buddy was sixteen, my buddy had come home drunk. His dad threw him out--and that was the last time they had spoken. I thought "how horrible that this buddy of mine didn't have the same kind of relationship I had with my Dad."

Your response kind of reminds me of this buddy. In all those years, not only had his father not called him, but he hadn't called his father. Not on birthdays, Holidays, or any time.

Like my dad, God has always been willing to talk to me. Sometimes, I initiate that call, sometimes God does.

I'm really sorry to hear that God hasn't reached out to you. It sort of makes me wonder if you've done all you can to reach out to him?

Maybe you've chosen not to live by his rules, knock on the front door of his house, or otherwise make an effort. But, I bet if you did, your Father in Heaven would open the door as willingly as my buddy's father on earth probably would have.

I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your earthly father, or your Heavenly one. But if I were you, I'd think the time and effort you put into building the relationship might be worth the effort.

God speaks to me, but then, I ask him to do so. He gives me guidance, support, direction, and sometimes, when I'm not even expecting it, he tells me something very important.

Moses talked with God face to face "as a man speaketh to a man." So did Noah, Abraham, and others. Why do you suppose we were left that information in the Bible (particularly when many try to make it seem that man can't speak to God?) Perhaps it is because God wants us to know that he speaks to man today as he always has: Face to face sometimes, ear to ear other times, and sometimes through a still small voice that pierces us to the very core of our being.

I don't know how God wants to talk to you, but I'm betting that He does. Are you too arrogant to make the first move?

Read his other quotes--I think he was serious!

(By the way, if your wife dies, but you believe in eternal marriage, are you still married?) But, because my version of marriage is different than yours, I changed my profile to "widowed" instead of "Married", because I couldn't choose both options, and I can see how it could be misconstrued.

I went to a silly movie the other day with a sweet, but quiet woman who goes to my Church. She laughed at the right spots in the movie, and seemed moved at the appropriate times. About half way through the movie, during a slow part in the show, she reached over and gently squeezed my hand. For me, that was a very intimate moment. I hadn't had someone reach out and touch my hand in over a year. I like such intimate encounters! That is precisely what I'm looking for. It wasn't, for me, an "ugh" moment. I changed "intimate encounter" to something that clearly has a more palatable answer.

I don't doubt I am arrogant. I concede. But isn't it a tad arrogant to believe that God sits around waiting for us to make the first move? The One who speaks and whole worlds come into existence must first wait for those He created to start the ball rolling? Romans 9:21 "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"

guess that might hold true,if you believe that Man is nothing more than a mere Lump 'o Mud!

What was it Jesus said about leaving his herd to go after a stray? It's been a while since I read the gospels.

Luke 15
15 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

ummm.. the bibles were written by MAN, not a god...

Evils wish to fight each other;
Clashes between Christian and Muslim groups in a town in the Central African Republican have left 75 people dead.
God order us to love each other;
Utah Muslims work with LDS Church to help typhoon victims
A friendship based on trust and mutual respect has grown in recent years between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Utah’s Muslim community.
In the past, local Muslim leaders have participated in Latter-day Saint-sponsored interfaith gatherings and the LDS Church assisted with the construction of a mosque in West Valley City. Latter-day Saints also extended hands of fellowship to Utah Muslims in the volatile days following Sept. 11, 2001. Congregants from both faiths have also worked together in times of need and disaster. That partnership reached a new level Jan. 10 when the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake made a significant donation to the LDS Church Humanitarian Fund to assist victims of the recent typhoon in the Philippines. Bishop Dean M. Davies, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, accepted a donation from the Islamic Society of almost $120,000 during a ceremony at the Khadeeja Islamic Center in West Valley City.
Muslims help rebuild Catholic church in Zamboanga
Christian residents of Zamboanga city’s Santa Catalina district found nothing unusual about Muslims bearing carpenters’ tools until they realized the Muslims had volunteered to help rebuild a Catholic chapel. “We thought they were just looking for damaged mosques to rebuild,” said Jimmy Villaflores, Santa Catalina barangay (village) head. “We are very happy about it. Santa Catalina residents are deeply touched by their efforts. We really appreciate how our Muslim brothers and sisters are helping us,” Villaflores said. Father Michael Ufana of the Saint Joseph parish said he was overwhelmed by what the Muslims had shown. Ufana said these efforts did not only result in the speedy rebuilding of the chapel but also strengthened the harmonious relationship between Muslims and the Christians.
Churches Open Doors to Muslim Worship
They see it as their Christian duty. But others disagree, saying it extends the hand of fellowship where it was never intended to go. Two Protestant churches are taking some heat from critics for opening their church buildings to Muslims needing places to worship because their own facilities were either too small, or under construction. Heartsong Church in Cordova, Tenn., let members of the Memphis Islamic Center hold Ramadan prayers there last September. And Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria, Va., allows the Islamic Circle of North America to hold regular Friday prayers in their building while their new mosque is being built. Diane Bechtol of Aldersgate says this is something Christians are called to do: Be neighborly and develop relationships - even those who don't share your beliefs. "I think it's a tenet of our Christian faith, and that is that we extend hospitality to the stranger,” said Bechtol. “We are a congregation that wants to be helpful to people and if we are asked to help a neighbor in need, that's what we do."