Are you really a Christian? Prove it. (crucify, believers, scripture)
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Are you a better person than I if I am not a Christian? Do you think Jesus Christ will judge me differently than you if I do not follow your dictum? Who is to say your beliefs are correct?
What you do follow is organized religion and that was created by man not Jesus Christ.
No you are not a better person if you are not a Christian. I know a lot of good people who are not Christians. Yes Jesus Christ will judge you differently if you are not a Christian. I believe the Bible to be correct, I do not follow an organized religion I follow Jesus.
How do you know that Jesus Christ will judge me differently? Does he dicriminate?
No he does not 1 Peter 1:17"Remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites when he judges. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of Him during your time as foreigners here on earth."
John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (this is Jesus talking)
By asking Jesus Christ to be your advocate to the Father.
1 John 2:1-2 1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
God is Holy and cannot look upon sin. Before Jesus Christ came to die on the cross and shed His blood for your sins, there were rituals that had to be performed, sacrifices that had to be made and 1 time a year the appointed Jewish High Priest would be allowed into the sacred temple to offer the blood of unblemished sacrifices to God to atone for the peoples sin. When Jesus Christ died on the cross He was THE perfect sacrifice. In HIM, all of the Jewish festivals, rituals, prophecies and covenants were fulfilled. Actually, the Old Testament that was written 70 to 1000 years B.C., was written to point the way to the Messiah. There were 456 specific characteristics of the Messiah in the Old Testament, and 333 prophetic passages regarding the coming of the Anointed One. AND ALL WERE FULFILLED BY ONE. Jesus Christ is the bridge between your sin and a Holy God who cannot look upon sin. Jesus is your Advocate with the Father. (check out Hebrews 9:1-28)
If you feel that God is calling you, and you wish to accecpt His call, you can pray something like this:
Heavenly Father, I am broken. I know that it was MY sin that sent Jesus to the Cross. And that His death, being the perfect blood sacrifice, has washed all of my sins away, never to be remembered, and is the only thing allowing me to come to you. I am asking you to come into my heart... and to be the Lord of my life. God I will hide your Word in my heart so I will know your ordanances and what you expect from me. God I know that my righteousness and my works will never bring me closer to you only thru the saving work on the Cross, am I able to humble myself before you, but Lord, I want to be used by you. Here am I God, send me... used me. Thank you for all that has been done for me. In Jesus precious name... Amen
And if you are wanting to have a template for prayer, you can use the one that Jesus taught His disciples when they asked: Matthew 6:9-15
You can always leave me a message if you would like to talk more on the subject.
You are a Christian if you simply believe that Jesus is God who died to pay for your sins and then He rose again. That's it. That's what makes a person a Christian, nothing more (thank the Lord for His grace).
I know this post got a couple of great reviews from other CD members that I admire and agree with but I do take exception to this. I think Hoosier and at least one other poster here has touched on something that as Christians we corporately do a poor job stating, reflecting and living out. And that is that Christ is Savior AND Lord. If you take this post at it's simplistic form and then hold it up against James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.", you kinda have a problem.
Being a Christian is based on faith and faith alone. But if that faith is true and you truly grasp who Jesus is, then you give him the place of King in your life and you live as one under the authority of a King.
Jesus said we would recognize each other by obeying His commands and that if we love Him, we will obey Him. I'm not bringing a works faith here, read all my posts and you will see I understand (as much as possible) grace, mercy, and forgiveness and the fact that there's nothing I can do to please God except recognize, accept, honor, glorify, obey, and exalt The Perfect Lamb.
I just think that if we all acted, reacted and spoke and thought as beings brought into the light by a Savior and held to account by a King, some of the things that Hoosier observed in his orginal post would be elimanted by subjects that have their hands, hearts, and mouths directed by the Throne.
As ibcwife said above in her proposed prayer.....
Quote:
I am asking you to come into my heart... and to be the Lord of my life.
Giving up lordship in your life would equate a change in a way of thinking and acting....I think that's what I'm trying to say.
Last edited by Alpha8207; 04-10-2007 at 08:42 AM..
Reason: added quote from ibcwife
I know this post got a couple of great reviews from other CD members that I admire and agree with but I do take exception to this. I think Hoosier and at least one other poster here has touched on something that as Christians we corporately do a poor job stating, reflecting and living out. And that is that Christ is Savior AND Lord. If you take this post at it's simplistic form and then hold it up against James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.", you kinda have a problem.
Being a Christian is based on faith and faith alone. But if that faith is true and you truly grasp who Jesus is, then you give him the place of King in your life and you live as one under the authority of a King.
This is confusing. You can't be saved by faith alone and then, oh by the way there's some Lordship salvation worked in there too. James and Paul are not contradictory. Read Hebrews for that. God deals with the believer as a son or daughter of God if they are being bad kids, but we don't need to add works to it. Because we're already His kids. James is speaking exhortation to a group of people that are already saved believers, to get them doing something. Not to be saved. Because they are already saved, as Paul says in Romans 12, since we're already saved, let's let our minds be renewed and lives transformed.
These messages are to the already saved. Not the yet unsaved. The true believer is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, and not by making Him Lord. That's how we can call salvation a free gift throughout all of Romans.
But what you say, isn't a free gift. If what you say were even a little bit true, then how do you know that Jesus is "Lord enough" in your life for you to be saved? How do you know you're "surrendering enough"? How do you know you're obedience is "good enough"? Do you see why your method isn't biblical, and doesn't work? What if He's not "Lord enough" tomorrow? Do you lose it? At that point, you're being "saved" by works, which isn't salvation by grace. It's either works or grace, you choose (Romans 11:6)
And of course you can't lose salvation. Paul said, if you believe, you can be saved. He didn't say, and make sure Jesus is Lord to the extent that every other judgemental Christian is satisfied with your profession. And that's what it comes down to. It's usually another Christian that's being judgemental and wants to sniff around and see if everyone is following their unbiblical "Lordship salvation" plan (which isn't true biblical salvation at all, though I'm not saying you're doing this, but I know a few that do it, and they end up giving off a false gospel in the process.)
Eternal salvation is by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ apart from any works, period.
Remember Lot. Did he look like a saved believer to you? Lived in the worst societies on earth by choice. Offered his own daughters to be raped by the townsfolk. Very reluctantly left that society to escape the destruction. Later allowed himself to get drunk and committed incest.
Yet in the New Testament Lot is called a righteous man. I'm not advocating following his lifestyle choices. But I am using him as a perfect example of one that was truly saved by grace, and not saved because he made God "Lord enough" in his life.
This is confusing. You can't be saved by faith alone and then, oh by the way there's some Lordship salvation worked in there too. James and Paul are not contradictory. Read John 15 for that. The true believer is saved by faith alone, and not by making Him Lord.
Why? Because, if what you say were even a little bit true, then how do you know that Jesus is "Lord enough" in your life for you to be saved? How do you know you're "surrendering enough"? How do you know you're obedience is "good enough"? Do you see why your method isn't biblical, and doesn't work? What if He's not "Lord enough" tomorrow? Do you lose it? At that point, you're being "saved" by works, which isn't salvation by grace. It's either works or grace, you choose (Romans 11:6)
And of course you can never lose salvation. That's unbiblical. Paul said, if you believe, you can be saved. He didn't say, and make sure Jesus is Lord to the extent that every other judgemental Christian is satisfied with your profession. And that's what it comes down to. It's usually another Christian that's being judgemental and wants to sniff around and see if everyone is following their unbiblical "Lordship salvation" plan (which isn't true biblical salvation at all, though I'm not saying you're doing this)
Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, period.
Remember Lot. Did he look like a saved believer to you? Lived in the worst societies on earth by choice. Offered his own daughters to be raped by the townsfolk. Very reluctantly left that society to be saved. Later allowed himself to get drunk and committed incest.
Yet in the New Testament he is called a righteous man. I'm not advocating following his lifestyle choices. But I am using him as a perfect example of one that was truly saved by grace, and not saved because he made God "Lord enough" in his life.
I think it's interesting that you only quoted a portion of my post. At any rate, as I have already stated, I'm not proposing a works based ANYTHING. Our salvation is based on faith and faith alone. What you are suggesting is that I am implying something based on works and I am not. What I am suggesting is that acceptance of Christ demands a change or it quite probably isn't a true conversion.
You asked me to read John 15, and I haven't reread it again since reading your post,however, I think it's John 15 or maybe 14 where someone fairly important in Scripture says "If you love me, you WILL obey my commandments." Are you suggesting that you can be saved, have Christ as your Savior, and be brought into the Kingdom of God without loving the One who paved that way? Because if you say 'No, of course you have to love Jesus." then you also have to say "Ok, then you also have to obey Him."
PLEASE PLEASE-Salvation is free! I want to make that totally clear. All I am saying is that salvation requires a change in heart, head, and action. Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords and King and Lord of His followers or they aren't really following Him. That's ALL I am trying (ineffectively) to say.
I think it's interesting that you only quoted a portion of my post. At any rate, as I have already stated, I'm not proposing a works based ANYTHING. Our salvation is based on faith and faith alone. What you are suggesting is that I am implying something based on works and I am not. What I am suggesting is that acceptance of Christ demands a change or it quite probably isn't a true conversion.
...
PLEASE PLEASE-Salvation is free! I want to make that totally clear. All I am saying is that salvation requires a change in heart, head, and action. Jesus is King of Kings, Lord of Lords and King and Lord of His followers or they aren't really following Him. That's ALL I am trying (ineffectively) to say.
But this is why I only quoted part of your last message, because in one breath you want to make sure that I believe you when you say "salvation is by faith alone", and in the next breath you present a false gospel of "Lordship salvation".
I don't believe that salvation requires a "change in heart, head, and action". I believe salvation requires ONLY believing that Jesus is God who died for my sins and rose again. The change in heart, head, and action will be done by His working in my life, because I'm ALREADY saved, not to get saved. Do you see the difference between what you're saying, and what I'm saying?
This is where I believe you're presenting a false gospel. You're confusing the after-salvation experience with the salvation experience itself. You begin by correctly saying that faith alone saves but then you don't stop there, you add works. That's not the Gospel. Salvation is by grace alone through faith apart from any works. And God will work in the life of the believer to make good things happen here and now, possibly by exhortations in James or John or Paul for that matter. But obeying those exhortations don't save the person. I'm already saved by faith alone.
But this is why I only quoted part of your last message, because in one breath you want to make sure that I believe you when you say "salvation is by faith alone", and in the next breath you present a false gospel of "Lordship salvation".
I don't believe that salvation requires a "change in heart, head, and action". I believe salvation requires ONLY believing that Jesus is God who died for my sins and rose again. The change in heart, head, and action will be done by His working in my life, because I'm ALREADY saved, not to get saved. Do you see the difference between what you're saying, and what I'm saying?
This is where I believe you're presenting a false gospel. You're confusing the after-salvation experience with the salvation experience itself. You begin by correctly saying that faith alone saves but then you don't stop there, you add works. That's not the Gospel. Salvation is by grace alone through faith apart from any works. And God will work in the life of the believer to make good things happen here and now, possibly by exhortations in James or John or Paul for that matter. But obeying those exhortations don't save the person. I'm already saved by faith alone.
Define "dead faith". And when you do, use Lot's life as an example. Show me the grandiose abundant fruit of obedience and Lordship regard pouring out of Lot's earthly life.
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Is God calling you?
Is that all?
