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A Christian is simply anyone who has made one simple nonmeritorious act of faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Period. That's recognizing the fact that Jesus Christ, who as God, volunteered to come into the world as a man and pay the penalty for our sins on the Cross and therefore reconciled us to God the Father. And therefore, believing in Him for eternal salvation. Accepting the work of Christ on the Cross on our behalf.
Now, a disciple of Christ is a believer (Christian) who takes up his cross everyday and follows Christ. A disciple of Christ is a believer who puts the word of God first in his scale of priorities in his daily life.
Every disciple is a believer but not every believer is a disciple.
Christians can be the best or the worst people in the world, and unbelievers fall somewhere in between.
That's the distinction between the two.
Believing is not the only step to becoming a Christian if you follow the Bible... No offense seriously. But the Bible shows in Act 26:27-28 that believing isn't the only thing one must do to become a Christian
A Christian is a future saint who will be gathered by the angels right after the Great Tribulation. They will be in the first resurrection (or raptured if alive) and given the gift of eternal life immediately to meet Jesus Christ in the sky for orientation; then they will all come down to earth to destroy the army of the Antichrist and establish God's Kingdom on earth for 1000 years. Their awesome mission is to serve as kings and priests under Jesus Christ who is the KING of kings and the High Priest! They will rule the surviving humans as God's administrators in every town, city, and nation on earth.
Believing is not the only step to becoming a Christian if you follow the Bible... No offense seriously. But the Bible shows in Act 26:27-28 that believing isn't the only thing one must do to become a Christian
A Christian is a future saint who will be gathered by the angels right after the Great Tribulation. They will be in the first resurrection (or raptured if alive) and given the gift of eternal life immediately to meet Jesus Christ in the sky for orientation; then they will all come down to earth to destroy the army of the Antichrist and establish God's Kingdom on earth for 1000 years. Their awesome mission is to serve as kings and priests under Jesus Christ who is the KING of kings and the High Priest! They will rule the surviving humans as God's administrators in every town, city, and nation on earth.
now strip that all down and end up with one sentence....
It is the belief in the Resurrection that makes us Christians....and nothing else.
all the other crap, all the other advice, the rules, all the "Do this not that" that gets added to this question is all stuff that is on the sidelines.
The meat of the Christian faith is the Resurrection of Jesus Christ...
Remember, if the resurrection of Christ is a lie, then it dont matter squat how many prayers you gave,
or how deep the water was of your baptism,
or how long your confession of your sins was.
or how many Commandments you kept
That all is moot if the Resurrection of Christ is a lie.
It is the belief in the Resurrection that makes us Christians....and nothing else.
all the other crap, all the other advice, the rules, all the "Do this not that" that gets added to this question is all stuff that is on the sidelines.
I've been told I must speak in tongues (genuine and not just mindless show babble) as proof that I received the holy spirit since if I do not receive the holy spirit and die then I am damned to hell forever.
Seems when we have to work out this point of view, there always seems to a one up and always someone dumbing it down and contradicting. Do you think a demon does not know and believe that Christ resurrected?
For if I believe you and your message of simplicity then I have a greater chance of being damned than if I believe someone that has added more requirements.
While your message of ear tickling here sounds really good in the perspective that God created a realm of eternal damnation, you fail to really measure up to that end and offer any true assurance that anyone should risk listening.
I've been told I must speak in tongues (genuine and not just mindless show babble) as proof that I received the holy spirit since if I do not receive the holy spirit and die then I am damned to hell forever.
The answer is, that we are not Christians because we speak in tongues...
We are Christians only,,,ONLY because we believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This, and this alone is what we need to put our trust and hope in.
From the Thief on the cross who died believing in the Lords coming Kingdom, to Billy Graham the message to the world is the same.
All who place their trust in the resurrection are saved.
All......
as for tongues, doing good works, and all the keeping of the Commandments?
They are nice ideas, they show the outward sign of inner Grace at work.
But they are not the reason we have something known as "The Christian Faith"
The Christian Faith is hanging on one and only one event in all of the Bible.....The Resurection of Jesus Christ.
If the Resurrection if a lie, then all the speaking in tongues in the world will not save you,
nor would it mean you are saved if you spoke with the tongues of angels
If the resurrection of Christ is a lie, then all your keeping of all the 600+ Commandments means squat.
If the Resurrection of Christ is a lie, then it don't matter how deep the water was in the pool, pond, or river you were baptized in. Being baptized in the first place is a moot point if the resurrection of Christ is just myth.
. Do you think a demon does not know and believe that Christ resurrected?
I do not have any information as to what the Demons know or do not know...
However there is a BIG difference in "knowing" and "Believing".
Many people admit that there likely was a guy named "Jesus" in the past, but they are not believers in Him.
many people admit that the stories about Jesus might be true, and that Jesus was "a good man"....but they are not believers in Him.
many people admit that the Bible speaks of a moment in history where Jesus appears to be alive after his resurrection....but they don't put their trust is such stories...they are not believers in such stories...
They are like the land that receives the good seed, but the wind and the birds take the seeds away.
But the believer is like the good land that when if receives the good seed, soon sees the seed grow and become tall..
From the thief on the cross, to me, to Billy Graham and to all us Christians, we are the land that received the seed with gladness and saw it take hold in our hearts and grow.
Thus, our Christian faith hangs on one and only one event in all of human history.....the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If there is no truth to the resurrection, then I will no longer be a Christian...
For if I believe you and your message of simplicity .....
Thanks,,,I like that phrase. "Your message of simplicity"...
I guess that compared to some of the rule-maker faiths out here in the market, the Christian faith does seem a bit too good to be true.
Too easy to become a member of.
We dont really climb a mountain in the Christian faith to learn the secret truths.
I know the JWs that come to my door are also a bit shocked to learn that they dont have to go door to door, work day and night, and do whatever the Watchtower Governing Body tell them to be saved...
The Christian Faith is a simple faith, because it was given to a simple people to learn......us.
I do not have any information as to what the Demons know or do not know...
However there is a BIG difference in "knowing" and "Believing".
Well, my point is that if we are talking about a perspective where we have to work out knowing if we have avoided some eternal doom rather than being in a path of an inherant corrective nature then scripture says "even the demons believe and shudder".
While it doesn't specifically say that the demons believe in the resurrection, I wonder how it could be said that they do not believe it when scripture does say "even the demons believe and shudder"
Scripture does not specifically say that to be saved one must believe in the resurrection. So that is why I bring this up, you can tell me that I do not need to speak in tongues, but if your asking me to believe you within the premise of eternal doom, then why should I believe you and risk my soul when someone else has added criteria and talking about avoiding the same end result.
Then we are on the slippery slope, I can find another Christian that will tell me that I must believe in the resurrection, speak in tongues and be baptized by submersion, that sprinkling stuff just doesn't cut it.
So, there is always a one up and in this realm of logic and even scripture it seems like the smaller list loses when it comes to assurance.
So if eternal doom is true, why does your simplicity trump the rest?
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