What is a Christian

12/30/01 | Me

[Sparkvark]

Ive noticed alot of threads on FR that mention Christianity. I was wondering, how do you define yourself as a Christian? Does merely professing oneself a Christian make you one? Im curious, how do you perceive the Christian faith?

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Christianity 101:

The Bible says: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It also says the price of that sin is death.

Because we are imperfect and could never be, we needed someone perfect to pay the penalty for our sins so that we can spend eternity with God. Jesus Christ - God, in the flesh - did that for all of us when he died on the cross. He IS perfect, and He sacrificed Himself so that we could have eternal life.

What does He want from us? To acknowledge we are sinners, to turn from sin, and accept the wonderful gift he gave us when he died in our place.

Imagine that you were on death row. Imagine that someone wonderful came along one day and loved you enough to take your place. That is what God - the Lord Jesus Christ - did for each of us.

He didn't make it hard. He did all the work. Still, people refuse Him.

Go figure.

[Ciexyz]

I call myself a Christian. I also like the term "Believer", as in, "I am a Believer of Jesus Christ the Messiah". Approximately eighteen years ago I felt in need of turning my life in a more spiritual direction. I started to watch Christian TV and soon I discovered a spiritual truth: when you begin to turn to God, you suddenly discover that there are Christians everywhere. It was as if I had a sign posted on my forehead: talk to me about Jesus. In the break room at work, in the grocery store, even in the restroom, I overheard people talking about Jesus or Christian TV programs, and I would join in.

A co-worker invited me to her church, and I went. The message of acceptance by a loving God was compelling, and I decided at the service to give my life to Jesus. I went to the altar and knelt and the pastors, a man and woman married couple, prayed with me. I felt like I was on a new step in life.

After that, it's a discovery of faith. You become involved in a local church, and you begin to grow in the Lord. You don't get turned into a mature Christian overnight. Faithful church attendance is step one. At church, you meet other people by attending Bible studies, small groups such as women's or men's groups, and you should also pray to the Lord to send Christian friends your way so you can have fellowship and grow strong in your faith. That's how you develop into a Christian,IMO.

Hope this helps. God bless you in your search.

[trussell]

I profess that I am a Christian because I have accepted Jesus as my savior. I have asked that my sins be forgiven, and I have pledged my life to God. I dont believe that you have to attend a church to be a christian. Although it is a good thing to have the christian family to help you in your trials.

[PFKEY]

Your simple understanding is all that is needed. Do not fret about what others may think. The real meat of being a Christian comes from obeying the word of God as found in the New Testament.

[whoozit]

That's easy.. go here for more than enough info.

Proclaiming the Gospel to Roman Catholics

[Harp]

Does he think they'll still go to Hell if they worship the same God, but call him by the wrong name?

No, but I feel safe in saying that he wouldn't call people Christians who don't believe Christ is their savior.

The question of the moment is about what is it to be a Christian. That's why your answer regarding Catholics seemed so goofy.

[RMrattlesnake]

ACTS 31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And what does that mean "Believe on". Well it means total belief in everthing that he has said and have done. So if you hold this verse to be true and I do then you will believe on Christ and you will do all he commands. You see it is simple and at the same time it is complex.

[rightwinggardeninggirl]

From my own personal experience, I can add the following. 1) My dad brought me up around Unitarian-Universalists, and I can definitively say, because I went to one of their so-called churches for 10 years as a child and teenager, that they are most certainly NOT Christians. They consider themselves to be either atheists or secular humanists, and most of the adults are full-fledged communists. I'll mail their literature to anyone who is interested. Suffice it to say that I thank God I escaped U-Uism.

2) As an adult, I personally have come face to face with the love and mercy of the Christian God. God's presence is palpable to me. I want to become baptized and join a church, but since I wasn't raised in one, I'm not sure which one in my community I'd like to attend. That's just my own personal problem, but it bothers me because I strongly feel that He wants me to, and that it is the natural next step in my life. This is my two cents, for whatever it's worth.

[PFKEY]

God bless you in your search.

Thanks for your kindness but, I don't understand what you mean by my search.

[xzins]

I know what a Christian isn't. If a guy comes up to me and says "I don't believe any of that Christ stuff," then I assure you that that guy ain't a Christian.

On the other hand, if someone comes up to me and says, "I believe in Christ," then I treat him as a Christian. Why? First, because the bible says "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

Second, because at that point it's gone beyond me. It's not my job to judge someone's salvation. That's God business and God's business alone. So, once they tell me they believe, then I tend to give the benefit of the doubt while I leave the truth to God so he can sort it out.

[InvisibleChurch]

yes...it's impossible to keep the commandments therefore we get looked upon with derision as hypocrites (because we ARE hypocrites) , but if we could keep the commandments perfectly then we wouldn't need a saviour

[Ex-Wretch]

Want simple?

To quote the late Keith Green ... "a Christian is someone who is bananas for Jesus"

Simple enough?

[sonserae]

The church is not what saves you. Your profession
of Christ is. You can be baptized in any church....although
it is good to be baptized in the manner that Christ
suggested...by emersion in water rather than sprinkling. The
emersion in water is a symbolic sign of your commitment
to Christ...by being buried with Him in baptism, rising
up out of the water as He did in the Ressurection to a
new cleansed life.

Concerning finding a church....read scripture and ask for
God's direction. When you read scripture, you will be
able to see if the church is abiding by what it teaches.
It took me a year of going to a different church every
Sunday until I found the one that I feel closely
represents the essence and example of Christianity and
putting Christ's teachings into actions.

[Restorer]

Boy, I'm really shocked.

Where have all these mild-mannered posts come from? Most discussions of this subject deteriorate very quickly.

My best answer is in Jesus' parable of the wheat and tares. Those who are and are not really Christians are difficult to impossible to tell apart until the time of the harvest. But He knows who his followers are (and aren't). Remarkably arrogant for any of those who claim to be his followers to set up their own criteria as to who qualifies.

[Bobby777]

your last post there has me wondering what your point is ... if Scriptural definition isn't good enough, what is? ... hello?

[Sparkvark]

I am enjoying reading all the posts. Seems like there are many people on FR who have a sincere faith in Christ.

[Ol' Sparky]

A Christian is one who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior. True Christians believe the Bible is inspired word of God and follow the principles contained in it.

[InvisibleChurch]

I pray that God will bring you quickly to Him...Regarding full emersion vs sprinkling water , I think it would be better to receive sprinkling. Full emersion in Minnesota might truly make you one of the Frozen Chosen.

God's blessings to both of you.

[B.Bumbleberry]

"fuzzy around the edges" is an apt description. It's not as simple as many are here arguing. For example, Mormons not only profess belief in Jesus Christ, they believe their church was founded by modern revelation directly from Christ. The official name of the church is "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Yet many Baptists and others deny that they are Christians. They apparently reserve to themselves the right to define the term.

By the way, Mormons do believe in a virgin birth.

[Restorer]

if Scriptural definition isn't good enough, what is?

My point is that Jesus himself foretold (several times) that not all who called on his name would really be his followers. He did not, however, lay out any detailed definition of how to tell one from the other. The parable mentioned implies very strongly that it would be very difficult to tell the wheat from the tares, and the similar parable of the sheep and goats had essentially the same meaning.

I have my own criteria for those I consider fellow-believers, but I don't feel that I have the right therefore to publicly attempt to deny others the right to call themselves by the name "Christian."

I have no objection if you want to give your own opinion and say, "I don't consider a particular denomination to be Christians." I don't think any human has the right to speak with authority about exactly who Christ considers to be his followers. We're just all too fallible to make such ultimate judgments.

IMHO