Posted on 08/19/2008 2:38:07 AM PDT by goldstategop
What is the test to determine if someone is a Christian or not?
Is there a membership card or registration process? Do you have to be a member of a church?
If you say you are a Christian, who am I to say you are not? Clearly that would be for God to decide.
Hitler claimed to be a Christian. He claimed a belief in the “Creator”.
I disagree with you. If someone tells me they are a Christian and they act in complete disobedience to Christ and His teachings, I have absolutely no problem with saying that this individual is NOT a Christian; in fact, if this person would be within my social circle, I would be derelict if I did not confront them with their sin. In my church and in my circle of Christian friends, we hold each other accountable. We are not mean about it but when someone claims to know Christ, they should be able to accept constructive criticism if they are actively and deliberately engaging in sinful conduct.
I am not talking about the fact that we ALL sin and we all sin everyday. Obviously, no man is without sin.
As for what God decides, obviously He is the ultimate arbiter of our eternal reward, but Christians have the right to make assessments of those claiming to be among us.
Incidentally, since I can recognize good and say, “that person is a good person,” there is no reason I cannot say, “that person is not a Christian - I see no fruit.”
As my pastor friend always said, “an apple tree produces apples.”
And who knows the name of the creator Hitler believe in? I personally believe he was completely and utterly under the dominion of Satan. Not necessarily possessed, mind you, but of like mind.
Judge not lest ye be judges!
We judge all the time. Everyone does. The difference is we do not judge in the sense that we dispense a sentence.
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
If one of your children was hanging around with a drug user, I’d bet you’d judge real quick.
It is God's role to decide who is a “real” Christian and who is not. You put your soul in jeopardy when you judge the righteousness of others. The mote in another's eye and all that. You are also wrong about the eye of the needle. Every dollar that you have above what you need is a black mark on your soul as long as someone in the world has a dollar less than they need.
We judge all the time. Everyone does. The difference is we do not judge in the sense that we dispense a sentence.
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides the often mis-quoted money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
If one of your children was hanging around with a drug user, I’d bet you’d judge real quick. We all judge things, people, events, and so on. I don’t equate this in the same manner as “dispensing judgment.” Besides, Christians are not to consider themselves higher than others. That, however, doesn’t mean we “cast our pearls before swine” either.
If I see a person not living his life as a Christian, yet he professes he is a Christian, and I say to myself, “hey that person is not a Christian,” that has nothing to do with my judging the person’s righteousness.
I don’t know what got you off on the needle and money either.
I think you need to start preaching to yourself, you “comfortably backslidden Deacon’s son.” Frankly, I’m not sure why you want to preach while you are admitted in a backslidden state.
As for me putting my soul in jeopardy, you have made a judgment, now haven’t you?
I question your grasp of Christian theology, not whether you are a Christian in God's eyes. The Christian message is straight forward and clear as a bell. It is about self sacrifice and humility.
Judge not, lest ye be judge is straight forward too. You are supposed to take care of your own soul. Another's soul is between him and God. You should pray for that person, witness to that person, show love to that person, but you are not to judge that person. You can not know another person's heart.
I may be "backslidden" on my belief in the supernatural, but I haven't forgotten the theology
You wrote:
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
I agree. And that is exactly what I do. I am trying to follow God on a daily basis, and am heartbroken that I do not do a better job than I do. I also agree with what you say about loving another person, praying for him/her and witnessing, but sometimes you must be HONEST and if a professed Christian is not living as such, there is nothing wrong with confronting that person. In fact, a true believer should want to be held accountable and a true brother or sister in Christ would be derelict in their duty not to point out a problem. Jesus did not preach “I’m Okay, You’re Okay.”
Also, as far as you being a back slider, I did not mean to offend you, but knowing theology is meaningless. I am sure Satan is an expert theologian. What good is it?
As for not knowing another person’s heart, let me be clear. My argument has never been about knowing a person’s heart. Absolutely, only God knows and I don’t presume to know. What I can presume is that based upon a person’s repeated actions, I can make a basic assumption whether he is or is not. It does not mean I KNOW, only that, to me, one whose faith has no works has a dead faith. That is scriptural and I didn’t make it up.
I am not surprised that you do not know the difference between fact and opinion.
That is exactly the kind of person Jesus hated -- those who had the form of religion, but lacked the heart. Jesus had mercy on prostitutes and tax collectors, but not on Pharisees.
You are in a fearful place, Soliton. Again, may you discover your need for forgiveness and mercy, and turn to the Lord before it's too late.
I believe you are in error theologically there Theo. Christians do not normally ascribe hatred to the Christ.
Read the Scriptures again. Jesus, like His Father, hates certain things. He spoke redemptively of hell as a warning to those whose thoughts and behaviors he hated.
Yes, Jesus hated — those who had the religious form down pat but whose hearts were far from God were at the top of His list. Recall such sentiments as “white-washed tombs,” “vipers,” “children of Satan” ... and of course the whipping He delivered in the temple....
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