Are there any Christians out there?

[Hearty]

Many people say they are Christians who haven't completed the requirements according to the bible. Many go part way but stop due to some misinformation or prejudice. How were you saved ? Who told you you were saved? Can a saved person be lost? Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?

[keltic63]

welcome Hearty!

that's a broad topic you've posted there. what would you like to talk about in particular? maybe you could make your topic a bit more specific.

[BruceChris]

As keltic points out, this is a VERY big topic, (and only one of many such). Without offering you any specifics, I would have to start out by offering my basic belief, that the only one who can decide who is or is not a Christian would be God, or perhaps the Holy Spirit. [Edit] Some people call this having faith

Peace and Love, Bruce Chris

[Pablo Rafael]

Hearty,

I will answer your question with a Bible verse: For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourself; it is a gift of God - not by works so no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 I believe that becoming a Christian is the work of the Holy Spirit. Only God can bring us to himself. He came to us through the cross to make us right with him.

Now that we have been justified by God's grace, our work begins. It is to live a life in service to God and to our neighbors. It is to show others His love. As the above verse continues For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Do we still sin? Yes. Are we forgiven? Yes. Is God's grace large enough for every person? Absolutely!

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[kara speltz]

Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?


Dear Hearty: I think you asking the wrong question, we are all sinners. We all fall short of the mark. For anyone to walk around saying they are not a sinner, they are living in denial. My definition of sin is ANYTHING that separates us from God and one another.

Thus, given Jesus words in Mathew about how we will be judged, "by whether, we feed the hungry, clothe the naked....." each and every one of us fails on a daily basis. Or how about our responses to those who hurt us? We feel justified in our hatred of them. Gandhi said the difference between himself and Christians was that he believed Jesus meant what he said. I do too. And there's not a day that goes by that I don't fall short of taking care of my brothers and sisters. So the question can't possibly be "can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?" given we are all sinners. For those of us who are Christians, it seems to me that our understanding would be that it is by God's mercy and grace that we are saved, and all we can do is to do our very best, to be a reflection of God's love in the world, and to allow that Grace to keep us on the path.

Kara

[BenL]

Hearty,

We all come to our relationship to Christ from a different perspective. It sounds like "who is a Christian?" has been defined for you by your faith community and your reading of Scripture. For me, it has been a lifelong journey during which I gradually came to realize that God loves me unconditionally and that Jesus, his Son, makes up for the shortcomings in my response to that love.

I struggled for years with being a gay man, because the religious people around me kept telling me that people like me were sinners. I'm willing to own the label sinner, because I know how far short I have fallen of the love of God. But I also came to realize that God made me who I am, and that my attraction to other men is not something that separates me from God. It's what I do with it that counts. I am now able to thank God for making gay.

As far as the sciptural requirements for being a Christian, I think the most important is to love God and to love my neighbor. That's where I fall short daily, as one of the previous responders suggested, and that's where Jesus saves me by making up for those shortcomings. This may not sound like traditional theology, but it is how I relate to God -- with thankfulness. Now that I'm at peace, I find I care a lot less about defining other people's relationship to God for them.

BenL

[mtatum4496]

I probably don't qualify as a Christian to those who are more of a literal inclination, but that is okay.

God is the center of my worship, not a particular church or a particular collection of scriptures. Those two and all other items are helpful tools in discerning the call of God in my life, in helping me exercise my stewardship, and in understanding there is always something new for me to learn. At times in my life I have been led to worship with various denominations and served as a lay minister in one of them. At present, I am attempting to discern if I should remain where I am (very comfortable) or if I am being led to go somewhere else (which will not be as comfortable).

When somebody tells me I have to follow a formula to be a real Christian, and point to their interpretation of records that were compiled by human beings - inspired though they may have been - then I know that dialogue is pretty much useless.

All I can do is offer my testimony that God is real, and that my life has been blessed in so many ways I cannot begin to share them all.

[andrewlittle]

Hearty shows up a few days ago and posts a thread - the only thread so far. Has he/she been back to view the answers? Who really knows?

Many people say they are Christians who haven't completed the requirements according to the bible. Many go part way but stop due to some misinformation or prejudice. How were you saved ? Who told you you were saved? Can a saved person be lost? Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?

What are you asking, Hearty, if in fact you were asking questions.

What are these "requirements according to the bible" you are referring to?

How were you saved, Hearty? Who told you that you were saved?
What do you think, can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?

I think your question, at least as far as I can tell, was, "Are there any Christians just like me out there?"

Share somthing, Hearty, that will engage a conversation more deeply and more openly. Give us something to work with.

Unless, of course, this was just intended as a quick shot to tell yet more people that they are inadequate in the sight of God - the God you have manufactured in your own mind and your image.

[Vanessa White]

My relationship with God, and Jesus, as I understand it for myself, is also not made up of a set of guidelines that have been put upon me by others. I have been a member of two different types of church denominations, but over the years, have put a negative connotation of sorts on calling myself a Christian, due to how some extreme Christians view me, as a sinner who is never to be saved, and able to be reviled and condemned. I prefer to refer to myself, rather than Christian, for I do believe in Jesus, rather as a follower of Christ. I also fall short daily in doing what I need to do for my fellow human, although the effort is usually my best one to do some good and to do no harm. I love knowing how much Christ loves me, in spite of my shortcomings and sins. However, I know he embraces me, all of me, as he embraced many individuals who were marginalized in his time. Saved? I am not sure what that technically means, but if it means finding Christ and sensing his presence in my life, then I have indeed been saved. Peace all, :love: :love: :love: :love:

[BronzDragon]

Many people say they are Christians who haven't completed the requirements according to the bible. Many go part way but stop due to some misinformation or prejudice. How were you saved ? Who told you you were saved? Can a saved person be lost? Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?

This question provokes reaction, doesn’t it? :eek:
My first question to you is, What is a Christian? Can you answer that in positive terms? For what it is worth, this is mine:

Christian: «Pertaining to Christ»
One who follows the teachings and examples of the Christ, whatever they believe about his historic condition, and calls him- or herself a Christian.

And for good measure:
Christnick: «Yiddish: one who makes a big deal about being Christian»

One who never or rarely follows the teachings and examples of the Christ, whatever they believe about his historic condition: and still calls him- or herself a Christian.

For a Test of a Christian or a Christnick see Matthew 7.15-20 (Beware of false prophets), and Galatians 5.22-23 (But the fruit of the Spirit is).

How were you saved ? Who told you you were saved? Can a saved person be lost? Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved?

I am not Christian, myself, but will pose an answer to this. First, who are you to place yourself into the seat of the Judge at the End of the World and determine who is and who is in good standing? Having said that, I would say that only they who are in touch with themselves, and through that their god can say who is and who is not in good standing with their god. Those who are honest with that answer can make whatever adjustments necessary to find that special place.

I might also add, that a life time of behavior does not get washed out all in one action. If it took so long to fix whatever has broke, then it is likely that it will take some time to fix it. And having some psychopomp yell at me for not getting it right just this minute does not help.

Throwing those questions back at you; How were you saved? Who said anyone has saved you? Can a saved person be lost? Can a saved person live in sin and still be saved? My answers to all of that are simple; between the Judge at the End of the World and me is the answer.

[BruceChris]

It's simple. A good Christian is one who makes you feel good about yourself, and a Bad Christian is one who makes you feel bad about yourself. Whatsoever ye have done unto the least of me.....BC

[BronzDragon]

It's simple. A good Christian is one who makes you feel good about yourself, and a Bad Christian is one who makes you feel bad about yourself. Whatsoever ye have done unto the least of me.....BC

» Thom says: ☛ :love: I might modify that some what. Think about this, who do you really have any authority over other than yourself. I might say the good strive to help you feel good about yourself, or even better, feel honestly good enough about themselves that they have no reason to make you feel bad or inferior to make themselves feel better.

[scott snedeker]

Why not abandon all criticism of self?

You are who you were meant to be?

Imagine if you didn't worry what God or Christ or Source Energy or Pan thinks of you and just BE

Love and affirmation,

Scotty205