Does growing up Catholic make you a Christian?
Does growing up in a Protestant denominational make you a Christian?
How about becoming a Catholic, or becoming a Baptist, United Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian (Presbyterian USA PCUSA or Presbyterian Church of America PCA), Reformed, Pentecostal, Evangelical, Charismatic, or Foursquare, Episcopalian or Anglican, Churches of Christ, Assemblies of God, Seventh-Day Adventist, or joining a Non-denominational Christian church; does that make you a Christian?
What about becoming a Mormon or Latter-day Saints, or first converting to Hebrewism and obeying the Mosaic Laws and the Ten Commandments, or how about becoming a Jehovah's Witness; can any of those religions help you on a path to true salvation?
Does going to a Catholic church or a Protestant church or even going to any church once a year, twice a year, or 52 times a year make you a Christian? What about following the Catholic seven sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist (Holy Communion), Confirmation, Confession (Reconciliation), Marriage (Matrimony), Holy Orders, or Anointing of the Sick; can any of those sacraments make you a Christian? What about becoming baptized under a Protestant denominational church; will that help you become a Christian?
What about saying the Rosaries everyday for a year, or wearing scapulars, medals, or crucifixes around your neck or any religious images on the walls or shelves of your home; does any of that make you a Christian?
How about being good, or doing good things, or helping the poor, or giving your money to charity, or helping others when they are in need; does any of that make you a Christian?
Why do I ask these questions? Because most of these questions are asked all the time, if not out loud, at least in the minds of billions of people from all over the world.
Nothing stated above makes anyone a Christian. I'll repeat this, there is nothing anyone can do to make themselves a Christian. No amount of going to church, no amount of going to the confession booth, no amount of saying the Rosaries, not belonging to a certain religion, no specific church membership, no amount of obeying the ten commandments, no amount of giving money to the poor, no amount of praying everyday, no amount of being good, no amount of good works, not even baptism, nothing you do can ever make you a Christian.
So, help me, what is the answer to becoming a Christian?
Faith
How to be a Christian; by faith. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God.
Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Romans 10:1-4
Listen my friends, listen to God. There is a righteousness from God, and his name is Jesus. He is the righteous One. He is the one that took the world's sin and paid the price for it. Believe in Jesus and be saved. Nothing more, nothing less will do.
If you are trying to be righteous before God in what you do; take warning from the old testament word of God.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6
The filthy rags referred here in the Bible is related to a woman's period and menstrual rags. (Ref H5708: From an unused root meaning to set a period (compare H5710 and H5749); the menstrual flux (as periodical); by implication (in plural) soiling: - filthy.)
Why be a Christian?
So, do you really want to try to go before God in your righteousness? Think about it, listen and hear the word of God. Get your thinking right. Place your faith in his righteousness not your own. Believe in Jesus and be saved onto eternal life. This, and only this will be counted for righteousness with God. Faith in Jesus is what makes a Christian a Christian.
I Am The Way, The Truth, & The Life, Said Jesus
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
Please read the Welcome message.
I am confused! I have always believed in God and Jesus, but have only recently started to question these things, attend church and join in with a christian playgroup. I have always considered myself a christian just by believing in God and Jesus, praying, raising my children to understand what christmas and easter is, taking them to sunday school to learn more about jesus, but when I attend these christian playgroups, it is like they are a whole different breed of christian. They only listen to christian music, watch christian tv, use christian mechanics. I have always been taught not to be judgemental of others, but are these christians not be judgemental of people they think are non christians? I like my heavy metal music, I like to drink alcohol on occasions, i socialise with people who are not christians, does that make me a bad christian. I love god and jesus and have felt his presence in my life, but do i have to stop the things i love and conform to the ways of these "die-hard" christians to feel I am a worthy christian. Does this make sense?
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, you are getting your focus on the wrong things. Focus on Jesus and his righteousness, not the righteousness or play acting of others.
When a person receives Jesus for who he is and for what he has done for them, forgiving them of all of their sins, and giving the person eternal life, and having the Holy Spirit coming to indwell that person, God is going to direct that person from the inside out. That doesn't mean the person is always going to be doing the "proper" things in the sight of others. It does mean that Christ is in the process of bringing about a changed mind about the things of this world, in the mind of the believer.
Everything is permissible, but not everything is profitable. 1 Corinthians 10:23
Of course Christians socialize with non Christians. Don't be put under a burden by others. Yes, there are some things that don't exactly demonstrate what being a Christian is all about. However, maybe consider what Paul did in the presence of those he was trying to reach for Christ. There were times when Paul followed some of the rules of the Jews, in order to try and reach the Jews. Also, there were times where he did not want to be a stumbling block to the weaker believers.
As far as drinking alcohol, even Jesus drank alcohol. Wine after all is fermented grape juice. However, how much sense would it make to flaunt drinking alcohol in front of a believer or even a non believer that struggles with alcoholism? Maybe there are folks in a group setting that might be having a hard time with that. You have to consider others around you.
As far as listening to heavy metal music, you have to consider some of the song lyrics in some of the music which is not exactly what I would call peaceful or bringing peace to the soul. In fact, some of the song lyrics are very demeaning at best. You have to ask yourself, how much sense does it make to listen to some of that stuff? Yes, it is permissible, but is it profitable for the soul and the souls around you? If you really like the beat of "heavy metal" then consider listening to Christian heavy metal groups.
The bottom line, it is by "Faith" that a person is a Christian. Believing on Jesus, and his righteousness, and his forgiveness, and his giving eternal life to the believer, is how a person is saved from death to life.
By the way, no one is a "good" Christian. No one is a "worthy" Christian. Worthy is the Lamb of God. Good is only God our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. Only God is good. So, forget about thinking about die-hard or worthy Christians, and keep your focus on him.
Thank you for your response. It has been insightful and helpful to me. And by the way the heavy metal music I was talking about is actually not demeaning in any way but inspiring and encouraging for a healthy mind body and soul, i guess it is just a generalisation that all music like that is demeaning. I thank you again, have a great day.
DeleteGood point about the generalization of music. I was somewhat stereotypical in my first response about that particular music genre. I would say, there are songs in various music genres that have issues with the lyrics.
DeleteAny case, let the Holy Spirit guide you in these areas of your life. Don't get caught by someone placing a heavy burden on your heart. Stay free.
I've been blessed by this message. Exactly the word I needed to hear at this very moment. Thank you and be blessed
ReplyDelete