Suggestion led me

[weekEd]

Without the understanding of what Christian is I'm finding it difficult to qualify myself as non Christian

 

[weekEd]

Then again maybe I'm to be sacrificed
Maybe that is the moral of the story..

 

[timothyu]

You either care about all others or are totally selfish. Those are the only two choices whether you believe in God or not.

 

[linux.poet]

Part of Christian teachings is that we are inherently fallen sinners who cannot reach the ideal of Christ’s words and actions without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is obtained by believing in Christ’s sacrifice as payment for my sins. To sin is miss the mark of the ideal - that is the ideal of Christ’s perfect, holy, sinless life. But that is a bit of an oversimplification because there was this thing called the Law which exposed the fact that human beings fall far short of God’s holiness and Christ’s sinless perfection.

Ironically, it is also a teaching of Christ that no human being can live up to His ideal without being “born again”, i.e. believing in Christ’s death and resurrection and submitting themselves to Christ’s authority.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

That includes you.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus responded and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes will have eternal life in Him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

Therefore, a Christian is NOT someone who perfectly lives up to Christ’s ideal, for that is impossible. It is someone who tries, who submits themselves to Christ’s rightful authority and who believes in the power of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection to cover their inadequacies and pay for their remaining failures. However, a practicing Christian still tries to avoid sin as much as possible, for to do otherwise is to act in contempt of Christ’s gruesome death. This cannot be done in ignorance or by accident, for the power of sin is too great. One must come to a saving knowledge of the truth to accept the Gospel.

How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

Therefore, Christianity is incompatible with Ignosticism and you are not a Christian.

 

[weekEd]

What do you mean by "Christ"s rightful authority"?

 

[weekEd]

You either care about all others or are totally selfish. Those are the only two choices whether you believe in God or not.

Surely there is a gradient between the two
I'm seeing a false dichotomy

 

[timothyu]

Surely there is a gradient between the two

One is the ways of the Kingdom, the other is the way of the world man has made in our own image. They are opposing forces. Allegiance to either is what is offered but there can be only one.

 

[weekEd]

One is the ways of the Kingdom, the other is the way of the world man has made in our own image. They are opposing forces. Allegiance to either is what is offered but there can be only one.

To me "The Kingdom" is a construct of those who create it without the limitations of coherence, a hallucination, and "the world man has made in our own" is an anthropomorphic perception of the environment present.

Opposing forces to you yes, given the context I'm aware of, but that doesn't address the issue of belief which fluxes sometimes oscillating for the benefit of sentient individuals.

"The word became flesh" is a narrative of acceptance not necessarily dependent upon the legitimacy of that which is to be accepted.

 

[timothyu]

To me "The Kingdom" is a construct of those who create it without the limitations of coherence, a hallucination, and "the world man has made in our own" is an anthropomorphic perception of the environment present.

Hey, just sayin' our purpose is what was laid out in post #3

 

[Aussie Pete]

Without the understanding of what Christian is I'm finding it difficult to qualify myself as non Christian

A Christian is someone who is born again and so has the Life of Christ within them. A Christian is an entirely new person. We look the same outwardly, but we are different where it matters, the inner man. The inner man is the spirit of the person. All people are born spiritually dead. That does not mean that they have no spirit, but that they are dead to God. Sin kills everyone. So Jesus came to enable us to be forgiven and to be made alive. This He did by dying and rising again.

 

[weekEd]

Hey, just sayin' our purpose is what was laid out in post #3

Yet those words were not in his post

 

[weekEd]

A Christian is someone who is born again and so has the Life of Christ within them. A Christian is an entirely new person. We look the same outwardly, but we are different where it matters, the inner man. The inner man is the spirit of the person. All people are born spiritually dead. That does not mean that they have no spirit, but that they are dead to God. Sin kills everyone. So Jesus came to enable us to be forgiven and to be made alive. This He did by dying and rising again.

Sounds like a winner..
Maybe they could put that in the CF Statement of Faith
Such a simple statement "A Christian is someone who is born again and so has the Life of Christ within them." Would be more simple that what cf has listed. Probably more Christ-like too.
Anywho the statement is rather ambiguous as to what a Christian is but clearly identifies "we believe" whoever that is.
Didn't really an address my adulation

 

[weekEd]

Part of Christian teachings is that we are inherently fallen sinners who cannot reach the ideal of Christ’s words and actions without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit is obtained by believing in Christ’s sacrifice as payment for my sins. To sin is miss the mark of the ideal - that is the ideal of Christ’s perfect, holy, sinless life. But that is a bit of an oversimplification because there was this thing called the Law which exposed the fact that human beings fall far short of God’s holiness and Christ’s sinless perfection.

Ironically, it is also a teaching of Christ that no human being can live up to His ideal without being “born again”, i.e. believing in Christ’s death and resurrection and submitting themselves to Christ’s authority.



That includes you.




Therefore, a Christian is NOT someone who perfectly lives up to Christ’s ideal, for that is impossible. It is someone who tries, who submits themselves to Christ’s rightful authority and who believes in the power of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection to cover their inadequacies and pay for their remaining failures. However, a practicing Christian still tries to avoid sin as much as possible, for to do otherwise is to act in contempt of Christ’s gruesome death. This cannot be done in ignorance or by accident, for the power of sin is too great. One must come to a saving knowledge of the truth to accept the Gospel.



Therefore, Christianity is incompatible with Ignosticism and you are not a Christian.

Sadly I've heard it admitted by Christians "we all fall short of the glory of God"... sorry you haven't helped me

 

[Joseph G]

Sadly I've heard it admitted by Christians "we all fall short of the glory of God"... sorry you haven't helped me

When the Christian says this, he is referring to his old sinful nature. The Good News is that the righteousness of God is imputed to the believer through the seal of His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are then under His obligation to daily serve His Spirit or the old sinful nature. When we fail, He leads us to confess, repent and keep walking in His grace.

The unbeliever has no choice but to serve the sinful nature, because that's all he is.

The Good News is that the seal of His Holy Spirit is available to anyone who will receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and asks, in faith, for Him to indwell them. He will - it's His promise!

Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

"“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

 

[linux.poet]

What do you mean by "Christ"s rightful authority"?

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

As for rightful, that is established in Genesis. God created the world and thus has the right to rule over it. Christ has been given this authority because of his sacrifice on our behalf.

 

[Aussie Pete]

As for rightful, that is established in Genesis. God created the world and thus has the right to rule over it. Christ has been given this authority because of his sacrifice on our behalf.

Not quite. God gave authority over His creation to Adam and Eve (this earth anyway). Adam handed that authority over to Satan when he chose to disobey God.

Lord Jesus came as the "Last Adam". Because He was born sinless, He could make a fresh choice on behalf of all who would receive Him. Lord Jesus obeyed God perfectly and completely. Satan was defeated and Lord Jesus victorious. God gives the victory won by Jesus to all who are born again. God's intent was that man should rule and reign on this earth. God's plan and purpose cannot be thwarted. Lord Jesus is also called "The second Man".

If we want to live overcoming and victorious lives, we should seek to know these truths. The world is under the control of the evil one, Satan. We have the power and authority to resist the devil, who must flee from us.

 

[weekEd]

When the Christian says this, he is referring to his old sinful nature. The Good News is that the righteousness of God is imputed to the believer through the seal of His indwelling Holy Spirit. We are then under His obligation to daily serve His Spirit or the old sinful nature. When we fail, He leads us to confess, repent and keep walking in His grace.

The unbeliever has no choice but to serve the sinful nature, because that's all he is.

The Good News is that the seal of His Holy Spirit is available to anyone who will receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and asks, in faith, for Him to indwell them. He will - it's His promise!

Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

"“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

If the means justify the end what difference does an individuals faith have other that the benefit of community acceptance?

 

[weekEd]

As for rightful, that is established in Genesis. God created the world and thus has the right to rule over it. Christ has been given this authority because of his sacrifice on our behalf.

What was his sacrifice?

 

[Joseph G]

If the means justify the end what difference does an individuals faith have other that the benefit of community acceptance?

Funny you should ask. Got your seatbelt on?

Hebrews 11 NIV

"1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

And...

Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."

 

[Joseph G]

What was his sacrifice?

Romans 5:6-8 NIV

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."