Post by Paddy by Grace on Sept 3, 2008 15:13:29 GMT -7
www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=94958
How can you tell a no-doubt Christian from a maybe Christian? Answer: There will be spiritual results, or hard evidence, in his or her life. In fact, I propose that what is considered Christianity by many in the United States today would not even qualify as conversion in the first-century church. And what is considered normal as far as a Christian was concerned in the first century would be considered radical by today's standards.
There are a lot of people running around today who could be described as kind-of Christians. Now, that is not a theologically correct term, because according to the Bible, you either are or are not a Christian. But I am talking about people whom you are not really sure about. He or she is sort-of a Christian or maybe a Christian or could be a Christian or almost is a Christian. You see some things in their lives that make you believe they might be followers of Christ. They attend church regularly and talk about God periodically. Maybe they pray before their meals. But then there are other things in their lives that seem to contradict this behavior.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people today who believe they are Christians yet probably are not. And one of the reasons for that is a lot of shallow and anemic preaching in our churches today. I fear there may be a generation of people running around who believe they really know God when, in fact, they don't really know him at all.
One recent poll indicated that seven out of 10 American adults have no clue as to the meaning of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." And barely one-third of all adults know the meaning of the expression "the Gospel."
I question whether most Americans have ever heard the authentic Gospel message. I know we have heard a lot of preaching. I know we have heard a lot of sermons. But have most Americans really heard the Gospel? And do they have a basic understanding of it?
In their book, "unChristian," David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons identify behaviors that so-called Christians share with non-Christians. When asked to identify their activities over the last 30 days, those identifying themselves as born-again Christians were, according to the book, just as likely to gamble, visit a pornographic website, take something that did not belong to them, consult a medium or psychic, consume enough alcohol to be legally drunk, use an illegal drug, or lie about someone to retaliate.
My question is not whether these people are Christians who are ignoring God's commands. My question is whether these people are really Christians at all.
Someone once asked me, "What do you do when you come to a passage in the Bible that you don't agree with?"
I said, "You change your opinion, because you are wrong."
It is as simple as that. It is not for us to disagree with the Bible. It is for us to conform ourselves to what the Bible teaches about God. And we can discover that the easy way or the hard way.
So what are we to do? Should we accommodate the Bible to our standards, or conform ourselves to it? Some would seek to accommodate the Bible or simply ignore it altogether and trust in their feelings or personal opinions instead.
The Bible is the autobiography of God. It tells you everything you need to know about God ... about life ... about yourself ... about how to live ... about what to do ... about what not to do. It tells you how to think, how to act and how to react. It is all there in the Bible. And the person who wants to get closer to God will need to study it.
You can read the writings of different people and learn about them. You can read an autobiography and learn about someone. But God has given us his Book so we can learn about him.
Last year, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial online auction offered various experiences up for bid, including tea with Alan Greenspan, a walk-on role in a film starring Johnny Depp, or a tennis lesson with Andre Agassi. But even better than spending time with a famous person, we have the Creator of the universe who longs to spend time with us each and every day. And best of all, it's free. All we need to do is open up the Bible and spend time with him.
Our emotions can mislead us. Our feelings can lead us astray. We cannot base our decisions on whether something feels right or if it seems good. We need a higher authority, and that authority is the Bible, God's how-to manual for life.
How can you tell a no-doubt Christian from a maybe Christian? Answer: There will be spiritual results, or hard evidence, in his or her life. In fact, I propose that what is considered Christianity by many in the United States today would not even qualify as conversion in the first-century church. And what is considered normal as far as a Christian was concerned in the first century would be considered radical by today's standards.
There are a lot of people running around today who could be described as kind-of Christians. Now, that is not a theologically correct term, because according to the Bible, you either are or are not a Christian. But I am talking about people whom you are not really sure about. He or she is sort-of a Christian or maybe a Christian or could be a Christian or almost is a Christian. You see some things in their lives that make you believe they might be followers of Christ. They attend church regularly and talk about God periodically. Maybe they pray before their meals. But then there are other things in their lives that seem to contradict this behavior.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people today who believe they are Christians yet probably are not. And one of the reasons for that is a lot of shallow and anemic preaching in our churches today. I fear there may be a generation of people running around who believe they really know God when, in fact, they don't really know him at all.
One recent poll indicated that seven out of 10 American adults have no clue as to the meaning of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." And barely one-third of all adults know the meaning of the expression "the Gospel."
I question whether most Americans have ever heard the authentic Gospel message. I know we have heard a lot of preaching. I know we have heard a lot of sermons. But have most Americans really heard the Gospel? And do they have a basic understanding of it?
In their book, "unChristian," David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons identify behaviors that so-called Christians share with non-Christians. When asked to identify their activities over the last 30 days, those identifying themselves as born-again Christians were, according to the book, just as likely to gamble, visit a pornographic website, take something that did not belong to them, consult a medium or psychic, consume enough alcohol to be legally drunk, use an illegal drug, or lie about someone to retaliate.
My question is not whether these people are Christians who are ignoring God's commands. My question is whether these people are really Christians at all.
Someone once asked me, "What do you do when you come to a passage in the Bible that you don't agree with?"
I said, "You change your opinion, because you are wrong."
It is as simple as that. It is not for us to disagree with the Bible. It is for us to conform ourselves to what the Bible teaches about God. And we can discover that the easy way or the hard way.
So what are we to do? Should we accommodate the Bible to our standards, or conform ourselves to it? Some would seek to accommodate the Bible or simply ignore it altogether and trust in their feelings or personal opinions instead.
The Bible is the autobiography of God. It tells you everything you need to know about God ... about life ... about yourself ... about how to live ... about what to do ... about what not to do. It tells you how to think, how to act and how to react. It is all there in the Bible. And the person who wants to get closer to God will need to study it.
You can read the writings of different people and learn about them. You can read an autobiography and learn about someone. But God has given us his Book so we can learn about him.
Last year, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial online auction offered various experiences up for bid, including tea with Alan Greenspan, a walk-on role in a film starring Johnny Depp, or a tennis lesson with Andre Agassi. But even better than spending time with a famous person, we have the Creator of the universe who longs to spend time with us each and every day. And best of all, it's free. All we need to do is open up the Bible and spend time with him.
Our emotions can mislead us. Our feelings can lead us astray. We cannot base our decisions on whether something feels right or if it seems good. We need a higher authority, and that authority is the Bible, God's how-to manual for life.
