Moderators Bravus Posted August 11, 2010 Moderators Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was struck by this quote someone shared: If all the Christians who have called other Christians “not really a Christian” were to vanish, there’d be no Christians left. – Anonymous Is there anyone here who'd still be around? Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was struck by this quote someone shared: If all the Christians who have called other Christians “not really a Christian” were to vanish, there’d be no Christians left. – Anonymous Is there anyone here who'd still be around? If you'll tell me why you ask the question, I'll tell you what I think. Fair enough? Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 11, 2010 Author Moderators Share Posted August 11, 2010 Just sheer curiosity, nothing more sinister. My suspicion is none of us should 'scape vanishing... Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Just sheer curiosity, nothing more sinister. My suspicion is none of us should 'scape vanishing... The thought has never entered my mind as far as I can remember. I'm happy to believe that Christians have a learning curve wherein their standing with God is dependent not upon how well they perform but upon how much trust they place in Jesus' power to fulfill his promises to them. "Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--" Ephesians 3:20 AMP Blessings! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatLakesGramma Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Let's not forget that Jesus said there would be tares right along with the wheat, right up until the end. There will always be those within the church who have no connection with God. But instead of concerning ourselves with who is/is not, we should be concerned only with making sure that me, myself, and I are wheat. And if we are not sure, it would be a really good idea to find out how to know. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardw Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 But instead of concerning ourselves with who is/is not, we should be concerned only with making sure that me, myself, and I are wheat. Quote Rich http://tiny.cc/CM2j8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 But instead of concerning ourselves with who is/is not, we should be concerned only with making sure that me, myself, and I are wheat. And if we are not sure, it would be a really good idea to find out how to know. Sounds rather unproductive for the person who is suppose to be, in an effort to emulate Christ, making effort to help others into the kingdom. "Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me...." John 8:28 NKJV Regards! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Originally Posted By: GreatLakesGramma And if we are not sure, it would be a really good idea to find out how to know. The problem with this is that it is unknowable, forever leaving the Christian in doubt. As long as He (Jesus) knows, I'm satisfied. "...the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."John 14:17-19 NKJV Regards! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatLakesGramma Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 The problem with this is that it is unknowable, forever leaving the Christian in doubt. You are wrong about that. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatLakesGramma Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Originally Posted By: GreatLakesGramma But instead of concerning ourselves with who is/is not, we should be concerned only with making sure that me, myself, and I are wheat. And if we are not sure, it would be a really good idea to find out how to know. Sounds rather unproductive for the person who is suppose to be, in an effort to emulate Christ, making effort to help others into the kingdom. I am referring ONLY to the issue of who in the church is wheat or tares, not to the totality of our lives. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardw Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Originally Posted By: cardw The problem with this is that it is unknowable, forever leaving the Christian in doubt. You are wrong about that. Now that really convinces me. My guess is that you don't know either. Quote Rich http://tiny.cc/CM2j8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatLakesGramma Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I do, but I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. Your mind is made up and so is mine. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I do, but I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. Your mind is made up and so is mine. Well, mine is not.... you guys can convince me...... Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardw Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I do, but I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you. Your mind is made up and so is mine. Well I guess probation is closed in your mind. It would be a waste of time to explain to me something you don't know. I know it's impossible to determine who is wheat and who is tares even of oneself. Quote Rich http://tiny.cc/CM2j8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 12, 2010 Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2010 There's a sense in which people close their own probation-- they become so settled either into error or into truth that they can't be moved. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeHiscost Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 There's a sense in which people close their own probation-- they become so settled either into error or into truth that they can't be moved. Agreed. The saddest part of that reality is the greatest sorrow is in the heart of the Creator, Who chose all to be saved. "And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. "Romans 11:26 AMP For the sake of those who have chosen to let Him have His will accomplished, those that oppose that perfect will, realize their mistake only when it is too late. " There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you."Galatians 3:28,29 NLT "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."1 John 5:12 NKJV Joy! Joy! Joy! Quote Lift Jesus up!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfinder Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I am not a Christian, by definition, but, by definition, I am a disciple of the Son of God. John 8:31 ..."If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I am not a Christian, by definition, but, by definition, I am a disciple of the Son of God. John 8:31 ..."If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;... With your biblical background, it sounds like a semantics problem.... and clarify, for me, how your statement relates to Bravus'- If all the Christians who have called other Christians “not really a Christian” were to vanish, there’d be no Christians left. – Anonymous Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil D Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 There's a sense in which people close their own probation-- they become so settled either into error or into truth that they can't be moved. Wow! The thought-Self deception is so rampant around here...-comes to mind..... Quote Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. George Bernard Shaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayfinder Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 In a way the statement is correct, about Christians and those who call themselves Christians. A Christian claims to follow Christ and His teachings, but only how they wish to understand the context that suits them. Disciples of the Son of God do not call fellow disciples Christians, and Christians do not call other Christians disciples. So if all "Christians were to vanish, that would leave only the disciples of the Son of God, in the context of the statement of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 I am not a Christian, by definition, but, by definition, I am a disciple of the Son of God. John 8:31 ..."If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 12, 2010 Author Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2010 wayfinder seems to be in the same kind of quandary as Anne Rice: followers of Jesus who feel the label 'Christian' has become so debased and distorted that it no longer applies to them. (I'm describing/explaining that position, not adopting it.) I'm interested more in the ways in which Christians, when challenged about the various sins of other Christians, respond with 'well, that person is not really a Christian'. I think LifeHisCost's response about recognising that other Christians are on a journey and it's not up to us to judge them is mature and sensible... but 'on a journey' doesn't seem to me to really cover systematic abuse of children, for example. A realistic, credible approach on the part of the church needs to, IMO, stop using the 'not really a Christian' dodge and actually recognise that Christians *do* sin, and that there is an appropriate roll for church discipline, and also for the civil authorities. 'not really a Christian' is, IMO, a copout. Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rudywoofs (Pam) Posted August 12, 2010 Members Share Posted August 12, 2010 I saw an ABC News interview with Anne Rice last night. She stated that she was "not a Christian," rather, she was a follower of Christ. Quote: If all the Christians who have called other Christians “not really a Christian” were to vanish, there’d be no Christians left. – Anonymous That statement is not true. The statement assumes that *all* Christians have called other Christians, "not really a Christian." Quote Pam Meddle Not In the Affairs of Dragons; for You Are Crunchy and Taste Good with Ketchup. If we all sang the same note in the choir, there'd never be any harmony. Funny, isn't it, how we accept Grace for ourselves and demand justice for others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 12, 2010 Author Moderators Share Posted August 12, 2010 Like all complete generalizations, it over-states the case, but my personal observation certainly shows that every Christian I've ever met has said it, one time or another. Could be that that's because I sometimes push the issue of Christian crimes, though... (on the 'why don't moderate Muslims condemn terrorism?' principle: we ought to be accountable for our own) Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreatLakesGramma Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 Rich, I believe you have stated here that you want nothing to do with Adventism, Christianity, or God. That sounds like a made up mind to me. But I have realized on retrospect that it could be something else. If I was wrong, I am sorry. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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