What, exactly, is a True Christian?

[Larry]

What helps me is,

What is the requirement to enter Heaven?

Sinless perfection.

Therefore, since none of us qualify, we need someone to make restitution(pay our fine)for us that IS perfect.

Jesus Christ took ALL of our sin debt upon himself at the cross, 'paying the fine' for every person that has ever and will ever live.

Ideally, there should be NOBODY going to hell, as all fines have been paid.
To have are fines wiped clean, we MUST acknowledge that we fall short(humble ourselves)and realize that by no merit of our own can we 'earn' entrance into Heaven. We MUST 'repent'(turn from our sins) and we must 'accept' the payment made by Jesus and 'trust' in him alone to cancel our sin debt we owe to God.

Once that transaction occurs, God WILL keep his word to never let us go. As the debt has been 'forever' paid, and there is no possibility of us ever committing another sin that wasn't nailed to the cross, we will be admitted to Heaven through Jesus's imputed righteousness.

Salvation is a GIFT, but to receive a gift, we must DO something. When someone hands you(or attempts to)a gift, it doesn't actually become yours until you 'receive' it. If you look at it and then turn and walk away, you never 'received' the gift, even though it was bought and paid for for you.

That why the unbelievers will not enter Heaven even though their admission(sin debt) has been paid. They never 'received' their gift.

How sad it is that so many gifts that Jesus suffered and died for will remain unclaimed.

Bottom line...........Repent(realize you're a sinner and turn from those sins)and trust Jesus's sacrifice for the payment of those sins. Once that takes place, you're forever saved, since you did nothing to attain salvation on your own, and God cannot lie, you are eternally secure.

Hope that helps:thumb

Larry

[Buzzardhut]

Hope that helps:thumb

Larry
That does help, as long as we realize we don't participate in any kind of work in the salvation process.
thanks

[Larry]

as long as we realize we don't participate in any kind of work in the salvation process.

I tried very carefully to make sure I DIDN'T insinuate that.

Do I need to change something?

We do need to 'accept' and that does imply 'doing' something. But it doesn't aid in anyway 'us' working or adding to our salvation.

L

[Doxiemom]

Dear Hope, never be afraid of me. I will not poke fun at you, nor make belittling remarks about the Catholic Church. I hold no animosity towards my cradle faith. Any inadequeces found in me were entirely my own fault. No priest did that to me. I may not still hold as valid some of the theolgy you do, but I promise you I will never belittle you.

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus siad ( as I understand it) that there are many church types, and whereever you are, it is possible to be one of His. He may hold certain works against them in judement time, but they are His.

I am not fond of, nor will I ever be fond of, the extreme types. This is not personal towards anyone here, but there are what I have come to see as "heresy hunters"(non-catholic) and "rabid catholics". They are destructive to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Thank you all for your insights

[Abigail]

Doxiemom, it seems we have a lot in common. I'm also a "dachshund mom"; she's curled up in my desk chair with me as I'm typing this...it's her favorite spot. I too could have begun this thread. I'm also an ex-Catholic who has questioned whether I'm truly "born again."

I, too, agree that no one tied up in defiant, unrepentant sin can truly call themselves "saved." Personally, there are some people I haven't been able to forgive. This bothers me a lot, and has made me question whether I can be truly saved as a result. I am trying, and I hope the Lord will be patient with me.

With regard to the doctrine/denominational issue, I've come to appreciate that every one of them have errors, some more serious than others. I've been experiencing the same thing you have about discerning erroneous teachings in preachers/teachers I've previously enjoyed. However, every one of them is human and prone to error. I do think the best teachers are open to correction and are themselves "teachable." It's taken me several years to partially overcome my ignorance of the bible; despite 12 years of parochial school, I had huge gaps in my biblical understanding...I feel that I still do! Scripture is amazing; every time I look to it I learn something new or a new perspective. Was that your experience too? I think the more scripture one knows, the better one is able to independently spot apostacy for what it is, and will gain more and more confidence in doing so. But I don't think that if you are misled occasionally that your salvation or your Christianity is threatened.

By "imperfect faith" do you mean a lack of trust that He is in control of all aspects of your life? Or do you not understand certain aspects of His nature or teachings? I think if every Christian were completely honest, they'd admit to an imperfect "walk" with the Lord. I certainly am one. If perfection in this area was a requirement, no one could rightly call themselves a Christian!

So...you sound like you meet the definition of a Christian to me (although maybe not as mature in the faith as you'd like to be). I don't consider myself spiritually mature, either. I've had a lot of "catching up" to do with respect to my knowledge of the Word. But it seems that everyone agrees that a "baby Christian" is no less a true Christian than a longtime believer, so we should be good to go!

[kenod]

Every Christian has trouble being good ... even Paul (Romans 7:19).

When it comes to doctrinal differences, I sometimes wonder who is more at fault - those teachers who have an imperfect understanding of the Scriptures, or the heresy-hunters who find apostasy everywhere and condemn all those who do not see exactly what they see.

[Hope]

Hi Doxiemom, thanks for your kind words.

Kenod makes a really good point about the "heresy hunter" thing. It can sometimes lead to a hyper-critical spirit.

Hope

BTW, I love doggies too! I have got toooo many! Itsy-bitsy ones, great big ones, and of course medium sized as well. Then of course, there are the cats .... don't quite know how many of them I have!!

[Sing4Him]

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils 1 Tim. 4:1


Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints Jude 1:3

[funmudder]

Every Christian has trouble being good ... even Paul (Romans 7:19).

When it comes to doctrinal differences, I sometimes wonder who is more at fault - those teachers who have an imperfect understanding of the Scriptures, or the heresy-hunters who find apostasy everywhere and condemn all those who do not see exactly what they see.

So what would you define as a heresy hunter?

Doctrines of men mean jack squat. It's about what the Bible actually says, not what a denomination puts more emphasis on. Right?

What is the difference between being a heresy hunter and a Berean?

Act 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming [thither] went into the synagogue of the Jews.
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Keep it in context by reading all of Acts 17.

We are told to search out the scriptures, to test everything our leaders say. These Bereans were checking up on Paul, and he called them more noble for not just taking his word on it, but searching the scriptures for themselves.

If they were noble in questioning Paul..PAUL! How is it heresy hunting to question the people preaching today?

[Biblenuggetlady]

Jude is a very important book and it is so timely for today. Jude, wanting to write about our common salvation, instead found it needful and necessary to warn people about the faith. Faith...not faith that brings one to salvation, "faith" as the whole word of God and His Truth.

He warns about the wolfs in sheeps clothing who would sneak into the church and deceive MANY. They would use the grace of God as a "covering" for sin, winking and nodding at sin. It is insideous, there IS black and white in God's Word, there is right and wrong, yet we increasingly see evil called good and good called evil...in the church, not just the world. Remember, He said a time would come that good would be called evil and evil good.

We live in those days folks. It is not that any defenders of the Word WANT to point out every flaw of "man"...all men sin and fall short of the glory of God...but there are fundemental truths that must be adhered to. The line between the world and the church has become so gray it is hard to tell the two apart.

I beg my brothers and sisters in Christ...BEG you, to pray for wisdom and discernment in these last days. Feed on the Word of God and do not be apathetic when it comes to "compromise". These days are spiritually discerned, please...this is such a burden on my heart...please pray for discernment and do not be deceived. The wolfs are in the church today and they are trying to destroy it by watering it down so it no longer has any savor.

Truly, there is not a hyper critical spirit, there is rather a spirit of apathy and apparent scaley eyes...a lukewarm church...I DO say this in love. I am so afraid for the church today and want to cry from the roof tops...be ready for spiritual battle, sharpen your swords, put on the full armor of God and fight the good fight...the church is under attack and so many don't realize they are surrounded by the enemy.