Christian Opposition
If you are a Christian, don’t be surprise when you discover that the people who will to give you the hardest time, are not those who do not know Jesus Christ, but, it will be those who claim to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Yes, it will be fellow Christians,who will probably give you the most difficult time. This, however, is not really unusual, because, it was always the people, who claimed to know God, who gave the prophets of the Lord, such a difficult time. This was also the case with Jesus Christ, who met the hostility of the Jewish priests and the Sadduccees, who were the religious leaders at that time, and, it was their entrenched hatred, and bitterness,which brought about his death on the cross. King David, experience the same thing in Psalms 55: 1-23, in which he clearly expressed in verses, 13, and 14, how he was deceived by a fellow believer, that he thought was his friend. So, as a Christian, don’t become discouraged, if you as facing a great deal of animosity and chaos from your fellow Christian sisters and brothers. Remember, as I pointed out in the article on, ” The Christian “, that the bible reveals different levels of spiritual growth, and as Christians, we are all at different levels of spiritual development. John P. Newport and William Cannon, years ago, wrote a book entitled, “Why Christians Fight Over the Bible”, brought out some of the problems, that Christians have among themselves. Christians must understand, that it is not the denomination, which makes one born again, it is the individual accepting Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior. Therefore, it does not matter whether one is Baptists, Methodists, Church Of Christ, Episcopalians, or the Church Of God And Christ. When one has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior, that individual is saved by the grace of God. Being born again, does not mean that one does not sin anymore, but, as an individual continues to grow spiritually, he or she will sin less. Being born again, does not means that one has to be in church, every time the doors are open up. Don’t listen to fellow Christians, who will tell you, that you are not saved, if you do not speak in tongues, because that is not biblical. As a Christian, one can still listen to some secular music and go to the movies, however, one must be careful about, what type of music, he or she listens to, and what type of movies, he or she goes to see. Living for Jesus Christ, is not bondage, but it is freedom, so don’t let other so-called Christians, put you in illegitimate bondage.
The Bowtie Professor Speaks!
I agree that the so called “Christian” is some of the hardest people to get along with. But this notion of “accepting the Lord as your personal savior” and that it doesn’t matter what Church you’re in is very misleading! And once someone is born again why wouldn’t they want to be in Church as much as possible?
It is not misleading, because, you read something in the article that was not there. I did not say that once a person is born again, he or she does not have to attend church. What I said was, that it does not matter, which church an individual attends, as long as that church believes in Jesus Christ. Why? Too many Christians get hung up over denominations. It is not the denomination which saves the person, it is the belief in Jesus Christ, as one’s Lord and Savior.
The Bowtie Professor Speaks!
You say that it doesn’t matter which Church someone attends, as long as the Church believes in Jesus? How is this concept in line with the New Testament scriptures? The Mormons believe in Jesus, but say he is actually Michael the Arc Angel! Is this ok? What about the Catholics? They believe in Jesus, but say the Pope is the acting mediator between God and men on Earth. This is why I say it’s misleading to make general statements like that. Yes I know that belief in Jesus Christ is essential to salvation, but that’s not all of it. You cannot talk about Jesus and try to disassociate him from his Church. The Church is what he shed his precious blood for. Is it not the case, that once someone obeys the Truth, they are placed in “Christ body… which is the Church” Eph 1:22. So yes I do think it’s very important which Church someone is in. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 “…upon this rock I will build my Church…” That’s singular! There is but one Church spoken of in the Bible. It’s always been that way and will stay that way. Christ Church wears his name and abides in the doctrines contained therein. Denominations are not biblical! And yes I agree they don’t and can’t save you. But Christ body can which is the Church, when you obey the Gospel like those 3,000 souls did over in Acts 2… “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…”1Pe 4:11
This is one of my primary reason for not supporting Christian ministry that is on T.V, because of the hatred that a lot of Christians have towards people who don’t look like them . These ministers call themselves ministers but are they really, for an instance the stupid comment that Pat Robertson made about the Haiti quake, now we all know that earthquakes happen, but his big headed self tried to stir hatred towards the people of Haiti about the are cursed of God because of Voodoo. Now that made my stomach churned, because he does not speak like a Christian, I mean you never hear Atheist saying this happens becasue we are cursed or because God is mad at us, this is probably why we have so may Atheist in the world today, because Christians claim that their God is all hate and no love.I do believe that it does matter what type of church you go to,because if the minister is not preaching from the bible then he or she is teaching doctrines that can and will lead some one astray, like Pat Robertson.
I want to make a correction in the post above. It is the Jehovah Witness that believes that Jesus is really Michael the Arch Angel, not the Mormons.
I believe that it is going to be hard for Christians to gather in churches pretty soon, so we should start now getting use to not going. Now we who are Christians should not use our freedom to practice sin the bible says to use our freedom to love one another,and to serve one another. Now you have some Christians who believe that they can get their freak on and still love the lord, now while a person is getting his or freak on outside of marriage and their is no conviction then I would personally question my salvation. When a person becomes born again he or she will not feel comfortable with the sin they are practicing. With our walk with the Lord we should be growing and growing,a nd also praying because I had my hair cut short, whatever!! People are just people,and unfortuntly for one another to grow. I have experienced a lot of hatred from believers because of my hair poof that I have on my head.Especially when I get to church early, and someone decides to sit behind me, one time this lady said “this girl’s hair is in the way of me seeing the pastor, and was just making rude comments about my hair. Now one time when I had my hair shaved with a tight female fade a lady told me that I was not saved Christians are the main one who claim to be angles, but are sometimes the devil themselves. Jesus called them wolves in sheeps clothing.
Professor I think you are on it. I think all the division that comes with denominations are just that, division that the enemy has to divide the body of Christ. When you get right down to it we are all talking about the same Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It is going to be 2 years in July since I became a born again Christian and I cannot feel more Blessed than I do know. And you are totally right about getting gripe from fellow Christians more than anyone else. Some of the Christians I know keep questioning me about having Faith in God. But if supposedly there consider themselves true Christians then who are they to judge and question me. No one is perfect and I truly am not perfect but as long as we believe in Jesus Christ as our only Savior we will be okay.
Well, as I read this short essay I had to agree with you on a lot of things that you pointed out. For me, there is not anything to go against you for in this essay. It does not matter what denomination you are, as long as you have the love of God in your heart and you serve him to the best of your abilities and acknowledge him in all your ways. However, I will admit that I believe that some denominations let tradition and religious morals get in the way of how they serve God. Because they were brought up a certain way by their parents, and have watched the religious attitudes of being in the church on Sundays and attending bible study whenever they have it, and smoking, gambling, clubing, etc. during the week or every other day of the week; I think it clouds their judgements of how to truly serve God from the heart and not from the flesh just doing it because they have to, or because thats how they were raised. When every denomination gets this understanding, then all of them might be able to be on one accord and not judge what each other do so much (including myself). Although some people feel like they don’t have to go to church in order serve God, I find its necessary for spiritual growth; just like going to school is necessary for educational growth. Other than what I have pointed out in the essay, everything else is fine to me.
Anyone who is a real Christian has a church-home that they are very active in and dedicated to, so they are well aware of the fact that they will receive the greatest opposition from their brothers and sisters in Christ, that is just part of the walk. However, their love for Jesus overrides any opposition they have to deal with. It does make a difference which church-house you attend because you want to receive the true Word of Jesus Christ from a real man of God. If you notice I’ve been using the word church-home or house because in this instants I am referring to the building, because the church is the body of Christ with Jesus being the head and the Christians represent the body. I agreed that denomination does not matter because man created denomination which represents division which is in opposition to what the Word of God teachs. Jesus was of no denomination.
It couldn’t have been said any better. This is completely true and the reason I support this is because the only people in my life that give me a a hard time are those who claim to be close to god and claim to be “Perfect Christians.”
I totally agree with this. I have had personal experience with some people who say they are christians and yet still try to get people to sin and think that always trying to do whats right is boring. These “christians” claim to know God and yet think that living for him is boring and not as fun as doing what they want and what other poeple are doing. Not saying that this applies to everyone but supporting the claim that there are some christians that will say one thing but act in another.
I don’t care if Christians never sin and that they really are better than every one else, they don’t have to flaunt it. I understand if you are excited because you’ve found something that makes you whole or you have finally found meaning in your life and i even understand you wanting to share it with someone else but there is a right and wrong way to do it. I have stepped into a church only once and that was when I was 13 and I am never going back. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to hear about how happy everyone was or that I needed to be saved, it was the way it was done. I could listen to the preacher(that’s fine) and sing the songs(that was fine too) but when it came down to having to listen to the people in the congregation talk about eveything thats wrong with me(thats not cool). Maybe its in the Bible somewhere that your supposed to criticize someone until they give in and say ‘hey, I want to be like you!” (I don’t know, haven’t read it) but let me just say that they will actually drive people away from you. And maybe I shouldn’t be saying this at all, maybe I just went to the wrong church with the wrong clothes on but if there are any more churches out there like the one i went to, then no thanks. Not interested! Im not against Christians or what they believe in and i understand that everyone wants something to believe in but it seems to me that Christians are really harsh. (Apologies, if this offends anyone but I had to say it somewhere. If I can’t be real anywhere else than I’m gonna be real here)
Whether one works for the benefit of others or the goals you try to accomplish are for the good of the church, there will always be someone coming against you. It’s true that no one is perfect and that no one is in the same spiritual level. The never-ending cycle of pessimist Christians vs optimistic Christians is what makes it a bit difficult for churches to really show who Jesus is or can be in someone’s life. We are human; in such nature we will always have that flaunt of not being content with everyone. Jesus Christ had the same issues. However, He was able to overcome those people with love. Though not everyone accepted Him, one can clearly see that He never fought back with anger or despise. There’s nothing wrong with a disagreement. How you handle it is what makes the difference. We should follow Jesus’ example. This essay brings out a good point about an ongoing problem. I don’t agree with some statements made at the end of the essay; however, I won’t go into a bitter fight about it. To set the standard on certain topics and issues as a Christian, we must always consult the Bible.
I completely agree with this article. As a Christian, I see this everyday. My fellow Christians are the same people who are quick to judge the way you live your life. No one is perfect and each religion has different views on what is right or wrong/good or bad. These views are strictly opinions. The opinion of how one interpruts the Bible. If you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and know him, you are a believer and that should be all that matters, in my opinion. You just have to remember that everyone, I mean everyone that goes to church is a sinner in one way or another so they should not judge a person based on their sins. God’s judgement of me is the only judgement I even care about.
Kristen Darisse M&W 7:05~extra credit
Yes, you said it right “when one has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and saviour, that individual is saved by the grace of God” Christians come from a large variety of experience and backgrounds. In our christian life, foolishness along with sin and selfishness wins too often. God expects every christian to be a model for the rest of the world.He expects us to be the peacemakers and comforters. Born again means you have accepted Him as your Lord and saviour and that person is growing in the Lord more, and getting closer to him. “I am right, you are wrong” attitude should be deleated from every christian’s life. Each persons relationship with God is unique and each experience is unique. The truth is we do not walk in the same paths in life. Christians should be the role model for others, our way of dealing with others should explain that “YES, WE ARE CHRISTIANS” Most importantly God expects us to love Him first and love each other.
class Tu/Thur. 11:00
I totally liked this article. I would like to add that if the bible only had one verse and that verse was John 3:16 then that is enough to know. The rest are just guidelines and examples on how we should lead our life. I am a PK and grew up in the church. The worst politics I ever saw was not in Washington but in the church. The problem is that everyone thinks they are talking for God and if you do not agree with them then you don’t agree with God. A side note - Do you know how a church member says no when ask to do somthing? They say I will pray about it and get back to you. Once they say this you better go find you another person to ask