| ah pek | 1. How do u define a sincere Christian? | 2007-04-26 01:30:31
Hi all, greetings...have been busy for the past few months. I have been thinking through a few things & here is my question hope you can contribute to this discussion.
How do you define a sincere Christian? By being faithfully going to church meetings, his/her action, lifestyle etc.?
Scenario 1:
Let me begin by telling a little something, there is a person in our team who seems to be a sincere Chirstian, going to church faithfully, very strong in the word. whenever there is a chance he will share with you about christianity. Sometimes I just don't understand, he could be so double headed by stabbing at other people & telling a different story about a person behind his/her back. People around me says, they never expect this coming from a Chirstian.
Back to discussion, why is there such a thing happening? Is there anything wrong with the religion itself & may need looking into? Isn't it once they are a born again christian, he is a new creation, the old has gone & the new has come, shouldn't he be acting in a more christlike way?
Scenario 2:
I remember another christian sharing, he said he has been faithfully reading the word daily. I will consider him a spritual kind of person who knows the bible well. He shared that sometimes he tends to have this self-righteous feeling towards another christian that is less faithful. He remember someone asking him for advice on certain problem in life & he gave a standard reply that because you did not walk closely with God that's why you are having this problem. At the end of his sharing he asked, do u fall into the pharisee or the tax collector category.
My questioin is does christian tends to fall into one of these 2 scenario above? I have personally came across these character.
| | martianunlimited | 2. RE: How do u define a sincere Christian? | 2007-04-26 12:45:44
Scenario 2: I see this in churches... Which is why sometimes i say church is the breeding place for modern day pharisees... | | ah pek | 3. RE: How do u define a sincere Christian? | 2007-04-30 22:08:19
I agree with martian. From my observation, christian between age of 18-30 tends to act like modern day pharisee, while the older christian 45 and above, you can't really have a discussion/debate with them about Bible. They tend to belive everything in the Bible is correct/faultless and you as a believer has no right to question what is written in the Bible. | | jack | 4. RE: How do u define a sincere Christian? | 2007-05-01 01:07:26
Ah pek,
I think most of us if not all of us can empatize with your predicament about the behaviour of christians. Just yesterday, i had a conversation with a non-xtian who spillout her discontent against xtians acting in certain ways which seemed to be ironical to what we preached.
Well, the temptation is to go down the road of saying, these are not 'true xtians' in the first place.
My own response to this issue is:
1) situations like this ought to be moments of introspection - self examination, personal and corporate (as a Church/community/fellowship). I for one, am very conscious of such actions, not least because I was (and for the love of god!, i still am sometimes) like that. Things like this shouldn't catch me by surprise and paralyzed me.
2) I have come to realize that being a xtians is not on a journey to become angel-like. Rather, it is a journey to become more human - the kind of man and woman god has intended humanity to be. So i do not expect a xtian to be emotionless and passionless as she mature in her faith - like a straight-jacket angel. Human emotions and passions are not sinful perse. These ought to be redeeemed to glorify god in our being human.
3) And when we realize that it's a journey, it only goes on to show that hey, some of us may be ahead of others in maturity. Some are still wallowing in the first stage of being loved by god and not move on to express this love to others. I would not say these are not xtians, but probably childish xtians who need to grow up.
4) the Church as the community of god's people must provide avenue for xtians in every stage of the journey to learn and listen to the Holy Spirit. only thru Him that we may become more human. But i am afraid, many times, the church just hasn't provide such platform or opportunity. We may be too buzy saving souls and not nurturing them.
5) finally, when i encounter ppl like the ones you describe, i assure myself that that's the reason why they are xtians, for god came to save sinners and not saints. And at the end of the day, like perhaps what you are implying, externalities do not at all make us acceptable by god. We do not become xtians by baptism or going to church or breaking bread or saying prayer, and still further not by wearing a label. Circumcision is of the heart, Paul reminds us. And rest be assured, god will know who is his, for he is the one who searches the hearts.
Ah Pek, are you based in Penang? And are you attending a church/fellowship? Feel free to join us...on Saturdays YACHT meetings if not on Sunday's service.
| | ah pek | 5. RE: How do u define a sincere Christian? | 2007-05-16 22:29:27
Yes, I am based in Pg. | |
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