Not all Christians are

Not all are Christians are

“Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
                                                                                                            Matthew 7:22,23.
Here is a note to non-Christians. Not all who claim to be Christians are indeed Christians. They run the spectrum from those who wish to separate people from their money to those who are simply misguided.
While there is within Christianity a differences of interpretation of some passages of Scripture. All true Christians have a common set of beliefs. These beliefs are summed up in the Apostles creed.
Although not written by the apostles it does sum up basic Christian beliefs. It states,

1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:

2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:

3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:

4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried:

 He descended into hell:

5. The third day he rose again from the dead:

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:

7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:

9. I believe in the holy catholic** church: the communion of saints:

10. The forgiveness of sins:

11. The resurrection of the body:

12. And the life everlasting. Amen.

(**that is, the true Christian church of all times and all places).

True Christians believe the words of Jesus who when asked,
 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                                       Matthew 22:36-40
Jesus also said
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”
                                                                                       Matthew 5:43,44 
A true Christian will take to heart and practice what the apostle Paul wrote,
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  
Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  
On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink...” 
    Romans 12:18-20a
A True Christian will love and not judge. Again they will follow the teachings of the apostle Paul who said,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 
                                                                                                1 Corinthians 5:12,13.
If those claiming to be Christians are not following these basics I would question if they really are Chrsitians.
Please think about it.

Christians and christians

Christians and christians

“Going to church makes you no more of a Christian than standing in a fire station makes you a fire truck.”

I’ve heard many non-Christians over the years say I know people who go to such and such a church. I know what they do during the week and I am much better than they are. Why should I go to church?
My answer is simple not everyone who goes to church each Sunday is a Christian. Many people go all there lives to church yet are not Christians.
Many pastors, Christian teachers, and evangelist are not Christians.
What defines a Christian is simple.
A Christian is someone who believes Jesus is the Son of God, the saviour of mankind. They have admitted they are a sinner. That they have fallen short of the glory of God. They have confessed that sin to God and accepted Christ into their heart and lives.
When that happens their lives start to change.
Still Christians upon accepting Christ do not automatically become perfect, they are only progressing some at slower rates than others.
The key however is they made a decision to follow Christ and are doing their best to do what they feel He wants them to do.
I as Christian know there are many claiming to be Christian teacher, preachers and evangelist as well as many sitting in the pews of any given church on any given Sunday that are not Christians. They are teaching and practising things that are not Christian.
The apostle Paul knew this. He wrote to Timothy saying,
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 
                                                                        2Timothy 4:3,4.
Jesus even said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 
                                                                                                                  Matthew 7:21-23.
The key I believe for the non-Christian is to visit a Church at least once in a while. Try different Churches. Listen to what the pastor or teacher has to say and judge for yourself what God has for you.
Many people do criticize the church and much of the criticism the church get is deserved.
The basic facts still however remain. Jesus love you and offers you a choice. Jesus said,
“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.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” 
                                                                                                                 John 3:16-18.
Please think about it.

True Christians

True Christians
Some one once asked me a simple thing the other day describe a Canadian coin as he presented it to me. I said it had the queens head on it with the words, Elizabeth II D. G. Regina.
He then turned to my friend and asked him to describe the coin as he presented it. He said it has a beaver in the center, with the words 5 cents with maple leave on each side of it. Below the Beaver is the word Canada and below that the date.
To someone who didn’t know any better we were describing different coins. The thing was I described the front and my friend the back of the same coin.
Mahatma Gandhi was a great thinker. A good man who said,
“Jesus is ideal and wonderful, but you Christians - you are not like him.”
Unfortunately Mahatma Gandhi probably didn’t know what a true Christian is. He had only met those who called themselves Christians.
He like many may have though people from the west, particularly the United Kingdom, and the United States are by default Christians. It is not so. You are not born a Christian simply because your parents were or you live in a particular country.
Jesus told this parable.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  
When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  
When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” 
Matthew 25:34-40
Gandhi did not see this first group. He see the second of whom Jesus said,
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 
                                                                                                            Matthew 25:41-46
Many people call themselves Christians and the outside world generally believes them. That goes especially for preachers in the media.
Non-Christians generally don’t know how to tell a “real Christian” from one who is a fake.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
“These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change.”
        Tony Campolo
What Campolo is saying is correct. We Christians are called to not only go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, but feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the needy, look after the sick, visit the prisoner and invite the stranger in.
The Apostle James wrote,
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  
If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”   
                                       James 2:14-18
The bottom line here is that Christians are to show love to all whom they come in contact with.
Jesus when asked what the greatest commandment was said,
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
                                                                            Matthew 22:37-40.
Earlier in Matthew Jesus is recorded as saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  
Matthew 5:43-45
The Apostle Paul writing,
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 
Love never fails....
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”  
                                                                                                             1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.
This is what makes up a true Christian
Think about it.