James Joseph Jacques Tissot (1836–1902)
The longer I live and breathe, the less I like the terms “Christian”, and “Christianity”.
In fact, I don’t like Christians…huh????
If being Christian means you have to follow some predetermined set of rules or someone’s idea of proper criteria, count me out please. The phrase, “I’m a Christian”, does not set well with me anymore. Why not you might ask?
In part, I admit that “Christians” have attained a status that is less then desirable in today’s world…and have been in large part responsible for this happening themselves. Hard truth to swallow, but true nonetheless. In the DC Talk song What If I Stumble, there is a quote at the beginning that says,
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
There are so many definitions of what it means to be a Christian. I don’t feel any need to measure up to those definitions. If you ask ten people what being a “Christian” means, you may get ten different answers. Something about that just strikes me as being wrong.
What does being a Christian mean? I submit to you it means being a label; it means living up to someone’s preconceived notion of what he/she thinks being a Christian means. Sounds reminiscent of the Pharisees I think.
How about being religious…I dislike this one even more. I’m here to tell you…you can be religious to the utmost, and know nothing of what it means to serve God. Need an example of this? How about an example that comes right out of the bible? The Apostle Paul was the poster boy for being religious before Christ got a hold of him. Do you see the difference? If not read the book of Acts 7:54-60; Acts 9:10-30.
I much prefer the term “Believer”. What is a believer you say? A believer believes in God the Father, Jesus, and His atoning work on the cross. A believer believes that Christ lives today and forever, and will return some day to this earth, that Christ is the only way to the Father and that eternal life is found in Him. We as believers live to serve Him because we love Him and are grateful for what He has done for us. This is by no means an exhaustive list of what a believer is, that is not the point. Call yourself what you like, I like disciple as well.
What is important is what do you think about God?
- Do you believe in God?
- Do you serve Him or only watch from a distance?
- Does your worldview agree with the world, or does it coincide with what the bible has to say?
- Do you think that serving Him if you are truly His is an option or a must?
- Is Jesus your Lord and Savior, or only your Savior?
- Do you love Him for what He can do, or give you, or because you are grateful for what He has sacrificed for you?
- If you obey Him, is it because you love Him, or because it is a duty?
- Who do you serve, God or yourself?
- Are you God’s man or woman in church, but a different person altogether in the world?
- Is God the thing you do on Sunday, or is He Who you live for?
The answers to these questions are more then a little important. The answers define who you are in Christ if you are in Him at all. Don’t be a Christian, be one who abides in Christ. As Jesus abided in the Father, so must we abide in Christ. We must form a personal relationship with Jesus, not maybe, must.
Follow in Christ’s footsteps, as He did, so must we. None of us are perfect, that does not excuse us from trying our best by the power we have from the Holy Spirit to emulate Jesus the best we can. The actions of Christ were to be a servant, now if the One who created all that we see was a servant; we need to be servants as well. Love and serve…you will have the bible down pretty well if you can do that.
Related articles Think In Today – http://thinkinglifetoday.com/2012/04/15/the-bread-the-cup-and-unforgiveness/
lovehowiseeit - http://lovehowiseeit.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/i-quit-christianity/
April 14, 2012 at 3:41 am
Very relevant post. I think once tagged as a ‘Christian’ we forget to seek and know him better. The tag gives us a false sense of ‘being saved’ anyway.
April 15, 2012 at 9:50 pm
I agree, being saved has little to do with “Christian-dom” and everything to do with belief in and obeying Christ.
April 14, 2012 at 4:26 am
Don’t be a Christian, be one who abides in Christ. This is the radical Good News my friend! Thank you!
I’m with you! I’m a Believer!
Debbie
I think you’ve just inspired a new post for me!
April 14, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Thank you Debbie! I have to give credit to God, and ideas that form as I read other peoples stuff as well!
April 14, 2012 at 7:27 am
Reblogged this on YOU DECIDE and commented:
Great Deep Post. “WWJD” is not just a bumper sticker or a band around your hand, is a way of life! If one would like to know how to live a Christian life , one need to ask a none believer!
April 14, 2012 at 4:22 pm
Thank you my friend for the reblog!
Blessings to you.
April 14, 2012 at 4:34 pm
Thought provoking and powerful blog. I agree on all terms. Blessings to you.
April 14, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Thank you so much for reading and commenting!
April 14, 2012 at 4:42 pm
Very welcome.
April 14, 2012 at 10:41 pm
I agree with your preference for believer and even more with disciple which means a learner committed to following (loving) the Master and imitating His ways.
Thanks for the post.
April 15, 2012 at 3:05 pm
Thanks for reading and commenting, always glad to hear from you.
April 15, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Nice job…that quote about Christians that honor with their lips in Dc’s song came from Brennan Manning, former Jesuit, in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel. i think you’re on that same page.
April 15, 2012 at 11:05 pm
Thank you for reading and commenting! Hope to see you again.
April 17, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Walking in love and service WITH Him and FOR Him are the ways to combat the religiosity gig!
April 17, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Yes indeed! So are friends whose teaching you read…like yours!
April 20, 2012 at 1:25 pm
I am challenged by this post, which I count as a good thing.
Christ was most harsh with the Pharisees, and hung out with the prostitutes and outcasts. I like to think He loves those who struggle best. My God is love. Those who take pride in hating in His name… I wish they wouldn’t use His name. To me, it seems synonymous with taking His name in vain. It is dishonoring to the God I love when someone acts so hatefully. We are not to judge. We are to love–even our enemies.
Thank you for inspiring us. If I’d read this post earlier, I’d have changed my last post title to use the Believer term instead of Christian. I was hesitant to even ‘put it out there’ because of the bad rep we have. I think the title has become useless today. I like Believer. I’m one, too. I could say ‘you made me a believer’ but that’s cliched.
April 20, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I have another blog with the name “Christian” in it. I can’t think of a better name!
Inspirational Christian Blogs is its name. Yes I do think the term Christian has become not the best word to use to describe oneself. How unfortunate.
Thanks for reading and commenting, I appreciate it.
April 21, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Writinggomer–Well, we at least have our grounding in common. Thank you for responding.
April 24, 2012 at 11:47 pm
“The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today
Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips
Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.
That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
This comment grieves me. please. people! remember who we are and who we represent!
April 25, 2012 at 12:14 am
Couldn’t agree more, thank you for the comment.
April 25, 2012 at 12:16 am
Absolutely!
April 25, 2012 at 5:20 pm
Thank you for reading!
June 15, 2012 at 3:02 pm
I learned long ago not to say I was a Christian because of people who claim that “title” but know nothing about our Lord and Savior; who have tarnished the name and reputation of us believers by their behavior.
Years ago I worked with a woman that said she was a Christian, yet drank, did drugs, used language that always made me cringe and continually committed adultery. She made the comment to me one day that “A Christian is a Christian is a Christian. We are all Christians.”
Shortly after that I had others tell me, knowing what she was like, that if that was what it meant to be a Christian, they wanted no part of it. I had pointed out to her that just because we are not Jewish or Muslim or Buddhist, does not mean we are Christians. By its very definition, a Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. That did not sit well with her and she proceeded to cause abundant trouble for me with our co-workers and friends. Her continued actions only deepened the dislike for “Christians” with my co-workers and there was not really anything I could do to counteract that belief.
I now say I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, a Child of the King.
June 16, 2012 at 2:20 am
I agree with you, I like the term Believer myself. Christian has unpleasant connotations.
Thanks for a great comment!