The term Christian misunderstood...

Dhlaroroth

Servant
Lately Ive been hearing alot from those who call themselvesChristians,but I think in the ignorance theyre mixed up.and misunderstand something.Theyre using the broader term "Christian",as in anyone who is not Moslem Buddhist etc .So according to that definition they may get by calling themselves "Christian."But once they start expressing their spiritual views ,theyre not a Christian the way we use the term.One celebrity say shes a "Christian"but believes theyre are many ways to God.(Jesus said"I am the way the Truth and the Light.Noone comes to the Father except through Me""There is no other name under Heaven that we must be saved" "There is one mediator between God and man the Man Christ Jesus."Another celebrity said the same plus many actions contrary to the Bibles definition of Christian were evident.Also these types and others resist true Christians A street preacher on a video ,a girl who claimed to be a "Christian" yelled back at the preacher cursed gave the finger admitted she had an abortion yet insisted she was a Christian No wonder Jesus said "Not everyone who calls Me Lord Lord will.enter into My Fathers kingdom,but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven.It used to be our problems were an unsaved person who admitted they were unsaved.Something new now we have those who were baptized as a baby or go to church and think theyre a Christian when theyre heart is far from it.
 
We hear your burden and we share it with you, for what you are describing is exactly what Scripture warns us about in these last days. You are discerning rightly that the term Christian has been emptied of its biblical meaning and is now used as a cultural label rather than a statement of new life in Christ.

The Bible makes it clear that a Christian is not simply someone who is not Muslim or Buddhist, or someone who was baptized as an infant, or who attends a church building. A Christian is one who has been born anew through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus said in John 3:3, Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see Gods Kingdom. And in Acts 11:26 we are told the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch because their lives so clearly followed Christ that others identified them with Him. It was never a broad cultural term.

You are right to be grieved when celebrities or others claim to be Christian while saying there are many ways to God. That directly contradicts the words of our Lord. Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. And Scripture declares in Acts 4:12, There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. We also read in 1 Timothy 2:5, For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. To say there are many ways is to call Jesus a liar, and we must lovingly but firmly rebuke that teaching, for it leads souls to destruction.

The same is true of those who claim the name of Christ while living in open, unrepentant sin and showing no fruit of repentance. The young woman you described who cursed and mocked a preacher while boasting of abortion yet insisting she is a Christian reveals a heart that is far from God. Jesus warned in Matthew 7:21, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And again in Matthew 15:8, These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. A true believer may still struggle with sin, but the pattern of a true Christian is repentance, humility, and transformation. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. The fruit of the Spirit will be evident in love, joy, peace, and self control, not in cursing and pride as described in Galatians 5:22. We also must say with compassion that abortion is the taking of innocent life, yet we know that even that sin can be forgiven through the blood of Jesus when there is genuine repentance, for God is merciful to all who turn to Him.

We also recognize the deception of thinking infant baptism or church membership alone makes one a Christian. Scripture teaches in Titus 3:5, not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, and in Ephesians 2:8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. No ritual saves us. Only personal faith in Jesus Christ, confessing Him as Lord and believing God raised Him from the dead as in Romans 10:9, brings salvation.

We encourage you to continue to test the spirits as in 1 John 4:1 and to speak the truth in love. We are called to have a form of godliness but deny its power as warned in 2 Timothy 3:5, and we must not be silent. With gentleness we can ask those who misuse the name Christian what they believe about Jesus, about sin, about repentance, and share the narrow way, for in Matthew 7:13 we are told narrow is the gate and restricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

We join together with you now in prayer.

Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ, Your only Son, and we thank You that You have opened our eyes to the truth. We pray for those who call themselves Christians yet do not know You, for the celebrities who mislead many, for the young woman who is deceived, and for all who have a form of religion but have never been born anew. Lord, have mercy and draw them to true repentance. Remove the veil from their eyes and let them see that Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We pray for the street preachers and for all who faithfully proclaim Your Word, that You would give them boldness and love. And we pray for our dear one who shared this burden, that You would give continued discernment, courage, and compassion to share the gospel faithfully, remembering that it is only through Jesus that we have access to You and that there is no other name by which we must be saved. Create in us clean hearts and make us faithful followers who do the will of our Father in heaven. We ask all this in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.
 
Lately Ive been hearing alot from those who call themselvesChristians,but I think in the ignorance theyre mixed up.and misunderstand something.Theyre using the broader term "Christian",as in anyone who is not Moslem Buddhist etc .So according to that definition they may get by calling themselves "Christian."But once they start expressing their spiritual views ,theyre not a Christian the way we use the term.One celebrity say shes a "Christian"but believes theyre are many ways to God.(Jesus said"I am the way the Truth and the Light.Noone comes to the Father except through Me""There is no other name under Heaven that we must be saved" "There is one mediator between God and man the Man Christ Jesus."Another celebrity said the same plus many actions contrary to the Bibles definition of Christian were evident.Also these types and others resist true Christians A street preacher on a video ,a girl who claimed to be a "Christian" yelled back at the preacher cursed gave the finger admitted she had an abortion yet insisted she was a Christian No wonder Jesus said "Not everyone who calls Me Lord Lord will.enter into My Fathers kingdom,but he who does the will of My Father who is in Heaven.It used to be our problems were an unsaved person who admitted they were unsaved.Something new now we have those who were baptized as a baby or go to church and think theyre a Christian when theyre heart is far from it.

Matt 24:4-14...

B - because

O - our

B - Bible is true...

📖 "Pray, then, after this manner... 🙌 ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom Come! Your Will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven!”

<———--------——— ———(Selah)—————----———————>

🙏"Give us our daily bread. Forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For it’s Your Kingdom, Power and Glory Forever, Amen,” Matt 6:9-13, c.f., Matt 6:33, "But seek first The Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, then all these other things shall be added to you," thank You in Jesus' Name.
 
We hear how much this has been weighing on you. When the word Christian gets used so broadly it can feel like something precious is being blurred, and it is discouraging to watch people claim the name while speaking and living in ways that do not reflect Him. Your care for what it truly means to follow Jesus comes through clearly.

It makes sense you have noticed the difference between a cultural label and a life shaped by faith. That distinction matters, and it is also painful because we cannot see another person's heart the way God does. We can only listen, love well, and speak honestly when we are given the chance.

One thing that has helped others carrying a similar burden is to turn that frustration into quiet prayer rather than letting it settle into cynicism. When you hear a public figure or someone nearby use the term loosely, you might simply bring that person before the Lord for a moment and ask Him to draw them closer to Himself. In your own conversations a gentle, curious question often opens more doors than a debate, like asking what faith in Jesus has meant in their daily life.

We are grateful for your desire to honor both truth and people at the same time.

Father, we bring this burden to You and ask for wisdom and peace for our friend. Guard their heart from discouragement, help them reflect Your love clearly where You have placed them, and draw many who are far off into real life with You. In Jesus' name, amen.
 
The sorrow you have poured out is a right sorrow, and one which every faithful soul must feel when the name of Christ is taken upon lips that have never known His power. There has ever been a multitude who wear the name of Christian as a mere outward garment, while the heart remains unwashed and unchanged.

You have discerned truly that to be a Christian is not to be merely not a Moslem or not a Buddhist, nor is it to have been baptized in infancy or to sit sometimes within a place of worship. Our Lord Himself has warned us, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. To say the Book is true and yet to live as if it were false is a terrible inconsistency. If a man professes to believe the warning of Scripture and yet seeks no remedy, and remains totally unaffected by it, it may well be asked of him how he can say it is true, for he evidently does not believe it.

What you describe is what Scripture and faithful preaching have long called a sham conversion. They feared the Lord and served their own gods. There was no repentance and no putting away of false gods. They would have Jehovah added to their idols, but they would not have Him alone. Yet you worship not God at all if you do not worship God alone. There must be an image breaking in the soul if the conversion is really true. A true conversion turns a man from sin to righteousness, from self to Christ, from the world to heaven, from rebellion to obedience. When a man truly believes in Jesus Christ he puts away his false gods and lives from then on for the glory of God.

This is why the claim that there are many ways to God cannot stand with the name Christian. The Lord Jesus has said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me. And the apostles have declared, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. To affirm many ways is to deny the one way which God has provided at the cost of His own Son. True conversion gives a man pardon, but does not make him presumptuous to continue in sin. It gives him security, but does not allow him to leave off being watchful. It brings him to live for God and to live before God, knowing that God sees him.

It is no wonder then that those who are at ease in such a false profession should resist the faithful preaching of the Word and even revile those who speak the truth in love. There are no people who so often turn out to be haters of real religion as those who have been scared into a nominal religion and yet abide in their sins. Yet we must not despair, for it is by the Word of Truth, when the Spirit of God goes with it, that men are made to see that they are in error and are converted. The Word converts the soul.

Let us therefore pray not that God would bless a false hope or confirm any in a delusion, but that He would be pleased to grant true repentance and living faith. May the Lord open the eyes of those who think themselves Christians and yet have never been born again, that they may see their need of Christ alone for pardon and righteousness. May He bring them to confess their sin, to turn from it, to trust wholly in the blood and righteousness of Jesus, and to follow Him in humble obedience. And may He keep our own hearts watchful, that we may examine ourselves whether we be in the faith, and rest not upon a name or a form, but upon Christ Himself.

Pray on for the street preacher and for all who faithfully declare the gospel, that the Lord would use even the humblest word for the conversion of sinners, and that many who now say Lord, Lord with empty lips may yet be brought to say it with a broken and a believing heart, to the praise of His grace.
 

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