There are words I have never heard in the bible

[Waggles]

31 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

The point is we are all under the same roof

WHAT !!?? from Mormons to Jehovah Witnesses to the Roman Catholics to ... whatever 

that is not what scripture teaches 

But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. [Romans 8:9]

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. [Galatians 1] 

[Tristen]

I agree with the main sentiment of the OP.

However, I have no issue using terminology to distinguish between differences within Christianity. The provided list of words speaks mainly to differences in doctrinal focus and manner of worship. In many cases, the differences of opinion found within these designations are more than those found between them.

Problems only occur when we allow our enemy to use these terms to divide us - and start arrogantly believing these labels make some of us more Christian than other Christians.

 

[Sparks]

7 hours ago, Riverwalker said:

The term Christian is as powerful today as it ever was. what man thinks is irrelevant.

That's sort of a self refuting statement, isn't it? 
 

7 hours ago, Riverwalker said:

We are of Christ. We are Christian

Accepting the gift of salvation is as powerful as ever, but if you think that everyone who claims to be a Christian for all the wrong reasons is going to heaven, you are going to be surprised.  It takes more than wearing an "I am Christian" tee-shirt or making a donation to a church to be saved.

You can love God, worship God, Pray to God, do good works for God, donate to causes for God, and dedicate your life to God, yet miss your own salvation because you never accepted the gift of God. 

The gift of salvation has to be accepted to be born again and saved for the word 'Christian' to have any meaning.  Just calling yourself a Christian does not necessarily have meaning.

(ESV) Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

(ESV) Romans 10:9-10 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 

[Riverwalker]

19 minutes ago, Sparks said:

You can love God, worship God, Pray to God, do good works for God, donate to causes for God, and dedicate your life to God, yet miss your own salvation because you never accepted the gift of God. 

That seems to be quite contrary,  If you are that committed to God then you will hear his voice, He will bring you into all understanding. And if you are committed to serving him you will follow. If the worship, prayer, works, charity, and dedication are genuine, then the gift of God is yours

 

19 minutes ago, Sparks said:

That's sort of a self refuting statement, isn't it? 

That depends on whether you are using man's definition or God's

Edited April 1, 2021 by Riverwalker

[Sparks]

Just now, Riverwalker said:

That seems to be quite contrary,  If you are that committed to God then you will hear his voice, He will bring you into all understanding. And if you are committed to serving him you will follow. If the worship, prayer, works, charity, and dedication are genuine, then the gift of God is yours

That sounds Calvinist.  Sorry, but you are not born saved, nor will He force you. 

If you have not accepted the Gift, I would strongly suggest you consider it.  I gave you the instructions. 

[Riverwalker]

7 hours ago, Waggles said:

WHAT !!?? from Mormons to Jehovah Witnesses to the Roman Catholics to ... whatever 

 

No....not those things, All Christians are under the same roof

[Riverwalker]

2 minutes ago, Sparks said:

That sounds Calvinist.  Sorry, but you are not born saved, nor will He force you. 

If you have not accepted the Gift, I would strongly suggest you consider it.  I gave you the instructions. 

Calvinist?  Hardly! I am a born again bible believing pentecostal, bible thumping pew jumping Christian 

The point being here, all those things you mentioned are the FRUIT of the Spirit in you. You cannot genuinely produce that Worship, prayer, services et all, unless God is already in you.....not by some capricious sovereign lottery, but because you sought Him. The gift of salvation is given to all, but yes we must accept it.  But accepting the gift of salvation isn't acheieve by filling out a label or sending in labels, but by humble submission to the Lord in Grace and Faith....from which these good works spring

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

[Sparks]

16 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

Calvinist?  Hardly! I am a born again bible believing pentecostal, bible thumping pew jumping Christian 

Good.

16 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

The point being here, all those things you mentioned are the FRUIT of the Spirit in you. You cannot genuinely produce that Worship, prayer, services et all, unless God is already in you.....not by some capricious sovereign lottery, but because you sought Him.

You will find people who claim they were 'once Christian,' only to learn they thought they were Christian because their family was Christian, or that they joined a church and made a donation.  Later, it all wears off because they never accepted the Gift and are really still unsaved, and Earthly.  It happens all the time.  As I said, the term Christian helps this confusion.

16 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

The gift of salvation is given to all, but yes we must accept it. 

Correct. 

Plenty of people never choose to accept this gift, but often will claim to be Christian.

16 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

But accepting the gift of salvation isn't acheieve by filling out a label or sending in labels, but by humble submission to the Lord in Grace and Faith....from which these good works spring

It is accepted by prayer, as instructed in Romans 10:9-10 which is scripture that explains the reasoning of that prayer.  And it is the Lord who offers His grace, not us.  It is we who have faith (trust) in Him.

[Riverwalker]

18 minutes ago, Sparks said:

Good.

You will find people who claim they were 'once Christian,' only to learn they thought they were Christian because their family was Christian, or that they joined a church and made a donation.  Later, it all wears off because they never accepted the Gift and are really still unsaved, and Earthly.  It happens all the time.  As I said, the term Christian helps this confusion.

Correct. 

Plenty of people never choose to accept this gift, but often will claim to be Christian.

It is accepted by prayer, as instructed in Romans 10:9-10 which is scripture that explains the reasoning of that prayer.  And it is the Lord who offers His grace, not us.  It is we who have faith (trust) in Him.

I do not disagree that there are people who "play act" Christian for a while and then walk away as the act becomes hollow and purposeless, but its not because they did not follow the 2 step program required to accept the gift of Christ. Its because they were not genuine to begin with. Play acting. But this is not the Worship and prayer you described

You cannot worship God unless it is in Spirit and In Truth

John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

And you cannot please God without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

And it THAT faith by which we access the grace by which we are saved.

Ephesians 2: 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 

The vast majority of "former" Christians, never were Christian. And the People who are genuinely worshiping, praying serving and submitting to God, are. Because you cannot genuinely do that and NOT be saved.

As a side note, I just want to tell you, you might want to mitigate your tone and be careful you who are choosing to cut off from the body of Christ.  God is rather fond of his children, whether they are fully committed or barely hanging on.

 

 

Edited April 1, 2021 by Riverwalker

[Sparks]

31 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

You cannot worship God unless it is in Spirit and In Truth

You're mistaken.  People do it all the time, and people also worship fake gods with the same reasoning and zeal that they will falsely worship our God.  It happens every day, sometimes by very big churches. 

31 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

The vast majority of "former" Christians, never were Christian.

That's right, they were play acting usually because they didn't know the truth of how to accept the gift. 

And its not the vast majority, it's all of them.  How can you be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, know the truth about the world, no longer be blinded by Satan, be guaranteed heaven and know it, and then suddenly turn all that down and pretend it never existed?  You can't. 

31 minutes ago, Riverwalker said:

As a side note, I just want to tell you, you might want to mitigate your tone and be careful you who are choosing to cut off from the body of Christ.  Jesus is rather fond of his children, whether they are fully committed or barely hanging on.

I want everyone to come to Christ, but not everyone will and not everyone who thinks that have come to Christ, has.  If I can help people find their way, I will gladly do so.

The point of my reply was that the term 'Christian' has different meanings to different people, even if you want to deny that fact.  The neo-pagan-satanist-hindu-christian, who simply says "I am Christian" is probably not Christian at all, and if they have a true desire to be saved by Jesus, they should be offered the truth.  If they don't want to hear the truth, that's fine too, because they have freewill.  Some people choose hell, directly.

Satan loves political correctness, by the way.  Hopefully my tone offends him.