What makes a Good Christian? Note below!

[OneLight]

If I may suggest that a bad Christian is one that is throwing a spiritual tantrum and should stand in the corner until the tantrum has run its course.

LOL OneLight what is a spiritual tantrum. that sounds like being naughty....not bad. We are all different like Martha and Mary and we all have different callings. You know the person who sits in church with you may be quiet and timid and not appearing to do much to build up the body...outwardly that is...., but that person's relationship with the Lord may go a lot deeper than what shows on the surface. I have never met one...bad...christian, but many who call themselves christians. As WSB pointed out there is no one good. Not one.

You make a great point about the quite ones. I have known prayer worriers that are so quite by nature that they seem to be almost the walking dead. Yet, they commit to the biggest spiritual battles taking place! What mighty worriers, these quite, simple individuals are. I'm sure glad they are on our side!

Another good point that we are all wicked by nature. If it wasn't for the Holy Spirit in us, we still would be. The blood of Christ has washed away our sins and the Holy Spirit helps keep them away. What a team! God Is Great!!!

[MeCajunboy]

To biblicist

Galations.1:8. But if even we or an angel out of heaven should ever preach to you a gospel besides that which we have preached to you let him be accursed.

so in answer to your question,

So your belief is that someone who strays from Biblical teachings [sola Scriptura] and teaches their own interpretation [sola Cultura] of God's word is Un-Saved? Basically, a Pastor who begins to teach the wrong thing has either lost his salvation or was never a Christian at all and therefor the "denomination" that ordained him is also in question?

Not only unsaved but accursed. IOW he is not a bad christian, but a false teacher and I'm not going to blame the source of his instruction. The responsibility to preach the true gospel is on his own head, because he has been negligent for not checking what he was taught, with what Jesus instucted him to teach in God's word. Earlier in this thread I asked all to define a bad christian and nobody has....so far.

Eric you questioned:(Earlier in this thread I asked all to define a bad christian and nobody has....so far.) That's not quite true Eric, You would need to go back to the previous page and note that I DID address your question . Now, whether you're satisfied with my response is totally up to do....but that's my stance. And just as we know that God will judge us according to our sins, which tells me that HE will punish at different levels as well! I'm speaking of those who God has selected into the Kingdom.

[MeCajunboy]

To biblicist

Galations.1:8. But if even we or an angel out of heaven should ever preach to you a gospel besides that which we have preached to you let him be accursed.

so in answer to your question,

So your belief is that someone who strays from Biblical teachings [sola Scriptura] and teaches their own interpretation [sola Cultura] of God's word is Un-Saved? Basically, a Pastor who begins to teach the wrong thing has either lost his salvation or was never a Christian at all and therefor the "denomination" that ordained him is also in question?

Not only unsaved but accursed. IOW he is not a bad christian, but a false teacher and I'm not going to blame the source of his instruction. The responsibility to preach the true gospel is on his own head, because he has been negligent for not checking what he was taught, with what Jesus instucted him to teach in God's word. Earlier in this thread I asked all to define a bad christian and nobody has....so far.

By Biblical defination, a false teacher is one who never received Salvation of Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 1 & 2 Peter 2) So you believe one can lose their salvation? A preacher who begins his career on fire for Christ, preaching the Gospel, but after a while loses his zeal, and begins to water it down, swayed by the culture and the need/want to "fill the pews", they are going to lose their salvation? Be accursed?

And Yes, if a denomonation, or church, ordains a man who is not a Christian they are accountable for ordaining a false teacher into their midst to lead their "little ones" astray. People don't just become pastors, there is an ordination process, usually run by the individual denomination or school the person graduated from. There is an accountability.

A bad Christian is one who prefers to work on their neighbor and does not bother to further their relationship with the LORD. It is a person who believes they have "arrived". Hypocrites, so to speak. But the OP is not about Good Christian vs. Bad Christian. It's about becoming a BETTER Christian. How does one become a better Christian? Through evangelism or personal growth. I believe that personal growth leads to evangelism.

That's not how I'm understanding Gal1:8. what I'm discerning from that section is they were referring to one who goes "outside" the boundaries of that thought that the Bible has instructed us to teach, as in "taking it out of its original context and transforming it to mean something entirely different as so many people tend to do with the Word! Fact is, until one has Biblical instruction of Latin or Greek context, it's very difficult to comprehend some of the Text/messages in the Bible. One word misrepresented can change an entire text.

[eric]

From Cajunboy,

That's not how I'm understanding Gal1:8. what I'm discerning from that section is they were referring to one who goes "outside" the boundaries of that thought that the Bible has instructed us to teach, as in "taking it out of its original context and transforming it to mean something entirely different as so many people tend to do with the Word! Fact is, until one has Biblical instruction of Latin or Greek context, it's very difficult to comprehend some of the Text/messages in the Bible. One word misrepresented can change an entire text.

Well if "taking it out of it's original context and transforming it to mean something different" isn't wrongly preaching, please tell me what it is. Read the rest of the passage, whilst I repeat.....there is no man alive who has the authority to ditinguish between who is a good christian or a bad christian. Matt 8 has nothing to do with good or bad, but admonishing a brother who has gone astray and to repent, and if he doesn't, then he ceases to be in the position to be called a christian and goes back to be an unforgiven sinner. That is how I view it anyway and I don't know one word of latin, greek or hebrew.

[Guest Biblicist]

From Cajunboy,

That's not how I'm understanding Gal1:8. what I'm discerning from that section is they were referring to one who goes "outside" the boundaries of that thought that the Bible has instructed us to teach, as in "taking it out of its original context and transforming it to mean something entirely different as so many people tend to do with the Word! Fact is, until one has Biblical instruction of Latin or Greek context, it's very difficult to comprehend some of the Text/messages in the Bible. One word misrepresented can change an entire text.

Well if "taking it out of it's original context and transforming it to mean something different" isn't wrongly preaching, please tell me what it is. Read the rest of the passage, whilst I repeat.....there is no man alive who has the authority to ditinguish between who is a good christian or a bad christian. Matt 8 has nothing to do with good or bad, but admonishing a brother who has gone astray and to repent, and if he doesn't, then he ceases to be in the position to be called a christian and goes back to be an unforgiven sinner. That is how I view it anyway and I don't know one word of latin, greek or hebrew.

Then you do believe someone can lose their salvation?

[eric]

To biblicist

I never said or implied whether or not one can lose their salvation. Sorry about the typo. I cited matt 8 instead of 18. It was what Jesus said about a brother who sins unto you or the church, and won't listen and repent, then in vs 17, Jesus said, let him be as a heathen man and a publican. Jesus' words

not mine.

OSAS is too complex a subject for me to debate. All that I am sure of is, if you receive the mark or worship the beast, you will experience the wrath of God and end up in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur.

[Guest Biblicist]

To biblicist

I never said or implied whether or not one can lose their salvation. Sorry about the typo. I cited matt 8 instead of 18. It was what Jesus said about a brother who sins unto you or the church, and won't listen and repent, then in vs 17, Jesus said, let him be as a heathen man and a publican. Jesus' words

not mine.

OSAS is too complex a subject for me to debate. All that I am sure of is, if you receive the mark or worship the beast, you will experience the wrath of God and end up in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur.

Your terminology is what made me think you believed one could lose their salvation. And the way you answered the questions I asked.

I know Matthew 18 very well, we studied it at great length when we first started our church. v. 17 is speaking of one who NEVER recieved the LORD. A pagan or tax collector. If a person continues in sin, even after they are warrned, then it needs to be considered that their "conversion" was never genuine, or possibly that they are not one of the elect at all. It's not an easy thing to think, that a person whom you believed became a Believer, yet never really was. Especially if that person is a family member. It's heartbreaking. But if more Christians thought Biblically about our Salvation we would be able to deal with the unsaved in a better way.

I don't think that OSAS and Worshiping the Beast/Receiving the mark of the Beast have anything to do with each other.