Hi folks.....................(ok here goes)

[mad1]

excuse me guys......sorry for about to come across as a bit ignorant but I truly dont know.........

and Im so dumb...so like. me wee question is:


A lot of you Inters out there talk about 'practising Christianity'......well, how do you mean by that?

I mean...like.........is there a certain point when you can call yourself a Christian? Or is that up to those teaching, or.......what?

Im mean all this is a nice way.

See, I wasnt sure..........obviously you cant be a Christian outside the church, if you read the Bible a lot, at home???????

oh Im sorry, I sound so crazy...hopefully someone will understand and answer?

Like for example, if I read the Bible/New Test. at home........am I practicing? Or am I practicing more in letting go and learning to love God, and letting him into my life?





I really am sorry for comin across an idiot.

 

[nbcrusader]

Mad1 ? in an effort to answer your question about ?practicing Christians? to the best of my feeble abilities, I?ve broken it down into three parts:

1. Who is a Christian? A Christian can best be described by Romans 10:9-13, stating ?That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."?

You are not ?born? a Christian. You do not become a Christian simply by attending a church. It is a personal decision between you and Jesus Christ.

2. What is a practicing Christian? A practicing Christian is a Christian who engages, in some way, in the following activities: prayer, worship, reading Scripture and fellowship. Exactly how this is done varies greatly. There are no specific rules - it varies person to person because it is driven by God (guided by the Holy Spirit), not man.

3. My practice. My Christian walk, while far from perfect, involves generally the following: a personal time of daily prayer and reading the bible, reading and praying with my wife and kids each morning at breakfast, attending weekly worship services, I lead a group of 5th graders for Sunday school (during the second of our churches two worship services), I serve on the youth and college ministries at my church, I supervise a children?s program through Bible Study Fellowship (which allows men to bring their school age children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, etc. to a bible study where both adults and children learn from the same text each week (this encourages discussion at home)), I tithe as best I can, and basically being available to answer God?s call.

None of my practice makes me any better or worse that any other person. Bottom line ? I am a sinner in need of a Savior who is Jesus Christ. My faith is important to me so I give it a priority in my life.

I hope this is of some help. I?ve been a believer for 15-16 years. It is a continuing growth process and I know I have plenty of room for growth.

In His Love

 

[mebythesea]

I don't think you came across badly at all; it's a good question! As I think about it here is what comes to mind for me, saying up front that I fall so short of it so much of the time:

Christianity is not an opinion or a philosophy, so being a Christian isn't just agreeing with an idea. It's a relationship with Christ that includes being "doers" of his Word and not just "hearers." That's where the idea of "practicing" comes in -- and also, as Bono says sometimes, because we all "need more practice" at it.

How people practice their faith varies. nbcrusader named bible reading, prayer, worship, fellowship, which are obviously some of the bedrock practices without which it's really, really hard to stay alive in your relationship with Jesus. (Some Christians put more emphasis on its being vital to belong to a local fellowship community, and some put less.)

But there are certainly others which people do as God leads them: giving money away in a disciplined fashion, fasting, taking action for social justice, feeding the hungry, confessing your sins, going to communion, working at forgiveness, etc. In one sense, I guess you could say basically that any activity people engage in because they consciously know it's the kind of thing Christ wants them to do is a way of putting faith into practice, whether that's recycling, visiting someone in prison, praying for the sick, reading a Psalm, or fighting AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

I suppose for all of us if we really appreciated God's grace, the issue wouldn't be, what's the least you have to do to call yourself a Christian, but more "what can I give back to God for all these blessings he's poured out on me?" For me the answer to that is pretty much always: well, I could give more than I'm giving now, that's for sure. And again - I always need more practice!

 

[oliveu2cm]

Let me see if I can phrase this right..

2. What is a practicing Christian? A practicing Christian is a Christian who engages, in some way, in the following activities: prayer, worship, reading Scripture and fellowship. Exactly how this is done varies greatly. There are no specific rules - it varies person to person because it is driven by God (guided by the Holy Spirit), not man.

What do you (or anyone) think about the Sacraments? Is Baptism (for example) necessary for a "relationship with God"? I know Catholics require it to engage in certain parts of the Mass.. but do you think God requires it? The "Bottom Line" (or perhaps 'starting point') would be, believing Jesus as your Saviour, right?

 

[spanisheyes]

Re: Let me see if I can phrase this right..

What do you (or anyone) think about the Sacraments? Is Baptism (for example) necessary for a "relationship with God"? I know Catholics require it to engage in certain parts of the Mass.. but do you think God requires it? The "Bottom Line" (or perhaps 'starting point') would be, believing Jesus as your Saviour, right?

The starting point is believing in Jesus as your Savior, believing that He died for you, and that you have asked in confession for your sins to be forgiven. Also, baptism is not a requirement for salvation, but is an outward expression of an inward grace, the symbolism of going down in the water is the symbolism of the Holy Spirits cleansing our hearts, with the coming up out of the water symbolizing the newness of life we now live in Christ.

Jesus strongly encouraged us to be baptized, by even allowing Himself to be baptized, even though their was no need for the Son of God to be baptized, yet He submitted His will to God by the giving of Himself away through again, the outward sign of wanting everyone to know that He was Gods, and Gods alone.

Chris

 

[oliveu2cm]

Thanks Chris.

So the point pretty much is if you believe Jesus as your saviour, you'd want to get baptised.. I can't help but refer to a quote from "What's So Amazing About Grace" where he used the superior analogy of - if his wife spoke Italian and he didn't, he would want to learn Italian so he could speak to his wife. That relating to his desire to get baptised or read God's word or attend church or what have you, so that he could speak to God in the same way he'd learned how to speak to his wife.

(sorry for butchering that great analogy!)

 

[nbcrusader]

Very well said, spanisheyes. I was talking with my wife over lunch and mentioned the question "Is baptism necessary for salvation?" Her answer - not for the thief on the cross.

I love it when God gives us the answers to these questions.

 

[bonosloveslave]

Thanks Chris.

So the point pretty much is if you believe Jesus as your saviour, you'd want to get baptised.. I can't help but refer to a quote from "What's So Amazing About Grace" where he used the superior analogy of - if his wife spoke Italian and he didn't, he would want to learn Italian so he could speak to his wife. That relating to his desire to get baptised or read God's word or attend church or what have you, so that he could speak to God in the same way he'd learned how to speak to his wife.

(sorry for butchering that great analogy!)

Carrie - that makes perfect sense

nbcrusader - you have a very smart wife - never even thought about that example.....

 

[nbcrusader]

I'm a lucky guy!

 

[Lilly]

feh, it's hard to explain

While the necessity for a baptism in order to be considered a Christian, I truly believe that you need to have a rebirth to enter your personal Christianity.

 

[nbcrusader]

Re: feh, it's hard to explain

I truly believe that you need to have a rebirth to enter your personal Christianity.

Absolutely. While people may reject the term ?born again Christian? based on the cultural or socio-political meaning of the term, from a theological standpoint all Christians must be ?born again?. (John 3:3)

 

[Monkey79]

I am of the thought that baptism is a necessity. Although it may be "symbolic" in nature, the reason why we do it is to affirm our submission to God and His ultimate authority. Check out the following passages... Matt 28:19, Mark 16:16, 1 Pe 3:21, Romans 6. Also keep in mind that the book of Acts is *full* of references to people being baptized.

As for the thief on the cross, wasn't Jesus still alive at that point, thus meaning the New Covenant had not yet gone into full effect? I know this may be a fine point, but worth considering.

I don't know all there is to know about the Bible, but as many references there are to baptism, it sure seems like an important part of the process to me.

 

[nbcrusader]

There are a number of verses which lead to the debate on baptism - whether baptism is a requirement for salvation. In addition to 1 Peter 3:21, John 3:5 and Acts 2:38 add to the division. For each of these verses, however, there are multiple others where faith alone is required for salvation.

Sometimes the term baptism is used metaphorically, such as in Romans 6, where the believer is "immersed into the life of Christ".

From my reading, baptism is an important part of the believer's life as a public affirmation of identification with Christ - it saves one from the temptation to be silent about one's faith.

Beyond the question of salvation, there are other divisions over baptism: the immersion/sprinkling question and the infant baptism question.

A good analogy is a wedding ring: it is possible to be married and not have a wedding ring; also, it is possible to wear a wedding ring and not be married. Though once you are married, wearing a wedding ring becomes a high priority.

In His Service

 

[Amigone]

I was told at my church, before I was baptized (at age 17) that baptism is an outwards showing of an change that's happened inside. Meaning that it's a symbol to everyone that you are a believing christian.

 

[nbcrusader]

I was told at my church, before I was baptized (at age 17) that baptism is an outwards showing of an change that's happened inside. Meaning that it's a symbol to everyone that you are a believing christian.

Yup, that's the best, basic description of baptism.