Do Our Actions Determine If We Are or Aren’t Christian? Our Belief in Jesus Christ?

[Stevangelist]

Originally posted by spirit:
I have another question - What happens when someone tells you he/she is a Christian but behaves totally wordly?

This, I ask because I just started a new job (I mentioned this in the above post)., and there was one lady, who when she introduced herself to me, (she too being a Christian) I also got the witness of the Spirit, told me that the one who is to be my boss is a God-fearing man. I was praising God for that! However, after having spent a week on the job, this man (my new boss) behaves and acts just like the un-believers. I just don't know what to think. All week I have been confused. He is a Christian (?) I'm not judging him., but his remarks and his jokes and behavior are totally wordly. He goes around the office joking with the un-believers and talks to his secretary in a totally snotty way? I don't know what to think.

The only thing I know to do is just "be" the Christian I am.

If we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior but still sin often in certain areas do this mean we are not Christian or not saved. Where do we draw the line? Or is it to complicated determine if we are or aren’t Christian based on some of our actions as we are human and all make mistakes so therefore we just stay strong in our belief in Jesus Christ, work towards sinning less, and let God be the final judge?

How far do our actions go in determining if we are or aren’t Christian?

[sarahbeth]

How far do our actions go in determining if we are or aren’t Christian?


That's such a difficult question. There are some "christian" people I have known for years that I just can't imagine giving praise to God in Heaven, or even wanting to for that matter.

We should see the gentleness and love of Christ in a true believer. Sometimes I think the determining factor is pride. If the old man has died, pride no longer enslaves him. The new creature in Christ is born with a new nature. Pride causes most sins imo.


friends, Sarah

[Stevangelist]

That's such a difficult question. There are some "christian" people I have known for years that I just can't imagine giving praise to God in Heaven, or even wanting to for that matter.

We should see the gentleness and love of Christ in a true believer. Sometimes I think the determining factor is pride. If the old man has died, pride no longer enslaves him. The new creature in Christ is born with a new nature. Pride causes most sins imo.


friends, Sarah

I have even noticed many sinners born with a new nature in Christ including myself who find certain sins harder to work towards avoiding then others (for me it's my temper). We still seem to have the gentleness and love of Christ within ourselves underneath the human sin condition but still shouldn't the choice to not sin come more easily? :faint At times anger seem like such a natural part of me and I in no way feel pridefull about it but still I sometimes feel out of control. :confused

[sarahbeth]

We still seem to have the gentleness and love of Christ within ourselves underneath the human sin condition

That's the key, the fruit remains.

Sarah

[4everHis]

To answer your original question. I think "no".
I do all sorts of actions that would indicate my sinful nature.
I have however accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour
and am drawn to be more like Him and less like "me".

[rekker]

Part of the problem is that the Bible gives mixed messages on this.

We keep hearing that our salvation is based on grace by faith alone.

Yet James tells us that faith without works is dead (Js2:14-26) and that "if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

Catholics would say that salvation is through faith as made evident by works, but I'm not sure what they'd say about this guy.

The point? Only God knows for sure if this man is saved. But one thing is clear: as long as he calls himself a Christian, his brothers and sisters in Christ are to call him to task and hold him accountable to his commitments (1 Cor.5:9-13)

[Witness4Jesus]

I think that we are still sinners even though we are saved. No one sin is greater than the other IMHO. I think we all struggle with different things. Someone with anger, smoking, studying the word, prayer life, fellowship, whatever... it doesn't matter. We aren't going to be perfect. But I believe when you are a Christian than you should strive to be more Christ like ~ very difficult in this world. I also think that the Holy Spirit will convict you when you do wrong so that you might try harder to steer away from that again.

However that said, some people have personality quirks or whatever that may be harder to overcome.. like anger or opinionated or a complainer.. these origins could be from early childhood and hard to get rid of... not impossible but harder to dismiss.

That is only my opinion though,
Witness

[joy4Him2day]

Although it is true that we will always have areas that the Holy Spirit will reveal need attention, there is also that fact that a lot of evangelism seems to lean toward "easy believism", where we are not required to seek God about holiness in our lives. We just believe. Done.........

We are expected to act up to the light that we have, and God will use us up to the light that we have, but isn't it disappointing when we assume someone will act better than they do? And, it is confusing. I think I have been more often disappointed by christians behaviour than those who do not walk in the light........

Jesus did say that we will know them by their love......there are christians who will keep the letter of the law, but lack love immensely......so, I guess it means that Jesus is our only meter on which to follow in the Path........

You know, this thought just came too.....when we fall in love, and someone becomes the "apple of our eye", we watch for ways to please, and show our love........I think some of that is missing in our relationship with the Lord, also.

It should be a lesson to all of us, that people are watching, to see if we live what we say we believe.........but, knowing ourselves, give some elbow room to fellow-strugglers.......

:):

[I Believe!!!]

I was recently reading some material that I felt put this subject in good perspective. While we still have the sin nature retained in us momentarily, Christ has given us the power to not give in to this sin nature by doing what the Christ nature put into us at baptism wants. We need to decide to use the power of Christ to not give in to what the sin nature wants us to do. Always, we have a choice because Christ provided us a choice and the power. Therefor sin truly has no power over us unless we allow it. Fortunately we have Christ to fall upon when we are weak and still growing!

[antitox]

Part of the problem is that the Bible gives mixed messages on this.

We keep hearing that our salvation is based on grace by faith alone.

Yet James tells us that faith without works is dead (Js2:14-26) and that "if anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

Catholics would say that salvation is through faith as made evident by works, but I'm not sure what they'd say about this guy.

The point? Only God knows for sure if this man is saved. But one thing is clear: as long as he calls himself a Christian, his brothers and sisters in Christ are to call him to task and hold him accountable to his commitments (1 Cor.5:9-13)

Mixed messages really isn't the case here. The Bible is declaring that we are truly born anew, but still have the old man that must be put to death. It has been said before that "the live sacrifice keeps crawling off the altar." I think that is reasonable to say of us. It is an act of our will to submit to dying daily, and it is indeed a choice we must make every day. Therefore, it is also possible not to crucify the self by an act of our will.
If not for the grace of God, none of us could be justified, because we all fail to crucify the self when we should. But this part of working out our own salvation; discipline is involved, but we must draw near daily to the throne of grace, because we need grace just to live the life God wants us to.
Our flesh is so weak, and our souls are so carnal, that it takes years for the Lord to get us matured where we can be truly effective as a life witness.
I was saved at 12 yrs old, but shortly fell away because I didn't know enough to live the life and I didn't have adequate support base where I was. It is very easy for people to stay carnal if they haven't gained any Biblical insight or discovered that the Holy Spirit can be so real to them. That's what happened to me when I reached age 24. I took hold of the Bible, read it all the way through and my life was renewed with insight and the presence of God. It changed me completely.
In know people who are saved and just haven't been going to church like they should for one reason or another, and that has an effect of watering down a person's faith too.
Honestly, I think Christians worry too much about others living out their spiritual life properly. Jesus corrected Peter in John 21:21-23 where Peter asks Jesus about John, "Lord, what about this man?" and Jesus says, "If it is my will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" This states that we need to be concerned about how we ourselves walk with him rather than focusing on others.