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Thread: What are the requirements to be a Christian?

  1. #26
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by dfoJC View Post
    Yes. When a person begins to study the Word and gains understanding of the whole Biblical concept of Salvation it is quite clear that it is, and only can be, a work of God. No man can "regenerate" himself. Men have tried, and in the end the "regeneration" is nothing more than a temporal behavioral change. No lasting effect. No relationship with God restored. Nothing but a very soulish undertaking. It in no way allows a man to enter into the new and living covenant which salvation is a part of.

    Be blessed,

    dfoJC
    I agree with you 100%. A man can't make himself born again rather it is a work of God.


    KING JAMES VERSION
    John 3
    3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

    4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

    5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

    6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

    7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

    8The wind ****eth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

  2. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    I agree with you 100%. A man can't make himself born again rather it is a work of God.


    KING JAMES VERSION
    John 3
    3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

    4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

    5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

    6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

    7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

    8The wind ****eth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
    So, by your definition--was the Good Samaritan a "Christian" or not?

  3. #28
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    So, by your definition--was the Good Samaritan a "Christian" or not?
    A person is a Christian if he has faith in Christ and is regenerated (regenerated then faith or faith then regenerated depending on an individual's belief). If he is not then he is not a Christian.

    But you and Jim are the ones who throw around Christian verses non Christian so I am awaiting more information from both of you.

  4. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    A person is a Christian if he has faith in Christ and is regenerated (regenerated then faith or faith then regenerated depending on an individual's belief). If he is not then he is not a Christian.

    But you and Jim are the ones who throw around Christian verses non Christian so I am awaiting more information from both of you.
    So, according to you, was the Good Samaritan "regenerated" or not? What is your criteria to determine regeneration?

  5. #30
    alanmolstad
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    Alan could you clarify for me? We are Christians because of the resurrection or because we place our faith in Christ? And what else besides our faith is required?

    Ok, the answer is this-

    It don't matter squat what part of the Bible is true or what part is just a fake story, as long as the Resurrection of Christ is real.

    This means that all of the bible could be totally true, 100% translated correctly, and yet it would be a moot point if the story of the Resurrection of Christ was a lie.

    This also means that the whole Bible would be just a big fat lie, and you would not matter as long as the story of the resurrection was true.

    This shows you that there is a Christian religion only because of the resurrection....take away the resurrection from our religion and the Christian Church becomes just a big joke...



    We become Christians when we believe in the resurrection.

    There is no other means.....
    no other issue,,,
    no other question,,,
    no other teaching that we also have to believe in that makes us Christians.

    The moment you believe in the resurrection of Christ, you become a member of the Body of Christ...and can be called "Christian"


    The same goes for not believing the resurrection.

    You can believe in all the other things we Christians believe in, but if you dont believe in the resurrection of Christ you are not a Christian....


    There....that should be very clear now as to what I mean....
    Any questions?.

  6. #31
    alanmolstad
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    Interesting that any 'Christian" believes there are "requirements" to be a Christian.

    So, the question becomes--would you consider the Good Samaritan a "Christian" or not?
    He is an example for how to live and how to act around people in need..

    But i dont think Jesus was saying anything about the faith of the guy.

    There was a conversation that Jesus had with a lady Samaritan and he tells her that her faith worships what they do not know, and then points her to the Jews that do worship what they know....


    If this is the way Jesus felt about all Samaritans, then the answer to your question is "No",,,,,

  7. #32
    some1you_know
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fig-bearing Thistle View Post
    I don't believe Jesus' atonement is sufficient to absolve you of all personal responsibility.

    Do you think God accepts filthy rags?
    No Fig- I do not think filthy rags would be something that God would accept. Yet this is what the Bible tells us are works are to God. (Isiah 64: 6) Thank God we are saved by grace and not of works. (Ephesians 2: 8-9) I hope this helps.

  8. #33
    alanmolstad
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fig-bearing Thistle View Post
    I don't believe Jesus' atonement is sufficient to absolve you of all personal responsibility.
    In many ways we are like Barabbas.
    We know we are guilty.
    We stand convicted.
    We are condemned to die for our sin....to pay for full price for our evil.

    Then just before the sentence is carried out, the door to our jail cell opens, and a guy walks in to take our place and we walk out and are set free.

    Totally free from any of the consequences of our past actions...

    Jesus took our place...the full punishment that was our, is paid for by him completely.



    Jesus went to the cross.

    Barabbas went home...

  9. #34
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    Quote Originally Posted by alanmolstad View Post
    He is an example for how to live and how to act around people in need..

    But i dont think Jesus was saying anything about the faith of the guy.

    There was a conversation that Jesus had with a lady Samaritan and he tells her that her faith worships what they do not know, and then points her to the Jews that do worship what they know....


    If this is the way Jesus felt about all Samaritans, then the answer to your question is "No",,,,,
    I find this interesting because this question---who is a Christian reminds me very much of the question asked of Christ by the Pharisees "who is my neighbor." The Pharisees wanted to define their "neighbor" by religion as well, so it is interesting to note that Christ defined "neighbor" by behavior and chose someone who was distinctly not of their religion to make His point. You say, " I don't think Jesus was saying anything about the faith of the guy"---I believe He was making that very point regarding what it means to follow Christ (have faith) because wasn't that the question in the first place?

  10. #35
    alanmolstad
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    I find this interesting
    ...

    there was a clear point to the story, its found in the style Jesus used to teach here....

    In today's more modern world we might change the story so that the "good neighbor" is the owner of a porno movie house.

    or perhaps the ****sexual ...

    The idea is that you take someone known to be at the far end of the religious/moral spectrum and make them the shining "example".


    But we cant go to far with this story, for as we saw when Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus never said that the Samaritan religion was pleasing to God..
    In fact Jesus seems to be very condemning of the religion of the Samaritans.

    if I were to use the same story telling style that Jesus did, I could easly tell a story of coming to a Message Forum and finding only hate and anger from the so-called Christians, yet finding good conversation, reasonable arguments, and respectful manners from the Mormons....

    If I had to give examples of what forum manners are the most pleasing to God?...it would be the manners of the Mormons......

  11. #36
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    [
    QUOTE=alanmolstad;88907]...

    there was a clear point to the story, its found in the style Jesus used to teach here....

    In today's more modern world we might change the story so that the "good neighbor" is the owner of a porno movie house.

    or perhaps the ****sexual ...
    These don't really apply because Samaritan speaks to race/religion and not behavior. It might better apply to Mormon or Muslim or Jew.

    The idea is that you take someone known to be at the far end of the religious/moral spectrum and make them the shining "example".


    But we cant go to far with this story, for as we saw when Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus never said that the Samaritan religion was pleasing to God..
    When Christ spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well, He discussed with her her behavior that was unpleasing to Him.

    In fact Jesus seems to be very condemning of the religion of the Samaritans.
    The Samaritans are the mixed descendants of the Israelites who did not belong to the House of Judah or Benjamin. They were mixed with all of the "conquering nations." It is interesting to note that there are many prophecies regarding this "Northern Kingdom" and that they will eventually regain their birthright.

    if I were to use the same story telling style that Jesus did, I could easly tell a story of coming to a Message Forum and finding only hate and anger from the so-called Christians, yet finding good conversation, reasonable arguments, and respectful manners from the Mormons....
    Is that what you are finding?

    If I had to give examples of what forum manners are the most pleasing to God?...it would be the manners of the Mormons......
    Thank you.
    Last edited by BigJulie; 05-25-2011 at 09:51 PM.

  12. #37
    alanmolstad
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    [ These don't really apply because Samaritan speaks to race/religion and not behavior. It might better apply to Mormon or Muslim or Jew.

    .
    No, and I want you to think about this for a moment....

    Jesus picked out the most hated and unlikely person to serve as the only one in the story that acted rightly...

    Jesus also took the religiously correct and the type of people who were considered the very people who should know how to act, and he made them the villains in the story...


    So you now, in your own mind, try to think of the last type of person on earth you would expect to at in a correct manner?.....
    The Drug dealer....?
    The Abortion doctor...?
    Darth Vader....?

    It doesn't matter who, as long as they are the last person of earth the people listening to your story would expect you to use as a "shining example".........


    This was the effect Jesus was shooting for by his story...he wanted people to see the contradiction in expectation and what they then heard...

    Now think of the person you would expect to find acting correctly?
    Police officer...."?
    Teacher.....?
    Mormon Prophet.....?

    and make them the villain in your story....

    THAT is when you see how hard it was for some people to listen to the story Jesus told.

    Remember, at the end of this story, and by telling it, Jesus set himself up to be killed later...

  13. #38
    ErikErik
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fig-bearing Thistle View Post
    I don't believe Jesus' atonement is sufficient to absolve you of all personal responsibility.

    Do you think God accepts filthy rags?
    That's it right there fig. You believe Christ's sacrifice was insufficient and somehow its up to you to make up for what you believe He did not do. . Although its true we are responsible for our own actions, Christ's sacrifice was more than sufficient to save us if we put complete trust and faith in Him and not our works.
    Last edited by ErikErik; 05-26-2011 at 05:11 AM.

  14. #39
    ErikErik
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    Quote Originally Posted by robsmom View Post
    Actions or works? No. We cannot earn our salvation. Eph. 2:10 says that Christ has prepared us to DO works but we are not saved BY works.







    "Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to thy cross I cling."
    I love your signature. It is so true. Thank you for posting it.

  15. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by alanmolstad View Post
    No, and I want you to think about this for a moment....

    Jesus picked out the most hated and unlikely person to serve as the only one in the story that acted rightly...

    .
    Read up on your history of the Samaritans and the Jews---it is more like the Hadfields and McCoys than like the puritans and the savages.

  16. #41
    James Banta
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    Read up on your history of the Samaritans and the Jews---it is more like the Hadfields and McCoys than like the puritans and the savages.
    The Jews disliked the Samaritans not because of some feud but because they were no longer truly of Israel.. these are the few that came back to Palestine after years of captivity in ***yria. They no longer had the pure blood of Jacob within them. That was the reason.. Maybe you should do some study.. IHS jim

  17. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by James Banta View Post
    The Jews disliked the Samaritans not because of some feud but because they were no longer truly of Israel.. these are the few that came back to Palestine after years of captivity in ***yria. They no longer had the pure blood of Jacob within them. That was the reason.. Maybe you should do some study.. IHS jim
    That is exactly my point---they were mixed--half-bloods, but Israelites non-the-less. (And as such, contended with the Jews regarding the temple, the priesthood, etc.--that was the "feud" you don't think existed--but it is very real and it discussed via prophecies throughout the OT and even into the NT.)

  18. #43
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    So, according to you, was the Good Samaritan "regenerated" or not? What is your criteria to determine regeneration?
    A Christian is one who is regenerated and has faith in Christ not simply one who does good works. There are many good people who do good works that are not Christian.

  19. #44
    Billyray
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    BigJ and Jim I am still waiting for your list of requirements that define who is and who is not a Christian.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    A Christian is one who is regenerated and has faith in Christ not simply one who does good works. There are many good people who do good works that are not Christian.
    So, according to you, the Good Samaritan would clearly be labeled "not Christian."

  21. #46
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    So, according to you, the Good Samaritan would clearly be labeled "not Christian."
    It is a parable BigJ. A person is not a Christian simply by doing good works.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    BigJ and Jim I am still waiting for your list of requirements that define who is and who is not a Christian.
    Not Christian--I can give you a list from Galations

    Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

  23. #48
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    Quote Originally Posted by Billyray View Post
    It is a parable BigJ. A person is not a Christian simply by doing good works.
    Why did the Samaritan do what he did? Was it of God or something else?

  24. #49
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    Not Christian--I can give you a list from Galations

    Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
    So in order to be a Christian a person needs to obey the commandments. Is that a fair ***essment of your position?

  25. #50
    Billyray
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    Quote Originally Posted by BigJulie View Post
    Why did the Samaritan do what he did? Was it of God or something else?
    What does it have to do with being a Christian? Many people including atheists follow some of the commandments and that doesn't make them a Christian.

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