The Real Deal
I was just watching Downhill Ski Racing and here is the banter:
#1 “He (the skier) is a Morman.”
#2 “A real Morman?”
#1 “I don’t know if he is the real deal, but he is a downhiller so I am sure there are some things he does that are bad.”
I have struggled when ever I have tried to define what a “Real Christian” is. Have you ever tried to put it down on paper. No matter what you write, someone is going to say, What about this text that seems to say otherwise?
Jesus was never fully understood during His ministry on earth and remains a bit elusive today. Why is that? There are a variety of doctrines out there that reflect who Jesus is and what a Christian is called to be. Why is there such a variety?
Here are my thoughts;
- Jesus is many things to those who have put their trust and faith in Him alone for salvation. He is first their Savior. He is also their King, Lord, Provider, Teacher, and Judge. Many forget the Judge part. Many don’t even know Him as anything but Savior. His salvation is most significant to what He is to us, but the rest is crucial to knowing Jesus. How can we follow who we don’t know?
- Jesus followers are not all going to be called to the same things in life. While there will be a common good spirit about someone who knows and follows Jesus, there will be differences. Leaders in the faith need to uphold certain doctrine while allowing those who are learning some space.
- Is Jesus to be worshipped? I haven’t solved this completely, but I am leaning to the understanding that Jesus is not to be worshipped. I don’t see where He asked for us to worship Him. I do see Jesus worshipping God and telling us to do the same. Jesus is so many things to us, but is He God? I don’t think so. I will do as He did and worship “the One God.“
- Jesus if freedom. Freedom from being controlled by sinful desires. Freedom from selfishness. Freedom from the expectations of others. Freedom to do good. The working ingredient of Christ is the Holy Spirit. Be guided by the HS in all you do. Do good whre you can but do not feel you have to be everything to everybody. You are not Jesus.
Churches do far too little to advance people along in their faith. Actually, they do too much for them. They spoon-feed doctrine instead of encourage Bible Study. Oh yeah, a lot have a Bible Study, but they are quite controlled and do not cover near enough material.
What is a “Real Christian”?
I really don’t know. I think the real question is; Who is the real Jesus? If we work toward a common uderstanding of who Jesus is then we wil have the right focus and will be more like Him.
Tags: Christianity, Church Criticism, False Doctrine, Hypocrisy
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December 2, 2007 at 4:32 am
Enjoyed your article. It’s nice to see a Christian declare the things of God, encourage the young Christians and teach the mature leaders a little bit too! Thanks for your ministry.
David
December 2, 2007 at 7:08 am
Thanks David, glad you liked it.
December 5, 2007 at 3:41 pm
“I think the real question is; Who is the real Jesus? If we work toward a common uderstanding of who Jesus is then we wil have the right focus and will be more like Him.” (Ken)
I think you might be right but getting that concensus on Jesus and who and what he said is going to be impossible (cause with men all things are not possible – lol).
I see Jesus as a rabbi/teacher that leads me in the direction of God – sets a path to follow – and if I walk it then I will get to know God. It’s a very simple view I take since I am not sure of the whole son of God thing and the Trinity – those ideas make God more than ‘one’ (and anyone that thinks otherwise will be making 3 =1 – not really a good math equation). So these are the kinds of problems we will run into I think.
That being said I am fairly open on the idea of who Jesus us and what he taught/did – I think there is room for the discussion and coming to some concensus of what we think is true (like a modern day council – country to country – even city ot city – wouldn’t that be cool). I would likely oppose the council but I really like the idea of getting together and discussing the faith.