Christianity's objective

[Phinehas2]

Well Christ knows His church. I think it is seeking everything Christ taught, which infact is glorifying God.
For many it is simple and there is no real question, the same Spirit in one believer recognsies the same Spirit in another, even when they are of different chuches, deonminations and even where they have different churchmanship.

 

[butterflyring09]

Pretty straightforward question. What is Christianity's objective?

This past Sunday, my church held a meeting and we decided what the mission, vision, and values of the church would be... again... and all the options sounded good, but they also sounded incomplete.

And after thinking about it, I'm not sure I can answer the question. To love others and love God is a great answer, but it's shallow and really, really broad. How does one love others and love God? Does one love others by spending time with them? By setting a good example for them? By talking about deep things, and helping them come to better knowledge and relationship with God? Does one love God by praying, by doing what He commands, or is it more traditional and along the lines of Bible study, worship, prayer, and fasting?

So. Discuss. What is Christianity's objective?

To get as many people saved as you possibly can from the pits of hell before Jesus comes back and raptures all of His sheep. In other words, to build God's kingdom and glorify God.

go to insightsofgod.com
You'll get lots of inspiration.

Our objective is to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the world, so that all will come unto repentance and be saved from hell and also enter into life everlasting!

 

[butterflyring09]

I'm not referring to Christianity as a religion, so why should you or anyone else refer to it as such? I'm asking you, what are our beliefs for? What is the point of believing what we do? What reasons do we have to believe as we do, what is the purpose of our beliefs? What do we do with out beliefs?

Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ yet? Once you do, you'll understand.

When I first met Jesus, it was when I was on the brink of literally loosing my mind. I was highly suicidal, having no point of living and had just drank ammonia and was supposed to be dead or seriously damaged. But to God be the glory (lots of people were praying for me), the hospital checked me and found no ammonia in my system at all.

When I finally accepted Christ as being the ONLY truth, life and way, my mind healed, a peace such as I'd never had before came upon me, and a joy unspeakable entered into my body.

I realized that God has not only just saved me from hell (because though I was experiencing literally burning like being THAT close from going to hell), he has promised me life eternal in His glorious kingdom.

Unless you have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, you will continue to ask these questions. What is our mission? What is the point? And even, is that even meaningful?

Only God can reveal Himself to you. But you have to ask Him earnestly, and He will. And when He does, you won't help but preach the gospel and get souls saved as well! HALLELUJAH! Glory to the most High God!!!

 

[Phinehas2]

When I finally accepted Christ as being the ONLY truth, life and way, my mind healed, a peace such as I'd never had before came upon me, and a joy unspeakable entered into my body.

Amen, halleluiah.
Though not as dramatic this is of course what happened to me.

 

[Zebra1552]

Have you had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ yet? Once you do, you'll understand.

Of course I have. That's why I'm a Christian. That doesn't mean I have the answers to the questions I'm asking. That's why I'm asking them. I'm not looking for pat answers here.

When I first met Jesus, it was when I was on the brink of literally loosing my mind. I was highly suicidal, having no point of living and had just drank ammonia and was supposed to be dead or seriously damaged. But to God be the glory (lots of people were praying for me), the hospital checked me and found no ammonia in my system at all.

When I finally accepted Christ as being the ONLY truth, life and way, my mind healed, a peace such as I'd never had before came upon me, and a joy unspeakable entered into my body.

I realized that God has not only just saved me from hell (because though I was experiencing literally burning like being THAT close from going to hell), he has promised me life eternal in His glorious kingdom.

Unless you have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, you will continue to ask these questions. What is our mission? What is the point? And even, is that even meaningful?

Only God can reveal Himself to you. But you have to ask Him earnestly, and He will. And when He does, you won't help but preach the gospel and get souls saved as well! HALLELUJAH! Glory to the most High God!!!

Good for you and your opinion. Do you have anything more biblical?

 

[Phinehas2]

Jaws13,

Of course I have. That's why I'm a Christian. That doesn't mean I have the answers to the questions I'm asking. That's why I'm asking them. I'm not looking for pat answers here.

Ah well the answer is Jesus Christ, so we as Christians have the answers, or rather Jesus Christ has them, so thats why the question was posed as to whether you have had an encounter with Jesus Christ.

 

[Zebra1552]

Jaws13,
Ah well the answer is Jesus Christ, so we as Christians have the answers, or rather Jesus Christ has them, so thats why the question was posed as to whether you have had an encounter with Jesus Christ.

And the question is a ridiculous one, and so is your explanation of it. If we as Christians have the answers or access to them, there would not be hundreds of denominations. You wouldn't have a bunch of threads bickering over homosexuality. And as to the personal encounter, you can see my faith icon. I posted this in a Christian section of the board. Why not ask me what my username is while you're at it?

 

[Phinehas2]

Jaws13,
No I don’t think you understood the point. We have access to all we need to know. matters that split denominations such as ordering the church or how and when we baptise are not an issue. Homosexuality is clearly as sin, that’s an example of why the question was asked as to whether you have had an encounter with Jesus Christ.

 

[Christos Anesti]

I think people may be focusing on the methods God gave the Church to obtain the goal and end of the Christian faith rather than then goal itself. The purpose of Christianity is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit. Thats what St Serphim of Sarov said at least. By acquiring the Holy Spirit man partakes of the Divine Nature and grows in loving communion with God and his fellow man. St Athanasius (the great defender of the doctrine of the Trinity at the council of Nicea) said that "God became man so that man may become god". By grace through the Holy Spirit that becomes possible and thats the goal.

 

[LBP]

And the question is a ridiculous one, and so is your explanation of it. If we as Christians have the answers or access to them, there would not be hundreds of denominations. You wouldn't have a bunch of threads bickering over homosexuality. And as to the personal encounter, you can see my faith icon. I posted this in a Christian section of the board. Why not ask me what my username is while you're at it?

Understanding arguments and debates is what I do for a living (lawyer), but I must say that I'm having an impossible time following this thread. It really doesn't seem to me, Jaws13, that you've made clear what you are after. Your original post and your follow-ups seem to me to be all over the map. You started out talking about the objective of Christianity but then moved to a discussion of why we believe, etc. I agree that questioning whether you've had a personal encounter with Christ is preposterous and silly, although I've had the same thing happen to me here.

I agree with the poster who said that a big part of the problem is calling what surrounds us today "Christianity" at all. I strongly believe that Jesus is watching this "Christianity" unfold and saying "How could they possibly have got it so wrong??? This is pretty much exactly the opposite of what I was talking about." The objective of this form of "Christianity" seems to be to bludgeon people (including those in other supposedly "Christian" denominations) with its beliefs under the guise of "loving" them, "spreading the gospel," and "saving" them from damnation, all with pretty consistently disastrous results. (Yes!!! Obsessing over homosexuality and making homosexuals the focus of a veritable crusade of hate is exactly what Jesus wanted!!!)

I think you'd really have to ask "What was Jesus' objective?" which would then define what our objective should be. The answer would have to be found in the Bible, but even here it isn't entirely clear to me. The Great Commission has produced the intolerant, fractious, bludgeon-you-over-the-head "Christianity" we see today, which surely can't have been what Jesus intended. I would like to think that His objective was the transformation of humanity into a society where people love God with their entire hearts, souls and minds and their neighbors as themselves, although there are certainly passages attributed to Him that seem to point in different directions. As individual Christians, I believe our objective should simply be to follow as closely as we can the command to love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves and let the chips fall where they may (i.e., let whatever flows from this sort of life flow from it and let God make use of us as He will). To me, the Great Commission crowd has taken the easy way out -- "We can be the same angry, intolerant people we'd be without God, but now we can do it under the guise of being on a divine mission."

From a scholarly article by James Fowler at christinyou.net that seems to reach the same conclusion: "The objective of Christianity is to allow for the ontological Being of the Life of God in Christ to be expressed in the character of our behavior unto the glory of God, rather than to engage in humanly conceived and executed utilitarian actions and religious endeavors."

 

[butterflyring09]

Of course I have. That's why I'm a Christian. That doesn't mean I have the answers to the questions I'm asking. That's why I'm asking them. I'm not looking for pat answers here.


Good for you and your opinion. Do you have anything more biblical?

Everything I wrote hear is a summary of the New Testament. Read through it again and again and ask God for wisdom and direction. God bless you.

 

[Aimiel]

I thought it was clear that Christianity's objective is to make disciples of all men? We're to preach The Gospel to every creature, in season and out. Yes, glorifying God is good. Yes, becoming more Christ-like is The Holy Spirit's work in us. But the objective must be souls. The Bible says that he that wins souls is wise. I want to be wise. I believe our objective is the testimony of Jesus, which is The Spirit of prophecy.

Revelation 19:10
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

 

[Zebra1552]

Understanding arguments and debates is what I do for a living (lawyer), but I must say that I'm having an impossible time following this thread. It really doesn't seem to me, Jaws13, that you've made clear what you are after. Your original post and your follow-ups seem to me to be all over the map. You started out talking about the objective of Christianity but then moved to a discussion of why we believe, etc. I agree that questioning whether you've had a personal encounter with Christ is preposterous and silly, although I've had the same thing happen to me here.

This isn't a debate or argument. This is a discussion. I'm not disagreeing with anyone. I'm asking so we can discuss and put our heads together, and part of that is understanding what the question means and what I'm asking. I love the answers I've seen so far.

As for why I asked the question in the first place, I go to the 6th ranked liberal arts college in the nation. It's not exactly a Christian friendly environment. The objective here seems to be just to survive, and if people join in our quest for survival, great. It's refreshing to be able to discuss these things.

Random tangent, have you read Fowler's stages of faith?

 

[Zebra1552]

Jaws13,
No I don’t think you understood the point. We have access to all we need to know. matters that split denominations such as ordering the church or how and when we baptise are not an issue.

Except that they are with the claim that was made. If we have access to all we need to know, then we wouldn't have the junk we do today. The argument fails because we simply do not have all the answers.

 

[LBP]

Random tangent, have you read Fowler's stages of faith?

Actually, I had never heard of Fowler until a couple of days ago, but I've been skimming materials on his website and really like what he says.

 

[seekthelord]

Pretty straightforward question. What is Christianity's objective?

So. Discuss. What is Christianity's objective?

Hi jaws 13,
The earlier response shown here below,
<
Originally Posted by ebia

The Kingdom of God.
​

Again, broad, and very vague.

is the problem.

Our objective is very vague becauser God's objective ( or goal ) is to man very vague because it is not understood by man and even refuted by some man
So if I said that our objective is to please Yahweh that is very vague unless man translates that to obey the word of Yahweh.
Is that very vague due to the profusion of doctrines around?
Then it will always be very vague.
And therefore there will always be a profusion of threads and many forums and many clashing opinions.
I can mention a few scriptures that many christians will not accept because they have a different interpretation based on other scriptures.
So if you think God can't have a goal because he knows the future you'll never find God's goal, will you?

But even if many find God's goal shown in the bible it will be so vague to many,
seekthelord

 

[daydreamergurl15]

Pretty straightforward question. What is Christianity's objective?

This past Sunday, my church held a meeting and we decided what the mission, vision, and values of the church would be... again... and all the options sounded good, but they also sounded incomplete.

And after thinking about it, I'm not sure I can answer the question. To love others and love God is a great answer, but it's shallow and really, really broad. How does one love others and love God? Does one love others by spending time with them? By setting a good example for them? By talking about deep things, and helping them come to better knowledge and relationship with God? Does one love God by praying, by doing what He commands, or is it more traditional and along the lines of Bible study, worship, prayer, and fasting?

So. Discuss. What is Christianity's objective?

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to th end of the age." Amen.​

 

[Polycarp1]

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to th end of the age." Amen.​

The Great Commission (classic name for the passage you quoted) is the job of the Church, to be sure, but it is neither the only job of the Church nor the universal command to all Christians. For that you need to look at Matthew 22:34-40 and its parallels in Mark and Luke, Matthe 7:12, and John 13:31-35. Those are the commands to every Christian that were defined as greatest by our Lord and Savior.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

The Great Commission (classic name for the passage you quoted) is the job of the Church, to be sure, but it is neither the only job of the Church nor the universal command to all Christians. For that you need to look at Matthew 22:34-40 and its parallels in Mark and Luke, Matthe 7:12, and John 13:31-35. Those are the commands to every Christian that were defined as greatest by our Lord and Savior.

I didn't say it was our only job, just our objective.

Actually, I think we can also add this:

He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?--Micah 6:8​

 

[chaoschristian]

Pretty straightforward question. What is Christianity's objective?

This past Sunday, my church held a meeting and we decided what the mission, vision, and values of the church would be... again... and all the options sounded good, but they also sounded incomplete.

And after thinking about it, I'm not sure I can answer the question. To love others and love God is a great answer, but it's shallow and really, really broad. How does one love others and love God? Does one love others by spending time with them? By setting a good example for them? By talking about deep things, and helping them come to better knowledge and relationship with God? Does one love God by praying, by doing what He commands, or is it more traditional and along the lines of Bible study, worship, prayer, and fasting?

So. Discuss. What is Christianity's objective?

How involved are you in active, engaged and deeply meaningful ministry?

I ask this not to denouce or condemn you, but to get a sense of the framework from which you are operating.

To love God and love others as yourself, is neither vague nor overly broad, I think, once you've engaged in a ministry in which you really pour yourself out for the sake of 'the other.'

How does one love God?

Consider this. The other, better, way to translate the word 'love' in that context is 'charity.' God provides for us a grace that is unearned. In turn, provide an ever-giving-love for the sake of another(s) with no expectation of return or acknowledgement. Do it out of love for the love that God has given you. Then you will be loving God as the scriptures command.

As ebia said, the objective of the church is the realization of The Kingdom of God, The Now-And-Not-Yet, here on Earth.

The next question being, what then is The Kingdom of God?