Grumpy Old Man
Well-Known Member
Depends of course how you define a "real" Christian. If it is anyone who puts their hand up or who falls in line, then yes I would agree with you. If, however, it is only those who Jesus has chosen, then I think you might understand why Jesus said this:
See, there are many many people who know the bible inside out but they don't believe. To them there is no life in the words on the page. They do not have the Spirit of God living in their heart. Yet, they have all manner of knowledge that the bible can convey. Surely you can see that human efforts aren't qualifiers for eternal life? Only by this verse can you appease the Lord and have the Word come to life within you. Only by this verse:
According to these verses, I was a real Christian;
Romans 10:8-10
English Standard Version (ESV)
8But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
When I was a Christian, I believed in my heart that God raised him from the dead and I confessed, daily, Jesus as Lord. What other requirement for salvation, being a Christian, did I miss? It wasn't the talking in tongues, or the vain prophesies that made me believe I was a Christian. It was the fact that I believed Jesus died and rose again and I believed that he was the Lord of Creation, that makes me believe I was a genuine Christian.
I don't really think it's worth debating this issue any more, unless you can come up with some verses that say believing in Jesus and the resurrection is NOT enough for salvation (in which case they would contradict Paul's letter to the Romans and we can have some fun with Bible contradictions then).
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