Difficule Situation

[Savedd]

hi everyone

I am an ex atheist converted to the church of christ through an english friend who came to work in my country. The problem is that where I live is very untolerant and opressive due to the majority of islam faith. So sometimes I pretend to be muslim but get scared and feel ashamed like a treason I commit towards Jesus Christ. I am not ashame of my fabulous and new religion but I am so scared of getting into trouble because of my faith. Do you think I have the right to conceal my faith in Jesus so I can feel secure. I know for sure that I'll win my life if I die for christ, but i'm so much of a coward like don't like painful situations. Do you think I am okay with my Heavenly Father ?

 

[AirPo]

Not really the right forum.

 

[nightflight]

Where are you, Sweden?

 

[jacks]

Yes, I believe God understands your situation and loves you no matter what. Peter denied Christ three times and sits with him now. It is your heart that matters. You may get different answers, but probably not from anyone who is in danger of being persecuted.

You will know when and to whom you can reveal your true faith as God leads you. I'll pray for you.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

hi everyone

Do you think I have the right to conceal my faith in Jesus so I can feel secure.

I'm not sure your supposed to lie about being not being a Christian, when you are. I wouldn't think God would be happy with that. I live in a area where no body talks much about religion, so I can't imagine people bugging people about it. I'm not really any religion, but I'm Atheist either.

 

[mindlight]

hi everyone

I am an ex atheist converted to the church of christ through an english friend who came to work in my country. The problem is that where I live is very untolerant and opressive due to the majority of islam faith. So sometimes I pretend to be muslim but get scared and feel ashamed like a treason I commit towards Jesus Christ. I am not ashame of my fabulous and new religion but I am so scared of getting into trouble because of my faith. Do you think I have the right to conceal my faith in Jesus so I can feel secure. I know for sure that I'll win my life if I die for christ, but i'm so much of a coward like don't like painful situations. Do you think I am okay with my Heavenly Father ?

A great many Muslims actually respect a person with strong convictions and being a Christian means being one of the people of the book for whom Muslims have an intrinsic respect. So simply standing for your faith in harsh circumstances does not have to result in death or victimisation so long as you are careful what you say about Islam per see. But as with most of life if bullies can smell the fear then they will home in on you. Sometimes silence is a better policy that proclamation but deceit is not really the way in my view. Dressing like a Muslim is not necessarily deceit as a lot of Christians in the Middle East wear similar outfits though saying you are a Muslim is.

Find the courage find the way. May God give you wisdom and strength.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Yes, I believe God understands your situation and loves you no matter what. Peter denied Christ three times and sits with him now.

I wonder how happy God was with that.

 

[jacks]

I wonder how happy God was with that.

Who among us always pleases God?

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

I wonder how happy God was with that.

Read Acts chapters 2-4 ... you'll see how pleased He was to restore Peter despite His denials. God is a loving God. That isn't to say He isn't a God who will not condemn, but not those who love Him.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

Read Acts chapters 2-4 ... you'll see how pleased He was to restore Peter despite His denials. God is a loving God. That isn't to say He isn't a God who will not condemn, but not those who love Him.

Was that Jesus or God that was pleased. From what I get out of God. He was quick tempered and destroyed cities.

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

Was that Jesus or God that was pleased.

"Jesus or God" ??

Good grief!! Did you really as that question?

From what I get out of God. He was quick tempered and destroyed cities.

As for that comment and given that your icon shows you as being of "other" faith ...

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

"Jesus or God" ??
Good grief!! Did you really as that question?

I read they're supposed to be one. But God punished people severely and Jesus always encouraged forgiveness. So why would Peter be allowed to set at the table, when he denied Jesus ? In the passed he would have been turned into pillar of salt or destroyed.

 

[ThisBrotherOfHis]

I read they're supposed to be one. But God punished people severely and Jesus always encouraged forgiveness. So why would Peter be allowed to set at the table, when he denied Jesus ? In the passed he would have been turned into pillar of salt or destroyed.

OK, first I want to apologize to you for being rude in my first response. That was uncalled for. It's been a hectic day around here. So please forgive me.

Second, your apparent confusion about God -- thinking He is different between the Old Testament and the New -- lies in a fundamental misunderstanding of what the two testaments reveal about the nature of God. Another way of expressing this same basic thought is when people say, “The God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath while the God of the New Testament is a God of love.” That isn't accurate. God always is loving, but He also has the right of judgment over His own creation.

The fact that the Bible is God’s progressive revelation of Himself to us through historical events and through His relationship with people throughout history might contribute to misconceptions about what God is like in the Old Testament as compared to the New Testament. However, when one reads both the Old and the New Testaments, it becomes evident that God is not different from one testament to another and that God’s wrath and His love are revealed in both testaments.

For example, throughout the Old Testament, God is declared to be a “compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” You can find these and similar words describing God in that way in Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 4:31; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:5, 15; 108:4; 145:8; Joel 2:13. Would you, if you have a Bible, please take the time to read those passages? If you don’t have one, please use www.biblestudytools.com. You can enter those versus in a search engine at the top of the home page and find them that way.

In the New Testament, God’s grace and mercy are manifested even more fully through the fact that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Throughout the Old Testament, we also see God dealing with Israel the same way a loving father deals with a child. When they willfully sinned against Him and began to worship idols, God would punish them. Yet, each time He would deliver them once they had repented of their idolatry. This is much the same way God deals with Christians in the New Testament. For example, Hebrews 12:6 tells us that “those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines, and He scourges everyone son He receives.”

As we read and study the Bible, it becomes clear that God is the same in the Old and New Testaments. Even though the Bible is 66 individual books written on two (or possibly three) continents, in three different languages, over a period of approximately 1500 years by more than 40 authors, it remains one unified book from beginning to end without contradiction. In it we see how a loving, merciful, and just God deals with sinful men in all kinds of situations. The stories of the nations around Israel that God destroyed, or allowed Israel to destroy, represent those in the world who do not recognize Christ as Savior and Lord. That may seem harsh, given God is love, but God is also just, and as Creator, He has prescribed the method by which we may approach Him. His world, His rules. Again, it may sound harsh, but He really is nothing more than a loving Father who treats His children as their behavior demands.

Because of God’s righteous and holy character, all sin—past, present, and future—must be judged. Yet God in His infinite love has provided a payment for sin and a way of reconciliation so that sinful man can escape His wrath. We see this wonderful truth in verses like 1 John 4:10: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” In the Old Testament, God provided a sacrificial system whereby atonement could be made for sin. However, this sacrificial system was only temporary and merely looked forward to the coming of Jesus Christ who would die on the cross to make a complete substitutionary atonement for sin. The Savior who was promised in the Old Testament is fully revealed in the New Testament. Only envisioned in the Old Testament, the ultimate expression of God’s love, the sending of His Son Jesus Christ, is revealed in all its glory in the New Testament.

I hope that helps. If not, please feel free to PM me with any questions. Thanks, and God bless you.