Relationship Status
Imagine you're meeting someone for the first time. The two of you engage in shallow small talk, as the two of you get to know each other a little better.
You ask this person the basic, standard questions of inquiry -- "Where are you from?", "What do you do for a living?", etc. You then ask, "Are you married?" The man responds by saying, "I try to be married. I come from a family who has a long history of marriages."
Upon hearing that response, what would you think?
Perhaps you'd think that the man was joking. Maybe you'd think that he's a philanderer, who's still looking, but has been divorced a lot.
Because he didn't answer with a simple "yes", you'd likely conclude that he isn't married.
A while back, a friend and I, were engaged in a spiritual discussion amongst a small group of people. As the discussion progressed, one of the individuals wanted to know who, within the group, were Christians.
The responses went from person to person; since we were all in a little circle. When it came time for my friend to answer, his response was "I'm on the fence".
Upon hearing his response, I was a bit surprised. We had had many conversations about God and spiritual things. I, also, knew that he was fairly familiar with the Bible. Until that point, I had assumed that he was a Christian, since he always talked about God, prayer, and the Bible, in a positive manner.
From that point on, I viewed my friend a little differently. Of course, we were still friends. However, I couldn't help but wonder if he was aware of his dangerous spiritual condition, or if he believed that all was well.
I'm writing this article in order to address an important topic that, often times, we may not think about.
Often times, the world's view of Christianity, can seem quite inaccurate. It's not uncommon for people to think that Christians are simply people who go to church, pray, tithe, and try to engage in good behavior. We're sometimes viewed as an extension of a personality type. Some people are into sports, others are into physical fitness and health, while Christians are in the habit of going to church. It's kind of like recognizing a distinction such as, some people take their shoes off, while they're in their homes, while others don't. It's simply viewed as a tradition that some people stick to. The thinking is that, if you're into this sort of thing, and if God exists, he'll be pleased with you. As a result, you'll get into Heaven because you live a morally good life, surrounded by tradition and religion.
Because the world views Christianity, in this way, you'll hear people give vague answers like, "I try to be a Christian", etc.
Although the world may view Christianity, in this way, the Bible teaches that, such a perspective, is far from a biblical definition of what a Christian is.
I used the illustration of marriage, because the Bible teaches that Christianity is about being in a conscious relationship with Jesus Christ. It's not about mere tradition, or church attendance. In the same way that a person clearly knows whether or not they're married, each person should know whether or not they have a personal relationship with Jesus. If you have not made a conscious decision to enter into a personal relationship with him, then I don't see how it'd be possible for you to be a Christian.
This is where the Bible really shines, since it provides excellent, key examples, of what it means to follow God, and to put your trust in him and his son.
Although the Old Testament was written before Christ arrived, it contains many examples of individuals who placed their faith in God, and in what he promised. One of those promises, is Christ.
If you read about any of the popular heroes of faith, you'll notice that they all had a personal relationship with God. It was a relationship, not a mere tradition.
You can, literally, pick just about any book in the Old Testament. When you start to read it, you'll notice that someone is engaged in a relationship with God -- whether that person be Moses, Noah, Abraham, King David, Job, Gideon, Daniel, Elijah, etc. They all have relationships with God.
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