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What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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Jango10
Registered:
Sep '02
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Date Posted:
5/3 8:36am
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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ObiWan506 posted:
You just described the exact reason on why Jesus frees all. Now sure, some Christians are more dogmatic then others. No problem. Cool. The bottom line is to keep it on Jesus. The true, biblical Jesus. What He does is take away your filthyness and replace it with His perfection. Everyone is but filthy rags however we have an advocate that drapes us in robes white as snow. So we free ourselves from the bondage of sin. At that point, yes, you allow the Spirit to fill you and lead a better life. Don't confuse the word "perfect" though. That doesn't mean sin-less. We'll all sin and we need to be humble and repent from them and ask for forgiveness.
So yeah, as Christians we'll still sin no matter how dogmatic we get. Now, hopefully we sin less, but ultimately we are saved for good works. To reflect the grace given to us. Jesus gave you His life so the way I view it is: I don't want to take advantage of that gift He gave me. I want to push forward. I'll stumble. I won't make it. Paul didn't. The maturity comes in the journey though. We are saved through Jesus and now we're ready to mature spiritually. That's the bottom line.
People are still going to sin. That is in our nature. No one is perfect, except for Jesus.
The Bible called Job a "perfect man". But the keyword there was "man". Job was still human, and he still sinned.
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"I love the smell of Napalm in the morning."
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nancyallen
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
5/3 4:34pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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I think the holy life is meant to be there to strive for, even if we fall short, far short of attaining such lofty expectations. Which leads to Jesus dying for those who misstep. I still wonder about the weight some put themselves under to live perfectly, especially those who are full on about living by Old Testament and Israelite rulings. Is it necessary to live that way? If not what do we take out? Why do people still live very dogmatically with Jesus?
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Even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for God is with me.
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ObiWan506
Title: JC Head Admin:
Currently away
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Date Posted:
5/3 7:41pm
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RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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That's the whole point when Jesus says He removes your yoke. Meaning the yoke you are using is hard, heavy and burdensome. Jesus is the truth and He has freed you from that. It's not about living sin-less and by the law. In fact, the law is there to show you just what a sinner you are because of all the things you can't - or don't - do. Jesus is not for the self righteous who think they can gain their own salvation by their own works. No, Jesus is for the sinner who knows s/he is a sinner, who knows s/he can't make it on their own and who knows they are in need of a Savior. Jesus helps those who repent and see their sins are too much and that they are sinners. Jesus makes you clean. Free to live your life. Yeah, we are supposed to sin less and strive for a process of maturity with Him, however the law will never make us perfect because we can't do it. Our own sinful wretchedness stops us. But we have an advocate who will fight for us if we go to Him, continually ask for forgiveness, strive for a better life, turn away from sin, tell Him we're sorry, and just always cling to the person of Jesus. Always move forward with him and be careful not to drift backwards. If you're not moving forward you are moving backwards. Be sure to always catch yourself when you are falling backwards. Always push forward. Fight the good fight.
The compass has 360 directions. We are in the middle and we can run from sin in any of the 359 different directions, or we can go in the one direction that will save us. The only thing that will. Jesus.
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If you have any questions about Christianity and/or Jesus, I'd love to talk to you. Please PM me.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved!" Acts 16:31
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Yes, I am a sinner. So are you. We all have a Savior.
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nancyallen
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
5/4 4:46am
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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And it could be read into that trying to be God, that is trying to be as perfect as He is, would be blasphemous couldn't it?
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Even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for God is with me.
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_Darth_Brooks_
Registered:
Sep '00
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Date Posted:
5/4 9:51am
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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"I was wondering what everyone's favorite Bible verses are. Here's mine:"
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
~Hebrews 11:1
The first time I read that verse I became very excited, as I understood it from my conversion. All my life I had searched for love, but couldn't find it. One time a friend asked if I was in love with a girl I was then dating. I remember telling him, 'I love her but somehow I just don't feel full.' There was nothing significant in the moment. I vaguely realized something was missing. I kept searching for 'Mrs. Right.'
The night/ early morning in which I met the Lord, I experienced a supernatural infilling of His love, for which there are no adequate human words,...I knew 'This is it! This is what I've looked for all these years!'
Later, when I began reading the Holy Bible, and I read those words, I understood...my search for love, that indefinable something in me which prompted that search, that was the very "evidence" of what I had not seen or encountered, it was an unrealized bit of faith...it was the 'evidence' of the 'substance of the thing hoped for'...Love, God's Love.
There are lyrics, and they are true, " There's a God-Shaped whole in all of us..." where our hearts are. And, yes, it was at the area in my chest which holds the physical heart.
And, when you feel it...it is the greatest sense of 'home', greater than even the love of mother when we are children.
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"I once wanted to become an atheist but I gave up . . . they have no holidays. "
I AM AN ACT OF GOD. If you doubt it ask my insurance agent.
Whom the Mod's would destroy they first drive mad.
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DarthDogbert
Registered:
Sep '04
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Date Posted:
5/5 1:29pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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A few thoughts on the Christian's relationship to sin.
"All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23) There is no escaping that verse. But even though God has foreseen that we will sin, He intends that we do not sin. "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin." (1 Jn. 2:1a) Knowing that we will sin, though, He has given us a way of escape. "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 Jn. 2:1b-2) That escape is through the grace of the blood of Christ.
Now as to the question of law. Paul says that we are free from the Law of Moses by the death of Christ. "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." (Rom. 7:4) (Technically, unless you are a Jew by lineage, then you would not have been under the Law of Moses anyways.) But this does not free us from the responsibility of obedience to the gospel (or law) of Christ. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." (1 Jn. 2:3-4)
That brings us back to sin. Sin is transgression of the law, in our case, the law of Christ. Unlike the Law of Moses, the law of Christ is not burdensome (1 Jn. 5:3), primarily because of the element of forgiveness that was not fully present in the sacrifices of the Old Law. But even with that grace available, we need to consider the cost of each and every sin we commit, no matter how little it may seem to us. Think about it. How many sins did it take for Adam and Eve to be separated from the tree of life? How many times did you have to sin to necessitate that Christ shed His blood? The answer to both is one sin. The same continues to be true in the Christian age. "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 Jn. 1:5-7) Just one sin has the ability to separate us from our hope.
Now, that last thought would be exceedingly frightening to me, except for the fact that God's law of pardon through Christ is so simple. Summed up in a few words, it would simply be believe, repent, and obey. The beauty of the grace of God is that with the right heart, it can take me just one moment to ask Him to cleanse me from sin. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn. 1:9)
For those outside of the body of Christ, there is slightly more that is involved, as a commitment must be made on the part of the individual to a service to Christ. Briefly one must:
believe the gospel (Mk. 16:15-16)repent of sins (Acts 2:37-38)confess faith in Christ (Acts 8:36-39)baptized in water (all of the above)
Still, nothing that cannot be done within the space of an hour. (Acts 16:33)
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Proud father of twin girls!  May the force be with me... 
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ObiWan506
Title: JC Head Admin:
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Date Posted:
5/5 6:27pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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Great way of putting it.
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If you have any questions about Christianity and/or Jesus, I'd love to talk to you. Please PM me.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved!" Acts 16:31
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Yes, I am a sinner. So are you. We all have a Savior.
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silverfighter
Registered:
Apr '07
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Date Posted:
5/5 8:19pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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Since there's about... 30 pages or so of this thread and I don't have the time to read it all, could someone summarize everything that's currently being discussed?
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Master to Ferus-Olin and JediJumper.  ~(*)~ "You believe there is one God. Good! Even the devils believe that--and shudder." -James 2:19
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ObiWan506
Title: JC Head Admin:
Currently away
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Date Posted:
5/5 8:32pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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I think Dogbert summed up the Gospel fairly well. Of course, nothing helps more then just reading the Bible.
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If you have any questions about Christianity and/or Jesus, I'd love to talk to you. Please PM me.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved!" Acts 16:31
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Yes, I am a sinner. So are you. We all have a Savior.
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nancyallen
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
5/5 8:37pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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Not a specific verse but one I picked up and use all the time. It goes...
"I will give thanks to you, oh lord. For though you are angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me. I will trust and I will not be afraid."
I don't think the source is the Bible but I see the verse as demonstrating God as a father, who might be angry at his son when he does wrong but will not turn them away because of it, will not condemn the son over it and be there for him just the same. Would anyone have a source for it?
Proper verses would be the Lord's prayer and John 3:16 of course, and the book of Nahum because it shows, as if it hadn't been demonstrated already, God's brutal judgment on those who have no desire to turn from their wicked ways. I also heard of the sinner's prayer and thought that might be good to look up, I'll give a proper review of it once I've found it and had time to reflect.
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Even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for God is with me.
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ObiWan506
Title: JC Head Admin:
Currently away
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Aug '03
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Date Posted:
5/5 8:42pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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It's Isaiah 12:1
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If you have any questions about Christianity and/or Jesus, I'd love to talk to you. Please PM me.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved!" Acts 16:31
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Yes, I am a sinner. So are you. We all have a Savior.
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nancyallen
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
5/6 5:14pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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That's it, Isaiah 12:1. Reading the passage now there's a piece missing, the full verse, actually Isaiah 12:1-2, goes...
'In that day you will say: "I will praise you O Lord. Although you are angry with me, your anger has turned away and you have comforted me. Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.
A study bible I have asks and answers a few questions to ponder on the verse.
Why tell people what they will say? Isaiah was offering the people a broader perspective than the sufferings they were enduring. He wanted to encourage them with hope from God. A similar song of salvation came out of the first exodus (Exodus 15). In a sense, Isaiah compared Israel's new exodus from the nations with the old exodus from Egypt.
Was Isaiah a prophet or a poet? Both. Almost all prophecy is couched in poetry. This hymn, though, was probably not used in worship. It functioned solely as a prophetic tool to tell of future salvation.
Why are God's emotions so volatile? God is not distant and uninvolved; he cares intensely about his relationship with us. If he were indifferent to out sin, for example, his apathy would show he did not care about us as his people. To increase the impact of his writing, Isaiah intentionally pictured God's emotions from opposite ends of the spectrum.
It also suggests to read this verse when you need comfort and cites it as a verse on happiness.
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Even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for God is with me.
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AnakinsGirl
Registered:
Nov '01
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Date Posted:
5/7 12:53pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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Just to jump in here, in the middle of your discussion, I have a question for Christians around here. Do you know what version (translation) of the Bible you read? Do you have any knowledge or understanding of how the New Testament came to be what it is today? Do you understand the translation process? Do these factors even matter to you?
Merely our of curiosity...
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nancyallen
Registered:
Nov '07
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Date Posted:
5/7 3:46pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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I believe the answer to all those questions, to me, would be yes.
I commonly read the New International Version, specifically the study ones, for two reasons. One is because it is written in a language more suited to the way we speak today; though that doesn't matter too much, and because it answers many of the difficult questions...why did this fate befall such and such, if we all sin what hope if there for us, can we reach a point where we lose redemption, questions that maybe a lot of people struggle with. I might have a King James version kicking about somewhere.
My understanding of how the New Testament came to be was through the witness testimonies from the apostles; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. These carry on to life after Jesus, Paul's letters to the Corinthians and the Galatians for example, and lead to the prophesied end times.
The translation from King James to NIV? I believe it is to make it easier to read. In a more extreme case the story of Hamlet is made far more accessible through The Lion King. I don't think it'd be stepping on the big guy's shoes to say picturing that will put you in the right ballpark.
As for whether or not it matters, for some apparently you have to read the King James translation. All the other versions are wicked and the people who write them and read them will burn in hell, or so I'm told. I think the reason for people being upset about it is the belief that it adds to and takes away from what is written. With that in mind I wonder how they feel about religion being shown in other ways, Simpsons for example, or any form of media that shows religion.
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Even as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for God is with me.
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AnakinsGirl
Registered:
Nov '01
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Date Posted:
5/7 4:28pm
Subject:
RE: What is Christianity? How can we understand it better? What don't we understand?
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I just think it is interesting that people read the New Testament as being the word of God, but nobody even knows what the original words of the authors were. The King James translation of the bible is based off of one of the worst, most unreliable manuscripts available to scholars today. And yet, people still read it as a legitimate source.
Making translations that are in modern English can completely alter the original meaning of some passages. And yet, people take it as inherent truth. Why read something and live by it if one doesn't even know HOW that particular translation came about? How can we know what the word of God is if we don't even have the original manuscripts? What biblical scholars have today are copies of copies of copies of the original manuscripts. Many scribes, especially once Christianity had grown large enough and professional were available to make copies of manuscripts, often altered words (intentionally or unintentionally) that, in some cases (though not all) severely misinterpret what the original author was trying to say. I have plenty of examples if anyone is interested.
I know I'm just jumping into this discussion here, but it really boggles my mind that people read the New Testament and don't even know the history of the text. How did these particular texts come to be chosen to be in the New Testament? Who were the people that organized and decided on such matters? What were their motivations? WHEN did this occur?
Most Christians I talk to find this irrelevant or blasphemous.
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