I'm going to go into a rant, so if you don't want to read my angry words, please feel free to disregard this post completely.
Why does the world hate Christians as a whole? Because Christians hate themselves. Our modern church is not what it should be. It is divided and torn apart by theological differences and pure prejudice and bitterness. Because we are so extremely judgmental that we will kill those who are not like us or who differ in beliefs. We have killed in the name of Christ during the Crusades, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. We shove down those who we think below us and we turn our noses up at them. We cause a stir in OUR OWN CHURCH FAMILES because we think that this person should leave and not come back. We can look someone in the eyes with a smile plastered on our faces and tell them that they are lower than dirt.
The world hates Christianity because we ourselves hate it. The word Christian means "little Christ", are we not supposed to be an example of Christ through our lives and through our words, actions, and reactions? But instead, what are we?
“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:7c-10)
We are the hypocrites, the Pharisees, those who say one thing and do the other, those who taint the name of Christ with out foolishness and wickedness. If you claim to be a Christian, but live in a way that spreads hatred not only to nonbelievers, but to other Christians as well, Jesus says that you might as well be like a "Gentile and a tax collector" to the Body. This means the Christians around you may as well and throw you out of the church and turn their backs on you because you refuse to work towards peace.
A person who lives in hatred and bitterness towards other Christians and denominations are not okay; they have a sin problem and they need to get their hearts right with God.
I have heard recently from one of my friends who is going to seminary to be a pastor that a lot of the students there will stop going to chapel services because they become bitter and angry towards other students and chapel services because they had a certain preconceived notion of their own about what a "Christian" should act or look or talk like. Those that don't meet the standards one holds aren't worthy of one's time, nor are they apparently worthy of one's compassion and brotherhood.
Let me let you all in on an apparently little known secret. A Christian is a person, and subsequently a sinful human, just like anyone else. The only exception I or anyone else has is that we have been saved by accepting the grace that was offered to us at the Cross. Every person is different, thus not fitting into one mold, and we all have our problems, thus making us imperfect. There will be very few Christians who meet your standards of what a Christian should be, and I can almost guarantee that you won't find them sitting in a Southern Baptist church.
I think what has happened is that our world has somehow screwed up the image that comes to mind when we think of Christians. So let's break down this mold and let's refocus on what the Bible says a Christian is to be like. First of all, let's talk about what a Christian is not.
A Christian is not perfect. This seems like a shock to a lot of people, but I don't know a single perfect person, let alone a perfect Christian. The word "perfect" is found 85 different times in the New King James Version of the Bible. There is not a single occurrence in which this word refers to the present spiritual state of the body of Christ. There are mentions of us growing to perfection, of God perfecting that which He started in us, but there is nowhere that says that anyone of us is perfect. The only perfect man was Jesus.
A Christian is not sinless. Again, this comes as a shock. Christians aren't supposed to sin anymore, so why are they not sinless? Just because we accept Jesus as our Savior, does not mean we turn into Jesus. That would be like me getting a bike as a birthday present, then turning into the bike. It doesn't make sense, nor is it practical. If we could become sinless through belief, then what was the purpose of the cross? It also helps to understand that the word "sin" comes from the Greek word that would be used in archery competitions to say if the archer had missed the mark and to shoot again. So, the idea behind this is that, sin is not necessarily doing something evil, but rather it is us straying from the path of righteousness and missing the mark that God has set out for us to reach.
A Christian is not a source of infinite wisdom. Look, we are all human. There is an entire universe of knowledge that we will never know, and most of us don't have any sort of special academic abilities. We, Christians, are going through life just like you are, and for the most part, we don't have any idea what we're doing, just like you as well. I most definitely have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. There is no way anyone should ever come to me for wisdom, because I make some really stupid decisions. We all do stupid things, we don't gain any sort of mystery knowledge when we are saved.
A Christian is not a judge. Okay, so this one is really hard to debunk, because sadly, it's all too prevalent in our churches today. I for one would like to say, that if you have ever been judged or have felt belittled by a Christian or by a member of a church, or anyone else who affiliates with the term Christianity, I am truly sorry. And if I have ever judged anyone, I apologize for that. We are just as human as the next, but we have no reason to put you down.
So now let's talk about what a Christian is, or more specifically, what the Bible says a Christian should be. First, A Christian is characterized by love. In Matthew 5:42-47, Jesus makes it clear that the old Jewish law not only stated to love God, but to love others as an outpouring of your love for God. And Christians are not meant to love only other Christians, but to love those who are our enemies; those who are not of the faith. Because "if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" A Christian who loves God will follow His commandments and His path for their life (John 14:15, Luke 16:13). One of the greatest commandments given is "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). As Christians, it is our job to love God, and love others. These are the defining factors and characteristics of a Christian.
As much as I would like to say that there are more things that Christians are, that pretty much puts a cover over everything I could break it down into. If you love someone, you have a passion geared towards them. That passion will create desire, and that in turn creates in us the inexplicable need to move on that desire. If we love someone, we want the best for them. We want them to have the best life possible, so why not tell them about the chance to have the best life possible not only here and now on earth, but after we get to heaven as well? When it comes down to it, a true Christian is a person who has accepted the gift of salvation through the Lord's death on the cross, and who loves God, loves people, and acts on the love they have.
Love In Christ,
Emily E.
Why does the world hate Christians as a whole? Because Christians hate themselves. Our modern church is not what it should be. It is divided and torn apart by theological differences and pure prejudice and bitterness. Because we are so extremely judgmental that we will kill those who are not like us or who differ in beliefs. We have killed in the name of Christ during the Crusades, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. We shove down those who we think below us and we turn our noses up at them. We cause a stir in OUR OWN CHURCH FAMILES because we think that this person should leave and not come back. We can look someone in the eyes with a smile plastered on our faces and tell them that they are lower than dirt.
The world hates Christianity because we ourselves hate it. The word Christian means "little Christ", are we not supposed to be an example of Christ through our lives and through our words, actions, and reactions? But instead, what are we?
“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:7c-10)
We are the hypocrites, the Pharisees, those who say one thing and do the other, those who taint the name of Christ with out foolishness and wickedness. If you claim to be a Christian, but live in a way that spreads hatred not only to nonbelievers, but to other Christians as well, Jesus says that you might as well be like a "Gentile and a tax collector" to the Body. This means the Christians around you may as well and throw you out of the church and turn their backs on you because you refuse to work towards peace.
A person who lives in hatred and bitterness towards other Christians and denominations are not okay; they have a sin problem and they need to get their hearts right with God.
I have heard recently from one of my friends who is going to seminary to be a pastor that a lot of the students there will stop going to chapel services because they become bitter and angry towards other students and chapel services because they had a certain preconceived notion of their own about what a "Christian" should act or look or talk like. Those that don't meet the standards one holds aren't worthy of one's time, nor are they apparently worthy of one's compassion and brotherhood.
Let me let you all in on an apparently little known secret. A Christian is a person, and subsequently a sinful human, just like anyone else. The only exception I or anyone else has is that we have been saved by accepting the grace that was offered to us at the Cross. Every person is different, thus not fitting into one mold, and we all have our problems, thus making us imperfect. There will be very few Christians who meet your standards of what a Christian should be, and I can almost guarantee that you won't find them sitting in a Southern Baptist church.
I think what has happened is that our world has somehow screwed up the image that comes to mind when we think of Christians. So let's break down this mold and let's refocus on what the Bible says a Christian is to be like. First of all, let's talk about what a Christian is not.
A Christian is not perfect. This seems like a shock to a lot of people, but I don't know a single perfect person, let alone a perfect Christian. The word "perfect" is found 85 different times in the New King James Version of the Bible. There is not a single occurrence in which this word refers to the present spiritual state of the body of Christ. There are mentions of us growing to perfection, of God perfecting that which He started in us, but there is nowhere that says that anyone of us is perfect. The only perfect man was Jesus.
A Christian is not sinless. Again, this comes as a shock. Christians aren't supposed to sin anymore, so why are they not sinless? Just because we accept Jesus as our Savior, does not mean we turn into Jesus. That would be like me getting a bike as a birthday present, then turning into the bike. It doesn't make sense, nor is it practical. If we could become sinless through belief, then what was the purpose of the cross? It also helps to understand that the word "sin" comes from the Greek word that would be used in archery competitions to say if the archer had missed the mark and to shoot again. So, the idea behind this is that, sin is not necessarily doing something evil, but rather it is us straying from the path of righteousness and missing the mark that God has set out for us to reach.
A Christian is not a source of infinite wisdom. Look, we are all human. There is an entire universe of knowledge that we will never know, and most of us don't have any sort of special academic abilities. We, Christians, are going through life just like you are, and for the most part, we don't have any idea what we're doing, just like you as well. I most definitely have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. There is no way anyone should ever come to me for wisdom, because I make some really stupid decisions. We all do stupid things, we don't gain any sort of mystery knowledge when we are saved.
A Christian is not a judge. Okay, so this one is really hard to debunk, because sadly, it's all too prevalent in our churches today. I for one would like to say, that if you have ever been judged or have felt belittled by a Christian or by a member of a church, or anyone else who affiliates with the term Christianity, I am truly sorry. And if I have ever judged anyone, I apologize for that. We are just as human as the next, but we have no reason to put you down.
So now let's talk about what a Christian is, or more specifically, what the Bible says a Christian should be. First, A Christian is characterized by love. In Matthew 5:42-47, Jesus makes it clear that the old Jewish law not only stated to love God, but to love others as an outpouring of your love for God. And Christians are not meant to love only other Christians, but to love those who are our enemies; those who are not of the faith. Because "if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" A Christian who loves God will follow His commandments and His path for their life (John 14:15, Luke 16:13). One of the greatest commandments given is "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). As Christians, it is our job to love God, and love others. These are the defining factors and characteristics of a Christian.
As much as I would like to say that there are more things that Christians are, that pretty much puts a cover over everything I could break it down into. If you love someone, you have a passion geared towards them. That passion will create desire, and that in turn creates in us the inexplicable need to move on that desire. If we love someone, we want the best for them. We want them to have the best life possible, so why not tell them about the chance to have the best life possible not only here and now on earth, but after we get to heaven as well? When it comes down to it, a true Christian is a person who has accepted the gift of salvation through the Lord's death on the cross, and who loves God, loves people, and acts on the love they have.
Love In Christ,
Emily E.
