http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvUTB8OQPCxU8emu8P_dKu7sy6IX?qid=20060725185437AA5sG32
Please go to the link. Read the answers. Look at the utter lack of consistency...
"Holy spirit that lives inside one Christian can communicate with another Christian's holy spirit. You will know who is Christian and who isn't. Listen to your heart."
"True Christians will show you love no matter what the sin is."
"Doesnt smoke, doesnt practice anything detestable to God (fornication, uncleannes, loose conduct, spiritism, pride, idolatry, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these), Loves his brother, preaches the good news, doesn't use blood transfusions, prays fervently, and ALOT more."
"someone who has accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior."
So, is the answer really this - The way to tell a true Christian is however I feel is right or however *my* pastor told me I could tell?
2006-07-25 15:26:25 · 20 answers · asked by Snark 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
twister... I realize that's not what YOU were saying. The last statement is my conclusion since no there appears to be no consistent answer in Christianity.
2006-07-25 15:33:21 · update #1
melissa, how am I bashing Christians by trying to understand? Is wanting a consistent answer bashing?
If two of my managers at work told me two different procedures to complete the same task, and I got them together to ask them to come up with one way, would that mean I'm bashing them?
2006-07-25 15:35:05 · update #2
Carol, I have no problem with any ONE of those answers - what I find confusing is that every answer was different. Who should I listen to?
2006-07-25 15:38:32 · update #3
How can there be an answser? The Christian faith is divided into hundreds of denominations. Every individual has a different opinion.
Some believe a true Christian would never condone homosexuals, others believe a true Christian would never condemn homosexuals.
It's no different than individuals having different opinions about what it means to be a good person, or what it means to be a good musician. Of course there's no single right answer, it's a matter of personal opinion.
That's why the Bible says that only God may judge people.
As for my personal opinion, I believe that the "true Christians" are the ones who are humble enough that they would never presume to claim that someone else is not a "true Christian."
2006-07-25 15:48:58 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
No, thats not what I was saying.
"Doesnt smoke, doesnt practice anything detestable to God (fornication, uncleannes, loose conduct, spiritism, pride, idolatry, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these), Loves his brother, preaches the good news, doesn't use blood transfusions, prays fervently, and ALOT more."
Those are basic things written in the Bible as detestable to God, so to be a True Christian, you wouldnt want to be doing anything God hates. I didnt mention a pastor nor did I mention anything about what YOU think. The real way to tell the difference between a Christian and a True Christian is How They Conduct Themselves.
2006-07-25 15:31:26 · answer #2 · answered by twisterz021 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What utter lack of conistancy? The Lord will let you know by speaking to your heart as to who is a christian by how they act and who is not. My answer is The holy spirit who lives inside you, if you are a christian will speak to you heart and let you know. Why do you have a problem with this ?
I have had a "christian" friend for a couple of years, but as the time passed she was acting less and less like a christian and more like a false prophet trying to trick me into straying way from the Lord. The holy spirit inside me show me that she was not someone I needed to be around.
Why do you have a problem with this? Dont you ever ask the Lord to lead you in any decisions in your life. We can't make good choices without the Lords imput. That is what that little voice or gut feeling is inside you. You can call it Jesus, or the Holy spirit. what ever, but it is a spirit of God if you are a Christian, and you need to listen to it..
2006-07-25 15:36:10 · answer #3 · answered by Carol M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A true Christian is one that has been saved by accepting Jesus as his Lord and Saviour!
One thing you must realize, we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God. Just because a person becomes a Christian does not mean that they will never sin again! What it does mean is that when we do sin, unlike the ungodly, we can ask God to forgive us and He will! BUT this does not give us the license to sin. We should all strive to be as sinless as possible. Only Jesus was without sin!
A true Christian is one who, even though he may fall at times, loves the Lord and is seeking to do God's will in all things.
2006-07-25 15:41:13 · answer #4 · answered by zoril 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you may be seeing different answers to the same question because everyone is in a different place in their walk with God. If ten people witnessed a crime, the police would get ten different descriptions of what happened.
A "true christian" strives to meet all things that are pleasing to the Lord, Jesus, but that doesn't make us all perfect. Each of us comes to Christ at a different age, and a different place in our lives. Those who come to a saving knowledge of Christ as children will have had less time to develop sinful habits. Those who turn to Him as adults have more ingrained sin habits that take time to change.
A Christian is not a perfect person. A Christian is a normal human who is forgiven for his/her sins. His/her desire is to be pleasing to God. To learn more of God. Pleasing people is not the main priority, but loving a neighbor as oneself is important.
I believe some of the answers you received have portions of truth, just like the crime scene, but more likely, they each contain portions of what each person believes to be the truth. You must search you heart and your Bible to discover the real God. I believe one must accept Jesus Christ as savior, and that there is only one Holy Spirit, not many spirits. Good luck in your searching.
2006-07-25 15:38:14 · answer #5 · answered by mar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What does the Bible teach us? I could go to Skeptics annotated Bible and pull off the quotes that say the true believer plays with snakes and casts out demons, but please.
You know this. The true Christian is one who believes Jesus has died for their sins, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven, and will return. (Some include born into the world, but this believe is pre-requisite the "dying" I mention because it is a product of "living" a product of "birth")
Acts 1:9-11, I'm not going to quote it you can look it up when you feel you want to.
I feel this is essential to salvation. That Christ died, came back, rose to heaven, and is coming back.
There is no point to the believe if there is no believe in his return, for he said he would return.
This is strictly a believe that makes someone a true Christian.
2006-07-25 15:32:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God is beyond theory and belief. Like it says in the bible, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. So you must seek God. You must be able to see the Divine Light and the Holy Name within you. That is what Christ gave to his disciples. You must know that God which permeates the universe. So you must seek. Spend your whole life if you have to. But you must follow the path that Christ showed his disciples. 'In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was with God.' That Word which permeates the universe and is within you is what you should find. It is beyond language, beyond scripures, and beyond the senses. And only a true Saint can reveal God to you. People like John. If you take one step towards God, then God will take ten steps towards you.
www.manavdharam.org
2006-07-25 15:37:53 · answer #7 · answered by what?? 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The signs of a true Christian were written for us in James. It is more specific than I can be in this space. Think on it this way, though. True Christians bear witness to the Truth (Jesus) and they bear fruit through their lifestyle and spiritual walk. If there is no sign of fruit, then it brings reason to question if there is true saving knowledge of Jesus in that person.
2006-07-25 15:33:00 · answer #8 · answered by Strange question... 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"True" Christians do not exist because human beings are evil by nature because of sin. Sin is anything that pulls your attention away from the Lord and His Word.
"This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouths; and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, reaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15:8-9
"For out of the heart proceedth evils thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things which defileth a man." Matt. 15:19-20
2006-07-25 15:48:42 · answer #9 · answered by Theresa B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Matt 7:16 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Gal 5:22-23 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
I think this is how you can tell.
2006-07-25 15:32:32 · answer #10 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋