Living a Christian life?

Question

My mom (a Christian) when asked why my dad did not attend church allways answered with, "he lives a Christian life".

Can you live a Christian life even though you do not consider yourself Christian?

For example, if someone acted exactly like Jesus, but called himself a Muslim, wouldn’t he be a Muslim but also be living a life with Christ? If you say no, aren't you really just being demanding about some arbitrary rule or label he is not following?

Hmm, not worshipping the one true God? With all due respect, it seems every Christian defines God differently. Do a test, post a question here with a *detailed* description of your God asking other Christians if they agree 100%. If they don't, are you the non-Christian or they?

Answer 1

forever until the end there will be constant debate about what exactly the Christian life is and who exactly God is, though I believe He gave us a pretty good foundation and means of understanding through His word.
Now, I will not debate with someone over things like baptism, sprinkling, what prayers, how many prayers, how long you pray, what denomination you are etc- those are trivial and though God does place a dgree of importance on them there is only one thing essential for salvation. It does not matter how good you are on this earth, God said that all of our goodness is as filthy rags. We are ALL sinners and fall short of the glory of God- without Yeshua (Jesus) Mother Theresa is no better than Charles Manson.
The essential element for salvation is wrapped up in one question Jesus asked His disciples: "Who do you say that I am?"
If you do not accept the gift that God gave in His son Yeshua- if He is not Lord over your life- savior and redeemer- then you are lost. The ONLY mediator between God and man, the only way to the father is through Yeshua! So it is not an arbitrary labeling (unfortunately there are some who label themselves christian and believe it has to do with living a certain kind of life when really it should mean "I am wholly devoted to and choose to follow in every aspect of my life, Yeshua, Jesus Christ for He alone has redeemed me from the bondage of sin and given me new life in Him"

Answer 2

You can as they say "go through the motions," but a true Christian believes as I do that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. Being a Christian means living according to God's will which includes going to church.

Answer 3

You cant live like Christ and be another religion. That is based on the simple fact that Christ worshiped the one true God. No other religion but Christianity worships the true God to the fullest. So the answer is no.

Answer 4

You can live a "moral" life without belief in Christ but what's the point?

You cannot be Christian without believing in Christ--it's about more than actions it's about attitude and specific beliefs such as you believe that Jesus really was God and lived a human life to die for our sins. There are tons of people who constantly "act Christian" but they do it for praise or reward etc. not because they love people and want to emulate Christ's teachings.

Answer 5

Absolutely not...but why doesn't he live a Christian life to you...the Christian life is not just going to church every Sunday. We should want to go...but it's not a mandatory part of our relationship with Christ. The Bible just stresses that fellowship with believers is good for growing...which is why church is encouraged. But it sounds like you are making the assumption that since he doesn't go to church all the time that he's not a Christian...

Answer 6

I agree with your statement. I personally have come to the realization that "following Christ" is not only something a christian can do. Figuratively, this means living as Jesus lived. Which means being an example of Jesus via how you live and treat your neighbor (ie. everyone is your neighbor). Though someone of another religious affiliation may not be technically a christian, I believe the verse in the christian new testament that says: "..God is love;and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him." (1John 4:16) means just what we are talking about. The verse tells me that when you love, you are showing that God is in you and that the proof that God dwells in you is revealed in the fact that you love. For if God is indeed love, then manifesting love in your life is manifesting God, figuratively. Even atheists who love, to me, are manifesting God, though they may be ignorant of this. Get it? I mean, when I hear someone say, "It's the christian thing to do!", they are likely saying that due to years of either being raised a christian or simply have heard those word said for years by others. As I see it though, showing love, compassion, etc. is not just a christian thing to do because not only christians are capable of doing this. If a muslim did these things, they may be acting christian in some sense (because love, compassion, etc. are taught to christians), so it's said to be "the christian thing". However, saying "It's the christian thing to do!" is too exclusive. Limiting. Rather, maybe it should be said, "It's the God-like thing to do!", or "It's what a follower of God should do!" As far as going to church, it's not something that HAS to be done. Many people go to church, but you wouldn't know it by the way they act outside of church. To be fair, many others do not go to church, but you would think that they did by the way they act outside of church. As I see it, it's more important how you live your life and how you treat others. More important than the details of one's religious theology, creeds, rituals, etc. Every religion may differ in regards to the three things I just listed, but every person in every religion shares the common ability to love others, which is the same as loving God, figuratively. And in christian text, the law above ALL OTHERS is to love God and love thy neighbor as thyself. This principle is said to be found in many religions besides christianity, including judaism, buddhism, islam, and wicca.

Answer 7

You can live a Christian life and not attend church although it is helpful to ones walk with Christ to do so.

Answer 8

definition of christian
n.
One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
One who lives according to the teachings of Jesus.

adj.
Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Relating to or derived from Jesus or Jesus's teachings.
Manifesting the qualities or spirit of Jesus; Christlike.


these are the definitions I found of christian....you decide

Answer 9

Your question rocks!

My God is a God of Love and Justice. He will take his elect with Him to heaven and send the reprobate to hell.

Kidd

Answer 10

Mohatma Ghandi was Hindu, & yet, he lived his life precisely to Christ's Teachings.