When i asked christians about someone who had asked Jesus to come into their lives...........?

Question

and then that person committed murder. many of the answers i got stated that this person obviously wasn't sincere and didn't recieve the holy spirit.

does this mean that christians who remain hatefull, self-centered, jealous, materialistic, greedy, and dishonest have not truly recieved the holy spirit either???

has anyone ever known any christians like trhis, are they few and far between or are they the norm?

don't assume too much bark, i don't hate anyone, just asking a question to provoke thought, too bad all you could muster is a " reaction "

cheap shots at christians?

dude........... i am a christian, just trying to get people to wake up a bit

Answer 1

All sin is the same in the eyes of God. Some carry more grave consequences. Jesus said you will know the tree by its fruit, and yes, your word "remain" is a good justification that said people are not Christian. However, the line between what is considered "hateful" has been moved. They call me hateful because I appose homosexuality. This stance is then between me and God to judge accordingly. How I act toward homosexuals themselves is different, however. But this is usually not taken into account.
Yes, when someone asks Jesus to come into their lives, it is to be both Savior (all past, present and future sins forgiven) and... (a big AND)... ***LORD***. How the individual deals with the list given above will be their fruit.

Galatians 5:19-25
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Answer 2

I do believe it is possible that person did receive the Holy Spirit, but you've got to remember that that person is still a human and thus imperfect. Just think about your experiences. Even after Jesus has come into your lives, surely there was a point where you did something wrong. People are not perfect. We still have free will. Once you've received the Holy Spirit, it's not a end all cure all. You've got to keep working on being a good Christian. It's not over until you are dead. The Holy Spirit will be your guide, but you can still decide not to follow it when you have to make a decision.

I think the person was sincere at the time, but pushed the Holy Spirit out when they decided to commit murder.

Answer 3

Anyone who has received Christ will be changed by the experience. Some people start so far down that being "hateful and self-centered" may actually be two or three steps up from where they were.

Others have suffered enough reject, abandonment, etc in their lives that it may take them years to get over those things. They may be totally sincere and willing, but fighting a low self-esteem that keeps them from making as much progess as others.

And there are those who (as Jesus said in one of his parables) see the "riches of the world, and the lust of other things, and it chokes the word". And they do not grow.

CS Lewis once asked God a similar question. He had a banker friend who was generous, kind and friendly, but a total atheist. And a grocer friend who was moody, grumpy, and stingy, yet went to church every day. Lewis asked God how that could be.

God replied that the banker was born with a good disposition, so he got along well with people. But he had never done anything to improve himself or his moral character. The grocer was born with a sour stomach, was sickly most of life, abused by father, and lived in chronic pain. For him, every day that he awake and got up to do his duty to support his family was a moral victory. And that the grocer had overcome tremendous odds to improve to the point that he was at. The grocer would be the one rewarded in the end for his moral growth.

So just because a person has not yet grown to their full potential does not mean they are not a Christian, or have not truely received the Holy Spirit. It just means that God is still working on them.

(May I never reach the point where I don't think I need more "fixing" by God.)

Answer 4

The Bible says, "All sin and fall short of the Glory of God" All Christians, all People are at some time hateful, self-centered, jealous, materialistic, greedy and dishonest. Only one perfect Human ever lived. Look at the 12 disciples, Juda was greedy, John and Peter self-centered, (John wanted to be sure he sat at God's right hand in heaven, Peter denied knowing Christ at all)
IF the person has realized his wrong doing and prayfully asks for forgivenss he or she indeed has the Holy Spirit in them, because the Holy Spirit guides us in how we pray.
The problem is when we are out in the world and satan is working so hard to make Chistians look bad and so often he succeeds. Satan doesn't need to work on non-believers, he has them already. But he ensnares the believers so draw the uncertain to him.
No one wants to be hateful and all the other things, but it's is so much easier than being kind, generous and giving. It is something that that every Christian has to stuggle with daily and go to the Father in prayer.

Answer 5

Deliverance does not come overnight---it is a long and torturous process. Murder is not the norm, but criminal behavior is not unusual. The battle that we fight are fought mostly in the spiritual realm, which affects the mind. Change is slow. Christians have been given a bum rap because most non-Christians expect them to be perfect, and when they prove that they are just as human as anybody else, people attack them with both fists. That is what the Pharisees did to Jesus, and Jesus said that it would happen to us also.

Unfortunately, most people who call themselves Christians haven't the foggiest idea of what being a true Christian is all about. This is the fault of the church because it does not teach its people correctly, often emphasizing false doctrine instead of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The atheistic media that is full of lies does a great deal of damage. If people would throw out their TV sets and turn off their cable, they would find themselves much happier than they are. I know, because I did just that three years ago and it is amazing how quiet my home is---I can actually hear myself think and I have discovered that I do have thoughts of my own. I don't need some square box telling me what to believe or how to live. I have all that in the Bible.

Answer 6

Sin is sin in the eyes of God. Whether murder, stealing, lying etc. it is all sin and the wages of sin is death. A person who wants to have Jesus take their sin away will approach Him with a sincere heart and a very broken spirit for the sins that he has committed in his life. Just because someone says "I accepted the Lord into my life". means nothing if it is just spoken from the lips and not from a repentant heart. Talk is cheap so they say. Only God can judge the heart of a person whether that person was sincere or "stringing the beans", so to speak. It is not my place or yours to judge, each person must work out their relationship to God. If a mean and hateful Christian goes to Christ for forgiveness and in their heart wants to change, then that person is forgiven. No one is perfect, people look at Christians expecting perfection. So to disappoint you but no one is perfect except Christ. And He can see you heart. A person receives the Holy Spirit when they accept Christ, that does not mean that person will never sin again. It does mean he will not feel too good after sinning, because the Holy Spirit will convict of sin and it causes a heaviness in the soul until you go to Christ for forgiveness.

Answer 7

Well first off, we are human too. We will never be perfect. We weren't made that way. We are all sinners. It doesn't mean that we haven't received the Holy Spirit. Personally I can say that I haven't noticed the "hateful, self-centered, greedy, and dishonest" Christians, but I do know a few that can be jealous and/or materialistic at times. But again, that doesn't make them any less of a Christian, it just proves the point that we were made as sinners and are only clean through Christ. At that same time, we shouldn't judge other people for their sins either. After all, it also states that no one sin is greater than the other. So once we've committed one sin, we've committed them all. But again, we are forgiven through our Lord and Savior. Now that doesn't mean we can keep committing that same sin over and over and just keep expecting God to forgive us. But I also don't believe that He won't forgive me if I happen to slip up and have a bad thought or drink one too many beers after I've already asked for forgiveness of that very same sin. He knows our hearts. So for me I know that he knows I want to please him and only him, but he knows I'm not perfect. After all he's the one that made me.

Answer 8

If a person goes to the alter, accepts Jesus, then goes out the next day and lies to their boss or coworker- does this mean they were insincere and not truly saved?

What about the one that accepts Christ and then goes to the grocery store and ogles a woman?

These habits took more than a day to form and it will take a lot of repentence and practice and prayer to begin to live a sanctified life.
Accepting Christ is not an excuse to sin to receive forgiveness, but it does not automatically make us perfect either- we still walk in this world, struggle with emotions and temptations.
Who says the man that committed murder is worse than a man that steals or commits adultery or lusts after a woman. The physical ramifications of course are worse and more damage is caused but it is all sin in God's eyes.
The man that commits a murder may truly have a heart for truth and truly desire to follow Jesus and understand that he is the savior- but he has made a very poor choice- he will have to deal with the consequences of that choice- trial, jail and possibly the death sentence- he should not be given any more leniency in this area, but whether or not he is truly repentent and whether or not he is saved is between him and God.





I wanted to add that no matter what the sin- a person that receives Jesus, should display an observable improvement in behavior and good choices, those that do not display the fruit of the spirit after years of claimed salvation, then yes, I would question their salvation- I would however, not judge whether or not they were saved, but I might bring the ungodly behaviors to their attention. We should not be so quick to judge a persons salvation according to their behavior before we examine our own- the way we deal with our own anger and negative emotions- maybe we have not actually killed someone, but have we cut them off from fellowship out of anger, have we wounded them with words . . . ?

Answer 9

In my opinion, if Christians sin, it doesn't necessarily mean that they haven't truly received the holy spirit. Keep in mind nobody is perfect and people sin no matter what. People shouldn't be labeled by religion. If one Christian sins, it doesn't mean that the whole Christianity is bad. It depends on the person and the level of faith they have in God. I think sinning is human nature. But to actually think twice about what is wrong is the holy spirit in us (hypothetically speaking). The holy spirit guides us but if we're not in touch with it, we can't make the right decisions.

Answer 10

was this a real story or hypothetical,the person could have been sincere when he asked but obviously fell away or at least made a seriously bad choice in his life,when someone becomes a christian they dont automatically stop sinning we are human and will sin until we die,but we dont just say today i feel like sinning so therefor i will do what i want,being a christian is a process of surrendering your life over to the control of the holy spirit and as we do that we sin less and less, but we are not perfect as so many on this site would like to claim on us and therefore call us hypocrites