You tried Christianity and it didn't work?!?!?!?

Question

For those who say they are EX-Christians or former Christians, I wonder if by the definition found in the Bible you were ever a Christian?

I say this because repeating a prayer, getting baptized, giving your tithes and going to Church regularly does not necessarily make you a Christian, let alone being saved. In fact some of you have never been back to Church since you got "saved" and you think you were a Christian and have experienced Christianity

My question is what makes you think you were a Christian to begin with?

My question can only deal with one aspect at a time but since so many have asked, this is the definition of being a Christian

Being convicted in your heart by the Holy Spirit that you are a sinner. Not told you are a sinner by someone and not knowing what that means

Upon conviction you detest sin, hating it and wanting out from this state of sin that leads to death and ultimately hell. This is something that YOU must desire

You at the same time have a strong love and attraction to God, not because you fear hell but because you desire more of His presence in your life and want to have fellowship with Him.

You realize this is only possible through your acceptance of Jesus Christ into your life, who will cleanse you of your CONFESSED sins, and not confessed in general but individually and all of them, and you believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and you follow Him

At this stage you have entered through the narrow gate baptism or public declaration follows

If you were to come late to an appointment and told the interviewee that you got hit by a 60tonn truck travelling at 120mph as you were crossing the highway and that's why you are late the interviewee would either think you are mad or a liar

Now if someone hit by a truck is changed for life, how much big is God than a 60 tonn truck?

And you want to tell me you were a Christian and met God and were not changed? Impossible

The only other explanation is you never met God, were never convicted and you were therefore never a Christian

I am sure you get the drift

Answer 1

Maybe they think there were because they had the same love in their heart that you have in your message....I don't recall badgering ever being part of being a "real" christian....

Answer 2

The same things that make you a christian now made me a christian then. Asking Jesus into my heart and accepting him as my lord and saviour. This is not conditional, the bible clearly (for once) states this to be the only way to be saved and does not state any exceptions.

So I am understandably saddened (but not surprised) to see so many people answering with the flim-flam disclaimer to the effect that I wasn't really a christian in the first place.

It is not possible to confess all sins on an individual basis as there are many I simply will never remember. This is going to be true of almost everybody and so by that definition, nearly nobody qualifies as a christian. It also would mean that a person cannot be saved until all sins are confessed. It is not mentioned this way in the bible. That point is wrong.

Note: I will not add to my answer further since the questioner has stopped this from being a question. He has now categorically denied that I was never a christian in the first place. Since he has closed his mind there is nothing further fo me to say.

Answer 3

Wow! You Are Right On!! ( II Cor: 5: I7 ) " If Any Man Be In Christ, THEY ARE A NEW CREATURE: old things passed away; behold, All things are become New. This is how you know You are Saved.! All those " works" You Mentioned --........Prayer, baptism, tithes, and going to church regularly,..........God says are like "Filthy" Rags before His eyes!!! When We are Saved, we enjoy fellowshipping with others at church, and The Joy Of Lord Is Our Strength!! AND WE BEAR FRUIT! How Could Any One ever become an Ex- Christian? ( IF IT DIDN'T WORK, YOU MUST NOT HAVE HAD IT) >> The Born-again experience Is Real! JESUS CHANGES YOUR "Want-to" ! (smile) " I Surely Liked YOUR Question!"

Answer 4

I wasn't really, by your definition, Christian. I was just forced to go to church for the first few years of my life.

Most Christians go to church, drop a few bucks in the donation jar and call it a week. I don't think less of them for it, they're doing what they were trained to do, and they get some comfort and a sense of community while they're there.

I was a Christian in the same sense that most people today are Christian, that's why I say that I converted. But in truth, going to Church and reading the Bible never really engaged me or inspired me. Apparently, that's a sin in your eyes and the eyes of a lot of people here.

I feel closer to divinity and to the sense of oneness when I'm not around people. It was pretty natural from there for me to be drawn to Paganism. Enjoying the natural world is far more religious to me than reading an old book or being told how sinful I am. Thanks much, I have self-respect and I'm happy. I do no harm to others and my life is serene. But you're right, by your definition I was never a Christian. And I see no reason to change that now.

Thanks for the two points, and now you can give me the thumbs down.

Answer 5

You are correct. None of those things makes anyone a Christian. What matters is if you have a real, personal relationship with God by dying to yourself each day and picking up his cross. If your life isn't changed, then you haven't really accepted him. There are many people sitting in church services every week that are just there putting on a show. They have not truly given their heart to God. When you give your life to the the Lord, your heart and your outward actions will show that you have changed.

Answer 6

No one defines the word Christian but God, bottom line. And salahud, the guidelines are as follows:

1.) A new heart, regeneration.

end of list

guidelines imposed by a belief of something other than Christianity that I like to call moralistic therapeutic deism are as follows:

1.) works (holding doors for little old ladies, giving to the poor)
2.) church attendance
3.) supposed morality

None of these are qualifying Christian attributes. Many non-Christians do these same things for selfish reasons, ie. to please God, to look good in front of others, to feel good about themselves. I should mention that doing these works without a regenerate heart are in fact sin. God judges the heart and motives, not the deeds. If we were judged by our deeds, we'd ALL go to Hell.

God bless and keep you

Answer 7

Well, the demons believe and tremble, so belief isn't the only criteria obviously.

To me it's like the parable of the sower. A lot of kids are raised in Christian homes and believe, but then they grow up and hard times come along. Unfortunately the Church doesn't always prepare people for this eventuality very well. And this parable does not support the doctrine of Eternal Security imho. Neither does the parable of the ten virgins. But I shouldn't promote internecine conflict. God reaches people in His time, in His way.

Answer 8

The Bible says that once you are saved, you are never the same again; you are a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). If you have gone back to your old ways, then most probably you were never saved. If, however, you were saved, then God won't let you stay in rebellion for long. He will deal with you in whatever way is necessary to bring you back into fellowship with Him.
Did you become a Christian by going to church or by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins? The latter makes you a Christian, the former doesn't.

Answer 9

I was sent to my maternal grandfather's church where he was pastor from the time I was born. I never did join it, because I began to have doubts at age 7 or 8. I know I was never a Christian...and I know I never will be one, because there are many contradictions in the Bible, and its has pathetic ignorance of science. If the Bible is the word of a god, he is an ignorant imbecile. Actually the ones who claimed to speak for a god they invented are the ignorant imbeciles. The first parts were written by an ignorant shepherd, and the last parts were written by other ignorant men. Greek thinkers knew much more than the authors of the Bible from Alpha to Omega, i.e. Genesis to Revelation.

Answer 10

I deeply and fully believed in God, believed that Jesus was both the Son of God and God Himself, and that Jesus died to save me from the natural consequences of my sins.

I was both baptized and confirmed in my church, a mainstream Missouri Synod Lutheran church, and I served the church in numerous ways. I prayed to God a couple of times every day, not including the three "rote" prayers I said before meals. I have never considered my donations or church attendance a part of what made me a Christian: it was my beliefs and my willingness to accept that I was a sinner whose only hope for redemption was the grace of God through Jesus.

Need I go on?
If that's not enough to establish that I was a Christian, then there are hardly any Christians.
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I now realize that was all just nonsense. There isn't any god.

Answer 11

I wished I could star this question more than once. Great question. Would love to see the answers. I will answers this fully later. Even the demons believed and trembled. So it isn't just belief. Its is that plus more.
I was saved so i thought before March 4, 1999. I went to church, tithed, and read my bible and prayed. My husband came in door on March 4, 1999 telling me he got saved. Then went on to tell me his story. I for some reason could not rejoice. The only thing I could think of was well I am saved too, but then doubt came in. He left for 2 hours and still could not get out of my mind the doubt I had. So when he came home we went to my pators house cause I had questions. My husband prayed his first prayer on the way over that the Holy Spirit will show me. As soon as I got there I knew in my heart I was lost and dieing and on my way to hell, because I never asked Jesus to save me. I let the man who led me to the Lord few years before this pray for me. I dropped to my knees and asked Jesus to save me, and I know according to God's word I am saved. Jesus told me I was saved in Romans 10. It took the conviction of the Holy Spirit to show me I was lost. How long would I have followed satan's lies in making me think I was saved, when I wasn't. So going to church and tithing and reading your bible and even praying isnt what makes one saved. Those things come after salvation.