You either serve God or the devil, one or the other. There is no inbetween, no gray area?
What about an atheist Police Officer? Or an Hindu aid worker helping all faithes in an African war torn country? For example. Are they serving the devil because they would personally believe that they are not serving god?
I ask as it was part of an answer to one of my previous questions. MY personal beliefs should have no importance to this question. And I am not trying to offend Christians but I understand that I may have done. If so sorry.
2007-07-17 08:01:06 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No not all Christians think that way. Only fundamentalist. Look up the definition for Pharisee.
2007-07-17 08:04:02 · answer #1 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The quote of Matthew 5 is accurate, the Bible does say this. The essential elements of the historic Christian faith come from the Bible, which quotes and tells of the life/death/resurrecton of Jesus Christ. A person who does not accept the Bible as authoritative is not a Christian, as he would be claiming to trust in a different Jesus Christ than the Jesus of history. Folks like this, and there are many in today's truth-is-subjective world, think they are Christians according to their own definition of what a Christian is that has nothing to do with the person and work of Jesus.
That is why Matthew says that you cannot serve both God and that which is against God, and the atheist Police Officer may do great things as a cop like all the TV shows, but if he refuses to acknowledge God then when he goes before God, God will grant the cop's demand to have nothing to do with Him, forever (Matthew 7).
2007-07-17 08:31:46 · answer #2 · answered by chessplayer 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I won't get into what may or may not be a common view of Christians. What matters is , what is God's view on this ? In Matthew 6:24, it says:
" No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. " The word mammon means : Riches regarded as an object of worship and greedy pursuit. ( Webster's Dictionary) These things included in mammon are things the devil specializes in. Your salvation & who your soul belongs to do not depend on how much good works you do, no matter how needed those works are. Doing good things is a result of your salvation & love of God. I know lots of people who do wonderful volunteer work for needy people, but they hate God. But God has set out the rules, and He has to abide by them.
2007-07-17 08:35:21 · answer #3 · answered by The Count 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Im not offended, it is a good question. We are capable of doing good things, even if we do not believe in God.. because we are created TO do good things and we are equally capable of doing bad things even if we believe in God because everyone chooses at one time or another to go against God. If your favorite drinking glass fell and broke, it wouldnt be usable anymore. No matter how many really good drinks it held, or how pretty it was, it's broken and worthless... however, you CAN fix it just like God can fix us through Jesus. But if the glass wont accept the Super Glue, its just like if we dont accept Jesus... We wont ever be fixed and will be cast out :(
2007-07-17 08:19:47 · answer #4 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The hard good-evil, heaven-hell thing is one of the many reasons I could never bring myself to be a Christian. I think that being a good person has nothing to do with one's religion. The worshiping the God or Satan aspect is mean and it sets up the "us versus them" situation that gets people excited and sometimes leads to violence. Sometimes it's a way to get converts and up revenue, and some people genuinely believe that. I think that any religious belief that applies to people outside of that religion are unfair and false.
2007-07-17 08:10:56 · answer #5 · answered by Mrs. Pears 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Regardless, its the correct view. Most of the world serves Satan ignorantly, and some knowingly. There is no neutral ground here. However, God does not judge a person for their ignorance. He judges them for rejecting Him. He "will" make Himself known to all mankind. In other words-everyone (all people) get a chance to get it straight. Some take that chance, others do not.
2007-07-17 08:17:35 · answer #6 · answered by Skip-Jack 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would say the majority of Christians do NOT agree with that statement. That is a very conservative view. And, yes, it does mean that anyone not following the Christian God, no matter how good and pure they appear to be, is actually an instrument of Satan.
2007-07-17 08:06:38 · answer #7 · answered by Nightwind 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
this is true, by chosing not to serve God, you choose what master you will serve. The bible clearly states you can only serve one master. This has nothing to do with works. Whomever someone serves does not hold them back from doing good deeds. There are plenty of people that do awesome things for others, this does not put them in a gray area though. In society, it does not mean they are in the same category as murders, but in God's eyes, if you are not for Him, you are against Him. It is not by our deeds that we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven
"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." Matthew 6:24
2007-07-17 08:07:46 · answer #8 · answered by LosingAllSanity VLOGS 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
The symboic meaning of this biblical phrase is this: There is only one way to Eternal life and it is not through sinful ways. We must learn to endure our imperfections of our physical being. And nurture our inner/spiritual being.
Ther is only one way and it it is Love, for He so loved the world that He sent His only Son, so that all who believe in Him may be saved and have eternal life.
this is not religious. Jesus was against all that the temples and churches stand for i.e money and corruption. He came to show us The Way, because we keep loosing our way in wrongs.
That is why you cannot serve both. If you serve God you are willing. If you choose to loose your soul you have gone the wrong way.
The choice is ours.
Peace
2007-07-17 08:10:03 · answer #9 · answered by Natural and Spiritual 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It's in the new testament. So, if you believe in the new testament, then it would be true. If you serve the devil, you can't serve God at the same time. It also says, you can't serve two masters at the same time. Christians are followers of Jesus and what Jesus said is in the New Testament.
2007-07-17 08:08:14 · answer #10 · answered by lotus1s 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I am a Christian, but I don't believe that atheist police officers or Hindu aid workers are agents of Satan. Some Christians may believe such things, but I'm not one of them.
2007-07-17 08:07:48 · answer #11 · answered by solarius 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋