Are You Walking In Truth?

So many of us call ourselves Christians but what does that really mean? 

It seems to mean different things to different people. Christian is very loosely defined in this country (the US) and can mean as little as “I identify with and associate with the cultural aspects of Christianity, irrespective of personal religious beliefs or practice,” or “I believe in all that is noble, good and Christ like,” to as great as “I believe in God and adhere to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Bible and live in such a manor that reflects those beliefs.”

That’s a pretty wide stretch in definitions and can cause confusion to non-Christians when deciding if they want to become Christians. How you live your definition of Christianity will determine if you are someone they emulate or turn away from. We need to remember that each of us, are ambassadors of Christ when we deal with non-Christians and may be the only version of Christ they will ever see.

I believe the latter of the definitions is the true definition of Christianity. If one of the others best describes your version of Christianity I encourage you to evaluate your definition and give more thought to the matter.

If after careful consideration, you do not want to follow Jesus of Nazareth’s example and really prefer the loose beliefs and prevalent practices of the secular society please refrain from calling yourselves Christians as not to misrepresent Christianity.

What sort of secular practice that I agree with would mean I was not really a true Bible believing Christian?

Abortion is not a God given right, it is one women took upon themselves. Abortion is one of the secular practices that would qualify someone as being defined as a Secular Christian. My definition of a Secular Christian is not a Christian at all; just someone wearing the tag, so to speak, because they don’t practice the beliefs they associate themselves with, even though they may attend a church. 

Christians do not advocate killing human beings no matter what stage or age they are in. The Ten Commandments clearly state Do Not Kill, there are no exceptions listed or amendments. Christians believe that because God created a person in his image, that life is sacred. All life, not just perfectly formed life. We were fearfully and wonderfully made, knit together in our mother’s womb and even before we were there he knew us. God is the one who breathed life into us; we, as the creature, have no right to take that life. It is a purely selfish act to have an abortion, or take a life for any reason. He has a specific purpose for every life he creates. Why would we be so arrogant to suppose we know better than God?

Marriage as defined by the biblical reference “between one man and one woman” is not up for debate if you are a Christian. Jesus’s teaching on this is clearly stated as intended by God for the best outcome for raising our children. People can try to argue that it was common to have multiple wives in biblical times and they did; it was common practice in that century. However, the prevalence of something does not constitute what is right, Jesus did not advocate the practice of having multiple wives. His purpose on earth was to save us from our sins. If we were without sin it would not have been necessary. Being true bible believing Christians, we cannot support any other view than the one created by God himself. To believe otherwise would throw you into the Secular Christian category because you believe differently than what the bible states is true and correct.

Another touchy subject we should understand is homosexuality; God is clear on this issue as well. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because there was not one righteous man found there and all men were acting in a depraved manor having sexual relations with other men as well as multiple sexual partners. God said it was an abomination, an unnatural act, not man. I know today we are being pressured to not only accept people behaving in this manner as “normal” and no different than straight sexual relations but it just is not true. We should never teach our children that this is healthy or correct.

What we should be teaching our children is to love everyone in spite of their sins, for we are all sinners. We should never hate or cause distress to homosexuals or others for their non-belief in our principles but rather love them as God’s flawed creatures and the sinners that they are. They need Jesus all the more for them to understand that their beliefs are false. When anyone has a desire for a person of the same sex it does not mean they have to act upon it. The human form is one of beauty and should be admired but not lusted after. Even as straight men and women should restrain from sexual relations until they are married, so must we all curb our sexual appetites. Sex is to be enjoyed only as prescribed in the Bible, as a way to cement the bonds of matrimony between a husband and a wife, joining them together as one flesh. Not as a casual encounter to satisfy our carnal lust.

Perhaps the most common problem a human faces is lack of self-control. It plagues everyone in all things including controlling our sexual urges, our eating habits, drinking habits and our emotional state. Everyone has a difficult time controlling their flesh nature. All of us unwittingly at times seem to be taken over by it. It’s a fight all of us have within ourselves daily, so it is best fought one day at a time.

These are just a few of the mistruths that we are currently being pressured to accept as normal and permissible in our society. As a Christian it is our responsibility to stop our children from being indoctrinated into accepting these false teachings and teach them the biblical truths.

We should all spend more time reading the word of God. If you do not know what the Bible says it makes it impossible to live our faith correctly or defend it. Educate yourself and your children; perhaps you can introduce a new chapter every evening at dinner. It can be discussed as you eat and explained until they understand it, leaving them with a clearly designated and precise way to live.

When my children were in their teen years my son once asked how he could tell what he should do to keep himself out of trouble. My answer was simple. I told him if whatever he was about to do could not be done in my presence than he would know he shouldn't be doing it. It’s a good rule of thumb. If you wouldn't do it in front of Jesus then you should not do it. Remember, God is always watching us.

I hope some of you found this helpful and I know being very volatile subjects not everyone will agree. As Christians we should have the ability to agree to disagree. We are all trying our best to live as God intended we should. Life is not easy and everyday can be a battle. If you come away with something of value that helps you to become a better Christian or brings you closer to God then I have accomplished what I intended here. I believe there are too many complacent Christians out there willing to settle for whatever is popular and fun. There are many false prophets peddling their wares as feel good church therapy condemning nothing and leading people astray. The road to heaven is narrow and difficult with many distractions along the way. Ground yourself in your Bible immerse yourself in God’s truth and he will direct your path.