Thread: The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
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The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
Posted : 29 Jun, 2010 09:03 PM
There is a term "the essentials of the faith".
It means the bare minimum that another person would have to sign off on before you would consider them a Brother or sister in Christ.
The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits and you can NOT pretend that Christianity is whatever you want it to be.
There are many false religions that make a claim to some kind of connection to Jesus. Islam says Jesus was a prophet, some sects of Hinduism say this also.
And if you are being honest with the Text of the Bible, you need to get your definition of what a Christian is, from the Bible itself.
I know some Christians who have a long list of things you must believe before they would consider you a Christian.
I try to keep my list as short as the Bible allows, in the interest of unity.
But even then you will be drawing a line, and plenty of groups who claim to be Christian will be on the other side of that line.
For instance, say my essentials of the faith are:
1. Repent
2. Trust in Jesus ALONE for salvation.
Well, that right there puts the following groups OUTSIDE your definition of Christianity:
a. Mormons, who believe in faith plus works.
b. Roman Catholics, for the same reason.
c. Oneness Pentecostals, for the same reason.
d. Jehovah's Witnesses, for the same reason!
I know we live in a time when we are not supposed to draw lines, but Scripture draws lines, and we need to draw them in the same place.
The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
Posted : 30 Jun, 2010 04:09 AM
James,
�The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits and you can NOT pretend that Christianity is whatever you want it to be.�
Agreed, and that goes for you too.
�And if you are being honest with the Text of the Bible, you need to get your definition of what a Christian is, from the Bible itself.�
Hmmm . . . that�s a suspiciously Protestant understanding of what a �Christian� is. You might want to add �sola scriptura� to your list of essentials. But then again, we both know that Sacred Scripture itself doesn�t teach sola scriptura. In fact, it teaches just the opposite: namely, that the CHURCH is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15).
�For instance, say my essentials of the faith are:
1. Repent.
2. Trust in Jesus ALONE for salvation.�
Unfortunately for you, these �essentials� are far from enough. Repentance presupposes something for which to repent: i.e., you need both a developed theological anthropology (�Why do human beings need to repent?�) as well as a soteriology (�What does repentance accomplish?�). So (1) is wholly inadequate. The same goes for (2). Who is Jesus (Christology)? Why does trusting in him accomplish salvation (soteriology)? What is salvation, and what does it entail (eschatology)?
All of these areas are interrelated, and you can�t just distill Christianity into two arbitrary �essentials� without burying your head in the sand with respect to a whole host of other issues.
�I know we live in a time when we are not supposed to draw lines, but Scripture draws lines, and we need to draw them in the same place.�
I�m going to follow your lead, James. I�ll define �Christian� as �anyone who practices Roman Catholicism.� Well, that right there puts Reformed Christians outside my definition of Christianity. I realize we live in a time when we are not supposed to draw lines, but the Church has drawn lines, and we need to draw them in the same place.
The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
Posted : 30 Jun, 2010 08:31 AM
The biblical meaning of Christian is ANYONE who follows the gospel teachings and the doctrine of Christ, and they are considered brothers/sisters/ disciples,/servants/ saints/ believers, and in the body of Christ, which is the church of the living God. Anyone who believes and calls uopon the name of the Lord, and have repented of their sins, and believes that Jesus Christ shed His blood on the cross for the remission of their sins, and that Jesus is the Son of the living God is considered a CHRISTIAN. As is pointed out in the book of Acts chapter 11, and throghout the New Testament, the disciples were first called Christians in Anticoh and they received this name title hich represented their spiritual connection as diciples and followers of Christ..
Therefore, the name Christianity means ALL, everyone , the whososevers, who comes to Jesus Christ by faith, and received a new life and salvation in Christ, and practice the teachings and doctrine of Jesus Christ, this sums of what Christianity is all about. And Paul makes this very clear as to what Christianity is all about in I Corinthians chapter 15: Moreover, brothers/sisters, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold fast that WORD which I preached to you unless you beleived in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also recieved that Christ died for our sins according to the SCRIPTURES, and the He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the SCRIPTURES.... therefore, anyone who believes in this teaching/doctrine and follows the requirements of becoming a Christians as is pointed out in Roamsn Chapter 10, is a Christian/brother/sisiter/believers/saint/servant/disciple of Jesus Christ. This IS the doctrine of Christianity, and is the gospel of Jesus Christ, His death, His burial, and His resurrection.
The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
Posted : 30 Jun, 2010 08:42 AM
I would like to know the difference between Reformed and Transformed, and Comformed. We are commanded as believers in Jesus Christ to be TRANFROMED by the renewing of our minds, so that we may approve what is good and acceptable and is the perfect will of God.
We are not to be Comformed to the world, so we know this is out. But we are NOT told to be Reformed by the rewriting of Scriptures fitting our own wisdom and interpretations and beliefs.
So as which is the perfect WILL of God for Christian believers, to be Transformed by the renewing of our mind in order that we might come into agreement with the same mind as Christ? Or to be Reformed by the rewriting of God's word, and a doctrine that believes what we THINK the word of God has to say or might be saying about God's perfect WILL?
The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits!
Posted : 30 Jun, 2010 02:21 PM
John Said:
�The Word "Christianity" has a definition and limits and you can NOT pretend that Christianity is whatever you want it to be.�
Agreed, and that goes for you too.
�And if you are being honest with the Text of the Bible, you need to get your definition of what a Christian is, from the Bible itself.�
John said:
Hmmm . . . that�s a suspiciously Protestant understanding of what a �Christian� is.
James replies:
"suspiciously Protestant"? I will put my cards on the table for you. I am Reformed, a term that came from The Reformation.
Proudly Protestant, and Thankful I have no Papist thugs coming for me because I read the Bible for myself, and have seen all the ways that Rome contradicts the Word of God.
John continues:
You might want to add �sola scriptura� to your list of essentials. But then again, we both know that Sacred Scripture itself doesn�t teach sola scriptura. In fact, it teaches just the opposite: namely, that the CHURCH is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim 3:15).
James Replies:
The Bible PLAINLY teaches that each individual Christian is to study the Word of God for themselves, and to give great weight to the consensus of the Body of Christ.
A very good sentence to remember is:
"Church history should not rule our of Scripture, but it should guide our interpretation of Scripture."
�For instance, say my essentials of the faith are:
1. Repent.
2. Trust in Jesus ALONE for salvation.�
John continues:
Unfortunately for you, these �essentials� are far from enough.
James replies:
I agree, I was just trying to focus on the CENTER of the faith.
John continues:
Repentance presupposes something for which to repent: i.e., you need both a developed theological anthropology (�Why do human beings need to repent?�) as well as a soteriology (�What does repentance accomplish?�). So (1) is wholly inadequate. The same goes for (2). Who is Jesus (Christology)? Why does trusting in him accomplish salvation (soteriology)? What is salvation, and what does it entail (eschatology)?
James replies:
I agree.
John continues:
All of these areas are interrelated, and you can�t just distill Christianity into two arbitrary �essentials� without burying your head in the sand with respect to a whole host of other issues.
James replies:
They are NOT "arbitrary", Justification by faith alone is the central doctrine of the Christian faith.
�I know we live in a time when we are not supposed to draw lines, but Scripture draws lines, and we need to draw them in the same place.�
John continues:
I�m going to follow your lead, James. I�ll define �Christian� as �anyone who practices Roman Catholicism.� Well, that right there puts Reformed Christians outside my definition of Christianity. I realize we live in a time when we are not supposed to draw lines, but the Church has drawn lines, and we need to draw them in the same place.
James replies:
I agree again. For those of us who know the Council of Trent, we know very well that anyone who trusts in Jesus alone for salvation is declared anathema to the Roman Catholic church.
You are just being a good Catholic by agreeing with what Trent already says.
For those who don't know what Roman Catholicism teaches, they might think I am being harsh for my comments about Rome, but the truth is, if you are a Christian, Rome has already declared you are heretic, and although they have stopped murdering Christians, they still say you are damned, and the council of Trent is the latest proof of that.
The accurate way to say what Roman Catholicism is, is to call it
an apostate body. Because in the beginning, it was a Christian organization. But by 500AD they left the faith, and the abuses were SO bad for HUNDREDS of years, that the Reformation happened, and Rome's response was to dig her heels in, and the council of Trent sealed the fate of Rome as an apostate body forever.
