How Can we Presume Ourselves to be Christian?

Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Yet all of us on this board claim to be followers of the Truth through Scripture, the Bible both Old and New Testament. Yet there are so many different opinions as to Jesus' Truth on this message board. With so many different opinions about God's Truth, many just have to be wrong and have no truth in them.

On this board every major Christian topic has it's differing opinions. And the opinions are stubborn, it's as if many of us have declared ourselves our own 'little popes or Henry VIII, declaring ourselves and our own personal opinions as 'Jesus' Truth'. Many take snippets from Scripture, out of context, to prove their points. When you do this, you change the meaning of Scripture, mislead others, and you don't profess God's Word and Truth, you profess your word and truth.

No agreement at all on any major Christian issue whether it be Once Saved Always Saved, Merits of Water Baptism, the Rapture, Saved by Faith Alone, Obeying the 10 Commandments.....etc/etc/adnauseum..........

Back to my original question, the title of this thread, "How Can we Presume Ourselves to be Christion?" if we all have different truths?
With many presumed differing truths, many of us don't profess Jesus' Truths. And that's a problem.

Well have I got a verse for you? 1 Corinthians 11:19, "For there must needs be differences of opinions among you in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you."

This means there were factions in the Corinthian church. Paul was not advocating factions, but in the sinful world they do happen. Men get things out of balance sometimes. Such factions do serve the purpose of sifting the loyal from the disloyal, the good from the bad. The factions leave the genuine believers standing out ("approved") by their loyalty, strength, and constancy. These approved of God become manifest to other men.

And btw, your question is flawed. There is only one truth and that's the person of Jesus Christ. You either have Him or you don't have Him. 1 John 5:11-12. My salvation is not based on whether or not I'm going to be raptured or not raptured before of after the Great Tribulation. (Although I personally believe in only one second coming after the tribulation.) Also, "Once saved always saved" is not going to keep me out of heaven. Hopefully you get my point. Remember, our calling is other people.

IN GOD THE SON,
bluto

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To answer your question as stated here. We need to ask another question.

What truth do you need to believe to be a Christian. What are the essential truths that save an individual.

Not secondary, as in end times, modes of baptism etc.

Bluto, your post is exactly what I was speaking about. You pulled 1 Corinthians 19 out of context and changed it's meaning. If you include the verses before and after it, you'll see that Paul was chastising the Corinthians for having factions:
17"In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
18First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it
19there have to be factions among you in order that (also) those who are approved among you may become known.*

You go on further to state that Jesus is the Truth, for sure I believe that. But then you go on to say either you have Jesus or you don't. That's sort of the question at hand. How do you know whether or not you have Jesus? Faith in Jesus is necessary for salvation, but it is not a truncated faith in believing in Jesus as Lord God and Savior. Instead it is believing all that Jesus taught and commanded in the Gospels, which is revealed in the New Testament.

And you go on to say that there is only one Truth, Jesus. What about the truth of the Bible, both old and New Testament, the Holy Spirit's Truth?

So, the big question stil is, "Why can't we agree as to what God's truth is? God the Father's, Jesus', and the Holy Spirit's truth?

“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”
‭‭John‬ ‭18:37‬ ‭KJV‬‬

the truth is Christs word. To be a Christian literally Means you have become a disciple of Jesus Christ

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8:31-32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Again a “ Christian “ is what people started calling disciples of Jesus


“and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭11:26‬ ‭

it’s just what people call Jesus disciples. It all comes back to what Jesus said when he lived among us he’s the king and judge

“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:48-50‬ ‭

The truth is Jesus and everything he said and did christians re those who trust in him and do this this is what makes us a disciple

“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:27-30‬ ‭KJV‬‬

it’s about the discipleship of a believer importantly we are students of the lord he’s our teacher again another repeat of the same

“It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”
‭‭John‬ ‭6:45‬ ‭KJV‬‬

If we want to know the truth l we have to do is learn it from Jesus it’s all written down and explained . If you look at the Bible as a whole everything in it points to believing the gospel which is recorded it times by four sources of eyewitnesses

note that no other subject matter in the Bible has four detailed accounts of Christs life while he lived on earth

the truth is found in the gospel according to Matthew , gospel according to mark , the gospel cording to Luke and gospel according to John

biblically l the words in the Bible are “ true “ of course but “ the truth “ is the gospel and everything Jesus preached and did it’s the New Testament word d then you have epistles afterwards testifying to its truth and the prophets beforehand testifying to its truth

in all scriptire everything is meant to lead us to become a disciple of Jesus Christ as he presented himself in the gospel

it’s what the Old Testament promised would come and what the New Testament swears is true

as disciples we aren’t perfect it’s a frame of mind to dedicate ourselves to learning from and knowing him and following after the things he teaches us knowing he’s merciful and that he is calling us to repentance and righteousness so we press on each day learning and growing in him by the word of truth we are born again as children who need to learn

“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
‭‭James‬ ‭1:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

if we follow scripture it’s going to lead us each one to the four accounts of the gospel and becoming a disciple of Jesus because we do actually believe in him who is truth

OF course it's "Theology" you're considering, but becoming a Born Again Christian has nothing to do with "theology".

It's a personal transaction between you and God in FAITH that God gifts at the time. and then HIS Spirit bears witness with YOUR spirit, that you're a child of God.

I'm a pretty simple guy so I look for the simplest answers. All I focus on is that I know Jesus died for me, he took the punishment for my sin, and I am forgiven. Now I just try to live how he would want: loving God and loving others.

I know there's so much more that can be discussed and debated but, in my opinion, that's just secondary to what's really important. I'm forgiven, I love God, and I love others.

Being a Christian isn't so much about what truth we have, but how much we love truth. A person who loves truth will welcome growth and maturity. If a person doesn't love truth, I don't see how they can ever grow to maturity. If all a person wants to do is argue and spend their time proving how right they are, they probably don't love truth very much and are definitely in danger of wandering from the path—if they were ever on it to begin with.

So basically, I don't evaluate people by what their truth is or what they know, but how willing they are to understand His will.

"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:17

I believe everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior and strives to love God above all, love his neighbor as himself, and live by His Teaching is a Christian and on the Path of Salvation. But the current divisions in Christendom are quite unfortunate; that's why I'm a supporter of the Ecumenical Movement, which strives to bring the Lord's healing and reconciliation to these historical divisions, which so often are no longer needed. I'm not a doctrinal indifferentist, but I believe in the beautiful maxim, often attributed to St. Augustine: "in necessary things, unity, in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity".

The long term solution imho is for Pastors, Priests, Bishops and Theologians etc to gather together in an Ecumenical Council - one is planned in Nicaea, 2025 - and, in joint study of Scripture and the Church Fathers, work together for a proposed doctrinal/theological resolution of some outstanding issues. The recent Catholic-Lutheran Joint Statement on the Declaration of Justification (Grace, Faith and Works etc and the relation of each to the other) is one good fruit from the Ecumenical Movement imo: https://www.lutheranworld.org/sites/default/files/Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.pdf

God Bless.

I know huh.. so wonderful to be apart of this family of God huh. Look..look do you see them all? All believe Jesus came in the flesh died on the cross for the worlds sin and was buried and ross the 3rd day. All believe He alone is the only way to the Father. All are on that vine which is Christ. I guess its how you want to look at it.

Christian was first used to make fun of those that believe. A great prophet was talking ( gone home sooo long ago now) said "there are many here that have different doctrines yet none touch salvation". He loved that. So what good do you see first? I just shared mine.

that is your opinion but it is not the truth.

on the per of Christ, the majority all agree Jesus is the only way to Heaven. faith in the death burial and resurrection are paramount concerning Jesus who is Lord.

The Bible is the authoritative word of God for us today which is also The inerrant word of God.

Jesus is the only way the only truth and the only Life because HE said so. Yes, there is agreement in that overwhelmingly agreement.

yet the church is under great attack today to pervert the word of God and compromise HIS word for worldly acceptance.

The word of God hAS BEEN CONSISTANT and unchanged. Onlymans perversion has spiraled down into deeper depravity.

You can't sharpen iron with a spaghetti noodle.

If you ask me, then the number one problem is that most professing "Christians" have no genuine fear of the Lord which is the beginning of both wisdom and knowledge. If you skip the beginning, then...

"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." (Isaiah 29:13-14)

Now your not making any sense, at least not to me. You just said, "So, the big question stil is, "Why can't we agree as to what God's truth is? God the Father's, Jesus', and the Holy Spirit's truth?" Why are you making a distinction between the three persons of the Trinity as it relates to truth? All three persons are the one truth because there inseparable due to their nature.

Also, did you read 1 John 5:11-12? Apparently not, "And this is the record, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Vs12, "He who has the Son has life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." So yes, either you have the Son or you don't have the Son. These two verses are my assurance of salvation, why? Because I am taking God at His word, period.

IN HIM,
bluto

All that is necessary to become a Christian is to yield oneself to the Lordship of Jesus. No one needs to agree to anyone else's 500+ thesis on how to clip toenails.

I agree. It is necessary that we accept Christ, and that we allow ourselves to love with acceptance of others, even our enemies. “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

Define "spaghetti noodle."

This is sad, but that is what happens when God allows the wheat and tares to grown together, or when the good fish and the bad fish are all gathered into one net. Some of the Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven reveal this, and the Parable of the Sower in fact tells you that there are various kinds of soils (which represent the heart condition of various people). Some people mistakenly believe that the Parable of the Leaven is actually positive! But it in fact a revelation of how false doctrine and apostasy will grown within Christendom.

You cannot make Jesus your Lord until you make him your Savior.