It doesn't matter, IMO, what you call yourslf, either a Christ- follower or a Christian, so long as you are truly following the Lord. There are people who call themselves Christian or whatever denomination (Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Penecostal or what not) simply because that is what there parents are, and therefore that is what they believe they are. What one's parents are (religious wise) does not make us the same thing in the slightest. Once we have become Christian, we are to follow Christ and his teachings, and should be daily hungering to and reading his word, desiring to and actually fellowshipping with other Christians regularly and the like. We CAN'T go it alone.
Being a Christ-follower is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the TRI-UNE God...
SHOWING the TRI-UNE GOD that you are growing ...changing in spiritual MATURITY ??
G3877 parakoloutheo (pä-rä-ko-lü-the'-o) =~ follow, have understanding, attain, fully know
John 12:26...Jesus: following involves service If anyone serves Me, he must FOLLOW Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Luke 12:48 (NIV)...Jesus: giving much requires more From everyone who has been given much, much will be DEMANDED; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be ASKED.
1 Peter 2:21-22...follow Jesus' example ...For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an EXAMPLE for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;...
MATURITY.....
James 1:4 (NIV)...persevere Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be MATURE and complete, not lacking anything.
Hebrews 5:14 (NIV) But solid food ( truths of God’s word ) is for the MATURE, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Colossians 4:12 (NIV) ...He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, MATURE and fully assured.
Ephesians 4:13 ...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become MATURE, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
This is all very good research and presentation, but are we switching gears and moving down a new tract now? The original statement was "Being a Christ-follower is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the TRI-UNE God...", but then it would seem to have changed to "SHOWING the TRI-UNE GOD that you are growing ...changing in spiritual MATURITY". I see your attempt at bringing these two into a over-lapping position but I think it would help if you simply stated that either one or ther other is the basic premise of the thread -or- simply state that after further input by posters here you've decided to "add" that there are other elements to being a "Christ Follower" beyond a "relationship", like follwoing, picking up your cross, etc...
SHOWING the TRI-UNE GOD that you are growing ...changing in spiritual MATURITY ??
G3877 parakoloutheo (pä-rä-ko-lü-the'-o) =~ follow, have understanding, attain, fully know
John 12:26...Jesus: following involves service If anyone serves Me, he must FOLLOW Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Luke 12:48 (NIV)...Jesus: giving much requires more From everyone who has been given much, much will be DEMANDED; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be ASKED.
1 Peter 2:21-22...follow Jesus' example ...For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an EXAMPLE for you to follow in His steps, WHO COMMITTED NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH;...
MATURITY.....
James 1:4 (NIV)...persevere Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be MATURE and complete, not lacking anything.
Hebrews 5:14 (NIV) But solid food ( truths of God’s word ) is for the MATURE, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Colossians 4:12 (NIV) ...He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, MATURE and fully assured.
Ephesians 4:13 ...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become MATURE, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Agreed that being a Christ-follower is primarily a personal relationship with Christ. Yet many Christ-followers choose to join with one another by following Christ in community through their various churches and denominations. So IMHO being a member of a church or denomination is not at odds with being a Christ-follower.
Just my $.02. Your mileage may vary :-)
Yes, I agree. The general portrayal in the NT is of people following Jesus not just as individuals, but in community. I don't see this community as incidental, but at the heart of Christianity. One need go no further than the Lord's Prayer, which is entirely in the plural.
IMO...Being a Christ-follower is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the TRI-UNE God...
[snip]
Mark 8...Jesus' demands on His followers... 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must >>>deny himself, and (put God / family / neighbor FIRST) >>>take up his cross, (willing sacrifice of self until death) >>>and follow me. (keep Jesus' precepts / examples)
There's nothing wrong with having a personal relationship with a triune God.
But as you yourself point out, that's not what Christ asked of his followers in Mark 8.
"Truth did not come into the world naked, but it came in types and images. The world will not receive truth in any other way." Gospel of Philip, Logion 72
"Christ will regenerate all things; through Him all things will be purged, and return into eternal life. And when the Son shall deliver up the kingdom to the Father, all things will be God; that is, all things will still exist, but God will exist in them, and they will be full of Him." Fabius Manus Victorinus, c. 350 AD
Agreed that being a Christ-follower is primarily a personal relationship with Christ. Yet many Christ-followers choose to join with one another by following Christ in community through their various churches and denominations. So IMHO being a member of a church or denomination is not at odds with being a Christ-follower.
Just my $.02. Your mileage may vary :-)
Merope | Beliefnet Community Manager Problems? Send a message to Beliefnet_community
I've seen way too many preachers who can talk a good game but who don't have the follow-through.
And since having your actions back up your words is a pretty big part of being Christian, I'd like to know just what you're doing to keep in line with that particular aspect.
IMO...Being a Christ-follower is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the TRI-UNE God... NOT a bunch of devisive "churches" or labels such "Christian" or denominations or governments or whatever.
IMO..There are progressive steps to becoming a true CHRIST-FOLLOWER on a spiritual level:
BELIEVE...> TRUST.....>OBEY...>LOVE
John 6: 28-29...BELIEVE! Then they (believing disciples) asked him, "What must we do to do the WORKS God requires?" Jesus answered, "The WORK of God is this: to BELIEVE in the one He has sent." ...
There are over 200 places in the Bible that state or imply that Grace (unmerited favor) through spirit-led FAITH / BELIEF leads to salvation from above.
John 10: 9, 10, 14, 18, 27-3- ..BELIEF in Jesus: The GATE and the SHEPHERD...eternally saved...equality with God the Father
John 14: 5-7, 15-17 NIV)...BELIEVE Jesus: the ONLY Way to the Father and the TRI-UNE GOD
John 8:12,51,58 (NIV)...from the mouth of Jesus...proving Deity to the Pharisees...TRUST and OBEY
John 15:...Jesus' Command = LOVE
The COST of being a CHRIST-FOLLOWER...
Mark 8...Jesus' demands on His followers... 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must >>>deny himself, and (put God / family / neighbor FIRST) >>>take up his cross, (willing sacrifice of self until death) >>>and follow me. (keep Jesus' precepts / examples) 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for ME and for the GOSPEL will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."(Second Coming)
