10 statements that will help you FAIL as a Christian
Here is a little list to think about. These ten statements are examples of where Christianity fails because of us. I am interested in how you see these statements.
- All I have to do is learn how to fit God into my life.
- Managing my sin is the key to living righteously.
- If I do enough good, it out weighs the bad.
- I need to learn more about God before I can obey God.
- Asking Jesus into my heart means I am a Christian.
- What I actually do does not matter to God if I said a sinners prayer.
- Baptism saves me.
- The Bible can be interpreted in my own way.
- Spiritual disciplines are about earning God’s favor.
- All I have to do is what Jesus did in the moment, no planning necessary.
Do you agree with these as FAIL statements or do they challenge you? What others would you add or delete?
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My head hurts to read those statements.
To me atheism is not the anti-thesis of Christianity at all. Atheism is simply the idolatry of one’s own mind.
Those statements are the complete opposite of the gospel of God. Those statements should be, “The Anti-Gospel of God”.
They are the opposite yet average Christians might use one or more of them as their daily creed. This is sad.
“love the sinner and hate the sin”
“…the Bible says…”
That is a quote from Ghandi. It’s not a Bible verse.
Brilliant.
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#5
Yes, there is a problem with the way we present salvation.
Romans 10;9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Interesting that it’s rare to hear anyone actually say these things out loud as their theology, but it’s not rare to see people living as though this is what they believe.
I have actually heard these uttered…gasp!
Rich,
I quiver to ask for fear that I’ll look the fool,
but, what’s wrong with number five? It is a true statement.
Is it the phrasing? “into my heart” ….
….sounds very kindergartenerish,
but is common terminology
for the “action” of asking Christ into your life.
Fool? NO! The mentioned wording is simply not clear on its own.
The terminology is one issue, yes. The idea that simply saying “I asked Jesus into my heart” means being a Christian is what is on question. Its faith in Christ, not a sinners prayer or certain words.
John 1:12-13 says being born of God (born again) is the result of receiving Jesus and believing in him. The context is that his own people (the Jewish people of the day) did not receive him, but those who do have eternal life.
So, this is not heresy at all to say, just not clear as to what the gospel is. The gospel, as we Evangelical-leaning Christians would say is the trust in Jesus for our justification based on the work of Christ (atonement) on the cross. It is not really a biblical term to say “ask Jesus into my heart” by itself without the understanding of Jesus paying our debt and trusting in him alone by faith.
I’ve been guilty of many of those attitudes and beliefs at different times of my life. Interesting that those are the same times when I’ve felt most confident in my spirituality, but have been as far away from God has a person could be.
been there, too
I fear that I have fallen into using these phrases or ‘creeds’ before. although #5 is one I might struggle with. I am not one to simplify theology and faith, but I think the idea that those that say this is true. There is more to it, and the ‘FAIL’ is to just leave it at that. I have noticed a lot of evangelists say something like this leave it at that, and then we have a lot of un-educated and spiritually stunted saved folks running around . . . sorry for the rant . . . (50 dkp minus?)
see my response to Karen… I agree that it is that there is MORE to the statement which is the issue
Thank you for being a authentic human being.