Spiritual Israelite
Well-Known Member
If someone is not in the faith then he or she is not a Christian. Period. This passage does not indicate that someone who is not in the faith is a Christian.Paul and John regularly questioned whether "Christians" were really Christians. So no, the term for "Christians" in the Bible, eg believers in Christ, applied to those who started in Christianity and then became disqualified. In the same way, the "Church" would apply to all those who have started out in Christ, including those who do not faithfully follow through and actually turn against the faith.
In the OT we see the blueprint for this definition of "God's People" when we see in the Scriptures God regularly disqualify them, in part or in whole.
2 Cor 13.3-5 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.
This verse does not say that an unbeliever can be considered a Christian. If Paul was disqualified for the prize then that would mean he was not a Christian at that point.1 Cor 9.27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
This verse says nothing about an unbeliever being a Christian.Eph 3.17 And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love
Paul was addressing people here who troubled him because of their zealousness for their old covenant law. Where did he call these people Christians? Obviously, not everyone attending the churches there were Christians.Gal 4.19 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you
If someone does not remain in Him, are they still a Christian? Certainly not! Don't you understand that a Christian is someone who is saved and belongs to Christ? What is your definition of a Christian?John 15.4 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you.
How does this verse indicate that an unbeliever can be considered a Christian?1 John 3.24 And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
You are trying to say that this is talking about Christians? No way! Christians would never be described as having depraved minds. Look at the context of this verse.2 Tim 3.8 They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
2 Tim 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
The type of people Paul was talking about in verse 8 are like Jannes and Jambres who "oppose the truth" and about the type of people described in the previous verses. Do you think Jannes and Jambres and the type of people described in the previous verses are describing Christians? Clearly not.
Does claiming to be a Christian make someone a Christian? Clearly not. None of these verses even come close to supporting your claim that unbelievers can be considered Christians.Tit 1.16 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him.
Can those who "are not my people" and God is not their God be Christians? Of course not. So, none of these verses you quoted support your claim at all.Hos 1.8 8 After she had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, Gomer had another son. 9 Then the Lord said, “Call him Lo-Ammi (which means “not my people”), for you are not my people, and I am not your God.