Winning ways

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MickinEngland

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Dec 15, 2006
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A question that comes up now and again in discussions etc is-"what is the definition of a 'Christian'?My answer is simple, a Christian is a WINNER..
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Jesus said - "I've beaten the world" (John 16:33)and we join him on the winning side-"Who is it that beats the world? Only he who believes Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:5)
 

Dunamite

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Nov 15, 2007
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Not all Christians are winners in the eyes of the world and not all winners are Christians. We are however winners where it counts. We are winners in our own eyes and in God's eyes. When he looks at us, he sees a champion because Jesus stands in our place.Unfortunately there are authentic Christians and counterfeit ones. The Bible does not use these terms. They are mine.Jesus says that not all who call him "Lord" will be saved. He will tell them that he never knew them. This is because Christianity is about relationship. It is two way. It involves our active participation. It is ongoing.John tells us in 1 John 2, that there will be antiChrists and that there already have been some. These people he says have gone out from the church. That means that they are amongst us. Now. That means that there are pretenders there. He also says that they did not lose their salvation, but they never had it!These people were masquerading as Christians but did not believe. How can this be? John spends the rest of the chapter and the succeeding ones talking about how to recognize false Christians who walk in the dark from real Christians who walk in the light.For John, like James in James 2, it comes down to one thing. Authentic Christians walk the walk, not just talk the talk. The are committed to living what they believe. There is no separation between our words and our deeds. It is important to note, that neither is saying that our deeds save us. They just reflect our level of faith. Clearly there is a level of faith that saves and one that doesn't.Saving faith is real. It happens in your innermost being. John tells us not to feel guilty about whether our faith is right or not. God knows because he knows our deepest feelings. Salvation it seems happens not through the words we speak, but inside. It is all about being willing to be transformed.He also says that we should pray for Christian brothers who sin. We cannot know if they are truly saved. Only God knows. We can be assured about our own salvation, but never anyone else's. He talks about the unforgivable sin, but says this is not the same as ordinary sin. Sin is a sign of deeper problems. But there is something worse.Much of 1 John is devoted to love. God is after all the essence of true love. It is sacrificial. It is unreserved. It is based on grace. God loved us even though we were unworthy. He wants us to love others the same way. Our love is to be unrestrained. It should not show favoritism or benefit us. It should simply be an offering, freely givenJesus' love for us was sacrificial. Our love too has a cost attached to it. It should be sacrificial, too. It should be directed at those who need it most, not those who are like us or who can do something for us. What is a Christian? It is someone who loves others as himself and who obeys God with all of his heart. It is someone who puts others first. It is someone who understands grace and sacrifice. It is someone who lives as he speaks.We are also warned in 1 John to reject the world and to shun worldly ways. This is a challenge in our material age, living in a nation of excess and privilege. It can be done, but few people have the resolve to make the sacrifice. This can mean that they did not get the message and that they have only partial faith. However, each of us is made over every day. We are not the same today as yesterday. Hopefully we will be better tomorrow.Sanctification is a lifelong process. Who knows what lifestyle you will be living in the future? God does. That is why he can look into our heart an judge our motives. You can't fool him. But you can fool yourself.They will know that we are Christians by our love. Someone should make a song about it.
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Blessings,Dunamite
 

TallMan

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Jul 20, 2007
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(MickinEngland;31328)
A question that comes up now and again in discussions etc is-"what is the definition of a 'Christian'?My answer is simple, a Christian is a WINNER..
smile.gif
Jesus said - "I've beaten the world" (John 16:33)and we join him on the winning side-"Who is it that beats the world? Only he who believes Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:5)
How do you know that you are a winner?In what way do you beat the world?
 

Thunder1

New Member
Dec 12, 2007
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(MickinEngland;31328)
A question that comes up now and again in discussions etc is-"what is the definition of a 'Christian'?My answer is simple, a Christian is a WINNER..
smile.gif
Jesus said - "I've beaten the world" (John 16:33)and we join him on the winning side-"Who is it that beats the world? Only he who believes Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 5:5)
Good one, MickinEngland ! I agree with you, if no one else will. We are winners, some Christians just don't understand/ know yet or claim it to themselves. We are winners, because of Jesus not because of ourselves. I'm nothing without Jesus.Yeah, we might loose some battles here on earth but we have won the war... BECAUSE OF JESUS.