Why Are You A Christian?

[Lifelong_sinner]

How very sad

Thank you for participating.

wait…. Sad?? I dont get it.

 

[Nancy]

How very sad

Thank you for participating.

Well, who WANT'S to go to hell? Lol...seems a pretty good deterrent, I mean we ARE continually warned...?

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Well, who WANT'S to go to hell? Lol...seems a pretty good deterrent, I mean we ARE continually warned...?

i know, right. How is it sad to not want to goto hell?

 

[Waiting on him]

@amadeus @JunChosen @robert derrick @CharismaticLady @charity @Nancy @Backlit @Tong2020 @marks @Hidden In Him @Christophany @GEN2REV @ReChoired @Ziggy @An Apologetic Sheepdog

I think it is taken for granted that most Christians have basically the same reason for being so. But I also think it's worth exploring. What if you were tried for your faith by a system that was hostile toward it? What would your testimony be if you were faced with this seemingly simple question? I may add or change answers to the poll as requested within reason. Please don't be offended if I haven't included yours. And don't be afraid to make your responses very personal.

He convinced me of my emptiness.

 

[BarneyFife]

wait…. Sad?? I dont get it.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, but aren't you basically saying that your motivation for accepting Christ is a threat?

I want to be Christ's servant and friend right now, today, this minute, seated with Him in heavenly places, because while we were yet sinners He showed His greatest of loves which no man has by laying down His life for our sins.

Is that odd motivation? Is it not the very Gospel, itself?

His life, death, and resurrection here on earth are filled with matchless charms that no volume can contain, for which we will be mining throughout eternity! Not to mention what it will be like to have Him with us face to face!

 

[farouk]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, but aren't you basically saying that your motivation for accepting Christ is a threat?

I want to be Christ's servant and friend right now, today, this minute, seated with Him in heavenly places, because while we were yet sinners He showed His greatest of loves which no man has by laying down His life for our sins.

Is that odd motivation? Is it not the very Gospel, itself?

His life, death, and resurrection here on earth are filled with matchless charms that no volume can contain, for which we will be mining throughout eternity! Not to mention what it will be like to have Him with us face to face!

@BarnyFife It happened with me because grace overtook me, even when I was in my sins (Ephesians 2: 'But God, Who is rich in mercy....')

 

[BarneyFife]

i know, right. How is it sad to not want to goto hell?

It's not sad at all unless its the answer to the question: "Why are you a Christian?"

 

[Lambano]

i know, right. How is it sad to not want to goto hell?

It's not sad at all unless its the answer to the question: "Why are you a Christian?"

Having answered the Altar Call after a Baptist fire-and-brimstone sermon as a 12-year-old boy, I know where LLS is coming from. But it messed me up for the next 30 years.

Love under the threat of torture?

 

[farouk]

Having answered the Altar Call after a Baptist fire-and-brimstone sermon as a 12-year-old boy, I know where LLS is coming from. But it messed me up for the next 30 years.

@Lambano 1 Peter 1 shows that the new birth is via the operation of the Word of God itself; it must not be artificially simulated by human methods and heavy manipulation.

 

[Lambano]

@Lambano 1 Peter 1 shows that the new birth is via the operation of the Word of God itself; it must not be artificially simulated by human methods and heavy manipulation.

This evangelism technique is not uncommon in some churches. I understand why they did that. That’s what they were taught. They thought they were doing God’s will.

 

[BarneyFife]

Having answered the Altar Call after a Baptist fire-and-brimstone sermon as a 12-year-old boy, I know where LLS is coming from. But it messed me up for the next 30 years.

Love under the threat of torture?

How very interesting! I was introduced to Jesus at age 8 by my great-grandmother who was the widowed wife of a Southern Baptist minister. I heard a little bit of the f&b stuff but I think I was too young to really understand it. I knew that I was a sinner and I wanted Jesus to come into my heart so I could be forgiven and changed. I used to stay overnight with my "Grandma Bryant" and she would walk around and talk with Jesus while she kept house. Her daughter, my "Granny Chadwell" had an even bigger influence on me. She taught me so much about repentance, confession, and forgiveness. She lived with us for extended periods of time.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Having answered the Altar Call after a Baptist fire-and-brimstone sermon as a 12-year-old boy, I know where LLS is coming from. But it messed me up for the next 30 years.

Love under the threat of torture?

how did that mess you up for 30 yrs??

 

[Bob Carabbio]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, but aren't you basically saying that your motivation for accepting Christ is a threat?

ABSOLUTELY!!! It's the only REAL reason that under CONVICTION OF SIN that I surrendered, Repented and cried out to God (in the FAITH that HE Gifted).

Nothing "Sad" about it. I'm HUMAN and as a human I wanted nothing to do with God, until I was out of choices, and simple SURVIVAL (Eternal) was all that was left.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

Maybe a better way of explaining this is by asking, if everyone went to Heaven after they died, would i still want to be a christian? My answer would be, i wouldnt ever give it a thought. I literally cant think of a reason to want to be a christian, other than to not goto hell. I will say the fear of going to hell is my absolute biggest fear.

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

ABSOLUTELY!!! It's the only REAL reason that under CONVICTION OF SIN that I surrendered, Repented and cried out to God (in the FAITH that HE Gifted).

Nothing "Sad" about it. I'm HUMAN and as a human I wanted nothing to do with God, until I was out of choices, and simple SURVIVAL (Eternal) was all that was left.

yes!! Yes, this right here. That is the most honest way to describe my feelings of wanting to become a christian.

 

[BarneyFife]

ABSOLUTELY!!! It's the only REAL reason that under CONVICTION OF SIN that I surrendered, Repented and cried out to God (in the FAITH that HE Gifted).

Nothing "Sad" about it. I'm HUMAN and as a human I wanted nothing to do with God, until I was out of choices, and simple SURVIVAL (Eternal) was all that was left.

The question is not "Why did you become a Christian," but "Why are you a Christian?"

Maybe a better way of explaining this is by asking, if everyone went to Heaven after they died, would i still want to be a christian? My answer would be, i wouldnt ever give it a thought. I literally cant think of a reason to want to be a christian, other than to not goto hell. I will say the fear of going to hell is my absolute biggest fear.

Perfect love casts out all fear.

 

[Lambano]

Maybe a better way of explaining this is by asking, if everyone went to Heaven after they died, would i still want to be a christian? My answer would be, i wouldnt ever give it a thought. I literally cant think of a reason to want to be a christian, other than to not goto hell. I will say the fear of going to hell is my absolute biggest fear.

A better question would be, if death/annihilation was the end for non-believers, would you follow Jesus in hope for the resurrection to life?

 

[Lambano]

how did that mess you up for 30 yrs??

How much do you trust Jesus whom you see as your judge, rather than your savior? How much do you trust a god whom you think planned to torture you since the beginning of time?

 

[Lifelong_sinner]

A better question would be, if death/annihilation was the end for non-believers, would you follow Jesus in hope for the resurrection to life?

i feel like thats the question already. And so the answer would be in order of self preservation, yes.
Maybe im asking the question wrong. If i wasnt under the “turn or burn” threat, would i care how i lived? No.
If there was no hell, and after we died we just ceased to exist, like the atheists say, would i care about the meaning of my life? No.

 

[Lambano]

i feel like thats the question already. And so the answer would be in order of self preservation, yes.
Maybe im asking the question wrong. If i wasnt under the “turn or burn” threat, would i care how i lived? No.
If there was no hell, and after we died we just ceased to exist, like the atheists say, would i care about the meaning of my life? No.

I saw both a yes and a no there. Could you clarify?