Category: Orthopraxy

  • Renewal of Your Mind: Who Gets to Say Who’s a Christian?

    A gravel trail through a sunlit forest splits around a moss-covered rock mound thick with ferns, with fallen autumn leaves scattered along both paths. Sometimes a path diverges for a while.

    I recently got into a discussion with someone about what Christianity is and isn’t. This person began to give me a long list of “you can’t be a Christian if…” On the surface, I agreed with most of what my friend was saying, since his litany of “ifs” didn’t match my understanding of what a right-thinking Christian would believe.  But I had to disagree with the “You can’t be a Christian part”. No Christian short of glory is ever 100% correct and consistent in their theology, worldview and practice. Jesus was the only one to meet that bar.

    All of us have inconsistencies between what we believe and what we practice, between what the Bible teaches and how we actually think.

    Fortunately for all of us, Christ doesn’t require perfection before we become believers. He doesn’t require our theology to be exact or our thought process to align exactly with His teaching. It’s a process, a lifelong renewal of your mind. It was why Paul could say…

    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

    The moment we trust Jesus by faith alone, we are accepted into the realm of believers, adopted as children of God and born again 

    He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.. Colossians 1:13-14 ESV

    We are justified; our sins are forgiven. We are in the process of being sanctified, that is, set apart and made holy. Eventually we will be glorified, and we will have fully right living (orthopraxy) and right belief (orthodoxy).

    In the meantime, we learn and grow. The Spirit and the Word correct us, and the Lord disciplines us. We learn to have grace with one another, forgive each other and guide one another in the truth.

    There is no doubt that Christians – all of us – have wrong thinking about some things. That doesn’t excuse our error; it just recognizes that we’re all at different points in our faith walk. We all need to work towards renewing our minds.

    Only Christ alone knows the heart and can determine the validity of our faith. When we step up to declare who is and isn’t a believer based on their beliefs on certain issues or preferences, we step way out of bounds and try to usurp Jesus’ authority (even with what we think are good motives).

    I’m not suggesting there is more than one path; Jesus is the only way. I’m not saying we accept error. I am saying we withhold judgment, have discernment and walk in grace.

    Some people claim faith but have none. Others will surprise us when we reach glory. Let’s learn and disciple together and live with grace and patience.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Only Christ knows the heart, so deciding who is or isn’t a Christian is not our call. We are all still growing, so let’s learn together and walk in grace and patience.

    TAKEAWAY

    No Christian short of glory gets their theology, worldview and practice exactly right. Only Jesus met that bar.

    Christ doesn’t require perfect theology before we believe. The moment we trust Him by faith alone, we are justified, and the renewal of our minds goes on until glory.

    Only Christ can determine whether someone’s faith is real. Our part is to withhold judgment, use discernment and walk in grace, without accepting error or more than one way.

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  • We are God’s temple

    The way we treat one another matters

    Saturday afternoon, I was reading in the Acts of the Apostles when a question hit me.

    In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. Acts 1:15-16 ESV

    What is the significance of 120? That number rang a bell with me.

    When King Solomon opened the new temple, it was accompanied by great ceremony, including…

    And when the priests came out of the Holy Place (for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without regard to their divisions, and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, their sons and kinsmen, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood east of the altar with 120 priests who were trumpeters; and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the Lord, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.2 Chronicles 5:11-15 ESV

    Jesus is the temple, but as His body, we form part of it. We no longer need to go to a special building to offer our sacrifices.

    The New Testament reinforces that idea elsewhere.

    The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. Revelation 3:12 ESV

    As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV

    Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV

    The fact that we belong to Jesus and, as His body, form part of God’s temple has profound implications for the way we treat other believers.

    Jesus said

    By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 ESV

    When we are harsh or unforgiving toward believers, we defame the very temple of Christ. When we choose not to love other believers, we choose to turn our back on part of the temple.

    Ouch!

    I confess that as I typed that out, I realized that I had some repenting to do.  I can be critical and unloving toward other believers. I don’t like some believers for a variety of reasons, and I had to ask the Lord for forgiveness.

    As we learn to live with one another, to extend grace, forgiveness and love, let’s remember why we do it and give Him the glory.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Reading about the 120 in Acts 1 led me to see that, as His body, we believers form part of God’s temple. That gives us every reason to extend grace, forgiveness and love to one another.

    TAKEAWAY

    You no longer need a special building to offer your sacrifices; as part of Christ’s body, you form part of His temple.

    Other believers form part of the temple too, so the way you treat them matters; your love for one another is how all people will know you are His disciples.

    As you learn to extend grace, forgiveness and love to other believers, remember why you do it and give Him the glory.

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