All SINNERS

Lori - posted on 04/20/2012

I totally agree with you.

lori

http://myseedsoffaith.com/

Adrienne - posted on 03/21/2012

I believe there is a certain way to talk about christians beliefs and values, not everyone is save but there are ways to talk about your christians values without trying to force everyone to agree with you. I am a christian was raised in the church, but at the same time I know when there is a time to share about God and when its time to slowly see where another person who deosn't know God is at spirtually, without judging them and telling them that they are going to Hell because at the end of the day nobody is perfect but God !

Suzie - posted on 01/16/2012

I know both sides of the coin I was raised by nonbelivers and I myself classified my self as one as a child and young adult. Belive it or not it is the non belivers that tend to be closed minded and detrimed to start most of the fights. they lack an understanding of faith and love and felt the same way till the lord found a way in to my heart. To have faith in something you can not see or touch is heard very few adults retain there child like faith. i was so posiend about it growing up that i was the same way christians just want people to share a love that they forget what its like to demenstrate it and not shove it down peoples throughts . It took the love of a good man that never once pushed his belifes on me but demastrated them. When I meety his grandparents he prep me that grandpa was probly going to push his faith on me and that i should be perpaired so i asked him if it botherd him that i was not CHristian and he said Yes but I love you. it was then that i relised what was missing in my life and were i should find it. 10 years and two kids later we are very happy. But I am also not afraied to share my faith and pray for people but sometimes it is best to do so quietly. God will work in there hearts just give prays instead of fighting

Suzie - posted on 01/16/2012

I know both sides of the coin I was raised by nonbelivers and I myself classified my self as one as a child and young adult. Belive it or not it is the non belivers that tend to be closed minded and detrimed to start most of the fights. they lack an understanding of faith and love and felt the same way till the lord found a way in to my heart. To have faith in something you can not see or touch is heard very few adults retain there child like faith. i was so posiend about it growing up that i was the same way christians just want people to share a love that they forget what its like to demenstrate it and not shove it down peoples throughts . It took the love of a good man that never once pushed his belifes on me but demastrated them. When I meety his grandparents he prep me that grandpa was probly going to push his faith on me and that i should be perpaired so i asked him if it botherd him that i was not CHristian and he said Yes but I love you. it was then that i relised what was missing in my life and were i should find it. 10 years and two kids later we are very happy. But I am also not afraied to share my faith and pray for people but sometimes it is best to do so quietly. God will work in there hearts just give prays instead of fighting

Dusty - posted on 01/10/2012

Unfortuanetly, alot of so called "Christians" do shove their beliefs at others, which is why so much hostility is shown when Christians voice their opinion. I agree with you that none of us should judge, it is God's job, & eventually all will be judged in the end. Unfortuanetly, in today's society, the true meaning of Christianity has been lost.

Alisha - posted on 01/10/2012

Here are some good Bible verses for you, I've never found anywhere in the Bible where it says believers don't sin anymore and certainly I know I do because I live with myself. I want to be more Christ-like but I won't be perfect. whatchristianswanttoknow.com/bible-verses-about-sin-10-important-scriptures/

Alisha - posted on 01/10/2012

Yes, there is NO WAY in the world that just hecause you are saved you never sin. Basically you are saying you are perfect and you are God. If you're at a church that is teaching that false doctrine I would get out of there because its a lie from satan. As believers we need to constantly self-examine our minds, hearts, behaviors and how we speak to people. We need to be prayerful about God showing us His will, His ways and to constantly continue in us the good work he started. We are all a work in progress and we will never be perfect on this earth. Yes our sins past, present, future have been forgiven if we have truly turned from our sins, repented, and trusted Christ, but we still sin. There is also a huge difference between living a sinful lifestyle and not being convicted and having a bad thought about someone or worrying about something, or lying about something to avoid hurting someone's feelings.

Carla - posted on 01/10/2012

When we come to the realization that we are lost without Jesus' help, He takes us into His family, forgives us of our PAST sins, and points us in the right path. The only difference between us and Jack the Ripper is that, WHEN we sin, we can run to Jesus! He, in turn, goes to the Father and asks for mercy for us. We STILL live in a fleshly body, have a fleshly brain and heart, therefore, we WILL sin! I sin every day! I am so very thankful that Jesus is now on my side. The Holy Spirit lives inside me, and He is the One who tells me to shut my mouth, or get that thought out of there!

We will sin until the day Jesus comes for us, changes us into our new, heavenly bodies, to live with Him forever. Can't wait!

God bless, all!

Angela - posted on 01/10/2012

Don't believe that any of us can state with conviction we're "no longer a sinner" - even if we are saved. Sinning can be by thought, word or deed and it's a huge claim to say you're no longer a sinner! Every thought of irritation at other people is a sin - every time you bite your tongue and avoid saying something sarcastic, cruel, judgemental or cutting - well OK, you didn't sin by word, but since the thought ran through your mind, you still sinned in thought! And let's face it, most of us are sinning in word and deed at some point as well.

Stating that you're not a sinner is a massive and ambitious claim!

Renee - posted on 01/09/2012

I'm a Christian...no longer a sinner because I'm saved and even tho non-Christians seem to 'blow-up' when anything connected with God is mentioned I still manage to sneak in references to it w/o actually mentioning God or the Bible. I do believe God is the answer for everyone but my shoving it in someone's face isn't going to make them get closer to Him it will only drive them away. God knows where they are and how to find them all I have to do is give out information and depend on God to 'do' his word.. as he promised.. As for dealing with the anger and outbursts about the very mention of Him.. I chalk it up to ignorance (in most cases) because they don't have enough information to make an informed decision. My husband and I, by no means, have completely exhausted every avenue of information contained in the Bible, the books left out of the Bible or information available thru education, but between the both of us we can tackle just about anything that anyone throws at us. So if they want to rant, let them...evenutally God will find them if we continue to show HIS love and not cast pearls....

Denikka - posted on 01/09/2012

I think a lot of non Christians shut down when they hear anything about God. There are many people out there who call themselves Christian but who act in a less than Christ-like manner. I'm sure more people have had some sort of run-in with a fanatic and this colors their view.
This is being said by a non-Christian, I just wanted to add my input.
I've known some fantastic Christians. They live their lives as right as possible and are just in general good people. In fact, MOST of the Christians I've known have been great people. But my father is a born again and a bit of a fanatic. He's only been in my life for the past 7 ish years (since I was 15) but in that time, because of him, I always get wary whenever someone starts talking about their faith.
Having someone call you down on every choice you make because you didn't *make it through God* or having every thing you enjoy called the devil's work because it's not *Christian enough* tends to color a persons views on the whole thing. It's as irritating to hear *God* every other word as it is to hear an *f bomb* every other word.
Fanatics tend to make a longer lasting impression than those who emulate Christ. Just like a baby having a tantrum is going to make a bigger impression than a well behaved child. It's sad, but true. The least well behaved tend to be the ones who form peoples opinions. And this isn't just Christians, but it applies to all religions (Muslims are terrorist or Pagans are hippie tree huggers who dance around nakes), age (small children shouldn't be allowed in public because they're just going to throw tantrums or old people shouldn't be allowed to drive because they go 20kmph under the limit), race (blacks and Hispanics are thieves or ghetto) etc etc etc etc.
Just because a few in any group may be that way, it shouldn't color our opinions, but, especially when we have seen those *worst* in those close to us (fanatic Christian Aunt, robbed by a black guy, etc) is does tend to shove your opinion in one way or the other. And Christians tend to be a large group with many fanatics, well meaning or not (aka whether it's those who enjoy praising God for every breath or those who tend to actively shove religion down everyone's throats in an attempt to *save them*)

I would never want to imply that all Christians are fanatic in any way, but a few rotten apples, ya know?

Angela - posted on 01/09/2012

Just check out the way John Shore (himself a Christian) lists the failure points that most Christians are guilty of!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-shore...

His first point, concerning wealth is SO spot on! I've known many Christians who are big on building up treasures for themselves on earth. Shore says that Christians are fond of quoting all St Paul's anti-gay stuff, but less fond of living out the words of Jesus himself concerning wealth! And Jesus said a lot more about wealth that Paul did about gay people!

I read Richard Dawkins "The God Delusion" and found it an entertaining read - it didn't make me doubt my Christian faith in any way! Why should it? Yet many Christians are so wary of reading anything they perceive as "dodgy". If you think your faith can be threatened by reading a book about atheism, then you haven't much faith to begin with! Obviously, I wouldn't seize and read ANY book on atheism - for the same reason I wouldn't read MOST books on quantum physics - but Dawkins is a lively writer and I discovered much entertainment in the pages of his book.

Some non-believers are quite rude about the doctrines and beliefs that Christians hold dear. And many Christians have a blinkered view of the world generally. Of course, none of us are perfect whatever faith we follow or if we have no faith.

Non-believers will NEVER be convinced by Bible quotes as evidence - they are not Christians so the Christian Book means nothing to them.

It's time for us to remember that whilst salvation is God's gift by grace through faith in Jesus, (therefore works are vain) - non-believers will ALWAYS judge us on our works. How can you judge anyone by their faith or belief? You can't KNOW another person's faith or belief! You don't live inside that person's head therefore you're not in a position to know whether their beliefs are truly genuine to them OR if those beliefs are just an act put on for good show! All you can do is judge them on their actions!

Christians and non-Christians would get on a lot better if they considered each other's perspectives and then worked on their own perspectives.

MaryEllen - posted on 01/07/2012

In my circles, more often than not, the Christian will say something innocuous and the non-Christian will get offended and rude.
We've had several Christian families leave our big "all inclusive" home school group because any mention of God, church, or the Bible leads to bashing.

Unfortunately no one has successfully started a Christian group that will serve the same purpose. People just don't show up.

Alisha - posted on 01/07/2012

Yea absolutely this is an issue. It is really sad, and people should also not make judgments about God based on other people's portrayal of Him, because He is perfect and holy all the time and people are sinful and will make mistakes. The main point is that we point non-believers to Christ and that He died for them, to take them out of darkness of sins and to give them eternal life. Every person needs to take responsibility for their own sins, such as lying, stealing, hating another person, lusting after another person, God says that these are wicked and people who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God (go to heaven). But, God made a way for sinners to be forgiven and washed clean of any and all of their sins if a person turns away from their sins and trusts Christ and what He did for them. He was sinless and perfect on this earth, and He paid the penalty for all of our sins so we would not have to be punished. That is the gospel truth and Christ has transformed my life from a disgusting attention seeking sinner to a person who loves God and seeks God's Word, His will and purity for my life. Praise Him for doing all of that for someone so unworthy. That's grace.

Carla - posted on 01/07/2012

Pat is absolutely correct. In fact, we have talked about this before in older threads, and I have told the girls (anyone under 50 is a girl to me ;)) to stay off those blog sites. God is Love. So if we want an unbeliever to believe, it will be LOVE that wins them, NOT bashing! God judges the unbeliever, we, inside the church judge our fellow Christians. We are to be a walking Jesus, and make Him look so attractive that NO ONE in their right mind wouldn't want to be saved! Somewhere along the line, preachers and so-called Christians have decided to take this job away from God and do it instead. And the result? Well, look at our world! If we QUIT preaching and start LOVING, more people would be saved.



Sorry, this is kind of a sore spot for me. I was told by our pastor that because I was divorced while backslidden, that I might as well not even bother coming to church, cuz I was goin' to hell. She wanted me to go back to my ex, who abused my daughter and I, divorce my present husband, have my ex divorce HIS new wife, and go back into hell. Another church I went to wanted to give me dressing lessons--no hats, no pants, no this, no that---why on earth would people want to be a part of that? Painted fingernails? Horrors! Being Christian means Christ-like. Do you ever hear of Jesus tearing into a woman because of her fingernails?



Bottom line--be a walking Jesus. THAT is what is going to touch hearts.



God bless, dears!

Pat - posted on 01/06/2012

i find that people dont want to hear about God or the bible and call christians closed minded, yet they want you to believe what they do(which would mean they arent the openminded ones). i dont argue anymore. if the opportunity presents itself i will share, however, i usually will wait. i find i argue and it doesnt go anywhere. Bottom line for us as Christians. Love them.ive heard it said a few times.. sometimes the way we live our lives is the only bible people ever see. i pray daily to not behave like the rest of the world when im in my office... and to love people around me with the love of Jesus. not easy!!