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What Is A Christian?
This question can and usually does have a very general answer
"People who believe in God" are Christians. Incorrect answer.
A Christian is an individual who has been saved by the sacrafice
of Jesus Christ and is devoted to and dependant upon Jesus Christ only for redemption. John 3:3 says: "Jesus
answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Being "born again" means asking Christ into our lives. It means asking
Christ to cleanse us of our sinful human nature and give us a spiritual rebirth through Him. It means we must be willing
to follow Him, and learn from Him.
There is no other way to get to Heaven. And there is no other standard
for being a Christian then to follow Christ.
With that in mind, any person who says they are Christian because
they "believe" in God is going down the wrong path. The Bible says in James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." Satan believes in Christ, he does not follow Him, but he knows who Jesus is. That does not make the devil a
Christian.
The Bible says in John 3:16 that "For God
so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life."
Christ was sent to die for us to give any who believe
the chance to get to Heaven and have life eternal through God's Son. Because "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God." Romans 3:23 we fall short of righteousness and need a redeemer. Christ is that redeemer. His true followers are Christians.
Budda will not redeem you or get you to Heaven. Neither will Mary,
the pope, praying to the saints, novena's, rosaries, or jihads. There is absolutely nothing we can do to attain
savalation other then to simply, ask, believe, and follow Jesus Christ.
Homosexuality
When it comes to this topic, there are many who disagree that it is
wrong. I have been told that the "bible says to love one another." Or told that the bible says to "love thy neighbour." One
gentleman even wrote in to a local paper a few years ago and claimed that since he was a regular church goer, he felt
he was doing no wrong in the fact that he was cheating on his wife with another man. He justifed it in his mind because
he went to church every Sunday.
That kind of stuff makes my flesh crawl.
The simple fact of the matter is in Romans
verses 1:24 & 27. If you keep reading to verse 32, you find the penalty for the reprobate
mind, the sinner is worthy of death.
Capital Punishment
I am forced to wonder at times why people like the BTK killer, a
convicted murderer, will not get the death penalty. According to the MSNBC website: EL DORADO, Kan. - Dennis Rader began serving
a life sentence Friday for the BTK sex-murders that terrorized Wichita for 17 years. He was led into a maximum security prison
a day after relatives of his 10 victims finally got a chance to vent their anger on what one called “this social sewage.”
This perverted individual terrorized Wichita
Kansas for 17 years and killed ten people but will not get the death penalty because of a technacality.
No
death penalty at time
District Judge Gregory Waller handed Rader a sentence Thursday that was the stiffest
possible; Kansas had no death penalty at the times of the murders. He is to serve 10 consecutive life terms with no chance
of parole for 175 years.
There is no chance he will serve this much time
in jail. And what will happen if he should escape, and possibly kill another victim, another 175 year jail term?
How much longer are we suppossed to keep feeding
and housing convicted killers? How much longer will the system keep building jails, and waste millions of tax dollars annually because
the public thinks it is cruel and inhumane to put a man like Rader to death?
People may think it brings us to the criminals
level. Or people protest that we have no right to execute these people. Or some people mention how much an electrocution costs.
What about how good it makes a politician look in some cases to support leniency, or life imprisonment instead of the death
penalty. All of these excuses are invalid for not implimenting capital punishment.
First off, when a killing takes place and when
the perp is arrested, they are suppossed to be relieved of their rights, all of them.
Secondly, once the individual is found
guilty, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the bible makes it clear that: : "He that smiteth a man, so that
he die, shall be surely put to death." Exodus 21:12 "And if he smite him with an instrument of
iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death." Numbers 35:16
Any individual who wilfully takes another individuals
life, whether it be gang related, robbery gone bad, or just out of sheer morbid pleasure like BTK, then these individuals
should be put to death.
Why death and not just life behind bars? First,
it keeps that type of criminal element subdued. If people are scared of the consequences of the law they will avoid breaking
it. Second, Many millions of dollars will be saved to be put to a possibly humatarian use. Third, making a gallows, which
is reuseable, is economic. Or a single bullet to the temple is also not that expensive. Fourth, it shows faith in God by listening
to Him.
Killing people does not show faith in God. But
keeping His word, and His laws does show faith. God gives us and instructs us in these laws for a reason. Are we so much smarter
then God that we can just do as we please and let things go on as we please? Obviously, we are not Recently Ted Koppel did astory about the prison
system and here are some facts: More then 2.2 million people are incarcerated in the U.S, more then any other nation in the
world. Fact:
There are four times as many Americans behind bars as there were 25 years ago. Fact:More then 17,000 of California's inmates are serving their time in
areas designed as gyms,classrooms, day rooms, and hallways because housing is so limited. Fact: seventy percent of parolees return to prison
in California--the highest recidivism rate in the country. Fact: Californians spend an average
of $43,000 a year to support just one inmate. And the states corrections budget has nearly tripled in the past decade. Fact: the overcrowding crisis is so bad in California that in 2006
Governor Schwarzenegger formally declared a state of emergency. Fact: These are just a few statistics based on one prison in one state.
Things will keep getting worse in the future if something is not done. I say we turn to and seek God's word for answers. Others
think building new jails is the answer. It is obvious to me that the system currently in place does not work so why not seek
God's wisdom?
Right To Worship
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess
me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth
me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. Luke 12:8-9
The First Amendment in the Bill of Rights states very clearly
that
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
The right and the freedom of worship is not only guaranteed to us in
the Bill Of Rights, it is one of the biggest reasons for the development of the United States. People literally came from
all over the world to this land to escape the tyranny of other governments and rules and to be free to worship God .
While this country was being developed, kids were taught how to read
from their family bibles. Teachers also used bibles in schools to teach moral lessons. And books like Webster's Blue-Backed
Spelling Book & New England Primer was packed with Scriptural lessons.
The New England Primer was first printed in 1690 and used until
1900 that's 210 years of Christian values and morals being taught to children. Our founding fathers, and millions of Americans
were taught from this Scripture based book.
These days a book like the Primer would probably not be allowed
in schools. That is a shame. Times have to change, but faith in God should be a constant beacon to guide children and adults
to Christ.
The removal of the ten commandments from schools, courthouses, or any
public building is against the rights we were promised.
The law states seperation of church and state for banning "religion"
in public places. But in my opinion, seperation of church and state was added so the state will not interfere with the
churches which is what is happening now. We are allowed the right and freedom to worship, and the bill of rights does not
say or even imply that we are only allowed to praise God in a church.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the 58 Member States of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France defines freedom of religion and belief as follows:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community
with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance."
Freedom of religion as a legal concept is related to but not identical
with religious toleration, separation of church and state, or laïcité (a secular state).
Religious toleration is the condition of accepting or permitting others'
religious beliefs and practices which disagree with one's own.
Me personally, I do not care much for any belief that either excludes
Christ or has Him in a position of being just a saint or prophet. But I do not go out of my way to criticize the beliefs of
others.
But if a guest at my kids' school is allowed to preach Buddhism, or Judaism,
or any other faith, and bring material to support his beliefs, then my kids better be allowed to bring their
bibles to school to read in their free time if they so choose. If one kind of faith can be preached and tolerated,
then my kids' King James Bible can to tolerated as well.
But my point is, why after all these years are people starting to turn
on God? If my faith clashes with others, so, I have the right to believe as I please as does anyone else. So why is biblical Christian
teaching being ushered out of the public eye? Changing times? Or simple lack of faith? BOTH!
Most people in the U.S., 83% I believe claim to be Christians, but
how many of these "faithful" actually got off their couches or armchairs and took an active part in trying to secure our right
of worship? I can guarantee it was not the full 83% or this would be a moot topic.
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