Do I Belong to Christianity?

Upvote:0

Others have already mentioned that this question requires a pastoral approach. But let me address questions. They all have answers, but only the mature in faith and love will understand the nuances of choices offered him or her in Christ in these situations.

"However, if you really follow this and do not stand up to the evil people who harm you, won't that just give them even more chance to take advantage of you." Unfortunately, the statement, 'the evil people who harm you' is vague, since evil comes in many forms and severity. However, this will be acted upon by different Christians in different circumstances. In some cases, the Christian will meet the evil head on with tough love, without doing evil themselves; it will be loving TO OTHERS to stop them from harming anyone else. In other cases, they will show love to the evil in order to show them the richness of the love of God, with tenderness and compassion for the evil person they have become; the Christian may make it a point of laborious prayer to save this evil person. Of course, my response to evil changed over time as I matured and trust the Lord more to take on the load Himself.

Your questions are good, but they lie in a gray area. As a Christian, we would act in faith in each circumstance as we believe the Spirit directs. You possibly had more knowledge about God than I did before I became a Christian; I simply believed Billy Graham's message that I was a sinner and God is willing to forgive. So don't hesitate to accept Christ because of unanswered questions, but accept Him because of Who He is.

Upvote:0

Romains 10:9 states it plainly:

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Following all of God's commandments is an important part of being a Christian. But the most important part is declaring Jesus is Lord in your life, and believing He was raised from the dead. Everything else is friut of the relationship with Christ.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Faith obivouly involves believing in God, but more than that it's required that you believe He will reward you for seeking Him. If you seek Him you will find Him.

When Jesus and the Old Testiment spoke about requirments for behaviour He did so knowing that following everything was impossible without Him. The whole point is that you cannot be good enough on your own. Jesus is the way, The Truth, and the Life. Everything you think is difficult to follow is actually impossible to follow on your own power. But when you come to Christ and make Him Lord of your life, He says. "My yolk is easy and my burden is light." It's stops being about what you can do in your own power and starts being all about Him and what you will let Him do in your own life.

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So it's not obeying Christs commands that makes you a christian, or gives you salvation. It's Proclaiming Jesus as Lord, Believing in the resurrection, and trusting in God to reward you for seeking Him. It's this that empowers you to follow Jesus commands. Everything else is a testament to what level you have surrendered to Christ.

Upvote:3

Christianity is for everyone.

Your question is more like a "Pastoral Advice" which is less welcomed here. However, let me try to sum up about Christianity, which I think, is what you need.

  1. God's perfect creation: God created man perfectly along with woman (see Genesis 1:27). Everything was fine. No death*, no suffering and no sin.
  2. The fall of man: Satan the deceiver came to the woman and deceived her to disobey God, the man also followed (see Genesis 3). This results in separation of God and man. Man belongs to Satan now. Man is now a sinner by nature and cannot change by himself.
  3. The redemption plan: Then God made a plan to redeem man and his inheritance from the slavery of Satan and sin. God selected a people called Israel and instituted them of the Laws of God and the requirements to purge sins from man. Animal blood was required to receive forgiveness of sins from God. (see Leviticus 4) Old Testament sacrificial laws are the shadows of the things to come, which is the New Testament.
  4. Jesus Christ paid the penalty: The redemption plan was completed successfully by Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He paid the price for our sins by pouring out His own blood as a sacrifice to God for the forgiveness of sins. He died on the cross but was resurrected on the third day.
  5. Salvation through Jesus Christ: Now, by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and by following his commands, God forgives our sins and we become the children of God. We no longer need to try to achieve holiness and perfection. We simply rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us. God no longer demands your perfection but your faith alone.

    John 3:16 (NIV) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

If you are ready to believe this and receive Jesus Christ in your heart by prayer, you become a Christian! It's simpler than you think but it takes time, of course. It is also important to join any Christian congregation which will help you to grow in your faith.

May God bless you.

*Different Christian groups interpret this differently, some believing literally that nothing (including animals) died prior to the fall of mankind. Other groups say the death mentioned in Genesis was strictly a spritual death (separation of man from God). And there are a number of interpretations that fall somewhere between.

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