God has called me as a prophet to bring back the truth of His Word which has been lost over the many years, but I have to admit this has been a very hard and frustrating task. Sometimes I wonder why God picked me for do this task. Even though I didn’t get to choose this gift that He gave me, I will be faithful to do the task that God has set out for me. The main problem with bringing back God’s truth to His loved ones is that the current deceptive things people believe as truth are so ingrained into them that they are not willing to let go of it to receive God’s real truth. I have tried not to offend people and sugar coat God’s real truth as much as possible without degrading the truth, but I realize most people are not getting it and are still heading down that lost path of deception. So I have decided to fight head on against the devil and his lies. I know this will make some people very uncomfortable, but God’s Word must prevail in order to conquer the devil’s evil schemes.
One of the simple truths that we must all return to is discerning who is a true Christian and who isn’t. This letter is not to have any one person tell you whether you are a Christian or not, but for you to evaluate yourself against what a true biblical Christian is. Like most definitions in this world, the term “Christian” has been watered down and made politically correct. In today’s world, we want to include almost everyone into the Christian group. Even if a person’s actions and walk don’t show faith in God’s Word, but they might have said a prayer, even once, then who are we to exclude them from the Christian name - right, or else we might be accused of judging. We must not judge, that is God’s domain, but we are called to evaluate ourselves and others.
I want everyone to understand that being a Christian is an exclusive thing, even though everyone has the option to become a Christian through a relationship with Christ. Becoming a true Christian can be the result of the process that can happen while we are in a relationship with Christ; it is not a single event that most people have come to believe. Most have made the mistake of proclaiming a relationship with Christ as the same thing as being a Christian. God wants and will have a relationship with anyone that accepts what Christ did on the cross, but only the few that fully submit to His Lordship will be called Christians in God’s eyes. The only way to become a Christian is to have faith in Jesus Christ, His truth, and His love. No one can be called a Christian unless they are living by faith in the truth which is found in Jesus Christ alone. If anyone is living any part of their life outside the boundaries of Jesus Christ’s truth and love, then they are not a Christian.
The well accepted definition of the term “Christian” within the Christian circles is to be a “follower of Christ”. Another definition is to be a “disciple of Christ”; we can find this definition directly out of God’s Word.
Acts 11:26 - The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Other definitions of a Christian include, being a “believer in Jesus Christ”, or any person that is considered a “son of God”. All of these definitions are true and can be used to define a Christian, but how the human selfish reasoning has degraded these definitions is where the problem lies. We need to look at the un-watered down biblical views of these meanings to see if we fit into the Christian profile.
Let us start with examining the definition of being a “follower of Christ”. Anyone that is following in Jesus Christ’s footsteps, as all Christians are called to do, will find themselves in the path of living a sinless and loving life, just as Jesus Christ did when He was on earth and in the flesh, just as we are in the flesh now. We do this by the power of His Spirit living inside us. A follower of Christ is no longer living by the ways of his selfishness, but by the ways of God’s love. If anyone is walking in the footsteps of Christ, then they are walking in righteousness and void of any sin, but if anyone wanders off the path of Christ and sins, then they can no longer be called a Christian, because they are no longer following Christ. Within the footsteps of Christ, there is no sin. Anyone that goes off and is no longer following in the footsteps of Christ is no longer in right fellowship with God until they confess, repent, and get back on the path of Christ. Until a person gets back to following Christ whole heartedly, that person cannot be called a Christian, but if they call themselves a Christian and do not immediately repent of all their sin, then they should be called a hypocrite, or a un-repentive sinner. So in essence, if anyone has sin in their life, they cannot be called a Christian, because there is no sin in Christ. If anyone has sin in their life, they are living by their own selfish spirit and not by Christ’s Spirit.
Now let us take a look at what it means to be a “disciple of Christ”. Anyone that has become a disciple of Christ has been made into the likeness of Christ. For Christ to make a person into a person like Himself, that person has to sacrifice themselves to the work of Christ, just like Christ sacrificed Himself to the work of His Father. To become a Christian (disciple), a person must give up everything they are so that Christ can make them into the likeness of Himself.
Luke 14:26-27 - If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple . And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Matt 10:37-39 - Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
These scriptures clearly state that to be a Christian (a disciple); a person must give up all of themselves to become worthy to become His disciple. If a person is still sinning, then that person has shown to themselves and others that they are not worthy to be called a disciple, because they are acting out their love for someone or something else other then Christ. Usually sin is the act of loving ourselves over God, but sometimes we might actually love something else other than ourselves, but still not loving God with our first love. Our first love represents who we love the most. If we cling to and love anyone or anything over God, then that is sin and this situation will result in sinful acts against God. Again, if we understand that a Christian is a disciple, or a replica of Christ, then we must also understand that a Christian (disciple) cannot live with any sin, since Christ lived a sinless life. As long as we have sin in our life, then we are not a disciple of Christ, but instead we must admit that we are yet a disciple of the devil, at least until we truly repent of all our sins and walk in a way worthy of being Christ’s disciple.
1 John 3:7-8 - Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he (God) is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
For anyone that truly believes in Christ, they will be called a Christian, but what does “believe in Christ” really mean. Can we say that we believe in Christ and in that belief go and sin against God and/or our fellow man. Is there anything within the realm of believing in Christ that would make us sin? Of course the answer to this question is NO. So when we sin, it shows that we do not believe in Christ, but in someone or something else other than Christ.
When we say we “believe in Christ”, we are not just saying that we believe in Jesus Christ’s existence, we are actually believing in everything that Christ is and represents. Jesus is our Savior, He is God, the Alfa and Omega, the beginning and ending of all things, the Word of God, the Truth of God, the Son of the living God, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the One reigning in God’s Kingdom, and the One that sees and knows all, etc……
John 12:44-46 - Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
John 14:9-10 - Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
A Christian doesn’t just believe that there is a God; a Christian must have the faith in God and all the aspects of God that He has opened up to us. Faith is a belief in the unseen reality of God, His Truth, and His Spiritual Kingdom. We must have the faith to search out God and become one with Him. Many people believe in the existence of God, including the devil and his demons, but they are not one with God.
James 2:19 - You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
If anyone truly believes in Christ, then they will stop loving themselves through selfishness and love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.
1 Peter 1:8-9 - Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
If we say we believe in Christ (God), but do not love Him over our own souls, then we are liars, because we are still believing and relying on our own selfish souls as the god of our lives, but if through our faith we give all of our heart and soul to God, we will then be joined eternally with Him and only do God’s will, for our selfish will has been crucified with Christ on the cross and our will has been replaced with God’s will. God’s will is that we glorify Him by loving Him and others, even over ourselves.
John 8:42 - Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
1 John 4:20-21 - If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
If we sin, our father is not God, but the devil. A Christian cannot sin, because their Father is God, which is without sin, but a sinner’s father is the devil, for a sinner is a slave to his father’s work.
John 8:44 - You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire.
If we are born of God, then we are considered to be God’s son (or daughter), just as Jesus is God’s son. We have become brothers with Christ and joint heirs with Him. When we have become worthy of Christ, then Christ sends the fullness of His Holy Spirit into our heart and makes us like Himself. Anyone that has been born of God’s Holy Spirit, has been renewed with a new unselfish Spirit that does not sin. There is no sin in a life that has been born of God, because they are not living by their old selfish spirit, but by God’s Spirit. There is no more sinful lifestyle in a person that has been born of God’s Spirit, because there is no sin in God and we have become one with God.
1 John 3:9 - Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
A true Christian has been born of God’s Spirit and no longer lives by his old selfish spirit. If anyone is still sinning, then this indicates to that sinful person and to everyone else that they have not yet been born of God, but that they are still living by their selfish spirit that they were born with. If anyone still has sin in their life, then they are not yet a child of God, but still a child of the devil.
1 John 3:10 - This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
John 8:34-35 - Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family (God’s family), but a son belongs to it forever.
The scriptures are clear, anyone that loves and does what is right (doesn’t sin) is a child of God, but anyone that does not love and does not do what is right (sins) is a child of the devil. We need to come to believe in the real truth, even if it doesn’t feel good, and stop letting the name of “Christian” be degraded by letting it be applied to people that are still sinning. Anyone that is still sinning is a child of the devil and it is an abomination to God to call them a Christian. Before we call anyone a Christian, we should take the time to see if they really are a Christian.
Now let us look at how this truth helps the person that is still sinning, but desires to become a Christian. We know that believing in God’s truth will always set a person free from their sin.
John 8:31-32 - If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 8:36 - So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
The real truth will keep a person searching for the goodness, love, and righteousness of God until they are made whole by the filling of His Holy Spirit (the fullness of Christ’s Spirit). But the lie of the devil – “that a person is a Christian and eternally saved even though they are still sinning” will stifle a person’s spiritual growth and stop their searching for God, because the lie of the devil is telling them that they have already achieved the righteousness of God to enter heaven. There is hope in God for everyone that continues to search for Him. Let us get rid of the lies of the devil so that people will search out God again and fully submit to Christ as Lord and not just have Christ be their Savior.
With God’s truth and love,
Michael W Reid
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