Who are the "true" Christians?

In today's society, we often hear people trying to define who the "true" Christians are. Each group wants to define true Christianity in a way that includes their own group but excludes others. Gay Christians are often in the excluded category, but then some pro-gay Christians turn around and exclude the more conservative Christians, as if that somehow made things better.

We do have an instinctive understanding that not everyone who adopts the label of "Christian" is truly a follower of Christ, but how do we know how to distinguish the true Christians from the false ones? One idea might be the well-known song which says, "They will know we are Christians by our love." We should shine a love in this world that sets us apart from non-believers and draws others to Jesus.

Think about what sets you apart as you read this passage

quote:

1 John 3:16-23 (NIV)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.

Surely people other than Christians are capable of love and laying their life for the life of another.

quote:

Originally posted by Aaron:
Surely people other than Christians are capable of love and laying their life for the life of another.

Yes, people other than just Christians are capable of love and laying down their life for others, but I think that actually misses the point of what a "true" Christian is.

The simple answer of what a Christian is: A person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, who believes in Jesus and the blood shed on the cross to redeem us from our sins, and we have confessed our sins to God, they believe that Jesus rose again on the third day and that He now sits at the right hand of God.

The more complex answer of what a Christian is:
1. The Bible tells us that we must be Called by God.(Matthew 22:14).

2. We are called by God to be a "chosen people", a royal priesthood, a Holy Nation; belonging to God. (1 Peter 2:9).

3. If we remain faithful, we will join the King of Kings in the family of God. (Revelation 17:14).

4. Jesus let us know that tax collectors and harlots would enter the kingdom before those perceived to be "righteous". (Matthew 21:23, 31-32).

5. A true Christian will walk as Jesus walked. They will strive to live the life that Jesus calls us to walk. (1 John 2:6).

6. A true Christian will display the Fruits of the Spirit on a regular basis. (We all know that as humans we will fail at times even in this, but as Christians, we strive to do just this. (Galatians 5:22-25)

As Christians, this is what we are called to do, called to be. We are to have faith, show love, be the light of Jesus in the World. That doesn't mean that there aren't those that would not also lay down their lives for others, or show love, but have they asked Jesus Christ to be their personal Savior, belive on Him and are they willing to lay down their life for Christ?

We can say we are Christians until the cows come home, but it's our actions, that will speak the truth of this.

I'm one of those people who are not big fans of the term "Christian" in the first place. The word has over the centuries become loaded with all sorts of meanings and connotations that I find myself unable to fully identify with.

In my view what matters is whether on an individual level those of us who have been called or inspired by Jesus actually make any progress in reaching our full human potential, by which I mean empathy and love in the first place. I place profession of human-made creeds and doctrines second to that.

I don't think that the label means anything if there is nothing to substantiate it in one's real life.