10.18.2005

What Makes A Christian? Part 2

Finally, part two is here! Get out your Bibles and follow along, kids. Let's ask some questions and get some answers about what's true of Christians on an eternal level:

1. If I'm a Christian, what has God accomplished for me?
He has loved me with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3
He has given me the privilege of being born again. 1 Peter 1:3
He gave me life when I was dead. Ephesians 2:5
He has given me every spiritual blessing. Ephesians 1:3

2. What did (does) Jesus do for me?
He died for me while I was still a sinner. Romans 5:8
He opened the true way for me to come to God the Father. John 14:6
He came back from the dead to break the power of death. Acts 2:24, Hebrews 2:14
He intercedes for me with God the Father. Romans 8:34

3. What is the Holy Spirit's role in my life?
He completely transforms me into a person with Real Life. Romans 8:11
He lives in me as a witness of my salvation. Romans 8:16, 1 Corinthians 1:22
He grows the fruit He has planted in my life. Galatians 5:22-23
He enables me to do what God wants me do do. Acts 1:8, Romans 8:26

Now, ask yourself some follow-up questions.

Do I believe these things -- and not just with my head, but with my heart and my life? Do I behave as though these things are true? Or do I deny them with the way that I live? Do I have so much confidence in what God has accomplished, what Jesus has done, and who the Holy Spirit is, that I have a constant desire to know God more, to trust Jesus more, to submit to the Spirit more?

To Be Continued...

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

YAYAYAYAYAY, Laura!

You are the BEST!

Excellent stuff. Really excellent!

Anonymous said...

I agree....
You are very wise Laura, and I admire how you back everything up with scripture....

Nunzia said...

thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Laura~

Well stated, sister...your insight is refreshing and astounding. God does great things through you.

(How cool is that to be on Johnny Jones' youth group's sight. Woo-hoo!!)

Jonna

Laura said...

Jonna, I feel like a celebrity, truly, being linked on his site!

Now if only Johnny would actually comment! He claims to be too busy, but what about the rest of us?? I know that I, for instance, have a part time job as a nanny (exhausting) and full time classes (complete with 50 pages-worth of papers to write and 2 complete books left to read in addition to normal work), as well as English tutoring, and bridesmaid's responsibilities for a friend's upcoming wedding. What, like I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of free time on my hands?

Come on, Hobbes. Get on the ball.

;)

Anonymous said...

ugh i know how you feel (to an extent) In english we are writing all the persuasive essays (which is kinda fun b/c I can be passionate about it, and its all about my opinion on things and stuff... then in Journalism.... were writing feature stories, and when were finished with that we start news stories.... then in US History, were writing analysis papers, and comparison papers... its so much fun...Haha, were doing a project and my topic is John Wayne and his impact on the American Movie Industry, so I had to write a magazine article today about the Movie Industry in general from the 1930's to the 1960's... (although, its def. not 50 pages worth, its still alot of writing for a HS Junior) This Johnny Jones.. I think I know him... Is he a link in Daves website? When I lived in colorado, I went to Crossroads baptist in Northglenn, and he was like ... our worship leader... I think.... whats the website address of his youth group?

Anonymous said...

next post?

Jonathan said...

So will there be a part three? You could actually make this about 499billion parts long, but I think it will always come back to our identity being found in Christ. I've been learning alot about the marriage of Christ and the Church recently, and it's a beautiful thing to dig deeper into!

Laura said...

Hey Dan, and everyone...
I'm in the midst of insane paper-writing time, so I hope to get to the next post maybe Thursday after I get everything turned in. Sorry for the delay. And that's a good point. The passage you refer to has plagued Christians for a long time, and coincidentally, we just went over the doctrine of perseverance ("staying saved") in my Systematic Theology class, so I may be equipped to offer you more than, "Uh... once saved, always saved, or something?"

Jonathan, you're right. This could be about 499 billion posts long (I'm imagining you saying that in your best Dr. Evil voice), but I'm hoping to wrap it up after 3 or 4. And don't let some of the regular commenters on your blog catch you talking about being married to Jesus, or you'll never hear the end of it! ;)

Nikki Leigh Daniel said...

i love you, girl. you are always so encouraging.