What Is A Christian?

The Old Covenant

In the Book of Exodus we see that God called the Israelites to an understanding of who he was, and then gave them his Law as a Constitutional set of laws for the governing of the nation of Israel, with the Ten Commandments at the core of this Constitutional Law of the Land. This Law was composed of civil and religious laws for the governing of the nation and people of Israel, and God told them to obey it. But God did not provide his Holy Spirit to them to help the people of Israel obey God’s laws, and they failed miserably.

The New Covenant

When God started the New Testament Church of God he made a new covenant with all the New Testament believers. This New Covenant states “I will write my laws in their hearts and in their minds.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:6-13) God does this by placing his Holy Spirit within a person who calls on Jesus to enter into their life and he or she accepts Jesus Christ as their Saviour (Acts 2:1-4, 38-39). Unlike people living under the Old Covenant, God actually writes his basic 10 Commandment Law into the hearts and minds of believers, as they enter into a relationship with him through a life of personal prayer and Bible study. What was impossible for the Old Testament Israelite becomes totally possible for the New Testament believer in Jesus Christ. God then during the lifetime of the believer develops his godly character in that person as he or she learns to apply God’s laws in their personal lives, as enabled by God’s indwelling Holy Spirit. It is a spiritual work of God more than it is a works trip of the believer.

Why Christianity? What Is God Trying To Do?

At the end of a Christian’s life that person’s spirit is held in reserve by God for the 1^st Resurrection to immortality, which will occur at the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ. Then at the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ they are resurrected with a new immortal body just as Jesus Christ is right now. Those believers still alive at Jesus’ 2^nd coming have their bodies changed over into this immortal body like Christ’s (read 1^st Corinthians 15:49-54; 1^st John 3:1-2 and Revelation 1:13-18). God is raising up a race of immortal, powerful sons and daughters who will live forever, who will never be subject to death. The Christian life is training for that.

What Is The Purpose Of Marriage, Family & Having Children?

God created man and woman and marriage to produce godly seed, so that they will enter into his Plan of Salvation, where the end result is the birth of a race of immortal sons and daughters of God, possessing immortal spirit-bodies just like Jesus Christ is now (read Malachi 2:14-15; 1^st Corinthians 15:49-54; 1^st John 3-2; Revelation 1:13-18). That is the major reason God created marriage and sex in marriage, it is a part of God’s plan to produce a race of immortal spirit-beings just like Jesus is right now. We and our children are meant to become “the immortal children of God” when all is said and done.

Churhes

Since God is writing his laws in our hearts and minds by the very definition of the New Covenant, it stands to reason that the Law of God is not done away (read Matthew 5:17-19 and Hebrews 8:6-13). So any church or denomination that says God’s Law is done away (i.e. you don’t have to keep it) is a church or denomination you don’t want to be a part of or attend, because it runs counter to God’s overall Plan of Salvation (we’re talking about the basic 10-Commandment Law of God). There are three basic types of churches out there.

First type: the liberal church says you are welcome here and you do not have to clean up your life.  (most of the older Christian denominations have become liberal.)  This group of churches tend to be made up of the older Christian revivals-turned-denominations, ones that are from 200 to 300 years old, Lutheran, Episcopal (Church of England), Congregational, Methodist, and many of the Baptist churches, although some of these fall into the next category.  Many of these revivals-turned-denominations started out alive and spiritually healthy, and as Charles Stanley said, “the churches became more filled with born-into the church, rather than born-again members of the church.”  This is the normal life-death cycle of most large Christian revivals-turned-denominations, they turned liberal and thus licentious (i.e. lawless). 
 

Second type: the legalistic church says you are not welcome here until you clean up your life.  What’s right and what’s wrong about these churches? The Sabbath-keeping Churches of God tend to be legalistic, and won’t baptize people until they’re obeying to their satisfaction the laws of God, and adhering to their own doctrinal understandings (this would include strict adherence to the no working ‘on the job’ keeping of the Sabbath, from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. Many of their doctrinal understandings are correct, it’s just they’re placing the “obedience cart” before the horse).  There are many other legalistic churches out there as well. Some Torah Observant Messianic Jewish congregations fall into this category, while other’s don’t.  As the Book of Acts brings out, baptism and the laying on of hands, which for the early Church brought the Holy Spirit into one’s life, was instant, once a person accepted Christ as their Saviour.  Delaying baptism until a high degree of obedience is evident in the person’s life is spiritually counter-productive to the life and growth of these churches as well as for the individual, for it is the Holy Spirit that enables real deep, from the heart obedience (cf. Romans 7 verses Romans 8).  These churches tend to be run by ministers that crack the whip and demand obedience from the pulpit, instead of leading people to Christ, who then through the Holy Spirit enables obedience.  In that sense, these ministers tend to usurp the job of the Holy Spirit through their demands for obedience externally, instead of guiding their flocks to seek the Holy Spirit that enables internal obedience, from the heart.  Thus, they tend to be cattle-drivers and not shepherds over God’s flock which has been entrusted to their care.  Many of the fundamentalist churches are legalistic, although some of them are not.  Now don’t come to a wrong conclusion about legalistic churches, especially the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, as many within their congregations have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God do have a very good understanding of God’s Word, the Bible, and many Bible doctrines.  It’s just they have the cart before the horse in their understanding of law & grace, and their concepts about ministry are a bit off (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/AShepherdLooksAt%20Psalm23-short.htm). Amazingly enough, the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God are the very descendants of the original Judeo-Christian churches of God in both Judea and Asia Minor up to around 300AD, before being persecuted and driven underground by the proto-Catholic church under Constantine, so don’t be too hard on them.  These Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, historically speaking, have endured and survived great persecution over the past 1700 years, and are to be admired for staying the course (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals.htm). Severe persecution over the centuries forced these churches to turn inward, becoming exclusive, seldom becoming powerfully evangelical as the early churches of God were during the period of the Book of Acts.  Jesus’ advice for them would be similar to that which he gave the church at Ephesus, “remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works…”  What were those first works?  See http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/earlychurch1.htm.  Pastors, stop usurping the job of the Holy Spirit, baptize immediately, let the Holy Spirit do its job, and gently teach and shepherd the flock of God Jesus has entrusted to your care. You have a rich heritage of survival against all odds.  Move forward in these areas.          
 

Third type: the churches where Jesus says you are welcome here and I will change your life from the inside out (cf. John 8:11-12; Romans 8:1-16; John 14:15-17,21; John 16:13-14)  (this category is filled with the Grace oriented churches, they understand the proper balance between law & grace.)  The Calvary Chapels are a denominational group that is most definitely grace oriented, having a proper understanding of law and grace, although their doctrinal explanation about “law & grace” can be somewhat lacking, as they show an aversion to mentioning the word law in their explanations about law & grace.  They are keeping the Laws of God, 9 out of the 10 Commandments, to the level that can only be accomplished by the indwelling Holy Spirit, thus Spirit-level obedience.  There may be a good number of properly grace oriented churches and congregations out there. The Calvary Chapels are the only denomination that comes to mind as a whole denomination in my own personal experience, so I am using them as an example (to learn more about them see http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/smith.htm and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vmHFvnjPDw).  Many Messianic Jewish congregations are properly grace oriented, and fall into this category as well (I attended one). One Messianic Jewish pastor/rabbi, Marty Cohen, who claims his congregation is Torah Observant, but in reality is very grace oriented said this, “Keeping to Torah is not a prerequisite for being saved, but it’s the evidence that you are!”  The Calvary Chapels have been called legalistic by the liberal churches, because they adhere to and live by the Word of God, including 9 out of the 10 Commandments.  They are not legalistic though.  They quietly keep the laws of God as they are enabled by the indwelling Holy Spirit, while reaching lovingly out to the sinners in the world through their good works.  This is and should be the evangelistic approach of all grace oriented churches and denominations.  Oh, by the way, the Messianic Jewish revival which started to go full-steam around 1970 onward, has seen about one-million Jews come to Christ, by some estimates.  Jesus has truly restored the Jewish branch of the Body of Christ, which originally was under the apostle Peter in Judea (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/messianicmovement.htm).  

Scripture quotes:

1^st Corinthians 15:49-54, “And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [die], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

1^st John 3:1-2, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be [like]: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” What is Jesus Christ like now? Next verse,

Revelation 1:13-18, And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle [sash]. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. [ever hear Niagara Falls?] And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [appearance] was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” That’s what Jesus Christ looks like now, as the apostle John saw him in vision on the Isle of Patmos.

Malachi 2:14-15, “Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.” God’s purpose for marriage between a man and a woman is to produce “godly seed,” godly children, raised to become born-again, Holy Spirit indwelt believers in Jesus Christ themselves. That is what God is revealing through the Prophet Malachi.

Matthew 5:17-19, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Jeremiah 31:31-33, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

The apostle Paul directly quoted Jeremiah 31:31-33, applying it to the Church.

Hebrews 8:8-10, “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.” (be sure to read from verses 6-13, for context, Paul is writing this to the Church, it applies to the Church now, from 31AD to the present.)

If you can’t find a suitable church to attend, I’d be happy to start a non-legalistic Sabbath/Holy Day observing house-church. It’s entirely up to you. see https://unityinchrist.com/E-Mails/June%2014/What%20brings%20you%20to%20this%20article.pdf