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I believe he/she is a "Christian" because
- Thread starter T Alan
- Start date
Love.
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John 13:34-35 NAS77
and how was this "Love" made manifest?
1 Corinthians 13:4-7English Standard Version (ESV)
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[a] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
This description doesn't seem to address "giving" as many would use as the benchmark of love.
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quantumfaith
Active Member
We do not have the ability to love in the natural. Neither can we bear fruit in the absence of the Holy Spirit. We certainly cannot love as Paul describes in I Cor 13.
1 John 4:7-10 NAS77
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
We don't know how to love but God does. Verse 9 says this love is manifest in us - God's love through Jesus Christ. It is His presence in us that allows us to love. Father, Son and Holy Ghost all working through broken yet redeemed man to make His love known.
That I've heard? Or what scripture states?
Padre had a great biblical answer, and the followup quote from 1Cor 13. I agree it's not giving, but hopes all things and bears all things.
But that's not what I've commonly heard. The catch-phrase crowd is what I've heard most often - I know he's a Christian because:
He gave his life to Christ
He's servin' the Lord
He loves the Lord
He asked Jesus into his heart
The catch-phrase crowd looks at the outward, manifest as some kind of works. They even wrongly apply "know them by their fruit", thinking it's some sort of behavioral indicator.
One from scripture, one from man - polar opposites
I agree with both.
I would say that the "act" or "work" that often accompany those I've heard the remark about is acts of kindness such as helping the homeless or needy in a tangible way.
I'm not sure about acts of "love" apart from "in the name of Jesus" what good does it do to feed someone food and not feed them the Bread of Life?
Sharing bread and sharing the Bread of Life are not mutually exclusive. One is not done without the other. Jesus spoke to the acts of kindness:
Matthew 25:34-40 NAS77
34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink?
38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
35 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink?
38 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'
40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
As did James:
James 2:14-18 NAS77
14 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
18 But someone may well say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
It's not as if we have two lines to stand in; one marked Preach the Gospel and the other Do Good Things.
I'll bring the peanut M&Ms
great meals deserve great desserts. M&M's umm umm good!