Just A Thought on being called a Christian...

Easy. Click on Profile and look at my Valentine's Day picture. That hairstyle is considered worldly because my hair is short. On the other hand, my husband's hair is godly. BUT, my dress is below my knees so that's godly... BUT my blouse has a slight v neck line so that's worldly. I'm wearing earrings and a cross necklace so that's worldly but ....

Oh never mind! LOL

 

Obviously Diane you look too worldly to be christian. LOL

 

I don't think it's necessary to classify each item as clothing as either worldly or Godly, Diane. Looking at that picture, your style of dress looks, to me, to be completely modest, just as a Christian should be dressed.

 

LOL Brett! It was meant for humor. The ladies will understand because we had some tell us a few weeks ago that we were hell bound if we wore things without sleeves or wore pants. That's why Donna joined in the laughter.

I agree with you totally!
Diane

 

Just kidding Brett sorry it wasn't more clear I was joking, Diane knows I meant nothing by it, we are of completly like mind when it comes to clothes.

 

If someone met me at Wal-Mart he/she wouldn't know I were a Christian. I am 235 lbs, 5 feet 9, with callouses on the knuckles of both hands from playing karate in my youth. My eyebrows tend to meet in the middle, my eyes are perpetually blood-shot (from dust,grime, and a general lack of sleep), I love to wear shorts and tops in the sweltering summer and sweaters topped with a jacket 2x in size and a ski mask in the freezing winter time.

I speak with a raspy voice from the many cigarettes I consumed before Christ, and the coffee (I think) after Christ. What's more I speak English with an accent that people say they find hard to place. Some think I'm Middle Eastern, some think I'm French, some German, and (jeepers creepers)still some think I'm Greek. The best thing that happened to me, accent-wise, was when somebody thought I was from New York. But then, come to think of it, he was Chinese.

So, no, if somebody met me at Wal-Mart, he'll probably dial "911" on his cellular and pause his finger over the send/go button, just in case I pulled out a gun and announced a hold-up. He/she will most likely gravitate towards some nicely dressed,soothing voiced, perpetually smiling, calm-moving, shining-faced, kindly looking "gentleman" who's probably a pickpocket or the real stick-up artist.

You see, Christian does not mean Christ-like. It means "one belonging to Christ". Our Christlikeness is one that only God's eyes see while we are on this earth. We are hid in Christ, our cleft in the rock. Through Him and because of Him we have been accepted in the beloved. We have become new creatures before Him, conformed to the image of His only begotten Son. The hidden man of the heart is visible only to God, not to humans.

Conduct is never a yardstick to one's being of God.

 

AMEN!

Sherrie

 

That is really good.

 

I use to be one that judged another person on how they dressed. If they were a christian and wore pants I would consider them liberal. The better outside apperance you had the better christian you were. Thats what I was basically taught.

Well, THANK GOD I've been shown the truth. I now go to a church where lots of the women wear pants and they are 10x's more godly than the women from my old church. The "old" church was focused to much on there looks and doing works to notice. It was all a show and they are not spiritual at all. Legalism will destroy a church instead of bringing it closer to God.
Man looketh on the outward but God looketh on the heart. If your HEART is right your clothes will be right. And style has nothing to do with anything. Choose whatever style you want as long as its modest.
Also don't forget a new christian does NOT change over night. When I was first a christian I would still wear little tiny skirts and now I think OH MY what was I thinking. But the Lord showed me and convicted me in HIS timing.
We should never judge a person on their looks. That is NOT our place to judge.

 

Diane, is that the way you dress all the time?

That was a good website, thanks for posting it.

I do believe that God judges the heart, but he also expects us to follow his commandments that is a condition of our love towards Him.
Joh 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

I know plenty of people who say they are Christians that think they are modestly dressed in a pair of shorts, to me that is not modest.

Each individual must determine for themselves what modest is within the realm of scripture. As it has been said, not everybody automatically dresses a certain way after being saved, it takes time for a person to be molded the way God wants them to be.

As a seasoned Christian, we must always show forth patience and grace, yet be willing to teach what the Lord has shown us and accept the fact that not everyone is at a place to recieve what we say, but maybe there is one who is and that is why we must be there to show the difference in a loving way. The truth is though, no matter how loving we may try to be the object on the other end may have such a hard heart that it won't make a difference, then Christ has the answer for that too, Mt 7:6 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

 

The Bible warns more than once about judging others based upon their outward appearance.

The sad thing is, that if the Jesus of the Bible walked into many Baptist churches today (wearing a robe & sandals, bearded, maybe a little dusty after walking from Nazareth- a couple of the ushers would be sent to "show that 'dirty hippie' the door!"

 

Jesus said in John 13:35 - By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I'm having a little trouble finding one about "they'll know you by the way you're dressedand by your haircut".

 

What does a Christian look like?

Beware of appearances and don't always look for smiling people. Smiles can be phony and cover up the lack of joy in a person's life.

The finest Christian I know doesn't smile that much and he does not have that "joyful" appearance. However, he is awesome in his walk with the Lord. He expresses love to others by actually doing acts of kindness rather than talking about it. When he says he'll do something, he keeps his word. His "yes" is YES and his "no" is NO. He avoids gossip. He prays for others daily.

Many Christians I know, including myself, are long on talk and appearances, but fail in the area of discipleship because it's too hard.

 

That goes both ways. We as Christians should not misjudge someone because they "don't look" Christian. Because the truth is, they simply don't look like what we think a Christian should look like.

We often preach:
"Beauty is only skin deep".
Unfortunately, we typically practice:
"Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone".

 

How about if I told you that I have worked for two men who called themselves Chrtistians and were regularly cheating customers? One told me to cheat a customer. I told him that I would not and wrpte him a letter about the issue. In the letter I told him not to never ask me to cheat a customer again because I would not. Three weeks later I was without a job. But the Lord gave me an even better job with more pay and better hours.

Ironically a man called me to work on his home where one of those Christian men had just been let go because he was overcharging the man in the work he was doing. I ended up working on that same home.

 

Beware of the "Christian business directories". Anyone can put a FISH on his business card, but what people want is honest work for a fair price. At a minimum, we want to be told the truth. I'd rather give my business to an honest "agnostic" than a dishonest "christian".

 

You bring up a very good point. I'd rather give my business to an agnostic who is engaging in Christlike business principles over a Christian who is engaging in unchristian business principles. For doing so only tells the Christian that there is no need for him to walk the walk.