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Post details: Asked of Trent: Are you christian?

08/28/06

Permalink 10:45:24 pm, Categories: By Trent, GraceHead counseling
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Asked of Trent: Are you christian?

Here is how I answered:

Hello.

Yes, I am a Christian.
No, I am not religious. (anticipating your next question.)

In early church history, we discover the trouble that the Romans had condemning the first Christians. Provided that they could define these people as part of a religion, then they could outlaw the religion and kill the Christians. That was found to be impossible.

Why?

Christians after the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, had only the Spirit of God. Not a single "sacred" day, nor had they a "sacred" place. They didn't even have a "sacred" book. They defied everything that identified them as a religion, because in-fact ... Christianity is NOT a religion.

Christianity is the Spirit of God that was in Christ Jesus imparted into the innermost being of men. In short, Christianity is simply the out-living of the Lord Jesus in the mob of people so willing to have the Lord Jesus worked inside them by the Spirit.

Now, I know there is a religion that is called "Christianity" these days. I am just pointing to the beginning to find the highest revelation of what Christianity really is ... because that initial classic version of Christianity still exists apart from religion.

Romans found it easier to accuse and condemn these early Christians as "atheists" based on their lack of religion, and thus many Christians were put to death, because they could ascribe to themselves no formal religion. They only had the Lord Jesus living in them ... and nothing else.

There are many people that have the culture of Christianity, and they have the right ways of expressing their system-of-belief. But, if they do not have the Life of Jesus by the Holy Spirit within them then they have nothing. They are simply dead without Him.

You can be an insider of the Christian religion ... and have no part of true classic Christianity.

1 John 5:11-13 (New International Version)
11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

As we say ... "you can spend your whole life inside a garage, but that does not make you a car." Likewise, you can grow up attending a church, but that does not make you a Christian.

Still ripening,
Trent
http://www.GraceHead.com

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Permalink 5 comments

Comments:

Comment from: lisa [Member]
Now THIS is a post that makes you go 'hmmmmm'.... I never stopped to think that the early Christians WERE like that--I mean, I knew they were, but I never stopped to think that their very nature made them UN-religious as it were. No sacred set aside anything. At least the Jewish holidays were set aside, with strict rules of conduct to follow, the Torah...
and the believers? Nadda. Go figure.
Ironic that they should be labeled as athiests, huh?
Okay, I'm now butt draggin' tired, so I'm fixin' to drag my tired butt to bed..
Blessings!
Lisa
Permalink 08/28/06 @ 23:11
Comment from: Len Hummel [Visitor] · http://www.myspace.com/lenbenherehear
Remember, Trent, not ALL religion is bad; ... just the kind that people tend to "choke on" within the heart and soul and spirit. (now, admittably, that would be *most* of it) ! ... :^)
have a great week, bro.
ShaLOm in Sar ShaLOm Yeshuah
ha adOn EL ELyOn. {THE LORD JESUS, The Most High GOD and Prince of Peace} !
Permalink 08/30/06 @ 02:20
Comment from: Ambree C. [Visitor]
Cool post, Trent! It's nice seeing some bandwidth being used by you again. :) You're on point as always.

Ambree C. :D
Permalink 08/30/06 @ 14:29
Comment from: Pam [Member]
Hey Trent,

This kind of bare bones faith rings ture to me and I'm not one for special days or ritual or rules and regs. None of these are necessary nor even helpful to a living relationship with Jesus. This makes me realize how man-centered the traditional church has become, not much different from the synagogues of Jesus' day. Yet, that was exactly where Jesus and the Apostles went to teach and preach. Radical Christians should also be in those churches that are heavily burdened by relgion and instead of cowering in a corner and pouting about the deadness brought into the church by that religion, we should be proclaiming the name of Jesus in just the same way that we proclaim His Name here.

Anyway, I'm feeling very radical today!

Love,
Pam
Permalink 09/01/06 @ 12:50
Comment from: Trent [Member] · http://www.GraceHead.com
Mrs. Radical!

Howdy, sis!
I saw Talledega Nights, the comedy movie, and the touching last line is "Lets go get thrown out of Applebee's again tonight!"
So, in that spirit ... lets go be ourselves at church, and get thrown out of church as radicals again tonight!

;-)

-Trent
Permalink 09/04/06 @ 23:10

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