And for who am i a christian? (Part III)
Stop right there; Did you read part 1 and 2? If you have not done so yet, I encourage you to go and read them and then come back here, since you will not understand much of the message without the portions that precede this blog and may be open to misunderstandings.
Continuous:
Remember I told you that when I moved to the United States my mind changed? Well, here for the gringos (respectfully), drinking beer is not a sin, nor is it a reason that another Christian calls your attention for drinking it, it is a matter of culture, I’ve also seen in the largest churches, with the most prominent worship leaders , and with an incredible anointing from the Holy Spirit, with their arms full of tattoos, and ministering the presence of the Almighty as anyone in robes of holiness.
Here drinking wine is a delight and a luxury, in my country it is "sin", and "it is frowned upon in the eyes of the brothers in the faith", singing secular music that does not corrupt you and that speaks of love, here is fine , "Music is an expression of art", is what they say, in my country, on the contrary, listening to romantic music is a symbol of carnality, but you know, that spirit of religiosity is only on my island that happens, nowhere else 😅 don't worry (note the sarcasm).
With this I am not saying that you should drink beer or wine in public, or that you should get a tattoo, it is an example of what many consider as bad or sin, and for which they judge for no apparent reason, it is not the same to go to drink beer at a bar or winery, or go to a bar and intentionally drink to "have a good time", than being with your family and have a beer to calm the heat, or eat a good cut of meat and accompany it with the drink that is best suits the dish, or go to a restaurant and enjoy a good cocktail, or have a glass of wine to digest.
If the Lord has not convicted you about it, and you have no sinful inclination or weakness towards these things, there is nothing wrong, since the Bible does not condemn it.
When I see a Christian, judging, and saying hurtful things to another person, makes me understand that that person;
Does not love God (has not really known him), therefore has not denied themself.
Does not love themself, because no one who loves themselves would like to be judged by another, and since the person does not love themself, that person still does not have the identity of a son, because if really had the understanding of who that person is for the heavenly father and know its value to God, that person will not act as a guest in its own home.
As the previous two are negative, it is impossible for anyone to be able to love their neighbor, because if we do not have self-love, we cannot love others.
In the end, everything is based on love, and it is summarized there, love is where it begins and love is where it ends, and to love my neighbor two things must happen first;
I must love GOD above all things to deny myself.
I must love myself first (that is, recognizing my identity as a daughter of God), otherwise I will not be able to love my neighbor.
"Jesus said to him: -" Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. " This is the most important and the first of the commandments. But there is a second, similar to this; says: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22: 37-39
I must never stay with my archaic mentality and continue to believe that even if I breathe I sin, in the same word it says that we must live renewing our understanding, and know the will of God that is pleasing and perfect.
“Don't live by the criteria of the present time anymore; on the contrary, change your way of thinking so that your way of life changes and you come to know the will of God, that is, what is good, what is pleasant, what is perfect. “
Romans 12: 2 DHH94PC
When in this word he speaks of "the present time" he refers to the time in which this scripture was written, they were difficult times, even more so for Christians. It should be noted that this biblical portion is in Romans, therefore, non-Jewish people are being exhorted, to renew their mind and not to conform to the criteria of society at that time. And is being Paul who is speaking, a former religious Jew and persecutor of Christians, who is exhorting this.
So, I have a few questions for you; Who do we do what we do for? For who do we serve? For whom do we behave? For whom should we have a semblance of godliness?
In the word it clearly says, that we must go and make disciples, our task as Christians is to share the gift of salvation with others, to bring the good news. Most of us are not pastors, we are not on a pulpit preaching the word, so what do we do?
The answer is simple, we preach with our testimony, giving the example, but here is the heart of the matter, which testimony? What example?
The first thing is that we must know and keep in mind that the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin, making this clear, I will say the following; the best way to preach the gospel is by being yourself, talking about what God has done in your life, how he has transformed you, not with liturgies or religiosity, religion does not convert, it is Christ who does it, always supporting yourself with the word , which is what transforms and convicts.
Story Time:
There is a non-Christian person, who has heard the message of the gospel, and is interested in the word of God, and wants to convert to Jesus, however, she does not dare to go to church, or make a decision to follow Christ, because she is passionate about jazz and don't want to stop attending Jazz Mondays, what would your response be to this person?
It should be noted that this person has already received preaching from other brothers in the faith, who, on repeated occasions, have let her know, directly or indirectly, that, to follow Christ, she must stop attending Jazz Mondays that she loves so much. Is it okay that these brothers in the faith have hinted to this unconverted young woman to leave habits and customs for laws that are not based on the Bible? What are they based on to tell her this?
It should also be noted that the young woman has not yet been baptized by the Holy Spirit, nor has she even accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, therefore, by herself, she will never be able to abandon customs, which may not be pleasing to God, not because they are sin, if not rather, for some particular matter of inner healing, which it is God who must deal with.
Let's have another example: a young Christian woman leads a “double life” due to the fact that she likes dancing, however, in church and on her social networks, she does not publish anything that has to do with that art. She goes to dance classes, has groups in common, who have the same interests as her about dance, and have even gone to festivals and participated in them, but she being a Christian and loving God with all her heart, does not dares to tell her brothers in the faith, because she knows, that she will be judged. She also participates in ministries within the church, is known and works closely within the leadership, is a person who sets a good example of a true Christian in the church and also attends groups in common with people from her ministry. Why does she fear the judgment of her own brothers in the faith for something that is not even stipulated in the bible as sin? Why does she feels the need to lead two separate lives if she is doing nothing wrong?
In the aforementioned situations, both young women do not have bad intentions, one loves jazz and enjoys a good evening every Monday, the other loves dancing, and does not do it in a morbid way or with bad intention.
One does not yet know Christ, and may not know him at a time when she can enjoy a full life in him in her youth, the other does know him, but does not live a full life because she is hiding because of fear of judgment from others. And it is worth mentioning that God has not convicted her, or has made her feel that she is sinning when dancing.
So my question is the following; For whom do we pretend, for whom do we keep testimony? For the Christians themselves or for those who need to follow our example who are outside the gospel?
If, as a Christian, I don't dare to go to a jazz Monday for fear of being judged if they see me, how do I tell this young woman to come to the path of Jesus as she is? As it clearly expresses in the bible, or like me, who never dance in front of the brothers in the church, tell the young woman who loves dancing, not to be ashamed of what she does and that she can be herself because I won't judge her?
Incredibly enough, the young woman who dances, preaches by her example to those who share with her in the dance group, tells them about Christ, and preaches the good news of salvation, with her actions she shows them that God is a God of all and accessible.
So I come back with the same question; For whom do I pretend, for whom do I keep testimony? If what I do is have prejudices in front of others, with what personal example can I tell someone from outside, to come to the path of Christ as it is, if I myself many times do not present myself in front of my brothers in the faith as i am.
It is not my job to transform lives, I do not have the power to do such a thing, only God can do that, through His Holy Spirit.
I'll give you another example; If God, as a way of treating me, commands me not to eat red meat or pork, perhaps for a personal matter, and I do, knowing that God told me not to, then I would have it counted as a sin, but I cannot tell anyone that eating red meat or pork is a sin, because God told me not to eat it, not to that person, I cannot accuse anyone of my own lust, Maybe God is treating my obedience, maybe I have a health problem that I don't even know, but that God does know, and that's why he told me not to eat those things anymore, but I can't tell someone that they are committing sin with something that it is not stipulated in the bible as such.
In the word it says, that if something is a sin for me, if I consider it a sin for me, then if I do it, God himself will count it for me as a sin, the same thing goes with the dance or jazz Monday, beer, mojito, tattoos, etc. If for you it is tempting to be in certain places, or to do such things, then don't do them, but don't tell another person that they can't do it because of your own weakness, like the friend who judged me for the mojitos (see part 1).
“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: that we love one another. Let's not be like Cain, who was from the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain's deeds were bad, and his brother's were good. My brothers, do not be surprised if those who are of the world hate you. We have passed from death to life, and we know it because we love our brothers. He who does not love is still dead. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer can have eternal life in himself. We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us; so too, we must lay down our lives for our brothers. Well, if one is rich and sees that his brother needs help, but does not give to him, how can he have God's love in his heart? My children, that our love is not only in words, but is demonstrated with deeds. In this way we will know that we are of the truth, and we will be able to feel safe before God; because if our heart accuses us of something, God is bigger than our heart, and knows everything. Dear brothers, if our heart does not accuse us, we have confidence before God; and he will give us whatever we ask for, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him. And his commandment is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ, and that we love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commandments live in him, and he lives in them. And in this we know that he lives in us: by the Spirit that he has given us. "
1 John 3: 11-24
In the same way I tell you that we must stop judging each other, we must stop talking about each other behind our backs, the Lord judges these things, we must practice God's justice, that only truth comes out of our mouth, not slander , neither gossip, nor judgment against people who in the eyes of God are not doing anything wrong, who are you to believe yourself holier than God or holier than the person you judge? Take care to honor the Lord, to obey him, to give a good testimony of life, with love, peace, patience, kindness, meekness, self-control, without hurting or offending.
“Brothers, do not speak ill of each other. If someone speaks ill of his brother, or judges him, he speaks ill of the law and judges it. And, if you judge the law, you are no longer the observer of the law, but its judge. There is only one legislator and judge, the one who can save and destroy. You, on the other hand, who are you to judge your neighbor? "
James 4: 11-12 NIV
Let's not have a God complex, let's not pretend to play His role on earth, we have our own role that God has stipulated, remember that with the same measure with which you judge your brother, you will be judged.
“1 (1b) Lord, who can reside in your sanctuary? Who can dwell in your holy mountain? Only the one who lives without blemish and practices justice; the one who speaks the truth with all his heart; the one who does not speak ill of anyone; He who does not harm his friend or offend his neighbor; the one who looks with contempt to whom he deserves contempt, but honors those who honor the Lord; the one who keeps his promises, even if it goes wrong; the one who lends his money without demanding interest; the one who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who lives like this will never fall.”
Psalm 15: 1-5 DHH94PC
Of course, in the word he also talks about the fact that we should call those who do wrong to chapter, and he talks mainly about the brothers in the faith, if we are going to judge, it is through the word, not by laws made by men, and with rules that I don't even know where they got them from.
Many take refuge in the fact that we should not judge each other, and when they are confronted with the word they feel that judgment is being cast on them, but we must be very clear about the difference between the judgment of a person (by own conscience, without biblical basis or proof), and confrontation. When someone is confronted, it is because it is already known in advance that the person is doing wrong according to the word, Jesus did not pass a warm cloth to anyone when He had to do it, as when he told the Pharisees "whitewashed tombs", that was not judgment, that was the reality, He knew the intention of their hearts, He knew before hand that they only dressed in holiness, but inside they were full of rottenness.
We must also be clear that those who are not on the road do not take part in this confrontation, since they do not live according to the word and do not have the help of the Holy Spirit to get away from bad habits.
Like when Mary Magdalene was about to be stoned and Jesus intervened, what was His response ?; "He who is free from sin, let him cast the first stone", at that moment Mary Magdalene's life was transformed, since a word of judgment did not come from the mouth of Jesus, but forgiveness, and this produced transformation in her and repentance.
Judgment:
Faculty of understanding, by virtue of which man can distinguish good from evil and what is true from what is false.
Reasoned opinion that someone forms about a person or a thing.
Axis. "You should not make judgments about anyone without knowing them
And going back to the social media; It is not that I am a psychotic, or that I am obsessed with publishing everything in life, the point is that, if I have already decided that part of my life is public, then I must do it in the right way, as a Christian, as a friend, as a daughter , as a human being, as a daughter of God and even as a wife.
It is not that my profile is perfect, and much less my life, like nobody's, but I want to reflect what Christ wants to see in me, what I am, His daughter, I want to set an example and that others see that even though I am a young woman, I lead a full life in Christ, and that I would not change this life for anything, and that I do not see myself outside of Him.
If at some point I have not been a sufficient example of Christ in my walk or in my social media, I tell you that this has nothing to do with Christ, but with my own decisions, bad and good, and due to the lack of conscience that Sometimes our own youth and our flesh makes us have. 😔
I guarantee that I will always do my best so that you who follow me see Christ reflected in every step I take and in every moment of my life, and I want to tell you that it is worth serving Him, it is worth following a living God and that it is the best decision a human being can make.
“Jesus addressed the people again, saying: —I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will have the light that gives him life, and will never walk in darkness. The Pharisees said to him: "You are giving testimony on your behalf: that testimony is worthless." Jesus answered them: —My testimony does have value, even if I give it myself in my favor. Well, I know where I came from and where I'm going; instead, you don't know. You judge by human criteria. I don't judge anyone; But if I judge, my judgment is in accordance with the truth, because I do not judge by myself, but the Father who sent me judges with me. In your law it is written that when two witnesses say the same thing, their testimony has value. Well, I myself am a witness in my favor, and the Father who sent me is the other witness. "
John 8: 12-18 DHH94PC
And likewise I want you to know that you will not receive judgment from me, but love, because I love God above all things, and His love made me love myself, and have the identity of a daughter, therefore, I love my neighbor, from the same way that I love myself.
Part I and II
https://www.cindynunez.com/english-blogs/are-you-really-a-christian
https://www.cindynunez.com/english-blogs/yes-i-am-a-christian
