True biblical Christianity

[JesusIs4Me]

Every Bible contains Scriptural guidelines for speaking in tongues. Your comment about the use of tongues -- :happy:aul said he'd Rather speak so that everyone could hear and immediately understand what he was saying. But -- he even mentioned a personal private prayer language.

1 Corinthians 14:12 Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. 13 Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Paul is talking about the use of tongues in church whereby those who speak in tongues, should pray that another may interpret that tongue. Paul was not saying that the Holy Spirit is praying when it is his spirit that is praying that someone else may interpret the tongue that is being manifested by the Holy Spirit at that moment. As Paul is praying for someone else to interpret so that he may understand that tongue and that tongue would be fruitful to himself; which is the point for why he was telling believers when they are zealous for spiritual gifts, to see the gift of prophesy over all spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 14:1 and he began to compare prophesy against tongues to show why; it is not a stand alone gift for any one to use privately.

1 Corinthians 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. .....19 And if they were all one member, where were the body? 20 But now are they many members, yet but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Tongues for private use would be like saying you have no need of others for using tongues privately and yet you do not know if that tongue is for self edification or a different mode of the claim of the Holy Spirit praying instead. That's confusion for why tongues will come with interpretation or else understood by a foreigner in the assembly or in outreach ministry. So no, Paul was not really saying tongues are for a private prayer language. FYI

It's more a person's personal preference rather than Scriptural guidelines.

Paul cited his preference to scripture plainly here rather than vain & profane babbling that no one can say what that tongue is when it is never interpreted for private use.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.....24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The devil's will and snare is to seduce believers into not praying themselves normally in doing the Father's will.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

There was an Hispanic older couple in a church we'd been at. They were both believers -- in their home, they used their own private prayer language and were blessed by that. They said they'd never practice that in church or in a group because people would not understand.

Neither do they unless it was interpreted which proves it was not manifested by the Holy Spirit, but the devil to stop them from praying normally. By praying normally, you know what you had prayed for so that when you get an answer to prayer, you can give the Father thanks in Jesus's name which is also the will of God for you to do. Is it not better to know what that tongue is doing rather than not? So it is better you pray than permit tongue to be used for private use because it is not of Him at all when gained by what people believe was the Holy spirit apart from salvation bringing that tongue which can never come with interpretation because it is not of Him at all.

So -- we'll simply agree to disagree.

I reckon so. I pointed out John 16:13 to you that is found in all Bibles saying that the Holy Spirit can only speak what He hears...here it is in the NIV :

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come NIV

That scriptural truth is found in all Bible versions in one form or another, but Romans 8:26 goes against what that John 16:13 says in that NIV.

Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. NIV

Verse 26 implies you can hear the Holy Spirit groaning while verse 27 commits a grammatical error by concluding that verse by switching out the "he" with "the Spirit". How can the "he" be separate from us that searches our hearts and be the "he" that is separate from "the Spirit" in knowing the mind of the Spirit, be "the Spirit" in the conclusion of that verse? That is a grammatical error when verse 27 in the KJV is about Jesus Christ searching our hearts in knowing the mind of the Spirit to give the Spirit's silent intercessions to the Father.

Only the KJV keeps the truth lined up with John 16:13 that not even the groanings of the Holy Spirit can be uttered.

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. KJV

But usually, tongue speakers today just keep on disregarding the meat of His words for discernment in the KJV that exposes that tongue as gained by what they believe was the Holy Spirit apart from salvation as not of Him at all for why it never comes with interpretation because it is not God's prophesied gift of tongues for speaking unto the people.

1 Corinthians 14:.20 Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men. 21 In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.

Like it or not, Romans 8:26-27 KJV is for every believer for why tongues is not being used for the silent intercessions of the Spirit to be known to God the Father which is by the Son knowing the mind of the Spirit for why the Father knows before we ask anything in prayer.

Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

Only God can peradventure to recover tongue speakers today from this snare of the devil. I know I cannot convince any one even if we all agree to only go by the KJV for the actual meat of His words that does not decline from the testimony of the Son in keeping the faith which is the good fight in exposing the works of darkness as that tongue can be found in the occult as confirmed by the Bible in Isaiah 8:19 KJV

Isaiah 8:.19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

That is why we were warned not to believe every spirit but test them in 1 John 4:1-4 KJV as any spirit outside of us visiting the worship place or coming over the already saved believer is not the Holy Spirit for why they are speaking the way the world speaks in tongues which is gibberish nonsense as testified in 1 John 4:5-6 KJV as being of the spirit of error.

May God cause the increase.

 

[Sue D.]

There are those who are very KJV people and consider that Anything they say is totally correct Because they are using that particular version.

 

[JesusIs4Me]

There are those who are very KJV people and consider that Anything they say is totally correct Because they are using that particular version.

True or false; not all Bible versions are saying the same thing.

And if you wonder why you can't correct any one is because they go to their Bible version. Sometimes, you can use the same Bible version, and yet they choose to emphasize one verse while grossly ignoring other verses in that same Bible that reproves what that verse says or how they are applying that verse.

Since scripture is NOT SUPPOSED to go against scripture for why the lost books are not accepted as scripture, then you can discern with Him which Bible He wants you to use among the many Bible versions that are out there.

It all boils down to Whom or what you serve in testifying of in seeking the glory of; the Lord Jesus Christ or something else in His name as instead of Jesus Christ Himself.

True witness of Christianity can be found by preaching Jesus Christ & Him crucified in seeking His glory; anything that is "instead of Christ" is the ample definition of the antichrist.

1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Scripture supposed to be testifying of Jesus for readers to go to Him.

John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. 40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

The indwelling Holy Spirit's job is to testify of the Son in seeking the glory of the Son's so how can He do that except thru us in worship, fellowship, prayer, and outreach ministry.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me:

The Holy Spirit will not slack in His job as being the True Witness of the Son in seeking His glory & the glory of God the Father by Him nor be a false witness by leading believers to speak of Himself in seeking His own glory.

John 5:31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

So He shall witness like John the Baptist's has done.

John 3:28 Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29 He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

All invitations points to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the bride to keep going to the Bridegroom; NOT TO the HOLY SPIRIT because the Holy Spirit is still pointing the bride TO the Bridegroom in relating to God the Father by.

So believers have to decide Who or what they wish to serve; that one hope of our calling, the Lord Jesus Christ, or preach another calling to move believers from their rest in Jesus Christ to seek a baptism of the Holy Ghost by a sign to receive apart from salvation thus preaching another gospel and NOT preaching Jesus Christ for that to happen.

The same goes for preaching Torah or the Ten Commandments, or commitment to follow Christ or the Promise Keepers prgram which makes the believer look to himself to do it, and not resting in the Lord Jesus Christ to help them to follow Him.

We either really preach Jesus Christ or we are not serving Him as His disciple. It is either Jesus in defending that faith that He has been received at the calling of the gospel when we first believed in Him or that other calling for tongues.

 

[Sue D.]

Hi -- for one thing -- the KJV was printed in the English spoken / written way back in the time OF King James 1. Remember -- I grew up with KJV and especially Scoffield's notes. His notations at the bottom of the Bible were considered to be almost as inspired as the printed pages of the Bible itself.

Did you know that there are NAS onlyists as well as KJV onlyists. Kind of interesting. And there Are some versions that are not worth the paper they are printed on. I'm thinking the newest NIV is one of them. The Living Bible is another. The Message Bible is in that group also, maybe.

Now I Do disagree with you about the Holy Spirit. Let's put it this way -- the Godhead consists of God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit. They All have a very important role in salvation. And a person's salvation is The most important decision a person will Ever make.

Part of the role Of the Holy Spirit is that of convicting a person of their sins and nudging them to accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior. Another role is being the Comforter. Another role is keeping power of the Holy Spirit. Meaning that at the moment of a person's salvation the Holy Spirit comes to indwell them and stays in them until they are safe with Jesus Christ. Either at the moment of their death or at the rapture of His Church. The baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the moment of salvation. There is no baptism of the Holy Spirit that is sought by a person. There is no second blessing.

And speaking in tongues is Not considered 'another calling'. Back in the day, it was very important. Speaking in tongues was one of the gifts from the Holy Spirit. The gift of tongues was shown in Acts when I think it was Peter who was speaking to all the Jews from all over the world who came together -- they were each hearing in their own language / dialect what was being spoken. That was tongues. There are those who believe that that gift is no longer in effect -- no need for it Because we now have interpreters who interpret for others AND people are able to learn foreign languages to use on the mission field. And there Are the guidelines in Scripture -- during a church service not more than three people may speak and there has to be an interpreter present or it's not valid tongues. But tongues are not evil. The abuse of is, though.

As for your first question -- are all Bible versions saying the same thing? Are they teaching the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, His death, burial and bodily resurrection -- teaching the blood of Christ. Now--are they all word for word the same -- probably not. Some have different sentence structure. Some have up-graded wording that is used today rather than how the KJV reads. BUT they are All saying the same thing. Some are phrase by phrase rather than word for word. And That is because translating from one language to another -- all alphabets are different. For instance Spanish alphabet is a bit different from English. Mostly the same but differences. And, for instance a geographical area that is mostly desert / hot/ dry is not going to have wording for rain, flooding, like getting across the concept of flooding. But, this world is getting smaller and smaller -- so -- chances are that people From those isolated areas Will have people from other parts of the world come to visit,. Maybe help with learning to irrigate their land, dig wells to help them find water. It might not be seen coming down from the sky, but it Can come up from underground. And, really,learning about the flood or not will not affect a person's salvation. Unless they simply Won't believe parts Of God's Word. I've gotten a bit off track. Bible versions -- we Are told to Not add to or subtract From God's Word. And we do Not subtract from God's Word because we don't think various events were possible.

You also mentioned the Apocraphal books -- there are a list of books that are not considered part of the Canon. I've looked that up and the guidelines For the books that Are part of the Canon of Scripture.

there is only one translation / version that includes all the books including the Apocraphal books. That's the specific RCC Bible. If a person Wants to read those extra books -- they are available on internet. In one of them there is the RCC support for the existence of purgatory. It's been said that the Macabbeas are good for history between the Old and New Testaments. But they are not inspired.

The books that were taken out were done so for a Good reason.

Your second sentence -- people like to take verses out of their intended context to try to prove their point. A person could probably find say 5 people and ask them their interpretation out of the same Bible and come up with different thoughts. That's probably why a Bible study group can be very interesting. The Holy Spirit takes a portion and teaches two people's hearts what they / personally need to learn from it. And then someone Else can say -- well -- what about 'this' verse. And it can start some good, learning times. There was a Bible study I went to a long time ago -- one of the ladies said her daughter had been accepted at a seminary so she could preach. And a couple of Other ladies said Wonderful -- she is such a good speaker. No one brought up the passages that say -- an elder / bishop / preacher is to be the husband of one wife and lead his family in a Godly way. Which rules out women preaching to a mixed adult group. No one even brought up that her daughter Could teach a woman's Bible study groups. Now maybe the situation was complicated by the fact that it was mainly a caucasion Bible study group and there were several ladies of 'color' there and they were the one's who were supporting the woman's daughter going to seminary.

Your response to This will be interesting.

 

[JesusIs4Me]

Hi -- for one thing -- the KJV was printed in the English spoken / written way back in the time OF King James 1. Remember -- I grew up with KJV and especially Scoffield's notes. His notations at the bottom of the Bible were considered to be almost as inspired as the printed pages of the Bible itself.

Did you know that there are NAS onlyists as well as KJV onlyists. Kind of interesting. And there Are some versions that are not worth the paper they are printed on. I'm thinking the newest NIV is one of them. The Living Bible is another. The Message Bible is in that group also, maybe.

Well, it goes to the problem for why I believe saved believers are thirsting and hungering for more of God after salvation when Jesus promised they wouldn't be after they got saved; John 6:35 I refer to the prophesy below:

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

Now I Do disagree with you about the Holy Spirit. Let's put it this way -- the Godhead consists of God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit. They All have a very important role in salvation. And a person's salvation is The most important decision a person will Ever make.

Part of the role Of the Holy Spirit is that of convicting a person of their sins and nudging them to accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

It is the Father that draws men unto the Son; John 6:44 KJV and it is the Father that reveals the Son even unto babes and sometimes hide them from the religious for why He calls them to learn of Him to rest in Him: Matthew 7:25-30 KJV

The Holy Spirit will convict but not the way you think. He will convict those who do not believe. If we want to go by scripture on what the Holy Spirit actually does, then that is what He convicts the world of; but not to make them believe, but convict them for not believing.

John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Another role is being the Comforter. Another role is keeping power of the Holy Spirit. Meaning that at the moment of a person's salvation the Holy Spirit comes to indwell them and stays in them until they are safe with Jesus Christ. Either at the moment of their death or at the rapture of His Church. The baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at the moment of salvation. There is no baptism of the Holy Spirit that is sought by a person. There is no second blessing.

You may want to take a poll on how many here actually believes to the contrary for why they hype it because that is how and when they got tongues for private use by. It is real to them and I do not doubt it is real to them, but it is not of Him.

And speaking in tongues is Not considered 'another calling'. Back in the day, it was very important. Speaking in tongues was one of the gifts from the Holy Spirit. The gift of tongues was shown in Acts when I think it was Peter who was speaking to all the Jews from all over the world who came together -- they were each hearing in their own language / dialect what was being spoken. That was tongues.

That is the only kind of God's gift of tongues there is as prophesied to be of other men's lips to speak unto the people. That is why in the assembly, it will come with interpretation or else as Paul testify, it is unfruitful to himself as a tongue speaker unless it is interpreted.

There are those who believe that that gift is no longer in effect -- no need for it Because we now have interpreters who interpret for others AND people are able to learn foreign languages to use on the mission field. And there Are the guidelines in Scripture -- during a church service not more than three people may speak and there has to be an interpreter present or it's not valid tongues. But tongues are not evil. The abuse of is, though.

In the O.T. and in the N.T. God spoke plainly to the prophets so that they understand His words; so when believers think because it comes without interpretation, then it must be for self edification when that opposes everything God has done in the past while others assume it is a prayer language of the Holy Spirit but John 16:13 cites the Holy Spirit cannot speak for Himself, but speak ONLY what He hears. Errant Bible versions of Romans 8:26-27 implies otherwise disregarding what John 16:13 says in that modern Bible they are using, which is why I point to the KJV because it maintains in Romans 8:26 KJV that not even His groanings can be uttered, as John 16:13 testify that the Holy Spirit cannot even do that..

As for your first question -- are all Bible versions saying the same thing? Are they teaching the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, His death, burial and bodily resurrection -- teaching the blood of Christ. Now--are they all word for word the same -- probably not. Some have different sentence structure. Some have up-graded wording that is used today rather than how the KJV reads. BUT they are All saying the same thing. Some are phrase by phrase rather than word for word. And That is because translating from one language to another -- all alphabets are different. For instance Spanish alphabet is a bit different from English. Mostly the same but differences. And, for instance a geographical area that is mostly desert / hot/ dry is not going to have wording for rain, flooding, like getting across the concept of flooding. But, this world is getting smaller and smaller -- so -- chances are that people From those isolated areas Will have people from other parts of the world come to visit,. Maybe help with learning to irrigate their land, dig wells to help them find water. It might not be seen coming down from the sky, but it Can come up from underground. And, really,learning about the flood or not will not affect a person's salvation. Unless they simply Won't believe parts Of God's Word. I've gotten a bit off track. Bible versions -- we Are told to Not add to or subtract From God's Word. And we do Not subtract from God's Word because we don't think various events were possible.

You also mentioned the Apocraphal books -- there are a list of books that are not considered part of the Canon. I've looked that up and the guidelines For the books that Are part of the Canon of Scripture.

Scripture cannot go against scripture as there can be no lie of the truth in scripture. That is why the lost books are not accepted as scripture because all it takes is one verse to run contrary to the accepted scripture.

With all the Bible versions that there is and they are still trying to churn out an easier to read Bible than the KJV... ( you would think they would stop at the NIV, but the love of money is the real reason now ) and so to get that copyright, they have to change enough words, drop enough words, add enough words in order to get their own copyright version Bible. It is not a mystery why all Bible versions are not saying the same thing.

And yet all it takes is asking the Lord for wisdom in understanding His words in the KJV as I have that version the way it is today. Is it perfect? No. There are some places I believe it can do better in translation even though the message is there, but I can't say that about modern Bibles in general because they can take verses that actually support false teachings and false spirits as they make the reproofs in that modern Bible to no effect so they cannot see the error at all.

That is why I rely only on the KJV for the actual meat and meaning of His words for me to discern good and evil by in these latter days.

there is only one translation / version that includes all the books including the Apocraphal books. That's the specific RCC Bible. If a person Wants to read those extra books -- they are available on internet. In one of them there is the RCC support for the existence of purgatory. It's been said that the Macabbeas are good for history between the Old and New Testaments. But they are not inspired.

The books that were taken out were done so for a Good reason.

That is correct. They run against the accepted scripture.

Your second sentence -- people like to take verses out of their intended context to try to prove their point. A person could probably find say 5 people and ask them their interpretation out of the same Bible and come up with different thoughts. That's probably why a Bible study group can be very interesting. The Holy Spirit takes a portion and teaches two people's hearts what they / personally need to learn from it. And then someone Else can say -- well -- what about 'this' verse. And it can start some good, learning times. There was a Bible study I went to a long time ago -- one of the ladies said her daughter had been accepted at a seminary so she could preach. And a couple of Other ladies said Wonderful -- she is such a good speaker. No one brought up the passages that say -- an elder / bishop / preacher is to be the husband of one wife and lead his family in a Godly way. Which rules out women preaching to a mixed adult group. No one even brought up that her daughter Could teach a woman's Bible study groups. Now maybe the situation was complicated by the fact that it was mainly a caucasion Bible study group and there were several ladies of 'color' there and they were the one's who were supporting the woman's daughter going to seminary.

Your response to This will be interesting.

If you go to Bible Gateway and compare John 16:13 in as many Bible versions that you want, you will see the truth in His words that the Holy Spirit cannot speak for Himself; nor speak on His own initiative, nor speak on His own accord, nor speak on His own authority BUT speak only what He hears.

Bible Gateway Comparison of John 16:13

So I find KJV for the longest time the only one that lines up the truth of John 16:13 with Romans 8:26 KJV in that not even the groanings of the Holy Spirit can be uttered for why that "he" in verse 27 is about Jesus Christ as He is the One that searches our hearts as confirmed in Hebrews 4:12-16 KJV to know the mind of the Spirit thus explaining how the silent intercessions of the Spirit's is given to God the Father by the only way of the Son. That is how and why the Father knows everything before we ourselves ask Him in prayer; in Matthew 6:7-8 KJV

You can find one other version, a recent new one that has it the way the KJV does, but I have yet to check that recent version if they have any of the other errors that most modern Bibles seem to have. I am not talking about spelling or using a better word, but errors that support false teaching that makes it hard for me to keep the faith which is the good fight by the KJV when they favor that other Bible version.

But God can peradventure to recover some from the snare of the devil and so He is helping me to lean on Him to keep going out here in the forum until He takes me Home.

 

[spreadingtheGospel]

From: Got Questions.

Question: "What is Christianity and what do Christians believe?"

Answer: The core beliefs of Christianity are summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Jesus died for our sins, was buried, was resurrected, and thereby offers salvation to all who will receive Him in faith. Unique among all other faiths, Christianity is more about a relationship than religious practices. Instead of adhering to a list of “do’s and don’ts,” the goal of a Christian is to cultivate a close walk with God. That relationship is made possible because of the work of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Beyond these core beliefs, there are many other items that are, or at least should be, indicative of what Christianity is and what Christianity believes. Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired, “God-breathed” Word of God and that its teaching is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). Christians believe in one God that exists in three persons—the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.

Christians believe that mankind was created specifically to have a relationship with God, but sin separates all men from God (Romans 3:23; 5:12). Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ walked this earth, fully God, and yet fully man (Philippians 2:6-11), and died on the cross. Christians believe that after His death, Christ was buried, He rose again, and now lives at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for the believers forever (Hebrews 7:25). Christianity proclaims that Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to completely pay the sin debt owed by all men and this is what restores the broken relationship between God and man (Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:10; Romans 5:8; 6:23).

Christianity teaches that in order to be saved and be granted entrance into heaven after death, one must place one’s faith entirely in the finished work of Christ on the cross. If we believe that Christ died in our place and paid the price of our own sins, and rose again, then we are saved. There is nothing that anyone can do to earn salvation. We cannot be “good enough” to please God on our own, because we are all sinners (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6-7). There is nothing more to be done, because Christ has done all the work! When He was on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), meaning that the work of redemption was completed.

According to Christianity, salvation is freedom from the old sin nature and freedom to pursue a right relationship with God. Where we were once slaves to sin, we are now slaves to Christ (Romans 6:15-22). As long as believers live on this earth in their sinful bodies, they will engage in a constant struggle with sin. However, Christians can have victory in the struggle with sin by studying and applying God’s Word in their lives and being controlled by the Holy Spirit—that is, submitting to the Spirit’s leading in everyday circumstances.

So, while many religious systems require that a person do or not do certain things, Christianity is about believing that Christ died on the cross as payment for our own sins and rose again. Our sin debt is paid and we can have fellowship with God. We can have victory over our sin nature and walk in fellowship and obedience with God. That is true biblical Christianity.

Hey hope you are well. What you are describing is what i call Churchy Christianity. People don't realize when Paul says that in Romans that he is talking to a church to where if you say the name Jesus your a dead man. So if they were bold enough to stand up and say Jesus Christ is their Lord then they were claiming their faith, because they were about to die a brutal death.

Christianity is a follower of Christ, just like the followers in the book of Acts. They sold their possessions, quit working for money, and went into all the world preaching the Gospel. If you want to find what a real Christian is read the four Gospels and see what Jesus told his followers to do and then follow them.