Dear….
‘Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.’
Matthew 16:24
A Roman Catholic is not a Christian? Erroneous as it is, this is a common view amongst not just not believers, but those who should know better.
The first Christians or rather the disciples of Christ were first called Christians in Antioch during the Apostle Paul’s time(see Acts 11:26) when many Gentiles came to the faith, much as God’s chosen people, the Jews refused to believe that the risen Christ was the promised Messiah.
Christians were reclassified as Roman Catholics, when the Roman Emperor accepted the Christian faith, and the Roman Empire, the dominant power than moved from persecutor to defender of the Christian faith?? Truth of the matter is that the latter point, ie Christianity moved from being a persecuted faith to a universal religion, Catholic, for Rome was the Universe of the world then is correct, if my sources are reliable? But it was not because the Roman Emperor coined the term Roman Catholic, but rather, if the web is to be believed, the Anglicans coined their rival Christians in Rome as papist, which being perceived as a degrading term, the "papist" decided to use the term "Roman Catholic" to differentiate themselves from the "Catholic" Anglicans.
The French might have had their French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille, a result of simmering resentment against the ruling cliché of royalty, noblemen and the Catholic Church. But interestingly, the Protestant Christian movement across Europe,( a similar causal reaction, a protest to the then dominance of a Roman Catholic church that was perceived to have lost its way, for power will corrupt the finite man) did not take root in increasingly symbolic Catholic France which is now very much secular in belief, but found its grounding in England, where the Anglican Church, or rather the descendants of King Henry played a key supporting role within the fledgling Protestant movement.
How God uses the folly of man to do His will. England was to be the next dominant global Empire after the once great Roman Empire.
And of course, man is always consistently sinful, and the Methodist movement within England was a reaction to the increased perception that the Anglican church then was too close to the establishment and had lost its sense of direction.
Prayerfully, my short discourse on history is not too off the mark and not misleading nor a papering over of the details, as it is never intended to be. And this short discourse at giving a peek into what is complex human history, is not meant to be an indictment of any of my fellow Christian brethrens in other denominations, for all who love the Lord are Christians and brothers and sisters in faith, but rather, to show how the platforms for our faith has and will continue to evolve, and much as once faithful man might become faithless, our Sovereign God will remain steadfast and faithful.
And it is also a reminder to all of us that much as man seeks knowledge, and much as men tend to judge all matters from their flawed understanding, it is God Whom we must look to, and it is God Whom we must truly let go to and be willing to follow.
To do otherwise is to bring much grief and pain to not just ourselves, but people that God placed in our paths, for a self righteous Christian is a dangerous sinner.
‘Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.’
Luke 13:24
History documented by the finite man is not just a depository of man’s temporal greatness, but an important reminder of our consistent capacity for sinfulness. The Bible might be written by men, but it is inspired by the Spirit of God. The Bible is more than a history book. It a book of life, it is God speaking to us not from the past, but for the present and into the future, as already laid out by Him. Every person who professes to be a Christian must spend time diligently on the Scriptures, for the Word is God, and how can you know the will of God, if you do not seek Him?
'Awake to rigthteousness, and do not sin, for some do not have knowlege of God. I speak this to your shame.'
1 Corinthians 15;34
So, what then is a Christian? The dictionary says that it is a person who believes in God, in their own sinfulness and repents and accepts the salvation given to all by the sacrifice of God’s only beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and by his death our sins are cleansed and by the risen Christ, the grip of death upon all is broken.
‘For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?’
Matthew 16:25-26
If you attests to the message of the gospel, then you are a believer. But does that make you a Christian? In fact, you might have mouthed your belief, but has your heart truly received the Spirit of God, which resides in the heart of a true believer and follower of our Lord Jesus Christ?
The devil and demons throughout the Bible believes, knows and acknowledge that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Does that then make the devil and the demons Christians? Clearly not, they believe but they refused to follow Christ?
‘For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s’
Philippians 2:21
A Christian is not just a believer, but one who seeks to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his absence in the body now, He has send the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Being a follower of Christ is to grow into the likeness of Christ, to be like Him. It is a process of refinement that only God knows when we will be ready for His return. And love must permeate our very being, in all our relationships, for God is love.
'All men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.'
John 13:35
‘That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.’
Philippians 2:15
It is good for us all to reflect our lives upon the mirror of the Bible and honestly ask ourselves, have we truly seek the Lord our God in our every moment? I will dare say, many of us have, much as we are imperfect, but it will not be presumptuous to also categorically state that many bring blinkered glasses when they do look at the very same mirror of the Word of God.
The Spirit of God will convict us of our disobedience. Problem though is that we might not be listening, or worse, we have never intended to exercise the privilege of coming unto the sanctifying presence of our Lord, for faith can only come from God, not from our own efforts or understanding, but we must be willing to come unto His presence.
I decided to go back to church twelve years back, in 1998, to add on one more C to my collection of the 4Cs. Man plans, God directs. God decided that the only C that I should give my all to is to Christ our Lord. It took me quite a while to move from believer to follower, but God will use every opportunity to nudge us along.
It is indeed a bold step to truly follow what our Lord Jesus Christ has shown by example ie
‘Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.’
Philippians 2:3-5
Love is what under girds our life as a Christian, for God is love. Pride is what befell the devil, one who once sat at the very footstool of God’s throne leading worship. Pride is what still makes us carnal, pride is the morass that God wants to remove and replace by the His likeness. Being a Christian is to be desirous of following Christ, to be like Him. It can be a painful but always gainful process of transformation. The world will hold one who professed to be a Christian to much higher standards, standards that we often fall short of, but God understands, and His Spirit will lift us up, and help us
but
Is our heart willing? If it is not, you are not a Christian, and that confirmation will sadly come, when you meet our Father in Heaven, who will tell you that He does not know you, much as you do not know Him.
'He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.'
1 John 2:4-5
God Blesses
Eng Hieang
(30th April 10)
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