The Uncommon Christian

"Once saved, always saved." "You can't lose salvation." "Will you go to Heaven when you die?" "I know I'm saved. Are you?" Living in the Bible Belt, you hear these statements quite frequently. Before becoming a Christian, I never thought twice about it. I assumed that the Bible told you who was saved and who wasn't. After reading the Bible, I now know that it's much more complicated than that. I also think that, as Christians, we hold ourselves back and do more damage than good by thinking in such a way. By believing that salvation is permanent and has nothing to do with you, you stop trying. I understand that the Bible says that all you need is faith in Christ in order to be saved, but it also tells us what faith is. We're supposed to live by faith. As Christians, we're so focused on the part about how salvation isn't based on our works that we forget that when you have faith in Christ your works reflect th...

What does it take to be saved? According to Christ, we must show faith in Christ as our personal savior. That is the one requirement that is echoed again and again throughout the New Testament. For by grace you have been saved through faith. - Ephesians 2:8 Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - John 3:17 If all it takes is faith in Christ to be saved, why then is there so much conflict among Christians? We have hundreds of denominations based on different unspoken req...

What does it mean to be saved? How do you become saved? How do you know if you are saved? All common questions among those new to Christianity. In my opinion, our focus shouldn’t be on salvation. Our focus should be on emulating Christ and leading a life that is pleasing to God. When you put Christ and God first in your life then salvation is much more likely. Unfortunately, there’s no cheat sheet, aside from the Bible, on how to be saved. You won’t find an accurate, easy to follow check list of what you must do to be saved. The Bible gives the best explanation of what salvation is and how to achieve it. So, what does it mean to be saved? Many Christians that I’ve spoken with view salvation as a means to get into Heaven upon death. You will pass through judgement into eternal life with God and Christ. Salvation is more than a post-death reward, though. Salvation, to me, is a state of mind. You’ve received the Holy Spirit, you’re part of the body of Christ, and now you grow, learn, ...

In a nation where over 70% of the population considers themselves to be one denomination of Christianity or another, you would think there would be more to show for it. Murder, rape, abuse, abortion, homelessness, hunger, and theft are daily occurrences in this country. Why? It’s not because only non-Christians commit crimes. There are a lot of Christians that go in and out of prison. Many Christians also see homeless or hungry people and do nothing to help. We pray, but that’s all most of us do. We need to do more and I think that there are some things we’re saying to ourselves, or hearing from other Christians, that is keeping us from being better Christians. 1.    “I go to church every Sunday.” I know that many Christians want to believe that this is the most important part of being a Christian, but church attendance is NOT what makes you a Christian. Yes, we are called to fellowship, but fellowshipping isn’t part of our salvation. It is something that we do for ourse...

If you have God and are saved you don't, or won't,  have any mental illness. God cures mental illness. Taking pills for mental illness means you are not saved.  You can take medicine for other things, though. In the bible mental illness isn't covered. Things like lepracy, blindness, and other illnesses are, though. Jesus lays hands upon them, or just thinks of their healing, and they are healed. So wouldn't it make more sense to say if you have faith in God and are saved then your blindness, or other physical illness, will go away?  Chemical imbalances are equal to physical deformities, birth defects, and other neurological disorders such as CVS, migraines, and addiction. Gasp ! Addiction . That is up there with mental illness. If you truly have God in your heart then you won't have mental illness or addiction, right? Saying that is saying that we don't need medicines at all. Unless you are a believer in faith healing then I doubt you feel that way...

“Once saved, always saved.” How many times have we all heard that line? I know that we all want to believe that salvation is permanent and easy to achieve, but why do we think that? Look through the Bible. Everything that mentions being part of the body of Christ says that it’s difficult. In other words, IT’S NOT EASY!!! You have to reject the world. You have to avoid stumbling blocks. You have to not become a stumbling block for other Christians. What part of that sounds easy to anyone? We have an immense amount of responsibility as Christians. I think that, at least for most of us, rejecting the world is the hardest part. What the world thinks of us seems to be extremely important, but it shouldn’t be. The car you drive, the house you own, the amount of money you bring in each month…none of these things are important to God and they shouldn’t be important to us. If we truly are saved, then shouldn’t our priorities align with God’s in the same way Jesus’ did? Most of us turn ...