Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
In the context in which this discussion began, I note that there was a reference to religious Christians followed by a comment indicating a skepticism as to whether thay are "truly saved by the WORD of God."
The problem that I have with that kind of statement is that this is true of virtually everyone. It is true of people who are participants in liturgical assemblies, and also active participants in fundamentalist and charismatic assemblies.
I agree that observing their works is not a guarantee of being a true Christian. But for those who regularly profess their belief in "God the Father, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only begotten son . . ." and you see their works as being consistent with those of a true Christ follower, how do we deny that they are true Christians?
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As far as I'm concerned I don't think we are supposed to go around discerning who are the true Christians and who are not. (See the parable of the wheat and the weeds (tares)). To me it's the wrong perspective. If people profess faith in Christ, I take them at their word. It's not up to me nor is it necessary for me to determine for sure. My job is to minister to anyone who is in any way receptive to the Gospel. It's God's job to touch hearts and know who has saving faith. I'm sure there are plenty of times I've been wrong both ways about people. Thank the Lord their salvation does not hang on my discernment.
Now, some people can have such a distorted view of the Gospel that you can tell just from what they say. But most professing Christians aren't like that. It's hard to tell. And since it's hard to tell, I take that to mean it doesn't matter much if we can tell or not. How would my treatment of them change if I could tell, anyway? Would I say "I can't have fellowship with you until you become a true believer"? No, I'd just keep showing them love, like, hopefully, before.