What does it take to be a devout Christian?
I hear the term when people are describing "real" Christians as opposed to "weekend" Christians. In my opinion there are only two types: Christians (the devout) and non-Christians (anything other than devout, including those that claim Christianity but do not live according to Jesus' teachings in the Bible). I also propose that there is no such thing as devout/real Christians in this world, only hypocrites. Thus Christians do not exist apart from hypocrisy. Christianity is a nice concept; I just wonder when people will start to live by it.
Your challenge if you choose to accept it:... Prove me wrong. Good luck.
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It means that you "Accept" the writing that are in the Bible as "Truth" and that you Accept Jesus As being the Christ, that he paid the price the punishment for your sins. It means that you are committed to obedience of the commandments written in the scriptures and will do everything in your power to forsake sin as you live out the rest of your life. That being said there is not one Christian on planet earth. Being a devote Christian involves acknowledging that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and trying to live your life in accordance with how Jesus lived his. Jesus was the perfect example of how you should live your life, free of sin and the only one who successfully lived his life according to ALL of the rules of the Old Testament. You rightly point out that Christians will never be able to live up to the standard that Jesus did, but that does not mean we are hypocrites. You will find many hypocritical Christians unfortunately, but they are not one in the same. You must be careful here however. Attempting to follow Jesus' teachings and failing does not make you a hypocrite, it makes you a human being. That is the beauty of the gift that Jesus provided for us, that he died to allow us an avenue to God even though we will not be able to live up to all of his prior standards. 2
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It certainly doesn't require that you follow every word of the Bible to the letter. If that was the prerequisite, we'd have not a single Christian absent from prison. So I think ultimately it requires that you significantly do your best to follow the compassionate actions of Jesus Christ. Then again, maybe it requires a little more. I'd be surprised if it does. To be a devout Christian is you are supposed to live your live worshiping Jesus Christ and taking time everyday to spend time with God that means what ever you do on your free time you should spending time with Jesus. You have to live your life like Jesus is suppose to not on Sunday where you worship Him at church but everyday. So that’s it? Spend your free time worshipping God/Jesus? Okay, I suppose that'll do actually, for if you're in worship at all times, that leaves little room to committing sin. Not committing sin being another attribute I would expect a devout Christian to have, especially when they're consistently berating others about their shortcomings. Now, can you name one person who has ever done that? Who has spent the entirety of their free time in worship? Jack Van Impe because he is the "Walking Bible" and he has memorized every verse in the Bible and he studies his Bible and he has a show called Jack Van Impe presents and before every show he goes over the Bible to see if what he will say is correct. Probably some one who is single who doesn't have any kids. If you are married and have kids God will understand than you need to take care of your family and go to work to pay for the house and other stuff. Everyone sins and everyone makes mistakes. No one can go one day without sinning. Everyday you hear all these murders stealing there is always someone who is going to be sinning. The only person who hasn't sinned is Jesus because He is perfect |
