The most outstanding mark is that they hav real love among themselves(john 13: 34,34)

They do not share in wars.They treat one another as brothers and sisters.(1 john 4:20, 21)

Another mark is that they hav deep respect for the bible.They accept it as d word of God and believe in whatever it says.(2 timothy 3:16, 17)

True christians must also honor God's Name.(Matthew 6:9)

Jesus made God's name known to others.True christians must do the same.(john 17:6, 26; Romans 10:13, 14)who are the people in your community that tell others about God's name?

True christians must preach about God's kingdom,Jesus did so.(Luke 8:1)he commanded his disciples to do the same in all the earth.(Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20)

True christians believe that only God's kingdom will bring true peace and security to this "earth" - (psalm 146:3-5)

Jesus disciples must be no part of this wicked world.(John 17:16)they do not get involved in the world's political affairs.They avoid d harmful conduct,practices,and attitudes that are common in the world.(James 1:27; 4:4),

Can u identify a religious group in your community that has these marks of true Christianity?

Only hypocrites.
They shout god, god the loudest.
They carry their bible for every one to see and think they are Good
You will know a true Christin when you see one . alone from what he dose how he speaks . and not what he says.
Those people that ring my bell Early in the morning are not true Christians, they are pretenders that are afraid to go to hell.
And only think of what to do so that they can go to heaven.
They should just think good . And not how can one think good.

Do u have an objection?

tabuko:

Do u have an objection?

To what Christians? or so called Christians?

2 my definition of true christians

The only people that ring my bell are Jehovah witness
and i don't like them.
They are very intolerant.

Intolerant? U must hav an xplanation

I mean they are spys, a sect,that go terrorizing people.
A member that wants to leave them runs into problems, they come bombading his house and threaten him. The also terrorize small children telling them God will punish them badly.
God is a loving god and not a god that is on the look out for kids that misbehave.

Jesus said give the state what belongs to the state and to god what belongs to god.
So when your country is playing football and they sing the national anthem stand up and support your country and give your state its dues.

By their FRUIT you shall know them.

Well,thats ur opinion. Hav u tried askin any of them about these allegetions? D point is this. They are not spys,.Wen shedrak,meshak and Abednigo refused to bow down to Nebudcadnizer's "flag" was God angry or happy wit them?

Don't mix up the old testament with the new one.
Did Jesus not come with a new preaching a preaching of god a loving God.

Any member that leaves or wants to,its for a reason.May be because of sexual immorality or something of its kind.No body will come and terrorise him or her.No body will force u to worship God.

Thats the dirty mind.Why should it have someting to do with sex to make a member go and why is a going member a sinner.
Its clear to me no one will knock on the door of the "sex immoral man.
not because he left but because he got kicked out.
If one ones to go because thy are fed up i pity the person because you will be sending people there.
and they are spys when they knock on your door and you talk to them they write down everything you said.
If they go to party and someone sees them , they will run and report.
just likethe stasis

Re: How Can U Identify True Christians?

Good question, tabuko. However, it looks like you were preaching more about the Jehovah Witness (JW) group than of who really is a Christian. There are certain things you mentioned that you will find in cultic groups - cults love their members as much as Christians do, but true Christians don't discriminate about who they show love to ("For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?" - Matt. 5:46. . . "But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you" - Luke 6:27). True Christians engage in politics in a limited sense - they pay taxes, respect their political leaders and countries (it's called 'patriotism') and show that respect by praying for them ("I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. - I Tim.2:1-2).

How then could I recognise a true Christian? Two things stand out prominent above all else - (a) what such a person believes about Jesus Christ, and (b) how such a person lives the Christian life.

A true Christian is one who believes in and confesses the Lord Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Saviour ("That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." - Rom 10:9). Today, there all sorts of people claiming to be 'Christians' without believing in Jesus Christ or His atoning death and resurrection - e.g., you have such misnomers as 'Christian atheist'; and others who go by the title 'Christian' and yet don't believe that Jesus ever existed. Such ideas have no bearing on what God says on the matter, and what God has said on any subject settles it for me, regardless what arguments people advance.

Second is how a believer lives the Christian life. Since we know that people are known by their fruits, we understand that what a person claims to be by word must be married to how he/she lives by practice and lifestyle - U know, living the talk, or walking the talk, as they say. "If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him." - 1 John 2:29. This is why I don't really care what group a believer belongs to - whether Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Brethren. At the basic level, all that matters to me are the belief and confession + the practice and lifestyle. If a person believes that Jesus Christ is whom the Scriptures say He is, and lives a life that expresses that belief, I am bound to receive, love and respect such as my brethren in the Lord Jesus Christ (For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus - Gal. 3:26).

Today, however, there's always a suspicion of people knocking on your door. And good reason to beware of people coming to you in the name of Christ because we are warned in the Bible that many false prophets would come disguised as genuine ministers in order to deceive. I am bound to test them, and if found to be counterfeits and impostors, reject them ("Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." - I John 4:1). God knows who is worshipping Him in truth, and there should be no fights and accusations between people who profess to follow Christ.

If someone claims to be a Christian, leave him/her to God - neither you nor I are the judge: God, and God, alnoe is the Judge. The Lord knows those who are His, and we who claim to be genuine are asked to depart from iniquity - 2 Tim.2:19. Love is the ultimate expression of the Christian life. Let us learn to love more and accuse others less  

How can you identify a true christian ??
well, sorry we can't ,
ONLY GOD CAN

we as people of the earth can only have our own personal idea and options of what a true christian is
and everyones ideas and options are different.

How can you identify a true christian ??
well, sorry we can't ,
ONLY GOD CAN

we as people of the earth can only have our own personal idea and options of what a true christian is
and everyones ideas and options are different.

sorry Seun 4 the double post , my computer messed up

Character. Action, they say speaks louder than words.

omoge02863:

How can you identify a true christian ??
well, sorry we can't ,
ONLY GOD CAN

we as people of the earth can only have our own personal idea and options of what a true christian is
and everyones ideas and options are different.

If that's the way you interpret reality, then I guess that you cannot identify a false prophet and a deceiver when they come knocking on your door. Jesus didn't mince words when He said by their fruits we shall know them (Matt.7:15-20). It is only foolhardy to pretend we can't know anyone for who or what they are. I know a true Christian when I see one. How? The Bible clearly tells me how -

"If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him." - I John 2:29.

There is no confusion about how to know that Jesus is righteous - neither is there any ambiguity in knowing that anyone who does righteousness is born of God (or, if you please, "born again". A lot of people may claim to be born again but still living in and enjoying sin. In that case, the Bible clearly states that I should not have fellowship with such - Eph.5:11. It is true God knows those who are truly worshipping Him ("the Lord knows those that are His" - 2 Tim.2:19), but He has not left us guessing who is truly born again when I seek fellowship.

If no one can know for sure who is a Christian, then I guess YOU don't know if you're one. . . and it means I don't know for sure if I'm saved. . . and also, nobody could be sure if they were saved. However, since doubt is a sin to God, He does not want me to live like that but to keep believing what He has already accomplished so that I can have the assurance of salvation even before Jesus comes again! There's an abundance of assurance in the Bible that we can know for sure right now before that Day that we are born again:

(1) Beloved, we are God's children NOW, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (I John 3:2). . . And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. (1John 3:19). . . And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. (I John 3:24). . . These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1John 5:13).

There's just no guess work in God's salvation. Everyone who is born again is a Christian - and besides knowing from the Bible that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirits that we ARE the children of God (Rom.8:16).

simple, they dont come in your face and say this is wrong that is wrong , come to church with me , that your chucrh is not really the church of God, quote this quote that

What is the problem with quoting the Bible? If they ask you to come to this or that church and they don't harmonise with what the Bible says, I simply walk away.

@ welborn
thanks for quoting the bible and giving your explaining your option to me. but like i said only GOD can identify them. you
say u can identify one , but don't know how people r inside and out and how they think.you can only say they r a true christian based on what u see of them. and what u see of them may not be what everybody else sees of them, which may cause people to say the person u say is a true christian isn't.  and your right i can't identify a false prophet and is that my fault ?? no . all i can do is pray that i don't meet one. anyways thats my option i might be wrong.

like i say do u and let me know the results.

how I can identify true Christians?

the truth is there are a whole lot of "fake Christians", but there are a whole lot of "True ones" too. And i disagree with
@omoge02863

How can you identify a true christian ??
well, sorry we can't , ONLY GOD CAN

Sorry, a True Christian can be identified. Just as I can identify a sinner, an unbeliever, a mad man, and a sane person, I can identify a CHristian. If only God can Identify True Christians? then i bet you think all the people in the world are Christians, or rather of another religion.

Remember, CHrists disciples were called Christians, first at Antioch. This is because people who had seen Jesus, and now seeing His disciples, they observed that these disciples lived(behaved, talked, thought, taught, walked, reasoned, did everything) just like Jesus would have done it. This is the reason why they were called Christians.

Today, the name 'Chrisitian' has descended down the lines, however, every tom, dick and harry today is a Christian, which makes the story worse. The armed robber on the street claims to be a Christian, and is it not so easy, to say Halleluyah isnt so difficult. Even the pastor that is committing fornication and adultery, and is having extra marital affairs is a Christian, is He not. Who are you to tell Him he is not a Christian?The mistake most people make is that once someone begins to use Christian terminology, such a person is living in the highest heavens, no thats not the case.

Let me give you an example of myself:
I am a Christian, a genuine Child of God! I praise God I can make such a confession. I have read,and still read my Bible. I know what God expects from me as His CHild, as a believer, and as a Christian, and these are clearly outlined in My B-I-B-L-E. Now, regardless of how many Bibles i see someone carrying, even if he/she carries such on the head, regardless of what he/she says, if and when I begin to observe things about/in such a one's life/attitude that do not conform to what I read in the Bible, and what ive been taught as a Child of God, i would begin to have second thoughts about such persons profession of the Christian Faith.

See, Its so easy to say "i am a christian, and to put it down on paper", but what many people forget is living the life of Christ itself, this is the most important, yet thats where many miss it.

Also, the Bible also tells us, that the Spirit bears witness within us that we are Children of God. You know what, if you are a True CHild of God, if you come across someone(a total stranger you never knew before) and such a person happens to be a true Child of God too, a genuine Christian in the heart, just like you are, you will feel something steering within you, the Spirit of God witnessing to you as a person, that the person you are beholding(looking at, talking to, or just an aquaintance for example) is a Child of God too, and O what joy, when Gods children meet.

So what i suggest, work on yourself, your faith, your belief in God, your trust, your obedience to His Word, your consecration, and when you meet the next True Christian, you will know. There'll be the Spirit's witness within you, and you wont miss it.

On the other hand, if you as a CHild of God meets someone inhabited by the devil, a hard-core sinner, a lying saint, there will be also a Spirit's witness within you that regardless of what such a person confesses(that he/she loves you, is a Child of God, is a Pastor etc.,) something will ring deep within your heart, "this one is not a Christian".

thanks 4 sharing that with me. but i am still staying with what i said. for an example you just explained to me that your a true christian. but how do i know what u do @ night and what goes on in ur head. but based on what u say , ur probably a christian.(anyways who am i to say u r or u arent a true christian) as for me and my faith i believe the in God and prayer. and as for people who use his word to preach to me _________ well i can only use my own judgement to decide if its for real, or for fake. am i a true chiristian ?? well i aint perfect and i am a sinner (everybody is). i just pray that one day i can honestly say that i am a TRUE CHRISTIAN. but for now i am just an imperfect human trying to find my way and i pray god will show me the way.

( re-read my perivous post on this topic to understand me more)

omoge02863,

Being a Christian and identifying as one has very little to do with feelings - it does not matter how you feel about people. The Word of God shows how to know true Christians from false professors, and if you can't agree with what the Bible says, your argument will be endless. One thing I know is that Jesus said a person is known by his/her fruits. Fact is, it is possible to tell a true Christian from a fake.

kimba, thank you for your simple and straight forward answers - I couldn't have put it any simpler.

A true Christan dose not draw attention to himself and stouts out loud "see me am a christan.

@ welborn

argument i aint agruing

and you just mention the bible and feelings

well , i think that the way u feel about things is how your going to interpet the bible. ( thats just my option)

and i am still staying with my answer. only god can identify a true christian because only god knows who has been real to him.


@ kimba u said
On the other hand, if you as a CHild of God meets someone inhabited by the devil, a hard-core sinner, a lying saint, there will be also a Spirit's witness within you that regardless of what such a person confesses(that he/she loves you, is a Child of God, is a Pastor etc.,) something will ring deep within your heart, "this one is not a Christian".

with people like that you don't know the kind of relationship they have with god. (some might not have one) and you don't know why they do what they do.

don't get me wrong i aint one of those people and i aint saying what they do is right, i am just saying we never know who is who.
but if ya'll can identify true christian good for ya'll. i am glad that ya'll can do that. but as for me i can't idenfity a true christian. but i might be able to identify someone who is trying there best to do the way and will of god.

omoge02863,

I didn't use the word 'argument' to mean that you're looking for a quarrel. It's simple: as long as you keep feeling this way or that, having this, that or the other option or opinion, there'll be no end in sight to all the hoo-ha anyone posts here. It's true that people interpret certain texts of the Bible differently from others; but what I'd like you to see is that the word of God settles a question for me - does it settle questions for you as well?

The point is, the clear statements of the Bible show me that it IS possible to identify a true Christian - and I've given some references to back up my reasoning. If you disagree, wouldn't it be just nice for you to quote me at least two or three scriptures for your arguments (options/opinions) in fair exchange? I respect your options/opinions; but is that what you desire me to base my contributions on - your opinions, rather than the solid word of God?

It's alright to stay with your answer; and so it is for everyone who sees something to share from the Bible.

ok b4 i answer i would like to ask u this


from my views on this topic am i a true christian

Is it that difficult for you to understand or you're now asking for an endless argument? Let me remind you of what I said:

". . . what I'd like you to see is that the word of God settles a question for me - does it settle questions for you as well?"

You tell me what you're basing your salvation on, and then I could make out just what your problem is.

omoge02863, wait a minute: does it mean you can't tell whether or not you're a Christian? And if you can't tell who you are, does that apply to everyone else? What scriptures back up your 'option'? It doesn't matter how YOU interpret the Bible; just give us your own verses as others have done and then we'll be able to locate you.

am i a true christian ? well , i try to be the best christian that i can. but i am also a sinner and i pray that god will forgive for my sins. am i a true christian ?? i would like to be. but i am always making mistakes.

and what i say doesnt apply to anybody else (sorry if i made it seem that way) what i say applies to me.


@ welborn

i have to admit i dont read the bible much. and now that i have checked the bibile i only see stuff that supports what ur saying. so in the furture i will try to do more research on my view. and i would like to thank you for opening my mind to think a different way. you have really helped me.

i will continue to do more research and thank you everybody for movtivating me.

so am i a true christian ? or not ?