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Stop Calling Yourself a Christian

By Jeremy Myers
87 Comments

Stop Calling Yourself a Christian

love like JesusI think all of us “Christians” should stop referring to ourselves as “Christians.”

Nor should we ask other people if they are a “Christian.”

I have two lines of reasoning for why we should stop saying we’re Christians.

1. They were first called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26)

When the term “Christian” was first invented, it was coined by an outside group of “pagans” who observed the way Jesus-followers behaved and recognized the similarity between what they were doing and what Jesus did. And so they called these Jesus followers “Christians.”

In other words, the first “Christians” did not take this title for themselves; it was given to them.

The term means “little Christ,” and while some scholars think that it was maybe intended to be a derogatory term (sort of like Yankee Doodle), I do not think so. I think the people of Antioch noticed how “Christ-like” the people were who claimed to follow Him, and so they started to referring to this Christ-like followers of Jesus as “Christians.” It was a way to identify them and talk about them.

they will know you are christians by your loveThe Christians of Antioch were not known for their hate, venom, judgmentalism, or religious pride, or even for their good theology, pious life, and vast Bible knowledge. Instead, They were knowing for looking and acting and behaving like Jesus Christ, and as a result, they were “called Christians” by those who were not Christians.

If the watching world started giving titles and nicknames to those who proclaim to follow Jesus today, what sort of titles do you think they would give us?

I am not sure I want to know … but I doubt it would be “Christian.”

But this leads me to the second line of reasoning for why we should stop calling ourselves “Christians.”

you keep calling yourself a Christian

2. They will know you are Christians by your love (John 13:35)

If you truly are a “Christian” you don’t have to tell people. They will know it. How? By your love.

Those who truly act like a “Christian” do not have to tell people they are a “Christian” because people already know it. They know it by your love.

I follow Jesus t-shirtI walked by two guys in the store the other day who were both wearing Christian t-shirts. One was saying to the other, “Yeah, they all hate me at work, but that’s okay, because I’m standing up for Christ.”

Now, I cannot say for sure, but I imagine that since I heard this about five days after the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, that this man’s idea of “standing up for Christ” consisted of telling his coworkers that LGBT people were headed for hell, were destroying our country, and were signs of the collapse of modern society and traditional marriage.

Some religious people think that “standing up for Christ” in today’s culture means telling others that God hates gays. Just check out some of the comments on my post from two days ago.

Look, I don’t know where you stand on the gay marriage issue. I don’t care. What I do know, however, is that wherever you stand on gay marriage, the proper response to gay people is love.

The same goes for other groups of people some Christians love to hate. Like Muslims. Whatever you may think about the Muslim religion, the proper way to treat a Muslim is with love.

Love is the proper (and only) response to ALL people, no matter what they believe or do, if we are followers of Jesus.

If you want to represent Jesus to people, don’t do it by hating or condemning them. (And don’t use the line about how you “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.”)

Anyway, back to the conversation I heard in the store, I wanted to tell this guy who was proud of his “stand for Christ” that just because people hate you for what you say doesn’t mean that you are standing for Christ.

In fact, in the Gospels, the only people who really hated Jesus were the religious people. Those who were condemned and judged by the religious people loved Jesus and hung out with Him and were accepted by Him.

So if the world hates you but religious people love you, you might not be following Jesus.

Also, if, like this guy in the store, you have to tell people you are a Christian by broadcasting it on your t-shirt, you’re doing it wrong.

If we want to tell people we are followers of Jesus, we do it by loving them. Just as He loves us. Unconditionally. That’s what Godly love is.

I am convinced that the person who loves others unconditionally but doesn’t claim to follow Jesus is closer to the Kingdom of God than those who claim to follow Jesus but doesn’t love others unconditionally.

love is of GodIf love is of God, and everybody who loves is born of God and knows God because God is love (1 John 4:7-8), then it only makes sense that love will be the prevailing characteristic of one who is born of God and know God!

It is not a person’s words that make him or her a Christian, or what they post on Facebook or wear on their t-shirts, or even how many Bible verses they can quote, or how often they attend church and Bible studies, or whether they can “take a stand for Christ.”

They will know we are Christians by our love, and if you have not love, they will never know you are a Christian, no matter how much you tell them you are.

Or maybe I should put it this way: If you have not love, you can never properly act like a Christian, no matter how much you tell people you are one.

The REAL Question We Should be Asking Ourselves (and others)

So the question we should be asking is not “Am I a Christian?” but rather, “Am I Christ-like?”

“Do my words sound like words Jesus might say?”

“Do my actions look like things Jesus might do?”

“Do I love unconditionally, forgive freely, serve sacrificially, and accept all?”

“Do I challenge the religious status-quo for setting up barriers to God and creating groups of us vs. them?”

“Do I break down the walls of religion by eating with the so-called ‘tax-collectors and sinners’?”

If so, then keep living in love and looking like Jesus, and maybe, just maybe, someone might call you a “Christian.”

God is Redeeming Church, Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: 1 John 4:7-8, Acts 11:26, Christian, Discipleship, evangelism, hate, John 13:35, looks like Jesus, love, love like Jesus, missions

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You Look Like Jesus!

By Jeremy Myers
13 Comments

You Look Like Jesus!

Jeremy MyersI have long hair.

Recently a Christian man came up to me and said, “Don’t you know that it is an abomination to God for a man to have long hair?”

I could have argued with him by correcting his misquote of 1 Corinthians 11:14. I could have showed him the cultural reasons why Paul’s words don’t really apply to us today. I could have stated that even if long hair was dishonorable, maybe the reason I had long hair was that I wanted to be dishonored. I also could have brought up the fact that in most artistic renderings of Jesus, He had long hair, but nobody thinks that it was an “abomination” for Him.

But I said none of these things. I have learned that sometimes, it is best to just laugh off such outlandish accusations, and move on.

So instead of trying to show the man how wrong he was, I just cracked a joke. I said, “I have long hair because I’m trying to look like Jesus!”

He stared at me for a second, then shouted “Blasphemer!” and stalked away.

I am not exactly sure how my words were blasphemous, but then, nothing this man said made mush sense.

.. My poor attempt at a joke got me thinking.

Yes, we Christians are supposed to look like Jesus. In fact, “Christian” means “little Christ.” Yet I fear that we have misunderstood what it means to look like Jesus.

It doesn’t mean that we grow long hair, wear long robes, and go about with a holy half-smile on our lips, saying things like “Verily! Verily!” (On three different occasions over the past three weeks, I have had people come up to me and tell me that I look like Jesus. I am now thinking of cutting my hair…)

Looking like Jesus doesn’t mean that we set up a Jesus statue in our front lawns and point spotlights at it.

Looking like Jesus doesn’t mean that we shout his name at people through a bullhorn.

Looking like Jesus doesn’t even necessarily mean that we feed the hungry, heal the sick, and perform miracles.

What does it mean to look like Jesus?

Looking like Jesus means, among other things, that people will want to hang out with us for the same reasons they hung out with Jesus.

Looking like Jesus means that we will see what God is really up to in this world, and will seek to join Him in His work.

elect JesusLooking like Jesus means that we will not stand out in a crowd for how we are dressed or what we are saying, but will get noticed because of what we stand up for—or more precisely, who we stand up for.

Looking like Jesus may mean that we don’t get our “rights,” but instead end up sacrificing our rights–and maybe our very lives–for the sake of others.

Jesus doesn’t want us to look like Him. He wants us to look like us, but to live in the way that He lived, with His values, His goals, and His approach to God and people.

It used to be popular to attempt to live life by asking ourselves all the time “What would Jesus do?” In more recent years, I am not sure that this is the best way to live. I don’t think Jesus wants us to ask “What would Jesus do?” and then seek to do it. No, I think Jesus wants us to ask, “What would Jesus want me to do?” and then go do that. This means that while we may not look like Jesus, we will act and behave how Jesus wants.

That Looks Like Jesus….

My friend Sam Riviera often weighs in on church activities or theological topics by saying “That looks like Jesus.” Over the past several years, I have been reworking a lot of my life and theology, and have discovered that this “Jesus lens” is a good guide to making decisions about life and theology.

While Jesus may not have said anything about  the social/political/theological topics of homosexual marriage, immigration reform, or mega churches, we do know enough about Jesus from the Gospels to get a general tenor or trajectory of Jesus’ life to make an educated guess about what He might have said.

Toward that end, I am starting a new blog series called “Looks Like Jesus” in which I will try to apply this “Jesus lens” to various passages of Scripture (like the flood in Genesis 6), theological topics (Does God’s grace extend to gay people?), and social issues (What would Jesus say about immigration reform?). As I write these posts, I will publish them here on the blog for your input.

(And no, I am not giving up on my current series on Calvinism. The two series of posts will run concurrently. If you prefer one series over the other, please “vote” for it by sharing posts from that series on your social sites and by leaving blog comments.)

looks like Jesus

I am going to post my first (well, second I guess, since this is the first) post in the “Looks Like Jesus” series tomorrow. I will be looking at how Jesus would get involved in the Ferguson protests.

In future posts I will be looking at various theological and social topics through the lens of Jesus so that our response to these issues looks like Jesus.

Do you have ideas for this series of posts you would like to see covered in the future? What Bible passages do you want examined through the lens of Jesus Christ? What theological topics and social issues should be considered?

Leave your ideas in the comments below. Thanks!

 

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: Christian, Discipleship, following Jesus, looks like Jesus

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What are the Signs of Demonic Possession?

By Jeremy Myers
179 Comments

What are the Signs of Demonic Possession?

signs of demonic possessionIn a previous post we considered the question, “Can a Christian be demon-possessed?” we said no. But if a non-Christian is demon possessed, what the the signs of demonic possession, and is a Christian able to make the determination that someone is possessed by a demon?

Let us consider first the signs of demonic possession.

What are the signs of demonic possession?

We must be extremely careful on this question, because many people have been falsely labeled as being a possessed by a demon, and such an accusation can be terribly frightening and disturbing.

Furthermore, I do not think that the signs of demonic possession are as obvious as many seem to think. Satan, after all, masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14). We can assume that Satanic minions also use similar tactics to deceive and trick people into thinking something is good and holy, when in fact, it is of the devil.

When we read of the ministry of Jesus in the Gospels, we find many circumstances where Jesus encountered people who were possessed by demons. For example, there is the man possessed by a legion of demons (Mark 5:6-13). Here is a video adaptation of this event:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lz_s-cCpqGY

But there are also times when Jesus accuses the religious leaders of His day of acting according to their father, the devil (John 8:44). They, of course, showed no signs of demonic possession. Instead, they were the religious elites of the day. Of course, some could argue that they were not possessed, but were only being influenced by Satanic forces. This might be true.

But then there is the example of Judas. Scripture says that Satan entered Judas (Luke 22:3; John 13:27). This did not cause Judas to start spewing vile profanities, or have his heard start spinning in circles. No, he acted pretty normal, and did what most religious people of his day wanted him to do… to accuse Jesus of being a false Messiah and give Him over to the Roman officials for crucifixion.

I guess all I am saying is that when it comes to signs of demonic possession, we shouldn’t rely on Hollywood to tell us what these signs of demonic possession are. Scripture is our best guide on this, and it seems to indicate that while demonic possession sometimes results in strange, erratic, vile, and violent behavior, demonic possession can also result in what appears to be good religious behavior as well.

So what are the signs of demonic possession? I don’t think there is a list by which to determine whether or not someone is possessed by a demon. At least, there is no such list in Scripture, and even if we could compile such a list, it would have to include many of the things that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day were involved in.

Furthermore, such a list would also be misleading because what we often think of as signs of demonic possession might actually be signs of some sort of mental illness or other mental incapacity.

I know a family who had an eleven-year old daughter who behaved in terrible ways. They eventually became convinced that she was possessed by a demon and took her to a pastor to see if he could exorcise the demon. I personally think she had some serious mental issues, but do not think she was possessed. But I don’t think her exorcism session with the pastor helped her very much. What does it do to the mind of an eleven-year old girl to know that her parents think she is possessed by a demon? There is nothing good that comes from that.

So this brings us to the related question:

Can a Christian determine if someone is Demon-Possessed?

If there is no good list of indications or signs of demonic possession, then there is not sure and certain way to determine whether or not a person is possessed by a demon.

I know that some people point to passages like 1 John 4:1 which says that Christians are to discern the spirits to see whether or not they are from God, and the text goes on to say that “any spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God” (1 John 4:2-3).

By these passages, some believe that one sure sign of demonic possession is whether or not a person can say that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

I once tried this “test” on a man who I thought might be possessed by a demon. He was homeless, and my wife and I were talking to him outside of an Arby’s. We had just bought him some food and were talking to him while he ate. We found out he had no clothes other than the tattered clothes he had on, and so my wife got in the car to go the nearest department store to buy him a pair of pants, a sweatshirt, and a coat.

While she was gone, the man launched into a filth-laden tirade against Christians, God, and Billy Graham. His behavior was so erratic, that I decided to run this little test from 1 John 4 on him. I asked him if he could say that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. The man got extremely upset when I asked him this question, and refused to even say the name of Jesus. He kept referring to Him as “that man.”

My wife came back with the clothes right about then, and he thanked us and went on his way.

Was he possessed by a demon? Did he exhibit any signs of demonic possession? Based on my experience with this man, some would say yes. I might be wrong, but I came away believing that I had misunderstood 1 John 4. I think it is another one of those texts we rip out of context so that we can label and condemn certain people with mental problems.

Take, for example, the incident in Matthew 8 where two demon-possessed men loudly proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God and ask why He has come (Matt 8:28-29). They clearly knew Who Jesus was and had no problems admitting that He was there in the flesh, and that He was the Son of God. Furthermore, why would a demon-possessed person be unable to admit that Jesus came in the flesh? It makes no sense for a demon to deny this.

No, what John is talking about in 1 John 4 is the specific false teaching he is writing against in his first letter. These false teachers were saying that Jesus was not fully human, that He did not come in the flesh. John says that anyone who says this is not speaking the truth of God. In 1 John 4, John is not saying that anyone and everyone who is possessed by a demon cannot confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

I wrote elsewhere about the similar statements in 1 Corinthians 12:3.

So what are the signs of demonic possession, and can a Christian determine if someone is demonically possessed? The truth is that there is no sure and certain list  by which to determine if someone is possessed by a demon, nor is there a step-by-step guide to follow if we think someone is possessed.

Don’t Focus on Signs of Demonic Possession

One thing I do know for sure: Some Christians give way too much credit to Satan, and spend way too much time thinking about demonic powers. Satan and his forces are a defeated foe. They’re in retreat. The more we talk about them, and the more we think about them, and the more we are scared by them, the happier they are and the more power they get in our lives.

christ and him crucifiedInstead of worrying about a demon behind every corner and whether or not our neighbor exhibits sings of demonic possession, we should be filling our minds with Jesus, focusing our minds on Christ and Him crucified, and praising Him for the victory He has won on the cross over all the principalities and powers. One book that has really helped me see that it is unhealthy (and dangerous) to focus on satanic influences is Overrun by Demons by Ice and Dean. 

When I was a pastor, a woman in my church once asked me to cast the demons out of her car. She said that her car usually ran fine, but that her car would often not start very well, especially on Sunday mornings when she was trying to get to church. As a result, she felt her car had a demon, and she wanted me to exorcise it. I refused, and told her that a mechanic would do just fine.

It is a true story, but this is the way some people think about demons and the spiritual realm. They see a demon under every rock and Satan behind every bad thing that happens in our life. But this is given the demonic realm too much credit.

Don’t spend your life running around scared by the devil. He wants you to be scared of him, but as a believer in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit indwelling your life, he has no more power over you than he has over God Himself. Is God scared of the devil? Of course not! So you don’t need to be either.

Also, if you are looking for signs of demonic possession in the lives of others, please stop. Those who fill their lives looking for these kinds of things are sure to find them, and when you do, it will either fill you with a smug satisfaction about how that coworker you dislike is so evil because she is possessed by a demon, OR it will fill you with terror, dread, and a sense of hopelessness because you fear that someone you love is possessed by a demon and there is not much you can do about it. Either way, you are not viewing that other person the way God views them through the lens of Jesus Christ.

So don’t look for signs of demonic possession. Instead, look for signs of God at work in the lives of others. Look for glimpses of glory shining through. Look for evidence of grace, mercy, and hope. Look for healing, redemption, and forgiveness. As we look for these signs in the lives of others, we will inspire them to live in these ways, and in so doing, expand the rule and reign of God on earth.

What do you think? Are there clear signs of demonic possession? If so, what are they? Should these be things we focus on in life, or, as I suggest above, should we instead focus on Christ and Him crucified?

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: 1 John 4:1-3, Christian, demon possession, demons, Holy Spirit, satan, Theology of Angels

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Should I Get Baptized?

By Jeremy Myers
17 Comments

Should I Get Baptized?

A coworker recently told me she started going to church again, and thought she should get baptized.

I asked her if she had ever been baptized before. She hadn’t.

So I asked her why she wanted to get baptized.

She said, “Well, …isn’t that what God wants?”

I encouraged her for her desire to obey God and do what He wants, but I also told her that God doesn’t really care too much if she gets baptized or not.

She was shocked to hear me say this, and possibly, you are too.

Baptism is not for God

I went on to explain to her that baptism is not for God. He already loves her and forgives her and accepts her completely as a result of the death and resurrection of Jesus. I told her that baptism is a public declaration of her desire to follow Jesus. It is like publicly stating, “I am a follower of Jesus!” If that is what she wants to do, and she wants to do that through baptism, that would be fine.

However, I went on to tell her that there were numerous other ways of making a public declaration about her choice to follow Jesus, and one of those other ways might be more meaningful for her and for those who know her. We went on to talk about what some of those other ways might be, and she told me she would think about it. She said she was not sure she was ready to make any of those other public declarations.

baptized in pool

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: baptism, baptized, Christian, church, Close Your Church for Good

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Would Jesus be a Christian?

By Jeremy Myers
45 Comments

Would Jesus be a Christian?

Jesus is not a ChristianI have a friend who sees everything wrong with the world, and then looks at the average Christian, and as a result wants nothing to do with Christianity.

He says that it appears Christians would rather spend their time arguing and debating theology than helping the poor and homeless, and would rather drive Hummers and build huge church buildings than drill wells in Africa or feed orphans.

He doesn’t think that Jesus would be a “Christian” if Jesus were walking the earth today.

The other day, he showed me a YouTube video where a secular rock artist posted his video about this very thing.

The artist was very angry. The video and song lyrics show Christians going to church and pastors preaching sermons, all the while ignoring the hungry and needy that are all around them. The basic message of the song is “Christians need to stop praying and preaching and building huge cathedrals for themselves, and start doing something that actually helps!”

After I watched the video, my friend turned to me and said, “I think there is a special place in hell for Christians.”

Whether you realize it or not, this is the prevalent attitude toward Christianity among those who are ages 18-35. If you don’t believe this is true, you probably don’t know many non-Christians who are 18-35 years old.

How have we as Christians come to this, and what (if anything) can we do about it?

Here are two books I recently read which may be of some help in this area:

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: be the church, Christian, Discipleship, love others, Theology of Jesus, Theology of the Church

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