by Jan Slabach

Created on: October 08, 2008

I believe that as Christians, we should do as Jesus did. We should treat everyone with love and respect. He loves each and every one of us. The offer of the free gift of eternal life is available for each and every person who will accept Him as their Savior. I do not believe that as Christians we should ridicule other's beliefs. Nor do I believe that we should "cram" our beliefs down someone else's throats. I believe that our lives should be Christian examples of how Jesus expects His followers to act. He led by example, with love and mercy. He expects no less from us. I believe that we should not argue or cause confrontations with people of different beliefs but that we should be knowledgeable enough in what we believe to discuss those beliefs intelligently with anyone who questions our beliefs. We should not 'straddle the fence' on touchy issues. We should be more concerned with proclaiming the truth than with being politically correct. It's our own fault that our children are receiving mixed messages! To some, it may seem that I am contradicting myself when I first say don't be argumentative then I say proclaim the truth. The truth is, I can stand up for what I believe in and not be confrontational or argumentative. It can be done in a loving manner that is unoffensive. For example, I believe that homosexuality is a sin. I hate all sin. Does that mean I hate homosexuals? Absolutely not! I have dearly, beloved family members who practice homosexuality. Hate the sin, but love the sinner. (Just as Jesus did.) That's proclaiming God's truth but not being offensive about it. It's not open for discussion or argument. God said it's a sin and that makes it a sin. There's no room for any other belief.

God told us in no uncertain terms, that he wants us to have the assurance that we have eternal life. John 5:13 says, "These things I have written that you may KNOW you have eternal life." He didn't say that we would find out later. Romans 6:23 tells us that salvation is a free gift through Jesus. Ephesians 2: 8-9 says we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus. Not by works, not through anything we can do, so that we have to give God the glory and can't brag about how we did this or did that. Different scriptures tell us the good things that are expected from Christians and they tell us what is unacceptable and displeasing to God. I believe that the Bible is God-inspired, written by man, in God's own words. There is no room for discussion. There is no cause for confusion. God explained to us what He wants from us. Let he who has ears hear and he who has eyes see. I believe that man trying to bend the scriptures to serve his own sinful purposes is the cause for the majority of confusion of what the scriptures say.

If anyone thinks they are getting their ticket to that Glory Land in the sky from anyone other than Jesus Christ, they are mistaken. When Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life; No one comes to the Father except through the Son." He left no room for "other beliefs". Jesus said it, I believe it and that's the end of it!

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