And He that sat upon the throne said,
Behold, I make all things new. And He said
unto me, Write: for these words are true
and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.
Revelation 21:5-7
Authentic Christians have every reason to be joyful come to be happy come to have an assured hope for as John wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what was said by Jesus Christ come what was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by the prophets he is faithful and true. There is such richness in the Word of God by the use of the Greek language, for instance, there are two words for the English word "new." One word is kainos and the other is neos. Kainos means to be new as in freshness and neos is used in regards to time. In the above Scripture the Greek word kainos is used and it is so rich and understanding as to what this newness means for it means that which is unaccustomed and as new as to form or quality, different in nature is contrasted as something that was all. Therefore when God creates for his children a new heavens and a new earth it will be a new creative act, a new creation (2 Corinthians 5: 17). When God says He makes a person a new man, then come this new man has a new character, a new spirituality, and a new morality and this after the pattern of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4: 24). therefore, a person who puts their faith and belief in Jesus Christ's and truly repent of their sins is now a "new man," and this in contrast to the "old man," that they previously were and this in contradiction to the will of God. This being true then why is this question lies, this coming to be an Authentic Christian so problematic? Is it because you aren't not fully convinced that the words of the Bible are true? Is it because you do not want to change your way of life? Is it because you might lose some friends? Well, at the truth whether to be on the side of God or the sight of my and if you choose to be on the side of man even though you speak of yourself as being an Authentic Christian you are tacitly approving of that which is contrary to God. Are you one who was thirsting after God? If so you have come to the waters that will give you eternal life, living waters and this refers to the only one who can give you eternal life. But He gives you eternal life is God and He does this through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who died to make it possible for you to drink of this water.
Character is that which is developed over time by external influences so it doesn't matter from which those external influences come from whether it be of this world more from God. As a person grows and matures they often, even though they may not have either accept Jesus Christ as Savior or not, become respectable, even raising their children correctly, but what is not seen as a transformation of the character to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. It will be their outward manifestation of this change in her character whether it be after true righteousness and holiness or whether it not be washed to conform to the culture of this world. The changes that are made will be a person's reality and their energies will be used to pursue the things that really matter to them, but there's a candle only be an outward expression of their inner reality. Horace the poet wrote:
With altered aims, the age and spirit of the man
Seeks wealth and friends, becomes a slave to ambition,
And is fearful of having done what it will soon
Be eager to change.
Horace, Ars Poetica, lines 166-168
When a person does not keep their priorities correct when it comes to the things about God and their faith than those other things to keep a person from having a proper sense of priority for the things of God. a person then both subtle or cultural Christianity and will not be willing to follow the words of Jesus Christ to deny themselves and pick up their cross and follow Him because they have determined that the price is too high. The former life fits a person's ambition better than their ambition to follow Jesus Christ. cultural Christians think of themselves as true Christians and yet they remain ignorant of the basic truths of the Bible. There are no signs of transformation according to the Bible, rather for transformation is to the whims and teaching of those who themselves are cultural Christian and have another theology and another ideology contrary to Scripture. John wrote in Revelation 3:2 to wake up and while it was spoken to a particular church it was written so that we too would wake up.
Are you willing to listen to this warning and not settle for a cultural Christianity? Have you grown to desire to know and possess Authentic Christian Faith? Ask God to take away your spiritual indifference into the system you and to return to you the sensitivity that will enable you to draw close to Him. Remember: Jesus Christ died for you and he is the living water by which we receive life eternal. Thank Him for a dying for you and opening the door so that your life will be changed and now in this present age and will be immutably change in the life to come and this gives all reason to consider your faith and to change from the inside/out. Ask God to help you to do it and He will do it.
Surely the righteous will praise
Your name
and the upright will live
before You.
Psalms 140-13
Drink now of the living water
Richard L. Crumb
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