True believer?

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True believer?

Forum: Messageboard
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Getting into the "Secrets of the Vine" (Ivan)
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Salvation & works
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Thanks LBS, do you want to contribute and form your own conclusion,if any? eom. (Ivan)
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Responding
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Hi Truelight, Do me a favour first
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Ivan, Truelight, Need your help to understand
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common ground: we are all saved in Christ (Keith)
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A matter of life and death
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I have to explain further because you believe in an empty faith. (True Light)
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Faith is believing what God ask you to believe
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Hi LBS (Royston Ong)
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But we must be consistent
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The mysteries of Abide in me, AND I in you (Royston Ong)
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To further add (Royston Ong)
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Hence, nothing about works comes into play, but it follows the same train of thought as (Royston Ong)
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Fully agree with you on this. (Keith)
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Maths class (True Light)
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Hi TL (Keith)
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I like your explanation on the baby christian equation. (True Light)
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On baby christians and balanced teachings (Keith)
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You are right! different approach. (True Light)
Date: 2001, Nov 08
From: Keith poetkeith

You: What constitute a true believer?. This is the question that I'm always asking. Till now I have not got a satisfied answer.
Someone who has repented and accepted Christ before but have not been doing anything for years, not even sharing the gospel. True Believer?.
Someone who has repented and accepted Christ before but have been sinning wilfully against God. True believer?.
Someone who has repented and accepted Christ before but have since not attending any church service. True believer?.
I hope you can help answer the above cos I'm trying to figure your belief.
***My honest answer is: I don't know. And I don't think it is for me to wory or decide who is a true believer.
As long as someone tells me that he or she believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, I will treat that person as my brother and sister in Christ.
If that person has not been doing anything and have not even shared the gospel with anyone for years, I will show him how good and worthy of worship and service our Lord is. Hopefully, when he sees how much he has been missing, he will want to wake up and do something useful with his life for the Lord. Take me as an example: for more than 12 years after I've received Christ, I've only shared the gospel with a handful of people and led only 4 or 5 souls to Christ. But after I fully realise how wonderful and lovely the Lord Jesus is, within a year, I shared the gospel with i don't know how many people and got at least 10 souls saved. The difference? I think it's the change in focus (on Jesus instead of what I can do) and an appreciation of how good God really is.
If someone is wilfully sinning against God...first, what do you mean by wilfully sinning against God? I know I have knowingly committed sins even after I have received Christ. But does that mean that I'm not a true believer? I don't think so. I have the Holy Spirit in me to remind me I'm no longer a sinner but a saint. So I find that I don't enjoy sins anymore. That to me, is one sure sign that I am a believer. But if someone choose to pracitse sin as a life-style, I would seriously doubt that he is a true believer. I don't think I can tell him that he will go to hell. But I'll remind him to think seriously about his relationship with God and examine the state of his spiritual health.
If someone has not been attending church, I will adopt the same approach as the first case above and tell him how good the Word of God is, how wonderful fellowship is, and much blessings he has been forgoing. Again, using myself as an example: I backsliding for a couple of years during which I skipped church regularly. Was I still a true believer then? I believe so. That's why my Father's Love eventually lured me back to Him and His house.
So, in summary, I wouldn't worry about whether a person is or is not a true believer. There is no way we can tell for sure. At best, we can only make educated guesses based on the fruitfulness of that person. But then again, the method is not foolproof. I just trust God that when a person claims to be a believer in Christ, he is a true believer. And I will treat him with love accordingly (based on how mature or how immature he is spiritually).
Hope this helps.