Seven Musts Of A True Christian

How can you tell the true from the false?

Matt 7:17-20
17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
7:17 ???????????????????????????????7:18 ?????????????????????????????????????????????7:19 ??????????????????????????????7:20 ?????????????????????????????????????

1. You must recognize Yashua as the Messiah
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
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2. You must repent and be baptized.
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
18:18 ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????18:19 ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 18:20 ??????????????????????????????????????????
Matt 16:16
16Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
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3. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit
Rom 8:14
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
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Gal 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
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Acts 8:26-38
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

4) You must regularly fellowship with other believers- You’ve got to get to church
Heb 10:23-25
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
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5) You must celebrate Communion regularly
1 Cor 11:26
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
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6) You’ve got to know the Word of God and apply it to your life
Heb 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
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7) You must be a giver
2 Cor 9:6-8
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
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Two Types of Christians

Rodney Brown

There seem to be many groups of Christians out there, but really it is not that complex. Of course, you can sub-divide, splice, and dice however; but simply put, there are just two groups-

1) Cultural Christians
2) Committed Christians

What’s the difference?

CULTURAL
In general, Cultural Christians are ‘Christian’ because mama, papa, or some other relative was a Christian. They are usually not filled with the Spirit of God (although they think everyone is ‘filled’ when they are saved Romans 10:8,9) and tend to focus on keeping rules or ‘the law’ over having a personal relationship with the Almighty Yahweh. They are more focused on things and tend to try to force people into their mold. Like some older people they can get cranky, and sometimes aggressive with people who don’t agree with them.

Cultural Christians are the sparks that many times turn unbelievers away from God through legalism, criticism, personal failure, or just plain lack of joy. Who wants to be a Christian if you have to be like Joe who is losing life’s battles, attacking people not like him and saying how ‘blessed’ he is?

Cultural Christians can be members of any denomination, Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, or even some of the newer groups such as Assembly of God. Cultural Christians have an incredible opportunity. When they draw need to God, He promises to draw near to them.

Their challenge is to ‘unlearn’ those religious teachings that are not in line with the Word of God and see the Word of God through the fresh eyes not cluttered by cultural or traditional religion that leads away from the Creator. For most it is a gradual process of renewing their mind according to the Word of God (Romans 12:2).

COMMITTED
Committed Christians are usually filled with the Holy Spirit of Yahweh and have a passion for people just like Jesus the Messiah does. They seem to be joyful no matter what, and other people are drawn to them. They are hard to keep out of church and go because they are addicted to getting into His presence. They may or may not have a ‘Christian’ background. Their desire is the same as the Father, they want to all people get into Kingdom through accepting Jesus as their Messiah (or savior).

These Christians are many times called Pentacostal, Charismatic, or Spirit-filled Christians as well because actively see the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in their lives. Healings, speaking in tongues, prophecies, and other supernatural signs are usually common among them. Committed Christians can be members of any denomination, but seem to be most prevalent at newer church groups and organizations. There are streams of Committed Christians even in the older organization such as the Catholic church.

If you are going to be a Christian you want to be a Committed Christian. It takes a bit of work, especially if you are coming from a Cultural Christian background. However, once you shake off the unscriptural traditions and culture that has hold you back, you can enter into God’s presence and begin to experience the plans He had for mankind from the Garden. To fellowship with His people daily and have a living relationship with them.