Interestingly, the entire premise of this article is based on the belief that people define the term, "Christian" when, in reality, God's Word must define "Christian". As Steven W. Smith puts it so well, God's chain of self revelation to humanity is God revealed in Christ who is revealed in Scripture to us. If you want to know what God is like, get to know Jesus--He and the Father are one; Jesus is the exact representation of God. If you want to know what Jesus is like, get to know the Scriptures--God's Word reveals Jesus Christ to us. So, if you want to know what it means to be a "Christian", to be "of Christ", then God's Word must provide the definition and description.
But, because this newspaper article assumes people as the ultimate authority on Christianity instead of God's Word, they believe they can change the understanding of Christianity through intimidation by mocking Christ-followers. There are still "pockets of Christians who don't consider Roman Catholics to be Christians" and "one of the longest standing debates...is whether Mormons are Christians". Funny, these never used to be "debates" and they are only debates until one positions the bible as the final authority on all matters. God's Word teaches that salvation is through faith (belief) alone in Christ alone by God's grace alone. That's it. Believing on Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior is the conduit through which God's saving grace enters your life and you become His. There is nothing to do, nothing to say, nothing to give, nothing to get in order to be a Christian. There is only believing on the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.
Therefore, if a religious entity or faith practice teaches salvation through means other than that, they are not telling the Truth, they are false. Any faith practice that says one must be a member of a church to become a Christian--that is false. Any faith practice that says one must be baptized to become a Christian--that is false. Any faith practice that says one must complete a curriculum to become a Christian--that is false. Any faith practice that says one must give a certain amount of money to become a Christian--that is false.
Which brings us to the question of are the Mormon church and the Roman Catholic Church false religions? That question is entirely different from "are Catholics, Christians?" There is the doctrine found in a faith practice's statement of faith (in our case the Baptist Faith and Message) and there is what an individual person has decided on their own. Do I think the Mormon church is a false religion? Yes. The Mormon Church's statements of faith do not teach faith alone in Jesus Christ alone by God's grace alone as the only means of salvation. Do I know of any mormons that are Christians? No. I don't know any mormons who have trusted Jesus Christ (as defined by the bible) as their personal Lord and Savior as their means of salvation. Do I think the Roman Catholic Church is a false religion? Yes, I do. Their statements of faith on the issue of salvation do not teach faith alone in Jesus Christ alone by God's grace alone as the only means of salvation. Do I know any Catholics that are Christians? Yes, I do. Not just a few. I know Catholics who are counting as their only means of salvation, faith alone in Jesus Christ (as defined by the bible) alone.
I realize that to some, my claims are controversial, but I think that is so only as long as we establish people as arbiters of Truth, instead of God's Word alone as the final authority on all matters. When people are established as the standard of Truth, then we make our decisions based on evidences like "but, they are such good people", "they do good things", "they claim to be Christian", or "they pray to Jesus". But, again I say, people are not the standard of Truth; God's Word is the only standard of objective Truth available to us. How does God's Word define the means of salvation? The answer to that question is the final authority on who and who isn't "of Christ".
I don't say these things to be mean or ugly. Nor do I think my belief in God's Word as the final authority is unloving. Which is more unloving? 1. People knowing there is a heaven and a hell and yet not being able to clearly articulate how one ends up in each place. 2. People knowing there is a heaven and hell and knowing with great clarity how to end up in each place. It may initially sound unloving to say some folks are currently on the road to heaven and some aren't; however, the loving thing to do is help people who aren't on the path to heaven know they aren't while they have time to do something about it. The Good News is only Good News if it gets to people in time! I would hate for you to stand in front of Christ one day believing you are a "Christian" (of Christ) only to be told "get away from Me, I never knew you." However, if I can help you understand with great clarity how you can know for sure you are going to heaven, even if the clarity at first hurts you or makes you uncomfortable, I've actually loved you.
I simply say them in response to the USAToday article. Can we know who is a "Christian"? Yes, we can! Can we know if President Obama is a Christian? Yes, we can! Can I know if I am a Christian? Yes, we can! Can we know if any of us are Christians? Yes, we can! (Ok, I'll stop with the "Yes, we can!"s; I just thought it was fitting since the article mentioned the current president.) Here is the question: Does the president confess Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior--if so, President Obama is my brother-in-Christ; if he doesn't confess Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he is not my brother-in-Christ.
But, better yet, do you confess the Jesus Christ of the bible as the Lord and Savior of your life? If the answer is yes, then you are a Christian. If the answer is no, then you are not "of Christ" and I would urge you to become "of Christ" right now. If you really want to become a Christ-follower, you can simply just tell Him right now, "Lord Jesus, I choose you as the Lord and Savior of my life."
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