Christian Character
Unlike Salvation
Requires Time
The words “believer,” “Christian” and “religious” are often and wrongly used interchangeably.
If we want to know if a person is a “believer,” we ask if he or she is a “Christian” when neither term guarantees the other. Being apparently “Christian” doesn’t guarantee one is a “believer” and becoming a “believer” (saved) doesn’t guarantee a full, immediate and irreversible changeover to only Christian ideals. These terms are not synonymous.
It also doesn’t help that any person referred to as “religious” is generally assumed to be both a believer and Christian-like. Even believers, the ones who should know better, get the tags mixed up, which only adds to the confusion.
These terms are similar, yes. They overlap in some ways, yes. But the differences are significant.
There is no guarantee a person will live a Christian life or get involved in religion just because they believe.
- Some believers – good salt-of-earth types – never go to church or adopt the lingo associated with church goers. Their problem isn’t with God or truth but with church and the people who attend.
- They are Christian-like in the sense they are honest, reliable, generous, patient and so on, but don’t make in-your-face claims about how Christian they are.
Even though we hate to admit it, we know this is possible based on what the Bible teaches.
Attempting to display Christian qualities (being a good person) or engaging in religious activity is neither the means nor the proof of salvation. The opposite is also true. Lacking certain qualities or failing to engage religiously may baffle us but it doesn’t rule out the possibility a person is a true believer.
The person who is genuinely saved won’t always be overtly Christian or 
religious. Belief is a separate issue to Christian living and both are separate to religion.
We know this to be true but still use the terms without distinguishing one from another. It’s been done this way so long, people do it without thinking. Semantic confusion at it’s worst. Fortunately we are sensible enough not to do this in other areas. Fishing equipment is a good example. Even though fishing poles, seines and spear guns have a common purpose no one mistakes one for the other. The terms are never used interchangeably.
But mention the words “believer,” “Christian” and “religious” and things get blurred. Please allow me to explain why that should change. The differences are bigger and more significant than you might think. [Read more…] about Believer vs Christian vs Religious
Those whose flaws don’t seem to get in the way of their productive lives. Yes, you read that correctly. There are some people who are just as flawed as the rest of us but are too busy developing in other ways they don’t need to bother with resolutions. They start out on the right track and never veer very far from center line. Their progress is steady and obvious and those in that group who achieve celebrity are admired, honored and envied in spite of their apparent weaknesses. These are the people we can learn from.
