How much spiritual expertise is required before a Christian can tell another they are not a true Christian?

LOL I love this question (((((((((Toasty))))))))))

and cant wait for the replies, unfortunately I've been holding your picture up to the mirror to see if that tactic will work for me.

Cinn =)

*EDIT* Punky I have never felt or said anything like that until last night

read my question about "Atheists will you please forgive them as they know not what they do"

I try to respect everyone's believes no matter what they are, but holy crap batman.. last night showed me another side of Christianity

Mikey.. I am not talking about being Liberal in politics, where did that notion even come into play?

Anyone who presumes to know the state of another person's soul is quite simply trying to sit on God's throne and judge in His place. They are in error to do so and will be dealt with appropriately when the time comes. The simple truth is, Christians who follow the Bible know they are not supposed to judge others. Doing so places them in the awkward position of being judged by God with the same standard by which they judge others. It is better to judge not...than to be judged harshly by One who can award negative consequences.

There is NO level of expertise that can justify one person judging another person's soul. Christians are required to be able to recognize sin, and correct one another if they find their peers are lacking in some area, but there is a proper way to do this, and it does not involve personal judgment against the other person's worthiness. In other words, if you see a brother or sister (in Christ) in error, then tell them so, without judging them. For example, if a person belongs to a church that forbids drinking alcohol, and some of the people from that church happen to see him or her drinking alcohol, then they would present this fact to the pastor and they would go to the person and tell them that drinking is against their religion (or something like that), without saying, "you're going to hell" or "you're not a Christian." There is a difference between letting someone know that their behavior or attitude is in error and judging whether they are worthy to be called a Christian. Only God can make that judgment.

Hope this answers your question.

No one has that level of expertise, because only God knows the heart of man. So it's not only foolish, but also wrong to presume to know who is and who isn't a Christian.

That said, there are certain beliefs that are central to the Christian faith without which I don't think a group or person can say that they have Christian beliefs. You can't believe that purple martians eat cheerios and that saves you...you know what I mean? I think a very good standard and one that has been used for centuries, is the Nicene creed. If someone says they are a Christian or a group says they are and they don't adhere to those basic beliefs, then I don't really know what to say except their views aren't anything like traditional, orthodox Christianity. We have to have some doctrinal parameters.

But saying something like, "A REAL Christian wouldn't lie (or vote democrat, or fill in the blank)!!!" is judging the heart of another person, and that's God's job, not ours. We're in sin when we do that.

What is the definition of a christian/messianic? Is it not one that follows the teachings of Jesus/Yeshua. Has committed their life to G-d's ways? This can actually be answered by looking at a passage of Scripture that is so often taken out of context and abused. Matt 7:1-5

7:1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 7:2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you. 7:3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 7:4 Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.

This is not about "not judging" so much as it is about the way in which a person is to judge. Many scriptures tell believers to judge. What it is about is judging righteously and just, according to Scriptural integrity, not bigoted opinion. For one to say another is not a christian, the person making the statement better be living fully and righteously and the person they are "judging" must be outright blatant in their defiance and anti-godly state. Not immature, or backslidden, or even carnal. Even Paul called carnal believers brother and sister.

The biggest issue that we have with "believers" here and even in the world, in regards to their attitudes, comments, etc. is that in this day and age there are very few truly mature believers. Our "churches" are filled with spiritual 2 yr olds. They are emotionally and spiritually lacking in discipline and love.

I wouldn't say any spiritual expertise is needed. There are clear differences in neurological activity seen between belief, disbelief, and uncertainty. So, all that would be needed is to take fMRI scans of someone answering the question "Do you accept Jesus as your lord and savior?". Whatever their answer, it can be checked against the brain activity and we can decide what they actually believe. If they do believe such claims about Jesus, they are a Christian. (John 3:16)

Look in the real world.

Decode this lyrics " Knowing me knowing you"

Try to find a piece of question with those "Three little words" on "Who are you" which God had left behind for each and every living human kind to come up with the answer while passing by as time-traveller before kicking the butts of God in throwing down the Ten Commandments in time..

Luke 21.30-36

Luke 6.39-40,41-45,46-49

Luke 9.25,55-56,60

1 Timothy 6.7

Matt 5.9,14

Exodus 20.1-7

Exodus 20.12

Exodus 20.1-3

Leviticus 26.13

Matt 22.17-21,32

What do you think?

I have been studding Christianity for about 16 years and the more I learn the less I know. So I hope that will clear up the mud for my fellow Christians.

Judge not, lest ye be judged thyself.

A lot of Christians have a real problem with this one.

"Oh, you're not the same denomination as me! you can't be a true Christian!" or "You worship deities far older than mine! you're going straight to hell!" or "You're attracted to members of the same sex. I'm certain that God hates that, even though He made you that way, and he's all loving and all forgiving!"

it's pretty much the same in all denominations.

We must never judge another, we baptise on confession of faith, and a credible lifestyle.

We may ourselves know we are christian by the Love of God shed abroad in the heart, or the presence of the Holy Spirit.

There are certain aspects of a person's life that need to conform to the standards set by God. We must be somewhat judgemental of everyone. Our judgements determine our friendships, our jobs, our religion, etc.. It is best to associate with those who are our moral equivalent which makes it easier for us to conform to our own standards.

These judgements are individually made, unrighteous judgements are made when we condemn people or even state a person's salvation in my opinion. The salvation or condemnation of individuals is determined by God, and we have no right to this judgement.

A liberal Christian? Personally I can't understand how a person can support liberal politics and still consider themselves to be a Christian. Liberals have a tendency to legislate against the high moral ethics promoted in religion. I guess a good question to ask is How can liberal viewpoints be validated in Christianity? I would like to know.