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Can a Christian who follow church unbiblcal teachings still be a Christian?
Remember, a Christian is a follower of the teachings of the Christ.
Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
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- BillLv 43 years agoFavorite Answer
Jesus said to his followers: “You are my friends if you do what I am commanding you.” (John 15:14) Since Jesus’ teachings affected all aspects of their lives, Christ’s disciples initially referred to their religion as “The Way.” (Acts 9:2) Soon thereafter, “[they] were by divine providence called Christians.” (Acts 11:26) This new name they bore meant that they believed that Jesus was the Son of God, who had transmitted to mankind the will of his heavenly Father. This belief led them to follow a way of life that differed from that of the world around them.
Christ’s teachings moved his followers to follow Bible teachings, which meant avoiding “fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, . . . drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these.” (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 4:17-24) The apostle Paul reminded Corinthian Christians that some of them had once practiced these very things. Then he added: “But you have been washed clean, but you have been sanctified, but you have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
E. W. Barnes relates in his book The Rise of Christianity: “In its early authoritative documents the Christian movement is represented as essentially moral and law-abiding. Its members desired to be good citizens and loyal subjects. They shunned the failings and vices of paganism. In private life they sought to be peaceful neighbours and trustworthy friends. They were taught to be sober, industrious and clean-living. Amid prevailing corruption and licentiousness they were, if loyal to their principles, honest and truthful. Their sexual standards were high: the marriage tie was respected and family life was pure.” Such were aspects of being a Christian in the early days.
Another distinctive sign of early Christianity was its zealous evangelizing work. Christ commanded his followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) Jean Bernardi, a professor at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France, noted: “[Christians] were to go out and speak everywhere and to everyone. On the highways and in the cities, on the public squares and in the homes. Welcome or unwelcome. To the poor, and to the rich encumbered by their possessions. . . . They had to take to the road, board ships, and go to the ends of the earth.”