Bible Cartoons Mobile app’
Posted 28 Nov 2012
Yesterday (27/Nov/2012) I had a great chat with my friend Mike R at the Olive Branch (our church’s coffee shop) about possibility of making a Christian app for mobile phones. Mike was thinking of writing a little app that would help people to get into the Bible, and also to blow away some of the myths surrounding what is, and is not, a Christian. I thought it sounded like a really good idea.
I want to donate my cartoons to it, so we can inspire people to get into the Bible. Maybe some cartoons would help the app’ to be accessible and friendly, which we would want it to be.
It’s interesting when you ask the question “what makes me a Christian?” or to look at some of our common misconceptions about what “must” make some into a Christian. Here’s some of them…
Surely x “makes” me a Christian, doesn’t it?
- Going to church “must” make me a Christian!
Going to church is great, because it is good to join together with like-minded people and to share a time together of worshipping God. It is great because it gives you access to the word of God (the Holy Bible) in churches where the Holy Bible is preached.
As someone once wrote, “Going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile!”
So, going to church just by itself DOESN’T make you automatically a Christian.
- Reading the Bible “must” make me a Christian!
Reading the Bible is great, because you are reading the word of God, which is His advice, counsel, commands, reassurances, promises, etc written to you, where ever you are, whatever you are facing. Some once wrote that the Bible stands for Basic Information Before Leaving Eearth! I like that!
But reading the Bible just by itself DOESN’T make you automatically a Christian.
- Knocking on doors and telling people about your faith “must” make me a Christian!
Knocking on doors and telling people about your faith, also called “witnessing”, is great because people who don’t know God or what amazing, life-affirming promises He offers, won’t GET TO KNOW God unless someone knocks on their door and TELLS them about God!
But Knocking on doors and telling people about your faith DOESN’T make you automatically a Christian.
- Surely “doing good” makes me a Christian, doesn’t it?
It stands to reason that doing good for people (serving) is great, because we all need some help, support, etc now and again. Obviously, doing harm to other people is “bad” and won’t win you any brownie points with God! So surely the opposite (doing good) does get you into heaven, or automatically makes you into as Christian… doesn’t it?!
Doing good for other people is great… no arguments from me! But if we read the Bible we see that SINLESS PERFECTION is the required mark we need to achieve, if we want to become a Christian, or get into heaven by our own good deeds and work.
I don’t know about you, but I could NEVER claim to have achieved sinless perfection… far, far from it.
And anything less than sinless perfection, even a tiny little bit less, is just not good enough to get me to heaven, or to “make” me into a Christian by my effort(s) alone.
Doing good is desirable, of course, in all people, and especially in Christians (!) but The Bible makes it clear that we DO NOT become a Christian simply by doing good.
- Surely “living a moral, good, pure life” makes me a Christian, doesn’t it?
Trying to live a moral, good, pure life is admirable, for sure. Living in such a way that you do no harm to anyone or anything else is great. That kind of lifestyle is desirable in everyone. But we are back to the “works” mentality of the previous point… we are really saying that we think we are living a “good enough” life that God “ought” to let us into heaven! But the question still stands, have we lived a PERFECT life, without any wrong-doing (called sin in the Bible) AT ALL?
Again, I would have to confess that I have sinned… big time! So that means I can’t become a Christian just by my own effort & good intentions alone. How about you?
Living a moral life DOES NOT make you automatically a Christian.
- Surely “believing in God” makes me a Christian, doesn’t it?
We’re getting a lot closer to the truth with this question, but it all depends on what you mean by “God.”
The word “God” could mean any one of a number of things. Lots of religions have a “god” or indeed “gods” – so the word is hardly exclusive to Christianity.
In any case, the Devil (aka Satan) believes in God, yet he is clearly not a Christian!
You have to get down to the specifics, found in the Bible, in order to find out what God ACTUALLY SAYS is needed, or indeed vitally necessary, in order for us to be absolutely certain what we are…
So, what is a Christian anyway? What really DOES “make” a Christian?
As I’ve outlined above, many people across the world read the bible, go to church, live in a “Christian country”, knock on doors & tell people about their faith, even believe in the existence of God… yet they are not Christians.
That sounds odd – even annoying, or worrying, or rude, or judgmental… doesn’t it?
OK, let’s ask the big question, “How can we know, for certain, that we are, or are not a Christian?” or “What makes a person into a Christian, if it ISN’T going to church, living in a “Christian country”, reading the Bible, etc?”
We have to see what God says (in the Bible) about what it means to become a Christian, in order to be CERTAIN about whether we are, or are not, a Christian. There are many, many good resources out in cyber-space, in books, etc, which tell us the truth about becoming a Christian.
In essence, a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus Christ. It’s Jesus Christ who is at the heart of the issue. In a simple, four step description here are the bear facts of the matter:
1) God loves us all. He demonstrates that intense love in so many different ways.
2) We have done wrong (sinned) and need to be saved from our sin, which will lead to eternal death.
3) Jesus died for us, to allow us to become sin-free.
4) In order to become a Christian and to get that freedom from eternal death, we need to confess our sin to God, and believe in Jesus the Christ.
5) The moment you confess your sin and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you then become a Christian.
Notice that it is as simple, yet as life-changing & life-affirming a that!
Notice also, that you may not feel any different, but the FACT is, that you ARE different… completely different. When you become a Christian you literally move from death to life; from the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s realm) to the kingdom of Light (God/Jesus’ realm)… you can’t get any more different than that! Yet, your feelings may not be any different. My advice to you is: Don’t rely on your feelings. Actually, don’t rely o your thoughts either! If you want to KNOW what is actually TRUE, then read the Bible. Our thoughts and our feelings can be mislead (especially by the enemy, Satan); we can be deceived by him. But the Bible is unadulterated TRUTH, directly from God/Jesus Himself. So it makes sense to rely on what God tells us through the Bible, ratehr thanon what our thoughts and/or feelings tell us.
I have written a fuller description (based on the “Roamn Road”) and what you have to do to become a Christian on the Statement of Beliefs page if you want to click here and read that.
I’ve got some links to web-based resources on my Links page, if you want to read more Links look under “ministry website” & click on “Why become a Christian? – from the About.com “ or any of the other links, for more information.
It is always useful to tell someone… or everyone! that you have given your life to Jesus.
Joining a church is useful, you can get teaching, preaching, opportunity to praise and worship God, etc. People at your (new) church can also help you grow into Christianity.
Some further reading for you!
Two definitions of what a Christian is, (hopefully) helpful to your understanding….
A true Christian is a person who has put faith and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His death on the cross as payment for sins and His resurrection on the third day. John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” The mark of a true Christian is love for others and obedience to God’s Word (1 John 2:4, 10). A true Christian is indeed a child of God, a part of God’s true family, and one who has been given new life in Jesus Christ.
(Source: http://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-a-Christian.html)
First of all, to be a Christian, you must first know who Christ is. Biblically, He is God in flesh, second person of the Trinity (John 1:1,14; Col. 2:9). He is the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58). He is the savior who was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), who died, was buried, and rose from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-4), physically (John 2:19-21). He alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Only by the name of Jesus may a person be saved (Acts 4:12) and all who do not trust in Him alone for the forgiveness of their sins will be judged (Matt. 25:41) accordingly. Jesus is both God and man (Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5; Phil. 2:5-8). He is our eternal intercessor (Heb. 7:25) who mediates our salvation to the Father (1 Tim. 2:5). To Him be the glory.
(Source: http://carm.org/christianity/devotions/what-christian)
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