Personally, I don't think Christians are "better" than anyone for the most part. There are some behaviors Christians shy away from or try to avoid for spiritual growth.
However, a Christian whose faith is rooted in a Spirit Filled experience with the God of the Bible does tend to be more "spiritual" than the average person, in my opinion.
And "more spiritual" means...?
__________________ "It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity." Dave Barry 2005
I am a firm believer in the Old Paths
Articles on such subjects as "The New Birth," will be accepted, whether they teach that the new birth takes place before baptism in water and Spirit, or that the new birth consists of baptism of water and Spirit. - THE PENTECOSTAL HERALD Dec. 1945
"It is doubtful if any Trinitarian Pentecostals have ever professed to believe in three gods, and Oneness Pentecostals should not claim that they do." - Daniel Segraves
Of course not. All of our righteousness is as filthy rags. We like sheep have gone astray. We have turned our own way, and our iniquities have been laid upon Christ. There is no one who is Good but God. We are all sinful in nature.
So, are Christians better than non-believers? Not at all.
Are Christians in a better place than non-believers? Absolutely.
The difference is that we have a savior who has remitted our sins, and brought us out of the cesspool of sin. This is not because we were somehow more special than non-believers. This was because we heard the gospel and responded in faith. We are in a better position than those who have not yet responded, and remain lying in the cesspool, yet we are not better because we'd be right back where they are if we didn't have Christ.
Not sure I quite follow. And I'm not sure you are really answering the question. I mean, you start by saying "no", and then it looks like you are explaining a "yes" answer.
You were in the cesspool of sin before, and now (I think, if I understand you correctly) you are not. That seems "better", to me. And this doesn't really hinge on whether you deserved to be pulled out of that cesspool or not. If you were, you were.
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
If you're not a better person A.D. than you were B.C., there is no point being a Christian. A lustful lying lascivious lady should not be a lustful lying lascivious lady after her encounter with Jesus. If she is, there was no point to her encounter. Actually, she's worse off now. She would receive greater damnation than someone who didn't know any better.
Not sure I quite follow. And I'm not sure you are really answering the question. I mean, you start by saying "no", and then it looks like you are explaining a "yes" answer.
You were in the cesspool of sin before, and now (I think, if I understand you correctly) you are not. That seems "better", to me. And this doesn't really hinge on whether you deserved to be pulled out of that cesspool or not. If you were, you were.
Bump for A-man 7.
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Not sure I quite follow. And I'm not sure you are really answering the question. I mean, you start by saying "no", and then it looks like you are explaining a "yes" answer.
You were in the cesspool of sin before, and now (I think, if I understand you correctly) you are not. That seems "better", to me. And this doesn't really hinge on whether you deserved to be pulled out of that cesspool or not. If you were, you were.
If the question is whether Christians are better than they were before they became Christians, then I would say yes.
But if the question is whether or not Christians are better than non-believers, then I would say no. I don't see Christians being better, superior, more important than, or over, non-believers. Paul told the church at Rome not to think themselves better than the Jews who rejected Christ, because in reality the gentiles were grafted into the vine and could just as easily be taken out of it as well.
I don't see myself as being better than the non-believer sitting in the cubicle next to me. We were both born in sin and shapen in iniquity. We both are human and are subject to the passions and lusts of the flesh. We both have sinned and made mistakes. So when it comes to us as individuals, I am no better than she is. As Paul said, "such were some of you."
However, I am in a better standing since I have responded to the gospel, repented, been baptized for the remission of my sins, received the Spirit of God, and have tried my best to live a life pleaseing to HIM. I know that I have the hope of salvation. The non-believer who has done none of these things does not have that same hope. I don't have that hope because of some intrinsic quality, talent, or accomplishment that makes me superior to the non-believer who is absent of those things. No, because it doesn't matter what qualities I have, or talents I possess, or accomplishments I have made, if I were to be without Christ again, then I would be right back in the same hopeless state as the Non-believer sitting next to me.
So, am I better that she is? Superior in some way? No.
Am I in a better place than she is spiritually? Yes. Currently I have a better spiritual standing than she does. Not because of who I am, but because of who HE is.
If the question is whether Christians are better than they were before they became Christians, then I would say yes.
But if the question is whether or not Christians are better than non-believers, then I would say no. I don't see Christians being better, superior, more important than, or over, non-believers. Paul told the church at Rome not to think themselves better than the Jews who rejected Christ, because in reality the gentiles were grafted into the vine and could just as easily be taken out of it as well.
I don't see myself as being better than the non-believer sitting in the cubicle next to me. We were both born in sin and shapen in iniquity. We both are human and are subject to the passions and lusts of the flesh. We both have sinned and made mistakes. So when it comes to us as individuals, I am no better than she is. As Paul said, "such were some of you."
However, I am in a better standing since I have responded to the gospel, repented, been baptized for the remission of my sins, received the Spirit of God, and have tried my best to live a life pleaseing to HIM. I know that I have the hope of salvation. The non-believer who has done none of these things does not have that same hope. I don't have that hope because of some intrinsic quality, talent, or accomplishment that makes me superior to the non-believer who is absent of those things. No, because it doesn't matter what qualities I have, or talents I possess, or accomplishments I have made, if I were to be without Christ again, then I would be right back in the same hopeless state as the Non-believer sitting next to me.
So, am I better that she is? Superior in some way? No.
Am I in a better place than she is spiritually? Yes. Currently I have a better spiritual standing than she does. Not because of who I am, but because of who HE is.
Are all unbelievers in the cesspool of sin?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Linear Mode
