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------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Msg #: [209/226] Base: PAGAN-Spirituality Date : 13 Oct 93 20:47:08 Stat: Sent From : Jim Taylor To : All Title: Believers and Faith-Holders @INTL 93:9609/0 93:9004/0 In Christianity, which is the faith I know, there are two main divisions among those who call themselves Christians. Jesus Himself identified them as "wheat", which is the useful grain of God; and as "tares", which is a grain-plant which, although it exactly resembles wheat when mature, is violently poisonous. "Tares" are false Christians, ravening wolves in sheep's clothing, who pass themselves off as Christians (and may even sincerely believe that they are), and yet they have nothing whatever to do with God, except to attempt to rob Him of those who are His. "Tares" are not Christians, though they are found in every Christian gathering, and God has said He will allow them to remain until the great and terrible Day of the Lord, when they shall be separated out for the destruction which they have freely chosen, to which they have condemned themselves; for they were free to choose salvation but chose otherwise. My subject today, therefore, is not the "tares", since they are not Christians. Rather, my subject is the two vastly different kinds of "wheat", i.e. the genuine Christians among us. Genuine Christians, too, fall into two categories: the Believer and the true Faith-Holder. The Believer is a true Christian. S/he has made a decision to follow Christ, to obey Him, to believe in Him, and to live the Life in Christ. The true Faith-Holder is also a true Christian. Unlike the Believer, however, the true Faith-Holder's Christianity is not a thing apart from the Faith-Holder, but an integral part of the Faith-Holder. One might consider that the Kingdom of Christ has two kinds of members. Most are civilians (Believers), whose citizenship is in Heaven. A minority are warriors (Faith-Holders), who give up their citizenship rights in order to be warriors. The major practical difference between the Believers and the Faith-Holders is that a Believer can always leave. A Faith-Holder cannot. When you see a person who used to be a Christian, he used to be a Believer, not a Faith-Holder, since a Faith-Holder can lose his life, but never his faith. Most Faith-Holders start out as Believers. At some time in their lives, something occurred which forced them to change, and instead of becoming ex-Christians, they instead became Faith-Holders. Every Christian, at one time or another, wonders how s/he will react if called upon to face martyrdom. The Believer will worry about this; but the Faith-Holder will not. The Believer will worry about it, because s/he is afraid that in that day, courage will not be sufficient, and s/he will deny God rather than suffer pain or death. The true Faith-Holder never worries about this, because there is no way s/he can deny God, any more than s/he can deny her/himself. The Faith-Holder's faith is internalized, and is part of her/his personal identity, not a separate thing which can be either gained or lost. The true Faith-Holder is IN NO WAY better than the Believer, just different. The true Faith-Holder has a much easier life than the Believer: it takes courage to be a Believer; it takes no courage at all to be a Faith-Holder. God honors both equally, since both are saved by God's mercy, not by any worthwhile quality in themselves. Now, here's the kicker: How do you tell the Believers and the Faith-Holders from one another, among the Christians on this echo? Actually, it's easy. When you run into someone who is working very carefully to guard and protect his personal faith, that is a Believer. When you run into someone who is doing absolutely nothing to guard and protect his personal faith, that is a Faith-Holder, because he does not NEED to do anything to protect his faith--it is a part of him.