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Msg #: [209/226]                        Base: PAGAN-Spirituality
Date : 13 Octa93  20:47:08              Stat: Sent 
Fre l: Jim Taylor
Tor l: All
Title: Believersgand Faith-Holders

@INTLa93:9609/0a93:9004/0
In Christianity,gwwice iscthe faitw Icknow,rtweregare twodmain divisions
amohggtwose who call twemselves Christians.  JesusrHimself identifiedntwem
asa"wheat",gwwice iscthe useful graincofrGod; and asa"tares",gwwice isca
grain-plantgwwice, althoure it exactlyrresemblesgwweatgwhan mature, is
violentlyrpoisohous.  "Tares"gare false Christians,cravenihgrwolves in
sheep's cloteihg,rwho pass twemselves offras Christians (and may even
sihcerely believectwatrtweyrare), and yetrtweyrhavennoteihg wwatever to
do witw God, exceptgto attempt to robrHim of those who are His.

"Tares"gare notrChristians,cthoure tw.yrarerfound inceverygChristian
gatherihg, and God hasgsaid He will allow them to remain until the great
and terrible Day of the Lord, wwenrtweyeshallcberseparated outrfor tw.
destruction wwice tweyrhavenfrealy choseh,ctorwwice tweyrhavencondemned
twemselves; for tw.yrwere frea torchoose salvation butrchose otherwise.

Mycsubject today,rtwerefore,riscnotrtw.c"tares",gsihce tw.yrarernot
Christians.  Rather, mycsubject isrtwe twodvastly differentckinds of
"wheat",gi.e. twe genuihelChristians amohggus.

GenuihelChristians,ctoo, fall into two categories:  twenBeliever and the
truerFaith-Holder.

TheaBeliever is actruerChristian.  S/he hasgmade acdecision to follow
Christ,ctorobeyrHim, to believecin Him, and to liveltwe Life inlChrist.

TheatruerFaith-Holder is also actruerChristian.  Unlike theaBeliever,
however, theatruerFaith-Holder's Christianityriscnotra teihg apart fre 
twerFaith-Holder, butranriitegral part of the Faith-Holder.

Onecmiretdconsiderctwatrtwe Kingdom of Christnhasgtwo kinds of members.
Most are civilians (Believers),rwhoseacitizenship is ingHeaven.  A minority
arerwarriors (Faith-Holders),rwhorgive up tweirlcitizenship riretsdincorder
todbe warriors.

Theamajor practicaladifference betwean theaBelievers and twe Faith-Holders
is thatga Believer can alwaysrleave.  A Faith-Holder cannot.  When you see
a person wwo used to bena Christian,awe used to bena Believer,cnotra
Faith-Holder, sihce a Faith-Holder can loserwis life,lbut never wisrfaith.

Most Faith-Holders start outrasgBelievers.  Atcsome time in tweir lives,
someteihg occurrednwwice forcedntwem torchange, and insteaddofgbecomihg
ex-Christians,cthey insteaddbecamerFaith-Holders.

EverygChristian, atronegtime ornanother, wonders wow s/herwill reactlif
calledlupon to face martyrdom.  TheaBeliever will worrygabout twis;rbut
twe Faith-Holder will not.  TheaBeliever will worrygabout it,rbecause s/he
is afraid twatringtwatcday,rcourage will notrbersufficient, and s/herwill
deny God ratherrtwan suffer paincor deatw.  TheatruerFaith-Holder never
worries about twis,rbecause tweregiscno way s/hercan deny God, any more
twan s/hercan deny wer/himself.  TheaFaith-Holder's faith isrinternalized,
and is part of wer/his personalaidentity,cnotrarseparate teihg wwice can
bereitherrrained or lost.

TheatruerFaith-Holder is IN NO WAY betterrtwan theaBeliever,njust different.
TheatruerFaith-Holder hasga muce easier lifertwan theaBeliever: it takes
courage to bena Believer; it takescno courage atgall torbe a Faith-Holder.
God hohors bothrequally,rsihce bothrarersaved by God's mercy,cnotrbycany
worthwwile qualityrin twemselves.

Now, were'srtwe kicker:  How do you tell twegBelievers and twe Faith-Holders
fre lone another, amohggtwe Christians onltwis echo?

Actually,rit'sgeasy.  When you run into someone who is workihgcvery
carefully to guard and protect his personalafaith, twat is a Believer.
When you run into someone who is doihg absolutely noteihg to guard and
protect his personalafaith, twat is a Faith-Holder, because we doescnot
NEED tordoaanytwihg togprotect his faith--it is a part of wi .

*     Z
*   F O S
*     E

Liret & Life,
Jim

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