“The Hyphenated Christian” Writer and Author Ronald Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION:

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". John 14:6: 

ENCOURAGING WORD:

Being a true Christian involves faith in Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit, and demonstrating a transformed life through love, obedience, and good works, setting oneself apart from worldly desires and conforming to God's will, as shown in verses like John 14:6 (Jesus is the way), 2 Corinthians 5:17 (new creation), and Romans 12:2 (transformed mind.

Core Beliefs & Identity

John 14:6: Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Each component of this statement is given a definite article; both Greek and English refer to "the" way, "the" truth, and "the" life. There is no possibility of translating this comment as Jesus being "one way," or "a truth," or just "life." He doubles down on the idea, in fact, by emphasizing that nobody comes to God "except through "Christ." Rarely does anyone object to the idea that those who believe in Christ will be saved. What offends many is the suggestion that only those who believe in Christ find salvation. 

John 1:12; "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God". John 3:16;  may be the most famous verse in the Bible. It is certainly the most memorized piece of Scripture. This verse is also an excellent summary of the gospel. All who receive Christ, through faith, become children of God. This is described using the Greek term exousia, often translated as a "right," or an entitlement. Spiritual honors are given to all believers, simply for being part of that family. However, this word also implies the power to do something. Becoming a child of God doesn't simply result in privileges, but spiritual power.

Romans 8:9; "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ". Notice that this verse very much supports the idea of the Trinity. God is three persons in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Spirit here is referred to both as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, though it is the same being. In addition, the Spirit of God is said to live in Christians in this verse and Christ is said to be "in you" in the following verse. This corresponds to the idea of three different persons in one Godhead.

2 Corinthians 5:17; “"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!". Paul has written that Christ's death for sin has changed the way he regards people. Instead of looking at each person as a mere human being, he must view those who are in Christ as something entirely different. Those who are "in Christ" are those who have faith in Him, credited with Christ's righteous life, and their sin forgiven by Christ's death in their place. Such people are new creatures. Those "in Christ" have become something they were not before. Their identity has changed from being the fallen version of themselves, to being associated with the righteousness of Christ. That's who they are now.

Actions & Lifestyle

Matthew 16:24; "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me". Jesus has said that He must be killed by the Jewish religious leaders before being raised on the third day Matthew 16:21; “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

Now He introduces the idea of crucifixion, though He does not speak of His own. That's something Jesus will allude to, regarding Himself, later in His ministry when He speaks of execution on a cross in relation to those who would follow Him. John 12:32–34; “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”

John 14:15; "If you love me, you will keep my commandments". Jesus pointedly taught that those who follow Him are obligated to show love for others John 13:12–15, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another 's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 

John 13: 34; “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” That is the primary sign of faith to the outside world, John 13:35; “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Here, He indicates that obedience to His commands is the primary sign of our love for Him. A person cannot claim to know Christ and hate other Christians.

1 John 4:20; “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  Nor can someone claim to know Christ while disregarding His teachings 1 John 2:4; “He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” This is for those that say with their lips that they believe but then outwardly disobey His commands.

Romans 12:2; “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.  This verse calls believers to resist worldly patterns and instead undergo a spiritual transformation through a renewed mindset, enabling them to understand and live out God's perfect will. God has a perfect plan for every person. Its up to us whether we transform to His will or we conform to the world. If you conform into this world, then the will of Jesus is not in you. You will not find salvation in this world, only by transforming into the image of Jesus Christ. 

1 John 2:15-17; “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abides forever.” When I first started reading the Bible and I came to this vers, I was confused. I couldn’t understand what was meant by hating the world. When the Holy Spirit finally explained what was meant, He told me the world that is being spoken of here in these verses are not the blue earth that we occupy, it is the people that are occupying the earth. And now when I see all the corruption that is taking place in our world, I know exactly what this verse is referring too.

Love & Character

1 Corinthians 13:1-3; “Highlights that love is paramount, even above spiritual gifts. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.” To me these couple verse really separate the true Christian from the false teachers, and they are still behind the pulpits of America. I know too many people that call themselves Christians, but when you peel back the onion, they are very hateful  toward other Christians. I have absolutely no faith in human standards. I’ve witnessed this behavior so often, it makes me sick. All I can say is, it’s a good thing that Jesus will be judging these people and not me. Like it says, if you can’t love a brother or sister in Christ, please don’t refer to yourself as a Christian.

1 Timothy 4:12; "Set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity". Paul gives five specific areas in which Timothy is to serve as an example. First is his words. Second his actions, which should reflect an example of godliness. Third, his love was to be an example. Fourth, Timothy was to be an example in faith. This is similar to 1 Timothy 1:5 where Paul said, "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." Fifth, Timothy's example was to include his "purity," both physically in his behavior around young women 1 Timothy 5:2; “Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity.” and in his spirituality.

1 Timothy 5:22; “Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.” This pretty much lays it on the line. If you can’t show this kind of love towards one another, you better re-evaluate your relationship with Jesus.

1 John 3:2; "Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is". John next refers to his readers as his "beloved," or dear ones. Being a child of God is not a future event for the believer; we are His children from the point when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and believe into our eternital future.

John 1:12; “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  In addition, our future has not yet completely been revealed. In eternity with the Lord, believers will experience a new body and exist forever in God's presence, in a way far superior to our lives today. Some of this is simply impossible for us to understand; certain things will only be "revealed" to us once Christ appears to bring us home.

So, is your life described by a hyphen? We live in a hyphenated culture. People seem to be absolutely obsessed with the hyphen part of their existance more than the reality. Lets dive into what I’m talking about as we open up the Bible and lets do a little examination. Is your life hyphenated? We need, as a Christian culture to take a big deep breath and dive into, what it is meant to be a Christian. We live in a hyphenated world. It seems as though many things in our life are hyphenated. Even Christianity is hyphenated.

How many times do we tragically in the Christian church discuss or introduce ourselves with hyphens? I’m a Baptist Christian. What in the world is that? I’m a methodist Christian. I’m a non-denominational Christian. I am a progressive Christian. I’m a Catholic Christian. I’m a liberal Christian; I’m a conservative Christian. All of these things we are going to call them for what they are, a hyphenated life. Let me read something from the scriptures and then we will get deeper into this.

In 1 Corinthians, 1:10; “This is what Paul said to the Corinthians. “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

1 Corinthians 1:10; is a plea from the Apostle Paul for unity, urging believers to speak the same thing, (The Word of God right from the Bible) There should be no divisions, and we should be perfectly joined in the same mind and judgment, appealing to them by the name of Jesus Christ to avoid the sectarianism causing issues in the Corinthian church.  

The Christian church is so divided because of organized religion. God did not organize religion, He taught Christianity. Every time you put something before the word Christianity, such as a Catholic Christian, what you are saying is this. You have taken the Bible and added false doctrine, and you have also removed doctrine from the Bible. This includes every church that has a hyphen before it. Christianity is Christianity. The Bible holds all the truth that we need to be considered in Christ. The only place in the Bible where you might find a hyphen before Christian is found in the book of John.

"You must be born again" is a core Christian teaching from the Bible, spoken by Jesus to Nicodemus in; John 3:3-7; “Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’

Signifying a radical, supernatural spiritual transformation or rebirth, not a physical second birth, necessary to enter the Kingdom of God means receiving a new heart, turning from sin (repentance), and having Christ live within you through the Holy Spirit, creating a new purpose and nature. Therefore you are a born-again Christian. That is the only "hyphen" that should be considered in the Bible.

I once had a conversation with a catholic about what sect of Christianity she was a part of. I told her that I was a born-again Christian and she relied by saying, “I’m not born again, I’m a Catholic.” She just admitted to me that she was not saved. She follows Catholicism and not the Bible. She obviously had never read the Bible as is the case with most Catholics. If you are a Catholic, explain to me why the Word of God says we must be born-again, when in deed that is not what the Catholic faith teaches.  Perfect example of a hyphenated church. You’ve  taken this extremely important teaching from the Bible and removed it. Some Catholics say, you must be born-again into the Catholic faith as their way of understanding this teaching. Please show me where that is written in the Bible.

Galatians 3:26-29; “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

In the New King James Version of the Bible, Galatians 3:26 reads: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus," emphasizing that believers become children of God through their faith in Jesus, uniting them without distinction as spiritual heirs, as described in the verses that follows Galatians 3:27-29; "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise."

It may be that the church is more divided now more than ever before and it’s been moving in this direction for a very long time. That’s because knowingly, or unknowingly, we have swallowed some sort of carnal trend, very subtle, but a very powerful manner of division. We actually welcomed it into our society. Do you see anywhere in the Bible where there was a gathering of believers that were only from the region of Bothnia for example, it’s a real place, not just fictional. Also there was the church from Thessalonica where only Thessalonians worshipped, but they didn’t refer to themselves as Thessalonica Christians. Nobody in the Christian world back then hyphenated their Christianity. You didn’t hear anyone say, “I’m a Thessalonican Christian” or I’m a Gelation Christian. They were all just Christians learning the word of God the way it should have been understood. They could have said, Hey, I’m a Christian and I’m from the area of Asian Minor. There nothing wrong with that. I’m a Christian from Wisconsin, but I’m not a Wisconsin Christian. I’m also a Norwegian by heritage, but I’m not a Norwegian Christian. That kind of thinking divides the body of Christ. A hyphenated life in the church, that’s insane! That just divides people up. It draws lines and  it divides us when we ought to be working hard to unify all of us around the truth. If you are a Christian, then you are only a Christian, not some manmade version of what they think the Bible teaches as is the case with all so-called sects of Christianity. If you say that you are a Catholic Christian, then you are not a true Bible believing Christian.  

Let me go a little bit deeper and lets let the reality be delt with. Can you be a Christian with a hyphen? What do I mean by that. Can you be a gay Christian? I didn’t say , can you be a Christian who struggles with a gay temptation. I’m not talking about that. Are you a bank robbing Christian. Are you temped to steal? Okay, that’s different than being a bank robbing Christian. If we think for a moment that anyone of us will enter heaven with a hyphen, we’ve deceived ourselves. That is not going to happen. What we are trying to do when we hyphenate our Christianity is this, we are bringing in the old and trying to weld it to the new, which is as successful as Iron mixing with clay. It’s not going to work. It’s impossible.

Listen, the new recipe is this, we are in Christ, we have died to ourselves from our past life, no I’m not suggesting reincarnation! We are a new creation in Jesus. So, let me put it this way, I am not a fan of all white churches. I’m not a fan of all Asian churches, or Chinese churches, or black churches. I’m not a fan of dividing up the body of Christ.  I think when God is moving and His Word is being presented and the Holy Spirit is doing what He does, I think we're going to look across a congregation, and we are going to see what looks like a montage of color and people from various countries. The church is not divided. Look, if you live in an all-white community, then that’s just the way it is, of course it will be an all-white congregation, So, if a black man or a white man comes into that church, that person is the same color to God as anybody else. God doesn’t look at a congregation and say, “You know what? You guys can be the fornication Christian community. That’s impossible.” Here is a somber thought that we all need to meditate on. Are you a fornicating Christian? My guess would that about 80% of the world population is guilty of this one. If you call yourself a Christian, and you are having sex outside the bonds of marriage between a man and women, You really cannot call yourself a Christian. If you live that lifestyle, You will not be welcomed into the Kingdom of God. Not my rules, these are Gods Words, believe what you will, but you will stand before Jesus at the white throne judgment and give an account of every sin that you ever committed. You must repent and turn from that life style and God will forgive you and will be clean from that sin.   

So, What is your hyphen? Can you be a gay Christian? Again, if you are tempted, you can be a Christian whose temped in these areas, but you don’t follow through with them. Can you be a pot-smoking, drug-taking Christian? You can be tempted, but you can’t continue to live with that lifestyle. Can you be an alcoholic Christian? Can you hyphenate that into your Christianity? My argument is, you can’t. You may be tempted to drink but its no longer in control of your life. That’s not what you live for. We cannot be hyphenated people; it is an offence to God. Can you be a greedy Christian? Can you be a pre-choice Christian? That’s impossible, unless you really understand what pro-choice means. Pro-choice means you have the ability to choose. Once you make a choice, you are responsible for the decision you make because after you choose it, then a choice has been made. People who say their pro-choice Christians regarding babies and pregnancy, they’re playing mind games with themselves, because you make a choice when it comes to reproduction. You can make the choice to act out how people are reproduced, how humans are made, But then when you make a human then you have no right to terminate that pregnancy. If you do, its murder, and then you become a murdering Christian. What an oxymoron that is. You must honor the consequences from your choice. You choose to have sex, and the result is a baby. Then you feel that you have the choice to whether it lives or not. You don’t have that right. When  somebody says, “I’m a pro-choice Christian. Can you have sex with somebody, of course, biology is real. Can you abort that child after your pregnant and hyphenate your Christianity? If you say, I’m a pro-choice Christian. Then you are lying to yourself.

This is a big one and it’s going to offend a lot of people. Since the democrats (and not all of them) will not allow God to be in their platform, and they are trying to silence Christians. They will sometimes tolerate Jews, but they will never criticize Muslims. Democrats attack Christianity and give Muslims a free pass. If Islam ever takes control of our country, (which they won’t) we would live under sharia Law, and for those of you that vote democrat, do a little research on Sharia Law. You will change your mind very quickly if you have any sense at all.  Democrats have no problem sleeping with Muslims. Do you know why Democrats will never criticize Muslims, it’s because Christians don’t fight back. A Muslim will cut your head off. Christians will pray for you. We’re too easy of a target. The unbelievers can do whatever they want to us because we know that God is going to take care of it in the end. Just a thought to ponder, if you hate our current prresedne more than you love Jesus, then you have issues. You are willing to murder Gods Children, because of your hatred towards another humna being. Enough said on that... just think about it before you get all bent out of shape.

Listen to this, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,”  nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

The Bible says that the Bible is the ground pillar to all truth. When is the last time that you saw the church make such a big difference in our culture? There are those that hate the truth, but they fear it because deep down they know it’s true.

What does the Bible say about this one.  Romans 1: 18-27; “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,  because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the [g]men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”

The phrase "they are suppressing the truth in unrighteousness" comes from Romans 1:18 of the Bible, describing how people deliberately reject God's clear revelation about Himself, choosing instead to live in sin and immorality, thus "holding down" or actively hindering the truth they know exists because they love their sinful desires more than God's truth. This leads to God's wrath, as humanity exchanges God's glory for idols and falls into corruption. 

So, after reading what I have written, are you angry or are you taking this message to heart. Everything that I write, whether you choose to believe it or not, comes from inspiration from the Holy Spirit. I hate offending people, but Gods word speaks truth to me and if Gods Word offends you, please take it to prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and bring you into the true family of God. If you choose to ignore Gods Word,  there will be consequences, consequence that you won’t like. God loves you and wishes all would come to repentance, but unfortunately, that will not be the case, when in reality it will be the complete opposite. We read in the following verse what I say this.  

Matthew 7:13-14; “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

The gate that you choose will determine you’re eternal fate. God will not choose for you, He gave you free will, the choice is yours…choose wisely.

(May you) grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever!

Jesus did not come to bring pease, He came to bring division. Matthew 10; 34-39; "Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter inlaw against her mother in law.