6 Things You Can Do & Still Be A Christian

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Anyone who knows me personally knows that I have struggled in my past with a bit of a legalistic attitude.

It’s something that God has worked with me on over the past few years.

I’ve finally gotten to the point where I realize that God’s calling among Christians is to live a life of freedom and selflessness.

Our duty is to, ultimately, show Him through our every day lives.

So, here are a few things I’ve come to realize that we can do and still be Christians…

Not join the “Let’s see how many Christians are on Facebook” group.
Use regular Twitter instead of Christian Chirp.
Leave off the fish under your email signature.
Eat at Applebee’s Grill and Bar.
Listen to music not labeled “Christian.”
Fail to have any Jesus equipment on your car.

So, if you do any of these, don’t feel bad…you can still be a Christian!

If you don’t do any of these, don’t feel bad…you can still be one too!

What would you add to this list?

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31 responses to “6 Things You Can Do & Still Be A Christian”

Matt Bowman

April 6

Funny stuff Jonathan. It’s kinda sick how we pressure one another to do some pretty silly stuff. My favorite is the “If you love Jesus, you will forward this ridiculous email” or “If you love Jesus you’ll copy & paste this into your status update”. Here’s one I’d like to do “If you love Jesus, you’ll smack the person who pressures you to do join weird FB groups or forward pointless emails,” just kidding of course.

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Jonathan Pearson

April 6

Yeah, I always think, “I love Jesus, but I hate stupid.” :) Thanks for reading and commenting Matt.

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Jason Callina

April 6

Posting with my normal account. I usually tweet under @emerging_jake

I know the tone is humorous here, but I think these types of posts might be an important way to honestly discuss doctrinal issues. You could easy address swearing, sex, politics, religious affiliation, media etc etc. I think it is rare that someone talks about what they can do rather than what they can’t do.

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Jason Callina

April 6

e.g.

6 Things You Can Do & Still Be A Christian

1. Watch ‘Evil Dead 2’
2. Be a democrat or a republican
3. Enjoy talking about and having sex
4. Use the term ‘frak’ from Battlestar Galactica in casual conversation
5. Have a church service consisting of conversation about everything with little or no structure
6. Have athiest friends and not try to actively convert them

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Jonathan Pearson

April 6

Good stuff Jason! We do seldom talk about what we CAN do, even though Jesus does ultimately give us freedom. We tend to focus on the rules instead. Really like your “democrat OR republican” and “have athiest freinds.” Thanks for sharing man!

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Jim F.

April 6

Those made me smile. Thanks.

I am now off to confirm the facebook group “I bet we can get a million Christians before the Satanist can”.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 6
  
  haha… Give it time and I’m sure another will come through to ya! Thanks for reading. :)
  
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Janel

April 6

-Go to the movie theater *gasp!*

-Wear cosmetic products (if not, i’d be on the first bus to hell, first seat, first class ticket)

-Be attractive to the opposite sex.

-Have dancing skills

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 6
  
  Like the “wear cosmetic products” one. If you want to or need to wear make up… please do! :) Thanks for sharing.
  
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Rob

April 6

I’m totally anti-legalism, but we need to be careful that aren’t simply trying to get away with as much as we can without getting in trouble. Jesus made it clear in matthew 5 that sin is an issue of the heart. So we can be doing something totally un-sinful or even “good” as an action, and still being sinning because our motives are twisted.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 6
  
  Great point man. Our motivation is taken into account. We can’t make lightly of sin. Thanks for reading and sharing!
  
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steel_ag

April 6

I agree completely with Rob… also would like to add, though, we still gotta watch what we do. Don’t forget about 1 Thessalonians 5:22, “Abstain from all appearance of evil,” or 1 Corinthians 8:9, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.” And also the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 9 where Paul talks about being free to do what he wants, but chooses to be what he has to be to win souls. I do agree that we really don’t need to be doing all that weird stuff to profess Christianity and that living our everyday lives for Christ should show it, but we do need to be careful that what we ARE doing isn’t giving the wrong impression of us to unsaved people who don’t understand yet.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 6
  
  Good point. This is supposed to be a stupid post, but you guys are gettin deep here. :) Good stuff! Thanks for reading and sharing.
  
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Tara

April 6

How about:

-Have a beer or glass of wine or *gasp* alcoholic beverage (if you’re over 21 of course)

-Read fiction, even secular fiction

-Watch TV

-Have gay friends

I used to be very legalistic – it’s the way I was raised. But God is showing me more and more that it’s really all about living to love, and genuinely caring for people and showing them that living for Jesus is the BEST way to live. I understand the statements above about being careful not to be a stumbling block, etc. But as we look at that, every person will have a different definition of what a stumbling may or may not be. Who is making the rules? There are many things that are not clearly spelled out in the Bible. I think we need to focus more on passionately loving God and loving others, and the rest will take care of itself.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 6
  
  Great points. Think we have to be careful not to make others stumble, but we can’t be weird about it either. As you said… Love God, follow Christ and it all takes care of itself. Thanks for sharing!
  
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Michael

April 9

You are still a Christian even if the King James Version is not your choice of Bibles.

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Jonathan Pearson

April 9

LoL. Really? :) Can anyone confirm this?! :)

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1. Jack
  
  July 24
  
  Everyone knows God wrote the New American Standard version. (I’m glad it’s my favorite so I get a holy star by my name.)
  
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Billy Ingram

April 9

Funny stuff! I needed a good laugh this afternoon. To add to the list you can…

* use your phone as your Bible. Even during the sermon! (GASP!)

* watch every last episode of SpongeBob without guilt.

* learn martial arts and reach the fabled level of ‘hands can be used as a deadly weapon’.

* play ‘Just Dance’ until you are the dance master of all you survey.

The main point is to be grounded in the Word and know what it says. The Bereans (http://read.ly/Acts17.11.NIV) didn’t just take Paul at his word. They checked to see if what he said was backed up by scripture. We should each do the same. Romans 14 provides clear instructions on the subject as well. http://read.ly/Rom14.1.NIV If someone is doing something different but it doesn’t go against scripture they should be called a trailblazer not a heretic.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 9
  
  haha… Funny stuff and good insight. Thanks for reading & commenting.
  
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Gary

April 10

Ha I was going to write a post similar to this this weekend! I am struggling with the legalistic stuff at the moment!

Fantastic post. Glad I stopped by

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 10
  
  I’m glad u did too!
  
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Robert Bravery

April 10

I think Christianity is not totally devoid of anything that is in the world. We are in this world not part of it.
If it does not contradict any biblical principal, then A OK.

You actions should should you are Christian, not your gadgets, stickers or any other equipment.

Ye shall know them by their fruits. Not by their bumber stickers, or Jesus toys.

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Katrina

April 10

Great post. It’s good to remember that being Christian isn’t a competition – it’s not about showing how much more of a Christian you are than everyone else. The Bible is filled with people who tried to do just that and in their attempt to show everyone else how “spiritual” they were completely strayed from their real relationship with God.

Have you read the book “I’m Fine with God, It’s Christians I Can’t Stand” by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz? It’s a really great book dealing with issues of our tendancy to get legalistic instead of relational when dealing with spiritual issues. And it’s pretty funny, which makes for a good read!

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  April 10
  
  No. I haven’t read it, but I’ve heard about it. I may have to check that out. Thanks!
  
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Amy

April 18

Great post. It’s good to remember that being Christian isn’t a competition – it’s not about showing how much more of a Christian you are than everyone else. The Bible is filled with people who tried to do just that and in their attempt to show everyone else how “spiritual” they were completely strayed from their real relationship with God.

Have you read the book “I’m Fine with God, It’s Christians I Can’t Stand” by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz? It’s a really great book dealing with issues of our tendancy to get legalistic instead of relational when dealing with spiritual issues. And it’s pretty funny, which makes for a good read!

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Tony Alicea

July 8

Ahh, freedom in the Lord. It’s a beautiful thing! Thanks for the reminder Jonathan.

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  July 8
  
  A beautiful thing that’s often taken for granted! Thanks for the comment & encouragement man! :)
  
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Dan Meyer

July 24

You can be a Christian and have peculiar calling – like being a Sword Swallower – and use it for the glory of God. My unique ministry allows me to reach freaks and bikers and goths and folks who might never step foot in a church, and I know there are other non-traditional ministries out there.

Dan Meyer
@Halfdan

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headphonaught

July 24

Was worried when i read the title of this post on twitter… but loved the sentiment of it when I read the post. Nice.

Tx

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1. Jonathan Pearson
  
  July 24
  
  Thanks man. Appreciate you dropping by!
  
  Reply

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6 Things You Can Do & Still Be A Christian

31 responses to “6 Things You Can Do & Still Be A Christian”

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