First of all, I don’t understand what you mean by “fully devoted”. If you mean “saved” then.
IMHO, I would say that no, we can not tell how devoted or saved anyone is.
When Jesus was on the cross with the 2 robbers both were equally guilty and were receiving there punishment. Yet the one who spoke up for Jesus found mercy & forgiveness from the Savior..
Only God knows the heart of each person and we should focus on our own relationship with the Lord rather than try to determine if someone is truly saved . Salvation is God’s domain not man’s to determine. .
I agree with you that “saved” - or not is totally in God’s realm… I like the personalized version of this question in that Jesus called people to follow him…learn from him….trust him… and ultimately model our lives after him… in a “fully devoted” way…
Our goal as a church is to grow together toward that goal of being fully devoted and intentional about that pursuit in our lives… I believe it’s healthy to ask.. how am I personally doing in that growth pattern. What are the traits to look to be developing in my life? How can we encourage one another toward that goal?
Ultimately… the humble reality is … no one will ever be “fully” completely 100% done with this process.
Look up “fully” and “devoted” in your dictionary. Look up “saved.” No offense, but these are very different ideas, no? Seriously.
Check out the “meaning of salvation” blog under the “faith” subject heading.
Devotion is the natural outcome of salvation. Devotion results in the works that give life to our faith which is lifeless, or dead, without the works of our continuing spiritual transformation. This is a Journey—one that requires full devotion, that is devotion to the best of our ability.
I like to think of Ebenezer Scrooge. After his night with the three spirits of Christmas, he was transformed by a new awareness and appreciation of family, love, celebration, life. His eyes were opened to his own self-centeredness, stinginess, spitefulness, pettiness, etc. Scrooge was saved, saved from self and dedicated to…what? Upon his awakening on Christmas day, were he to simply celebrate this renewal of his spirit, I think he would simply continue to hoard his wealth, in this case his spiritual wealth. He would continue to be self-absorbed. But instead he was driven to share his joy, his gift, his love. He was transformed from a self-absorbed miser into a lover of others, a good samaritan, a servant of the poor, the underling, the powerless. He served his savior by serving others. To me, this is what devotion looks like in his case.
This is my understanding of the difference between salvation and devotion.
A simple measure comes to my mind… would a person be willing to die for the faith… like Rachel Scott of Colombine High School and many other martyrs through the ages. Not that you have to be martyred but would you be willing… do you fear death or do you look forward to the day you can cross over to the other side to meet Jesus in person.
How can we tell when someone is a fully devoted follower of Chri
First of all, I don’t understand what you mean by “fully devoted”. If you mean “saved” then.
IMHO, I would say that no, we can not tell how devoted or saved anyone is.
When Jesus was on the cross with the 2 robbers both were equally guilty and were receiving there punishment. Yet the one who spoke up for Jesus found mercy & forgiveness from the Savior..
Only God knows the heart of each person and we should focus on our own relationship with the Lord rather than try to determine if someone is truly saved . Salvation is God’s domain not man’s to determine. .
Better personal challenge question
I agree with you that “saved” - or not is totally in God’s realm… I like the personalized version of this question in that Jesus called people to follow him…learn from him….trust him… and ultimately model our lives after him… in a “fully devoted” way…
Our goal as a church is to grow together toward that goal of being fully devoted and intentional about that pursuit in our lives… I believe it’s healthy to ask.. how am I personally doing in that growth pattern. What are the traits to look to be developing in my life? How can we encourage one another toward that goal?
Ultimately… the humble reality is … no one will ever be “fully” completely 100% done with this process.
Re: fully devoted follower of Christ
Look up “fully” and “devoted” in your dictionary. Look up “saved.” No offense, but these are very different ideas, no? Seriously.
Check out the “meaning of salvation” blog under the “faith” subject heading.
Devotion is the natural outcome of salvation. Devotion results in the works that give life to our faith which is lifeless, or dead, without the works of our continuing spiritual transformation. This is a Journey—one that requires full devotion, that is devotion to the best of our ability.
I like to think of Ebenezer Scrooge. After his night with the three spirits of Christmas, he was transformed by a new awareness and appreciation of family, love, celebration, life. His eyes were opened to his own self-centeredness, stinginess, spitefulness, pettiness, etc. Scrooge was saved, saved from self and dedicated to…what? Upon his awakening on Christmas day, were he to simply celebrate this renewal of his spirit, I think he would simply continue to hoard his wealth, in this case his spiritual wealth. He would continue to be self-absorbed. But instead he was driven to share his joy, his gift, his love. He was transformed from a self-absorbed miser into a lover of others, a good samaritan, a servant of the poor, the underling, the powerless. He served his savior by serving others. To me, this is what devotion looks like in his case.
This is my understanding of the difference between salvation and devotion.
T
Re: fully devoted follower of Christ
A simple measure comes to my mind… would a person be willing to die for the faith… like Rachel Scott of Colombine High School and many other martyrs through the ages. Not that you have to be martyred but would you be willing… do you fear death or do you look forward to the day you can cross over to the other side to meet Jesus in person.