Are You an Inside Christian or an Outside Christian?

There are many people that profess to being a Christian, but just because you say you are does not necessarily make you one. You might say that you believe in God or Christ, but even Satan believed in God and Christ (Mt 4:1-11, Ja 2:19). Belief in God is only the first step in becoming a Christian. To truly develop into a Christian requires both Spiritual development and Emotional development. Faith in God and Christ leads toward your salvation, but Faith alone will not make you a Christian. Faith is only the Spiritual part of our development. The Emotional part of our development into a Christian is doing good or doing “Works”. Doing “Works” without faith is useless for our salvation (Ja 2:17-18). Attending a Christian Church does not necessarily make you a Christian. Attending “Church” only helps you to develop your belief in God and through the Spirit it will increase your Faith. In the larger context “Church” means the Church Universal which is made up of all true believers, whether it is in a building or not. One of the hallmarks of a Christian is that they all Worship together and give praise to God together. What then is an Inside Christian and an Outside Christian?

An inside Christian is one that attends worship and does good works in the worship space. They are the people that serve during the worship time, such as the church staff, the choir, the lay persons, the maintenance staff, etc. They are Christians that are comfortable in doing works in the church and with the people of the church. They are people of a strong faith accompanied by many good works. People such as the poor widow (Mk 12:42-44), Hannah (1 Sa 1:10-20), Mother Theresa, John and Charles Wesley, etc. All of these people had a strong association with the church of their day, and all are known for their faith.

An outside Christian attends worship but is known for their good works done primarily in the general community. They may have friends that go to their church, but their interests and livelihood are mainly outside of a physical church. They are known to be Christians and are ready to help and console all people that they meet. They show their Christianity to all others by the difference in their speech, in their manners, in their compassion, in their help and so on. People like Emperor Constantine, Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale, Martin Luther King Jr., John D. Rockefeller, etc. All of these people had a strong association with the church of their day, and all are known for their faith.

Are you truly a Christian, whether an Inside or an Outside one? It is simple to understand but hard for us to become either one. Reading the Bible and attending Churches only start you on your journey by helping to strengthen your Faith and spiritual development. What matters to other people is the works that you do as a result of your faith and love not only for God but for other people, that along with you are the imperfect images of Christ and are all in need.

The Disciple Group would like to invite you into the same journey that we are on for your sake as well as for ours. Ask Pastor Willis and he can put you in touch with us.