The question is whether terrorist Anders Behring Breivik is a Christian as he claimed to be one. This question is of concern to all true Christians because the press has been calling him a "Christian Terrorist", and as such has negative implications on all Christians. People are associating his actions and motives with the Christian beliefs and this will give Christianity a bad name.
In his 1,500 pages manifesto he said about being a Christian “If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God then you are a religious Christian. Myself and many more like me do not necessarily have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and God. We do however believe in Christianity as a cultural, social, identity and moral platform. This makes us Christian.”
From his own admission, you can discern that he is just a nominal Christian or a cultural Christian. The teaching in the Bible commands us to have a personal relationship with God, like each individual can communicate with God and follow His commands and instructions. But Breivik said he does not have such relationship with God.
There are four Biblical means to confirm one's claim to be a Christian:
1. Do I believe the gospel?
2. Am I a member of a doctrinally sound local church where this gospel is preached and members strive to confirm only professions of faith that are credible?
3. Do I submit to church discipline, lovingly, graciously, and faithfully administered?
4. Am I making continual progress toward inward godliness, fueled by the indwelling Holy Spirit, not legalism?
From the news that have been reported about Breivik's actions and claims, he does not seem to comply with any of the four "standards".
This question of whether one is a Christian is a lesson to all of us. We have to examine ourselves and take sock of whether we are really Christians and true disciples of Jesus.
To read an article of this subject click on the title of this post.
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