Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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Bobby Brown
Only one God 10-4
Robert Simon
Brian, what you are describing is Humanism, you have created your own god and that god is "you". You say you live your life by what you know to be true, apparently based on what you deem to be true since you have substituted yourself for the "I" - who is Jesus.
Next, even if you or I were able to live by the Golden Rule and loved our neighbor as our self, it would not save you or make you a Christian, just a nice person. For someone to be a Christian, a Christ follower, one must confess with his lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. Without this belief in Jesus, it really does not matter what you call yourself or how you react to life, all will ultimately be in vain since salvation is in Jesus alone. That's not to say that the world would not be a better place if people treated others as themselves but that was not Jesus's main message, which was to confess, repent and believe in Him. That is still His message to the world so that we will spend eternity with Him. Finally, a Christian knows he is a Christian, not because "he" thinks so but because of his belief in Jesus as Lord and Savoir. A person can be the nicest person you ever met, give the shirt off his back and all his money too, but if he does believe in Jesus as Lord and Savoir, he is not a Christian and will spend eternity separated from God with no second chance. Hell is going to be populated by lots of "nice people".