Day 309- Turtle Talk

If I were to tell you that I was a turtle, you would probably begin to search for my shell. What if I didn't have a shell? Would I still be a turtle? Come to think of it, you may have never seen me lay eggs as well. There are clear characteristics of a turtle which is the reason why we would call it a turtle. Now, suppose I told you I denied the deity of Christ. What if I told you that the resurrection never occurred? Would I still be a Christian? Today I spoke with a man that insisted he was a believer. He denied that Jesus was God, refused to accept the Trinity, spiritualized the resurrection as proof that we can all transcend the material world, and then had the boldness to ask if I believed that he was saved. At this point I could have danced around the question to avoid it all together. I could have watered down the truth by suggesting that we have some differences, or I could be honest and risk offense. I chose to be honest and gave him an unapologetic, no. I didn't enjoy telling him the bad news, but I refuse to give someone a false sense of assurance. Jesus is God. If Jesus was a mere man, we are dead in our trespasses, and if he was not resurrected, he did not defeat death nor do we have an intercessor. I shared this with him, but it was too late. He was appalled to think that I would be so judgmental. There are issues in the realm of Christianity where we can show liberty, but there should be no flexibility with the essentials of the faith.