Unfortunately, if you don’t carry the tag “believer” then you might not be accepted in the club! Nowadays, the “Evangelical Church” has become the “Believer’s Club”. If you are a “believer” then you can be part of our gatherings, trips, conferences…etc. But if you are not, it might be hard to give you a pass on these!While I have heard it before from Evangelical pastors that: “…we have no brothers in the Historical Churches”, I am so encouraged by my friend from the Greek Orthodox Church who is active at many evangelical church’s outreaches. His response to the tricky question: “When did you become a believer?” is “I have always been one”! So the general idea among the majority of Christians is “Believer” means: “Someone who believes in Christ… that HE is the son of God… and that HE was crucified and raised from the dead on the third day”.
As I search more into this issue, I tumble on when the Philippian jailer asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul and Silas answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30, 31). So simply, to “Be Saved” you need to “Believe” which can be applied to anyone who has faith in Christ, even those who have been born into Christian families and have never attended an Evangelical Church! And since Believing is a thing that happens in the heart, it will remain a hidden process taking place in the depths of humans; a process that cannot be confirmed by a positive or negative answer, but a true secret and sacred progression happening between man and God.
And here the tough question arises: “How many Evangelical “Believers” do you know, who carry the tag “Believer” but don’t bare any Christian Witness, have no spiritual fruits, and are living in the evil ways of the world, yet they continue to carry the tag “Believer” ?
Yet the factual question is: “How many nominal Christians do you know, who don’t attend Evangelical Churches, who don’t carry the tag “Believer”, but have been dedicated to Christ since their childhood, have barren many fruits, and have sacrificed and paid that ultimate price for Jesus?” Mother Teresa comes to mind instantly…
The isolation that we see in the Evangelical Church has become so sinister, it reminds me of the day when Jesus walked into the temple; the High priests where so busy doing their fixation inside the temple, they were engaged with their “Believer” group inside the four walls of the shrine, that they did not pay attention to what was happening outside. Jesus was going to weddings, He was spending time with sinners, He was living life out in the field, and then He was outside in the courtyard, preaching the good news, that the Kingdom of God is for everyone…and still they criticized Him… because He did not spend the time with His group, with His Club, with the “Believers”!
However, one may argue in the context we are considering, that an unbeliever, is restricted to those who do not believe. Paul gives two classes of unbelievers: Jews and Gentiles. To the Jew, the word of the cross is a snare, a stumbling stone; it offends him. To the Gentile, the word of the cross is stupidity; he is insulted by it. Consequently, an unbeliever is someone who has never believed. Then again what is a believer? One who knows he still makes mistakes Or One who thinks he is without spot?
I encourage you today to think twice before you use the term “Believer” with someone, before you questions somebody if they are a “Believer”, before you put a tag on people if they are “Believers” or “Unbelievers”. Who are we to judge, it is the Lord that sees.
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Why them are no limited to give us money to us palestinians, without preaching never,, as we orthodox and catholics, who never preaches to muslims, and are hysterical over muslim growing more as population as us.