What it means to be a Christian?

 Eph 2:8,9; Rev 2:1-11; Ga 2:11-14; Luke 17:6; 18:9-14 Phi 4:13; Acts 19:12; Mat 17:21; 2 Ki 6:1-6

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ephesus 

I am currently reading Billy Grahams "Approaching Hoofbeats -- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and though I grew up with this great mans books and learned to adorn him in my prayer life as a rolemodel -- I just hate rich Christians as much I hate rich Communists, like Vaush!! :o Why do my rolemodels have to turn out like that? What am I talking about? "Cheap Grace" due to Eph 2:8,9 What does this nigger know about cheap anything being well established, even then he was writing that book, until the very end. His Wiki page boasts of Fame and Fortune, having even a Star on Hollywood Bouleward. Can he even spell "Persecution"? 

So Lets talk about St. Paul and his letter to Ephesians,to understand this passage better. Ephesos was nearby a Temple dedicated to Artemis; housed the Library of Celsus and theatre capable of hosting 24K People at a fmous harbour, what later silted shut, but thats another story. They had a lot of pride coming from Greek Culture and converting to Judaism, in order to feel like Christian. That's how expencive their faith was socially and culturally, propelling St. Paul to start the letter thus: Eph 1:1 "Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, by the Will of God, to the Saints, who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus"

Look, how humble this former zealot, who previously persecuted the Church, is. How much respect is being offered to a province filled with former idolators, commonly despised by the Jews and Christians. It didn't come easy, to point that one out, and St Pauls enemies there constantly up his ass, to prove him fake or against the Law, due to such things... Because the default assumption, and reasons, why St. Paul even had to write these letters, or John address Ephesos in Revelations for loosing his "First Love" while in all, doing well, was the assumption, that you needed to be circumcised, in order to convert into Christendom, which turned out the dinner table controvercy with St. Peter, due to the fear that pagan Christians all eat offering meat!! (Ga 2:11-14) Thenever St. Paul seemed to make a headway with the church, getting the approval from the Apostles, somewhere came along a "Woke" critter amongst the established Jews and started to teach, what the "Torah" was really telling, and what a heathen needed to become Christian, while those bad faith actors never wanted the pagans amongst themselves, still being salty about the Maccabites loosing to the Greeks and the occupation by Rome. 

Due to all this, does St. Paul go on Eph 1:3-14 with a Hymn to Christ, silently commending the Ephesians for their fervor so far, while they received a very small lip service if anything from the Jews. Always trying to diminish his own role and increase that of Lord Jesus Christ in being The One who should get the praise for all what goes well in Ephesos and Themself! Then comes the Prayer for Wisdom Eph 1:15 - 23 Only by the second chapter, chooses St. Paul to refer to the Past of Ephesos, still commending them for their success in accepting the true faith. 

Try to picture it, then you come from Harlem and David Wilkerson or Martin Luther King Jr. comes along the way, to approve your faith in Democracy or living the American Way, although, you might not be doing so well still. Having some beef with the life left behind and some new beef coming from suburban neighbourhoods around, to leave the geto in its place. I mean later St. Paul talks about Unity towards yourself; your community and the former Jews, who gave them bullshit; Spiritual Gifts; Respecting your Husband as a Wife (Because the self-image of a woman in Rome was different than for people coming from Jewish culture) Respecting your parents because of same reasons; respecting your owner, if you sold yourself to dept-slavery etc. Stuff they had to legally deal with, for wanting to become Christians, because some asshats hit them with the ToS of the Torah just because they didn't like St. Paul and therefore nothing about the new brothers in Christ or in Jewish Law, they looked down, for not being able to comply. 

St Paul had to painstakingly stress out, being a former zealot and doing the extra curriculous activity in those regards, how little it mattered in Christ!! How everything came from Christ, thorugh Faith, to shut the fuck up of those people, who still tried to seethe the sinfulness of the Taxcollector, while giving Praise in the Temple Luke 18:9-14. In that I will repeat myself, as in the post on Spiritual Warfare but repetition is the Grandmother of Knowledge as the saying goes in Estonia ;)) These things need to be stressed out, because certain niggers keep erring against them, looking for reasons, why their names should be expunged from the Book of Life, for finding so little faith for possible new followers of Christ. 

What it means to be a Christian should be about enabling those, who previously had no chance, like the Community of Ephesos, formerly worshipping Artemis. How easy it would have been for St. Paul to condescend upon it. It should be about educating and enabling the church growth of the local community, not your own private trust fund or fangroup. Which means, walk away, then things seem to be working; said and done. A thing, many people nowadays cannot do as well, as did St. Paul!! That's what it means to be a Christian, much like Phi 4:13 means, I got this passage from a Christian on Youtube. Link under Previous Post comments on Spiritual Warfare, the one with "indeed" in it with no further explanation. UWU 

How many can be so little content, then you could obtain so much -- especially in America. Baptists are notorious of getting wealthy fast, while starting as an AA movement, at least it was so in Estonia due to our culture being imbued of slavery and thus having an alcohol problem to get over it. Not that the slavery is fully gone, due to minimum wage acting the same, but thats another whole Ballgame -- and I do mean as in Theatres and Mascerades, the lords condescending on their balcony, which some churches still have due to being a rift between the rich Christians and poor Christians not Basketball... X^D :o :((

But a Christian should know the answer, how not to condescend either side, by following the Gospel, as was the Letter to Ephesos, which still holds me in Shock and Awe, even from a writers perspective. My God! I couldn't even fathom the balls of this Man, this little Jew, who in person was like nothing, but then He wrote letters!! ^^ His letters transformed Life and the Fabric of Reality itself. Even his handkerchiefs and aprons he used to wear, drove out demons Acts 19:12 Mat 17:21 not because of the thing, but because of the Holyness and Loyalty of the Man to the Holy Spirit and Lord Jesus Christ and through that to the Father, that the demons and sickness could not even "sit on the same bench" being previously in use by St. Paul!! Try to expect that, from todays Christians, that their whole life be dedicated to God and be like fasting, while not virtuesignaling about it. Then they also could tell to the Mulbery Tree to root itself up and grow in the Sea!! Luke 17:6 or get the axe to float, which I love in the Old Testament 2 Ki 6:1-6. :o :$ What does your Faith do, does it respite or dececrate? That is here the question. Virtue and Loving-Kindness, Halleluyah! <3 ^^ UWU