Conditional Identities - Friend and Neighbor in the Bible

The New Testament talks of relations as conditional identities, implying that people can only claim certain identities with Christ if they fulfill certain conditions. Following are some of them.

1. Only those who receive Christ and believe in Him have the right to become the children of God (Jn.1:12)
2. Only those who obey the commandments of Christ are His friends (Jn.15:14)
3. Only those who deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Christ are fit to be called disciples of Christ (Lk.9:23)
4. Only those who do the will of the Father is mother, brother, and sister of Christ (Matt.12:50)
5. Only those who show mercy to others, regardless of who they are, are the true neighbor (Lk.10:36-37)
6. Only those who confess their sins and cry out for mercy are marked as justified (Lk.18:13-14)

Christ cannot recognize those who do not practically fulfill these conditions, no matter what they believe (Matt.7:21-23)

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Marbaniang, Domenic

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