Talk Christian With Me

I fought to be in the Spirit today. It’s not always easy. More often than not my flesh tends to get the better part of me. It is a constant battle. My spirit and my flesh are at war within me.
This kind of language probably seems truly bizarre and somewhat baffling to a lot of people; however, it is tremendously common in my everyday thoughts, journal entries and my conversations with fellow believers (I try not to completely throw people off who aren’t Christians by telling them “I fought to be in the Spirit today,” when they ask how my day was). I am a Christian. That being so, I am a part of a close Christian community, and we are constantly encouraging each other and sharing verses, prayer requests, answered prayers, and our struggles. “Being in the Spirit” is one of the phrases commonly heard in the Christian community, along with words and phrases like salvation by grace, and the like. I’m fairly certain most people at CSU have heard some of these, but what do they mean and why do we Christians use them?
As a Christian, the Bible is like a map for life. It is God’s inspired word; therefore, it holds great preeminence for us. All of the above mentioned phrases or words are referenced in some form, usually more than once, in this great book. One of the more common references to “being in the Spirit” can be found in the New Testament in a letter written by Paul to the churches of Galatia:

“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. … But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” -Galatians 5:16-18, 22-24 (NIV)

Salvation by grace is a big one for Christians. We believe that there is nothing a person can do to save him/herself, in other words, it is not by good works that a person earns salvation (or saved from eternity separated from God and His goodness). Let me break this one down. So, salvation or being saved is when a person chooses to believe (also where the term “believer” comes from) and accepts Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for the payment of their sins. As a Christian I believe that every person is an eternal being, meaning after a person’s earthly body passes away that person will still exist in either heaven or hell. The Bible says in Ephesians 2: 8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
This is all common terminology in the Christian arena, but it is not necessarily something I spout off in conversations with every person I come in contact with. It’s not that I am ashamed of my faith; I actually love to talk about it. The thing is, it is not always appropriate to use this terminology in all communities, because a lot of people have different beliefs and can easily be offended or turned off by it. Using this terminology in the right context can simplify and expedite conversation but used in the wrong context can isolate or alienate those who don’t necessarily understand what I believe.