{"id":66670,"date":"2024-02-19T17:15:10","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=66670"},"modified":"2024-02-19T17:15:10","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T23:15:10","slug":"what-is-an-alien-believer-or-an-alien-sinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-an-alien-believer-or-an-alien-sinner\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an alien believer or an alien sinner?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hello,<\/p>\n

I was reading somewhere in an article mentioning the “alien believer.” I am not sure what it actually means. I have noticed there are two different persons: “alien sinner” and “alien believer.” My question is: Cornelius, in Acts 10:2, was godly and had a fear of God in his heart, but he was still called an “alien sinner” until he was baptized for the remission of sins. Am I right? Or was Cornelius an “alien believer” because he believed in the true God, but he was still not saved until he was baptized? What do you think?<\/p>\n

I’m waiting to hear from you soon. Thanks for your attention.<\/p>\n

God’s blessings,<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

The term “alien” is borrowed from the Old Law, where foreigners who are not a part of the nation of Israel are called “aliens.” “But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you<\/em>” (Leviticus 18:26). An alien would not be expected to know the Law of Moses. Still, they were expected to abide by most of its requirements. For example, an alien caught stealing would not be allowed to claim that he didn’t know stealing was against the law. In Leviticus 18, the main focus was on laws forbidding sexual sins.<\/p>\n

One of the ways to look at the church in the New Testament is to view it as a kingdom. “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son<\/em>” (Colossians 1:13). Thus, Christians are citizens of this kingdom, and all others are aliens. Examples of this are seen in Ephesians 2:19 and Colossians 1:21.<\/p>\n

You are correct that some brethren make a further distinction between aliens who desire to be a part of God’s kingdom (believers) and aliens who don’t care (sinners). You are correct that a person is not a part of the kingdom until he has done all that God requires of him to enter. The Kingdom of God doesn’t have a problem with illegal immigration. See\u00a0What Saves a Person?<\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hello, I was reading somewhere in an article mentioning the “alien believer.” I am not sure what it actually means. I have noticed there are two different persons: “alien sinner” and “alien believer.” My question is: Cornelius, in Acts 10:2, was godly and had a fear of God in his heart, but he was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[345,47],"class_list":["post-66670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-kingdom","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sinners-prayer\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":0},"title":"The Sinner’s Prayer","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Myhan The so-called sinner\u2019s prayer is the prayer of an alien sinner for the forgiveness of sins. An alien sinner is one who has never been saved and is not yet a citizen in the kingdom of God. The sinner\u2019s prayer has had many incarnations over the years\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/prayer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28532,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-alien-sinner-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":1},"title":"What does “alien sinner” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I came across an article on your website by James Sasser comparing Romans 4 and James 2.\u00a0In it, he uses the term \"alien sinner\" several times in reference to Abraham and Romans 4:4-5.\u00a0Can you define this term for me? It is something I have not heard mentioned before. Thanks!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16366,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-respond-to-the-prayers-of-the-alien-sinner\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":2},"title":"Does God respond to the prayers of the alien sinner?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In my study of God's Word, I've come to the conclusion that God does not respond to the prayers of an \"alien sinner\" when asking for God's blessings on himself.\u00a0 However, what are your thoughts on whether God responds to an \"alien sinners\" prayers when praying for someone else?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24123,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-hear-the-prayers-of-those-who-are-not-yet-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":3},"title":"Does God hear the prayers of those who are not yet saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am writing, after reading\u00a0your article, wondering your understanding of the Scriptures that point to God willing not to hear because of sins or God not hearing a sinner\u2019s prayer, or even yet, God hears open to the prayers of the righteous? From those Scriptures I arrive at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67833,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-non-believers-contribute-to-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":4},"title":"Can non-believers contribute to the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We recently discussed donations in the church, and I was wondering if you could provide any scriptural basis for them. Can a non-member or unbeliever donate money to the church? Can the church use that donation from him or her? Thanks! Answer: While the topic is not specifically addressed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24862,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-bible-puts-baptism-between-the-sinner-and-his-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":66670,"position":5},"title":"The Bible Puts Baptism Between the Sinner and His Salvation!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dillard Thurman in Gospel Minutes, December 26, 1958, Reprinted in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 16, April 18, 2008. I am not responsible for the place baptism occupies in God's plan of salvation. Nor was I consulted in the matter. Had the Lord taken the matter up with me,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Baptism.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}