If your friends and relatives are instrumental in taking you away from the Lord through their pressure to think unbiblically or to think the way they want you to think, it is time to move on from them, pray for them, and resist any pressure from those who attempt to keep you locked into the family or friendship system which does not glorify God.
Notice that they do not ask why we believe the way we do, they only accuse and mock our choice to follow Christ. They will even say they are a Christian but their attitudes do not reflect those of Christ. Often these people lack all the fruit of the Spirit of God.
Galatians 5:22-23
"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The Pharisees were of this sort, they wanted allegiance to themselves creating a sort of cult following without any questions or challenges to their way of thinking. Those who had the strength to assert themselves using Scripture were ostracized and rejected. Sound familiar to any of you?
Matthew 23:15-16 "… 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. 16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’…"
The more we wish to walk with Christ, understand His heart and be an instrument for Him the more we will be maligned and accused. The devil's favorite tool to torment the believers in Christ is the ungodly or those who pretend to be godly.
Authentic born-again believers love to hear about the Lord, they love to discuss the things of God and they are not legalistic, making rules God never made to make themselves seem spiritual.
Authentic believers walk in the fruit of the Spirit as a constant lifestyle, they don't have to try because it comes naturally to them because they are indwelt with Christ Himself.
May each one assess their own attitude to see if they are still working in their own flesh to be what they think they should be or are they seeking Christ to become like Him?
