Do you have to attend a church to be a Christian? (Revelation, preaching)
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I should have mentioned where I am coming from on all of this. I was raised Catholic. My dad is die-hard Catholic still. My mom was Mormon, but I never saw her attend church. I attended church (Catholic) until I was 16 and my teenage years of doing anything but going to church kicked in. I then met my ex-wife who was raised Church of Christ. We got married and we attended that denom for about 3 years before we divorced. I then attended a Baptist church for a brief time and have not been to a church since. I found the constant threats of, "you better attend church or you are going to hell" to be a turn-off. And I won't even get into the issues with the Catholic church. I also found the actions of more than a few in these churches to be appauling. For example, people who are nice and friendly to you in church then you see them out in public and they say nothing to you. And I really can't stand those churches who focus on money. "We need to build this" and "We have to raise X amount for this". And there are some who view you as more of a sinner if you don't attend church. I have 100% DISAGREE with that thought. Since not attending church, I have remarried and have a 2 year old son. We have a great family life, I pray numerous times daily, and don't think I sin any more now than before. Anyway, we are all sinners. I would like to think God listens to me even if I don't attend church. I am not against going back to church, but will my bad luck streak with churches continue? Am I nervous and scared? Sure. Do I have plans anytime soon to find a church? Not really. I believe that things work out for themselves.
KentuckyDad
Yes God hears and listens to you , don't doubt that . And you are right to say that things work out for themselves , and in quiteness and confidence you can trust Him.
I didn't say "You're all hypocrits!"...please do not put words into my mouth.
You misunderstood my point. What I meant was, everyone is a hypocrite to some extent. Haven't you ever said one thing & done another? Even the Apostle Paul struggled with this.
Romans 7
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Really? Because when myself and my two teenagers do House Church with our Bibles, we read passages and discuss what we have read....we get a great deal out of it!
You get inspiration out of it. You will not grow to spiritual maturity on your own. Unless you have the gift of Pastor/teacher you simply don't have the ability to dig out and discern the doctrines of the word of God.
You will never know how much is in the Bible that you simply are not aware of without being under the teaching of a man with the God given gift of pastor/teacher, who has studied and trained for years in the original languages, and in the methods of isogogical, categorical and exegetical teaching of the word of God.
You get inspiration out of it. You will not grow to spiritual maturity on your own. Unless you have the gift of Pastor/teacher you simply don't have the ability to dig out and discern the doctrines of the word of God.
You will never know how much is in the Bible that you simply are not aware of without being under the teaching of a man with the God given gift of pastor/teacher, who has studied and trained for years in the original languages, and in the methods of isogogical, categorical and exegetical teaching of the word of God.
Well how do you account for the disciples being unlearned ignorant men ?.
What was it the rulers and elders of the people had noticed about these unlearned ignorant men ?
That they had beeen to the Jerusalem school of theology ?
No, they noted that they had been with Jesus . Acts chapter 4
Growth comes from being with Jesus John chapter 15
It's nothing to do with being an apostle , it's to do with who you have been with
"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17 : 8/9
You get inspiration out of it. You will not grow to spiritual maturity on your own. Unless you have the gift of Pastor/teacher you simply don't have the ability to dig out and discern the doctrines of the word of God.
You will never know how much is in the Bible that you simply are not aware of without being under the teaching of a man with the God given gift of pastor/teacher, who has studied and trained for years in the original languages, and in the methods of isogogical, categorical and exegetical teaching of the word of God.
(Ephesians 4:11–12) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(1 Corinthians 12:28) 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
(Ephesians 4:11–12) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
(1 Corinthians 12:28) 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
Thanks. As has been evidenced on this forum, people will just ignore and deny those parts of the Bible that they find inconvenient. As was shown in a recent Barna survey, people want to create their own belief system by picking and choosing from the Bible what feels good to them, and discarding the rest. What we see here on this forum is representative of the apostasy that exists in post-Christian America. One can not get though to a person if that person doesn't want to be gotten through to. But it is necessary to stand for the truth of God's word when it is distorted.
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