Need Help

[Giaour]

I have been indoctrinatated by many different sects of the Christian faith. I have become confused by the many different beliefs of each sect. I have many questions that I need answers to. Any help would be appreciated but please use scripture in your answers. I need God's word not someone's opinion of His word. I have been given opinions my whole life, and interpretations my whole life.

Why must I become a "member" of a local church?

Why do I need to give a certain % of tithing?

Why can't I work on Sunday?

Why must I take attendance at church?

Why is alcohol a sin?

Is divorce a sin?

Is birth control a sin?

Okay, this should be a healthy start. Thank you and God bless

[ayin jade]

Why must I become a "member" of a local church?

Why must I take attendance at church?

Hebrews 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

I don

[Leonard]

I might have a little disagreement with the way Ayin Jade applies some of his Scriptures here, but at this point, that's a darned good start!

[Dad Ernie]

I have been indoctrinatated by many different sects of the Christian faith.  I have become confused by the many different beliefs of each sect.  I have many questions that I need answers to.  Any help would be appreciated but please use scripture in your answers.  I need God's word not someone's opinion of His word.  I have been given opinions my whole life, and interpretations my whole life.

Greetings Giaour,

I think Ayin gave you some good answers as a start. Your problem, seems to me, to be that you have too often relied upon men for THEIR interpretation of the scriptures and you haven't dug into the scriptures yourself to uncover the truth. The Lord tells us:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

and in another place:

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

and then there were the Bereans:

Acts 17:10-12 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

Now if you were "more noble", as the Bereans were, you would "search the scriptures daily".

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[Ovedya]

Why must I become a "member" of a local church?

You don't have to become a "member" of any church organization. However, not forsaking the gathering of believers together in prayer is a crucial matter in the church (Heb. 10:25). Being a believer in Christ is not just a personal matter, it is a corporate matter as well. The Body of Christ is not built upon the individual efforts of single believers working out their own salvation apart from other believers, it is built through the functioning of all the members together (Eph. 4)

Why do I need to give a certain % of tithing?

No. In the New Testament age, you are encouraged to give of your increase according to your own conscience (2 Cor. 9:7)

Why can't I work on Sunday?

Who says you can't?

Why must I take attendance at church?

I'm not sure I know what this means. It sounds a lot like the first question. Could you elaborate?

Why is alcohol a sin?

Alcohol itself is not a sin. But the overconsumption of alcohol is a sin. Drunkenness is a sin, not the alcohol itself, or the occasional consumption of small amountsof alcohol.

Is divorce a sin?

Divorce is a sin, except under a certain condition:

"But I say to you that whomever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery..." (Matt. 19:9)

Is birth control a sin?

No. I have not found any Bible verses that speak to that issue.

[dwinkjr]

Why must I become a "member" of a local church?

You don't have to become a "member" of any church organization. However, not forsaking the gathering of believers together in prayer is a crucial matter in the church (Heb. 10:25). Being a believer in Christ is not just a personal matter, it is a corporate matter as well. The Body of Christ is not built upon the individual efforts of single believers working out their own salvation apart from other believers, it is built through the functioning of all the members together (Eph. 4)

Why do I need to give a certain % of tithing?

No. In the New Testament age, you are encouraged to give of your increase according to your own conscience (2 Cor. 9:7)

Why can't I work on Sunday?

Who says you can't?

Why must I take attendance at church?

I'm not sure I know what this means. It sounds a lot like the first question. Could you elaborate?

Why is alcohol a sin?

Alcohol itself is not a sin. But the overconsumption of alcohol is a sin. Drunkenness is a sin, not the alcohol itself, or the occasional consumption of small amountsof alcohol.

Is divorce a sin?

Divorce is a sin, except under a certain condition:

"But I say to you that whomever divorces his wife, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery..." (Matt. 19:9)

Is birth control a sin?

No. I have not found any Bible verses that speak to that issue.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

ITA.. With Ovedya,

Very well said brother. Also as some other posters mentioned. Donot rely on man, Prayerfully study the word of God and see what he reveals to you.

God Bless,

Dave

[RustyAngeL]

You have a lot of good questions. The Bible tells us we walk by faith not by sight. It's not about a bunch of rules it's about a walk in the life a believer. If your open to the voice of the Holy Spirit then your questions will be answered. If you can't find it in the Word of God then I would question it. Listen to what God is telling you and go by what God is telling you in your spirit. If you have more questions that is a good place to get answers. Lot's of wise people here and you will find unconditional love too. God Bless You

Edited January 4, 2005 by Rustyangel

[Giaour]

First of all I want to thank EVERYONE who came to my aid. I believe that we have 2 laws... Love God and love eachother... All of the other laws are old testament laws that were nailed to the cross with Jesus. But ..... IF we love eachother and God, we will not murder, we will not steal, we will not lie, we will not commit adultry etc.....Which included the 10 commandments and were reiterated by Jesus' words in the new test. Where I get confused is when I am told at church that I must tithe 10% when tithing is an old test law. Jesus just said to give what you can. The church I attend will not allow me (as a non member) to help in the nursery or teach classes or sing in the chior etc. (even tho I have attended this church for 7 years without exception). Most churches celebrate the sabbath on sunday and not the old test sabbath which was saturday. But yet ostrocize me for working on Sunday. This church takes attendance to count how many were in church on Sunday. I thought counting God's people was forbidden because God knows the number of his children. King David even got punished for counting them. These same people who tell me that I am not following God's word for not tithing 10% and for not being a member , for working on sunday etc... are the same people who have been divorced without the cause of fornication. Isn't that hypocritical? I have read the KJV bible clear through and study it regularly. I have also read the Torah and the koran (don't even get me started on islam ugh!) so I am quite well read in scriptures. My problem is that when I have a legit question, I get a hundred different answers. Oh, the birth control question...It was my catholic education that told me that "spilling" your seed is a sin. I think it was Abraham that it was referring to. It just seems to me that most churches that I have attended, pick and choose which laws to follow. I thought if we followed even 1 old test law, we were required to follow them all. Ok, sorry for rambling. Just feel like I need to know everything to make sure I don't mess anything up. I know I will make mistakes but at least I'm trying.

[Ovedya]

Giaour,

I'll try to answer each one of your concerns here. Just a some friendly advice for future refrence, however. It's a lot easier to follow a post if you use short paragraphs.

First of all I want to thank EVERYONE who came to my aid. I believe that we have 2 laws... Love God and love eachother... All of the other laws are old testament laws that were nailed to the cross with Jesus. But ..... IF we love eachother and God, we will not murder, we will not steal, we will not lie, we will not commit adultry etc.....Which included the 10 commandments and were reiterated by Jesus' words in the new test.

This is exactly right! The entire law is summed up in the two commandments that the Lord gave us: Love your neighbor, and love God with all of your being (paraphrase).

Where I get confused is when I am told at church that I must tithe 10% when tithing is an old test law. Jesus just said to give what you can.

Some churches legally hold to the 10% tithe. I would recommend not worrying about it too much, or making a big deal about it. Give according to what the Lord has placed upon your heart, and don't worry about weho's looking over your shoulder. I would wager that most in your church don't know exactly how much you make, right? So tithe according to your conscience and don't worry about what others think. Let them do the math.

The church I attend will not allow me (as a non member) to help in the nursery or teach classes or sing in the chior etc. (even tho I have attended this church for 7 years without exception).

What do you mean by "member" here? Are you saying you have to fill out some kind of registration?

This, along with the tithe thing is a red flag to me. Can you tell me what church organization this is? There is a particular organization that requires people to be baptized by them as a condition of membership. If this is the case with your church then there may be cause for some concern.

Most churches celebrate the sabbath on sunday and not the old test sabbath which was saturday. But yet ostrocize me for working on Sunday. This church takes attendance to count how many were in church on Sunday. I thought counting God's people was forbidden because God knows the number of his children. King David even got punished for counting them. These same people who tell me that I am not following God's word for not tithing 10% and for not being a member , for working on sunday etc... are the same people who have been divorced without the cause of fornication. Isn't that hypocritical?

Again, these are red flags to me. This sounds a lot like the Churches of Christ or perhaps Seventh Day Adventists, or perhaps even the Iglesia Ni Christo. I have honestly never heard of a church counting its members.

I have read the KJV bible clear through and study it regularly. I have also read the Torah and the koran (don't even get me started on islam ugh!) so I am quite well read in scriptures. My problem is that when I have a legit question, I get a hundred different answers. Oh, the birth control question...It was my catholic education that told me that "spilling" your seed is a sin. I think it was Abraham that it was referring to. It just seems to me that most churches that I have attended, pick and choose which laws to follow. I thought if we followed even 1 old test law, we were required to follow them all. Ok, sorry for rambling. Just feel like I need to know everything to make sure I don't mess anything up. I know I will make mistakes but at least I'm trying.

It might be helpful to provide just a bit more information on this organization for us. I know that I have never heard of a church actually taking attendence, and the membership thing sounds suspect to me. Not trying to get you worried or anything, it's just that they sound awfully legalistic, and legalism is very typical of organizations that stray from the freedom of God's grace.

[Giaour]

This isn't some cultish organization, it's southern baptist.