Who will Save the Sheep that are being taught a different line of Gosp

[Christ's Free Servant]

Greetings~

Will He get to this folks,"Come out of there, My People" before it is too late?

Snow4JC

Yes!! He will!! And, soon!! Just watch and see!!

[Smalcald]

Well I am not sure this is the same track of the original post, but from what I can see in my own congregation and in many other congregations of Christians in the US we have very poorly instructed Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike. People don't know or understand neither their own congregation

[David from New Bern]

By the way have you notice that people don't cook at home like they use to...and our physical health is beginning to show it. There is a hidden message in that last line.

Hello David,

Would you be implying that our need for personal Scriptural reading,study, and prayer have been replaced with a lot of "on the go" and "weekend warrior" types of teaching/instruction that people just don't take the time to question, and consume it blindly?

Blessings,

in His service

-CC-

BINGO!

[David from New Bern]

Sad to say my spiritual growth never got kick started until I was asked to teach an adult Sunday School class. There were two lawyers in the classroom and I wanted to be prepared for anything they might throw at me. Crazy enough pride put me in the WORD, but I fell in love with it after I dove in. But, being preached at and taught in Sunday School class were not enough to spurn real growth until I started consuming the Word on a daily in my personal life. I could tell I was growing when I always packed a Bible when I went out of town, and to this day I have a Bible always near me. That is not a pride issue but a dependency issue. however today many go to church and don't even have a Bible handy.

[Christian]

I related to your question well as it how I go about my seeking. I am not involved in a church at the moment because as much as I have prayed on it, He has not instructed me otherwise. The Lord "drove me out of the herd" a while ago with the intention of solidifying my belief structure and He has had me spending hours cross-referencing between Bibles.

Faulty teaching/preaching, and "deviate" leaders here in California made my church experience very sad. But I realized I could not fully comment or grow unless I had a solid foundation, and none is more solid than the Bible. So I "cook my own meals" at home.

Bless you David

-CC-

[st. Worm]

Well David, we can at least agree that many believers are fairly ignorant in their understanding of God's Word. But I still am understanding that you are advocating some type of egalitarian approach with millions of believers going in millions of different directions as they become their own little popes. Your negative comments regarding the role of the pastor and the administration of the sacraments (implying that there is no such thing) bring up my antenna. Sorry if I did mistake your motivation but some of my initial exchanges on this board were with those who hate Christ's church and who apparently think they have no need of it. I thought that was where you were headed.

The other thing I would disagree with is your apparent belief that we somehow are synergistically involved in our salvation. My denomination, I believe rightly, teaches that salvation is 100% the work of God from start to finish and is monergistic. But I guess Roman Catholics and most Protestants would agree with you. But as you have already noted, most don't understand the Bible. ;-)

At any rate, thank you for your answers.

SW

[Guest jckduboise]

quote:

WORM...all original material here...what question does it create in your mind and I will try to address it.

SW:

How does one "explore their own sanctification?" What does that mean? Isn't this more like something we might hear on an Oprah Winfrey show on religion?

Why is it assumed that the pastor is indoctrinating parishioners? The pastor represents Christ to his flock dispensing Word and Sacrament and absolving sins (or that's what he should be doing).

What does it mean for sinners to "prepare a meal for themselves"? We are fed by God's Word and are truly dependent on that. We can prepare nothing ourselves.

How can you make so many general statements about Christ's church?

Why do I think this is just one more church and denomination bashing post?

Mr. Worm...you pose 5 questions...here is my response in the same order

1. Sanctification is not a passive event it takes participation...We participate in our sanctification...The Holy Spirit empowers us...

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.2 Peter 1:5-9NKJV

2. I was speaking of unhealthy church situations where the pastor tells you how to feel and behave and does nothing to encourage you in private study habits and attempts to be a substitute for the Holy Spirit for you by not trusting the Spirit to teach you through the Word unaided by pastoral authority (whatever that is in his/her mind). And the additional comment response...Jesus was the once and for all sacrament, I don't need a clergy to absolve my sins. I need only his leadership to examine my own life and allow the Holy Spirit to convict me.

3. "Preparing a meal for themselves" is not the perfect euphenism, but what I meant was the average person will not read and study the Bible for themselves and thus have stunted growth. Proof of that is that the average Christian can't lead his/her own family is a meaningful Bible study. The pastor has to feed and regurgitate on Sunday morning. When we need to be eating all week long or live an anemic testimony.

4 and 5. I can speak this way because I am in the church and love the church and therefore I speak the truth with love. Bashing is a cutting remark intending to lower someone or something and give oneself the appearance of superiority. I speak only as one with a lot of church expereince and the frustration of an individual trying to be a tool of God to speak the message that might alert someone to the truth of God's expectations of us.

Good, very good

[EricH]

I am still struggling to understand the point of this thread.

[st. Worm]

crusader for christ quote:

I related to your question well as it how I go about my seeking. I am not involved in a church at the moment because as much as I have prayed on it, He has not instructed me otherwise.

SW:

crusader, I would agree that many churches are dangerous to spiritual health and growth. Many of the worst, as our Lord said, will travel across land and sea just to make a single convert, but will only succeed in making those "converts" twice the child of hell. How do you arrive at the conclusion that God does not now want you in a church? Do you anticipate He will come down and personally drive you there when he does want you to attend? If indeed the Bible is the only reliable revelation of God's speaking, I would challenge you to find anything there that would indicate God does not want you in a good church (and they are out there, even in California).

blessings,

sw

[David from New Bern]

I am still struggling to understand the point of this thread.

Same here it kind of reminds me of table topics at Toastmasters, if you are unsure of the subject you are given, you just play word association.