PLEASE HELP: Is church for everyone?

[Matthitjah]

Grace to you,

Humble Lion,

When you penetrate inward you see yourself and God as one.

Everytime I look inward upon self examination. I see how desperately wicked my fleshy heart is and the ultimate need I have for the Salvation of the Lord.

I did not find church to be a holy place...

That's because it is full of incomplete partially sanctified humans. Gathering to Worship God for all that He has done for us.

God Loves the Church so much that He died for it.

Joh

[Humble Lion]

Grace to you,

Humble Lion,

When you penetrate inward you see yourself and God as one.

Everytime I look inward upon self examination. I see how desperately wicked my fleshy heart is and the ultimate need I have for the Salvation of the Lord.

I did not find church to be a holy place...

That's because it is full of incomplete partially sanctified humans. Gathering to Worship God for all that He has done for us.

God Loves the Church so much that He died for it.

Joh 15:13

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Are you a Friend of God Lion?

Has Jesus Christ bridged the gap between you and Himself?

What's He done for you?

Peace,

Dave

Hi Matthijah,

I respect your devotion to your church. I guess I found all the "incomplete partially sanctified humans" either a poor template for my spiritual journey or distracting from deeper truths(with all due respect to those I met in those places). You should know your flesh is not wicked, but perfect, like all humans. That doesn't mean you are infallable, of course. You should know that because you exist you are perfect and complete. Are you a Friend of God Lion?

"Has Jesus Christ bridged the gap between you and Himself?

What's He done for you?"----what do mean by this, exactly or more specifically. Or in a broad sense...however you want to describe it.

Thanks:)

[Matthitjah]

Grace to you,

Lion,

I mean just what I asked.

Are you a friend of God?

What has Jesus Christ done for you?

Has Jesus Christ bridged the gap between you and God?

I am not perfect, only God is perfect. However He has extended or rather imparted to me the promise of His Righteousness to cover what I am incomplete in.

The great thing is this. The promise is Good and is already sealed up and begun a Good work. That for which it was sent.

Jesus Christ died for my sin, and was ressurected in victory over my death. Therefore I will Live and not die.

Why?

Simply put, because I have believed on the One whom God has sent. I believed it in my heart and confessed it with my mouth. That I was indeed a sinner and that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died on a Cross for my sin and was Ressurected in fulfillment of the Promise for my Life.

This makes me very Grateful and unashamed of this Gospel of enourmous and outrageous Grace that He has extended to all mankind.

Even more the Word of God says this;

Ro

[David H.]

Grace to you,

Lion,

I mean just what I asked.

Are you a friend of God?

What has Jesus Christ done for you?

Has Jesus Christ bridged the gap between you and God?

I am not perfect, only God is perfect. However He has extended or rather imparted to me the promise of His Righteousness to cover what I am incomplete in.

The great thing is this. The promise is Good and is already sealed up and begun a Good work. That for which it was sent.

Jesus Christ died for my sin, and was ressurected in victory over my death. Therefore I will Live and not die.

Why?

Simply put, because I have believed on the One whom God has sent. I believed it in my heart and confessed it with my mouth. That I was indeed a sinner and that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, died on a Cross for my sin and was Ressurected in fulfillment of the Promise for my Life.

This makes me very Grateful and unashamed of this Gospel of enourmous and outrageous Grace that He has extended to all mankind.

Even more the Word of God says this;

Ro

Edited August 27, 2006 by David Haggith

[billie]

That's a very good point, David. When I'm in Apologetics, sometimes I forget who my audience is.

[KarenJo5]

I believe as a Christian you should try to find a Church that meets your needs if not you should find some one to fellowship with. These boards are a great place to do that.I truely feel the love of God here.

I attended a church just up the road for about11 years. There always seemed to be some kind of fighting among the congregation and I was always trying to be one of the peace makers, being neutral.It usually wasn't even about doctrine it was about she said,he said,or cleaning the church,or sis so&so wore a red dress to church...you get the idea. I finally just got disgusted and left because I could not feel the spirit of God there anymore.I believe he will leave a church if he has to keep fighting to stay there.

That being said I truely miss it. It is so much easier to start slipping back into the things of the world if you don't have fellowship regularly.I have decided to start going back to A church my distant cousin pastors that is about 30 miles from here but I know that I would be filled there.He is a Bible preacher and doesn't sugar coat the word at all,And I believe when my toes are being stepped on I'm right where God wants me to be.Convicted of my wrongs and praying to do better.

[billie]

Amen for you, Karen! It would be so easy for you to sit back and do nothing but instead you're reaching for God! That's inspiring to me.

[Matthitjah]

Grace to you,

I think you're communicating in the language of the Christian sub-culture, which only Christians can understand and then thinking that if you simply repeat it and add a little more of the same kind of language, it will all make sense. Only Christians talk with these phrases:

"bridged the gap between you an God"

"imparted to me"

"righteousness to cover"

"the promise ... is sealed up"

You have to have a pretty good knowledge of the King James Bible and theological terminology in order to crack the code. Of course, some people use that kind of language as a litmus test for exactly that reason. They know that if you can't crack the code, you're not a Christian or haven't been one for long. And maybe that's one reason some people avoid church. They see the Christian subculture, hear people talking in strange words and phrases and figure, I don't think I fit here.

Let me explain what I am trying to do a little better for you.

I am trying to give Hope where there is none. I will not argue with the way you approach things. I will say this though. The gentelmen I was conversing with is looking inside himself for Peace. What he will find there is a wicked heart.

There is nothing Good inside of you, me, or the poster. Save Jesus.

If he cannot tell anyone who asks what Jesus has done for him. Then quite likely his introspection will lead him further off into a darker place.

I am shining the Light of Truth for all to see David.

The fact that some are deeply offended by Church because of the partially sanctified humans in it. Does not negate the fact that God Loves the Church so much so that He died for her.

None of us are perfect. If we go to Church looking for perfect humans? We will leave with our expectations fulfilled.

However if we go to Church looking for the only One that can Save us. We will look right past all the people who are there for the same reason and stare right into the face of Salvation.

Even Samuel had to sit under an unjust Father in the Faith and his two slimey sons.

Guess what though, God pushed Eli over and broke his neck and Hophni and Phinehas got their just reward. For sin always ends in death. They chose the curse rather than life.

I want you to know the only thing that can offer any of us Hope. The only ray of Light in this world.

Is exactly what Jesus Christ has done for us. You, me, and the afore mentioned poster.

Call it what you will. My audience is One. God is calling out a people here. Whether it be that they are lost or not. He is offering Hope here. Sin, is sin, is sin and we shouldn't call it by any other name.

God has bridged the gap bewteen Himself and us.

He has also done wonderful things I am not ashamed to broadcast.

His promise is Good.

It's all too good to conceal behind the doors of a Church. If the Church be guilty at all. It is for not sharing too much of a Good thing and making it a subculture.

It's not a subculture simply because it is the Truth. We were all made to worship Jesus. It begins with the House of the Lord.

I pray that He richly blesses you David.

Peace,

Dave

[Floatingaxe]

EXCELLENT, Dave!!

The Church will never be an acceptable excuse before God by anyone for not loving and serving Him faithfully.

Blessings!

[David H.]

It's not a subculture simply because it is the Truth.

True. It's not a subculture because of the Truth. It's a subculture because it has become ingrown, developed a language of its own, separated itself from "the world," as if it were not a part of "the world." Failed to recognize that Jesus said "be IN the world" because it chooses only to look at the other side of what Jesus said, "but not OF the world." Because of our own cowardice and lack of faith, we act like the world is some evil to be feared because it is going to overcome us, instead of acting as if we're some force of love to be feared by evil because we are going to overcome the world, just as Jesus overcame the world. Not conquered it, beat it, bested it ... but, rather, blessed it. We act like we're not a part of it, with an "us and them" attitude, as if we're not part of the "them." As if we're not all in this together. And THAT'S how the Church has become a subcultured. Insulation.

I pray that He richly blesses you David.

Thank you. I'll gladly accept that.

--David