My advice for you is follow your heart, do what brings you happiness, and in that process you will be better able to be a light in the world So I take my home church for what it is to me a place for spending physical quality time with saved souls I call my dear friends. These days I actually learn more from internet studies on specific topics than I do in a church building. So many biblical divisions exist that I simply agree to disagree, and enjoy what I can "glean" from where ever I am most comfortable. The churches I find closest to what knowledge I have acquired (trying to learn more), are the ones I am likely drawn towards. Therefore I find happiness with the fellowship of the saints whether they are right or wrong, and at this life juncture I live and let live. With this being said let me stress my attitude has been futile, because the perfect church does not exist. I can only express my own experiences with my life long quest, to find a church I feel is behaving in accord with my biblical knowledge. I know that I will ultimately have to make my own decision as I feel the Lord's leading, but I would like to hear how others view this. I do not know whether to continue (there are areas of agreement and learning).ĭo I continue with this group, sometimes voicing my contrasting opinions, or do I find study and fellowship elsewhere? But I do not feel the growth of brotherhood or fellowship here. There have been many times throughout my Christian life that studying with those with a fundamentally different approach has helped me either to strengthen my preexisting understanding, or to change it as new truths became evident. One reason I looked for a study group was to hear how other brothers view the scriptures and broaden my understanding. As an example, he told the Corinthians that they needed to show Christian Love and warned the Galatians about the Judiazers there rather than tell the Corinthian church how those in Galatia were placing themselves under the old law nor told Galatian church how self centered the Corinthians were. (2) Using Paul as an example, although he was always ready to admonish the various churches when needed, he did so in love, and did not hold the problems of one church to the ridicule of others. Even with Jewish leadership, He let His teaching speak for him rather than preach spiritual turmoil to the common people around Him Whether is was the adulterer about to be stoned or the centurion who came on behalf of his servant, Jesus always treated individuals with courtesy. (1) Our Lord was always gentle in dealing with individuals. In meditating about this for a while and would like to point out a few observations: I did bring up my reservations with biblical examples, but to little avail. biblical tracts printed on what looked like paper money). It also advocated a lot of deceptive devices to attract attention (e.g. Talked a lot about breaking the 10 commandments. Nothing could be further from my understanding of a christian approach. What concerns me is a tendency to point fingers at those 'others', even when there is little to link it to whatever scripture we are discussing.Īt other times we were watching a video presentation (I will not throw stones at it by naming it here) about evangelism. There are always some who approach the issues of that day, or Christian life in general, from a different basis. What these issues are is not the focus of my request here. Some I would decidedly be in opposition to the expressed sentiment. In some cases I would be in general agreement with the fundamental basis of the sentiment expressed, in many others, I would refrain as a christian from coming to any judgement, even on a personal level. Others could mean other churches, other cultures or other religions. In the time, I have noticed and been concerned about the general outlook in the group regarding 'others'. I have been going to a Bible study for a few months, and am thus a 'newbe' there. I need or at least would benefit from a check by a believing brother (or several, if it comes to that) on my own feelings.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |