Are we reading a novel?

[icamewithasword]

Eye catching title, huh?

I'm struggling, brothers. I'm not sure what's eating at me yet....but I did want to throw out a couple things; maybe vent.......

I believe:
Scripture is inerrant; infallible. Scripture is sufficient; there is no need to look outside scripture for answers concerning our faith or edification. The bible is true....ALL of it! (Now I just have to figure out what that truth is). I don't believe that all of the Bible is to be read as literal, otherwise I'd find contradictions concerning things like faith/ works salvation.....

Is this OK so far; or am I setting myself up for a great deal of dissapointment concerning a church home?

 

[mlqurgw]

Eye catching title, huh?

I'm struggling, brothers. I'm not sure what's eating at me yet....but I did want to throw out a couple things; maybe vent.......

I believe:
Scripture is inerrant; infallible. Scripture is sufficient; there is no need to look outside scripture for answers concerning our faith or edification. The bible is true....ALL of it! (Now I just have to figure out what that truth is). I don't believe that all of the Bible is to be read as literal, otherwise I'd find contradictions concerning things like faith/ works salvation.....

Is this OK so far; or am I setting myself up for a great deal of dissapointment concerning a church home?

What you have said so far is fine. I believe the same things. You will not find a church that believes everything exactly the same as you. The fact is that most organizations calling themselves churches are not. They focus on man rather than God, they entertain souls on their way to Hell, they are marketing corporations that sell their gospel. Most who call themselves pastors are not called of God. They spend most of their time running the company and when they do get into the pulpit they just give good advice that you can get from Dr. Phil. True churches are hard to find. But there are some out there. If you settle for the sake of convenience you will be disappointed. I travel 3/4 of an hour each way to church. Not because there aren't any "churches" near me, they are on nearly every corner, but because they none are true churches.

 

[icamewithasword]

What you have said so far is fine. I believe the same things. You will not find a church that believes everything exactly the same as you. The fact is that most organizations calling themselves churches are not. They focus on man rather than God, they entertain souls on their way to Hell, they are marketing corporations that sell their gospel. Most who call themselves pastors are not called of God. They spend most of their time running the company and when they do get into the pulpit they just give good advice that you can get from Dr. Phil. True churches are hard to find. But there are some out there. If you settle for the sake of convenience you will be disappointed. I travel 3/4 of an hour each way to church. Not because there aren't any "churches" near me, they are on nearly every corner, but because they none are true churches.

Thank you for your reply, brother.

After praying on this, I believe the biggest concern I have thus far is other members of the body basing their truth of scripture to that which man has determined or theorized, and feeling that elders support this same belief..... It tears (rips) me up when I hear this.
Does this make me an extreme fundamentalist?... I don't know...is that so bad?
Also, I get the impression that these same members are determining which part of scripture can be determined as "novelistic" instead of "God breathed", simply based upon whether or not they choose to believe it.
Any other input would be appreciated...

God Bless

 

[mlqurgw]

Thank you for your reply, brother.

After praying on this, I believe the biggest concern I have thus far is other members of the body basing their truth of scripture to that which man has determined or theorized, and feeling that elders support this same belief..... It tears (rips) me up when I hear this.
Does this make me an extreme fundamentalist?... I don't know...is that so bad?
Also, I get the impression that these same members are determining which part of scripture can be determined as "novelistic" instead of "God breathed", simply based upon whether or not they choose to believe it.
Any other input would be appreciated...

God Bless

True faith in Christ is extreme. The unbelieving world looks down on you and even pities you as a deluded poor soul who can't think for himself. The religious world hates you because you actually put them to shame. Jesus, Peter, Paul and the rest of the Apostles would be considered extremists today and were in their day. If the world accepts you and religion embraces you then something is very wrong. Beware when all men speak well of you.

 

[icamewithasword]

True faith in Christ is extreme. The unbelieving world looks down on you and even pities you as a deluded poor soul who can't think for himself. The religious world hates you because you actually put them to shame. Jesus, Peter, Paul and the rest of the Apostles would be considered extremists today and were in their day. If the world accepts you and religion embraces you then something is very wrong. Beware when all men speak well of you.

I'm not going to doubt anyones faith, here..... that would not be for me to know.
In a fairly recent study meeting, a person put forth an honest question about how much time is placed between now and the Gen creation account....I chuckled a bit; knowing this would open a big 'ole can a worms... But I did not participate in the discussion, as one thing lead to another.... from 6 days vs. millions; very long (unknown) periods of time between Gen 1:1 and 1:2; The Gen. account of Noah and the flood; .... all the way to a somewhat mocking comment to wit "Well, where did the dinosaurs come from, then?"......
Actualy, I did raise my hand to plant a question such as: How they would therefore have to believe that God is not as powerful as scripture tells us He is..... I didn't get called on, though.

I suppose I was even a lot more impacted because our study is on 1 John..... you know; be in the world, but not of the world.
I couldn't help but feel that God was not pleased with the outcome of that day's study....and I've been hard pressed by the Spirit since; not really knowing what to do now. I have, like I said, prayed on this matter for God to reveal what He wants of me....as I feel that this feeling of sadness (?) is sent from the Spirit; yet I can't answer to why.....
I honestly felt that it was time to move elsewhere.... and now this makes it more difficult because I haven't been ale to determine if the Spirit is convicting me because i haven't gone elsewhere, or convicting me for thinking of going elsewhere.....

 

[icamewithasword]

Now it's been about another 30 minutes.....

Now I'm feeling that it's a conviction for sitting with my hand raised politely.....
Not standing up; knocking over tables if needed and asking: How heavy is the cross that you're carrying? Is it a small one, made of balsa?

 

[icamewithasword]

So, now after a couple hours; I find myself a bit more at peace.
Still sorrowful, though.

I found this sorrow after I asked myself: "How big of a cross was I carrying?" "What persecution was I willing to bear?" "Why did I give in to feeling intimidated by age or one's time in the church, when I know that my strength lies in Christ?"
I've found my peace, also: Ask forgivness for dropping my cross. Now pick it up and carry on.

Thanks for listening, brother.
God Bless

 

[heymikey80]

Eye catching title, huh?

I'm struggling, brothers. I'm not sure what's eating at me yet....but I did want to throw out a couple things; maybe vent.......

I believe:
Scripture is inerrant; infallible. Scripture is sufficient; there is no need to look outside scripture for answers concerning our faith or edification. The bible is true....ALL of it! (Now I just have to figure out what that truth is). I don't believe that all of the Bible is to be read as literal, otherwise I'd find contradictions concerning things like faith/ works salvation.....

Is this OK so far; or am I setting myself up for a great deal of dissapointment concerning a church home?

Uh, a comment.

There is a need to look outside Scripture, to make sure our perspectives mesh with what Scripture says as well as what history can't make any sense of.

Granted, preconceived notions of scholars and "naturalists" abound, making a shipwreck of their faith and denying statements of Scripture that plainly state things they inherently deny.

But Genesis 1 ... Genesis 1 is a toughie. It's clear in what it states, but it's not straightforward.

I'm not under any misconceptions, I think God could create any way He wished. I could defend the six day short-creation account, it's pretty easy to do. But ... that's not it. I don't think the Author is particularly caring about the time lapses. The evening of the First Day includes eternity past. The last day has been considered a period we are still in. The creation of all things in human experience is clearly prominent. The formlessness of earth in Genesis 1:2 doesn't make the case for ex nihilo creation that Genesis 1:1 makes.

There are some tough things going on.

But it's not an impact on God's ability to do otherwise. It's simply an inquiry into what God did. That's very different from saying God couldn't possibly have done this in 144 hours. By the same token, God could have made humans incapable of falling. Sure. He just didn't.