Confused which is the true church

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ovis90

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
 

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.

So I'm not Catholic. I can't answer for the Catholic church.

What am sure of, is that the Bible as it is written is true. I have no problem going to any church that teaches directly from that book.

If I go to a church which teaches anything that contradicts that Book, I move on to a different church.

It's that simple for me.

I am a firm believer that anyone who is true and honest towards G-d, that G-d will lead them towards where his truth is taught.

So my advice to you is, if you feel that G-d is leading you away from where you are.... then as confusing or difficult as it may be, go where you are being led to. If he is moving you away from the Catholic Church, then I would put my foot forward, and walk in a new direction.

Try some other church. Don't be afraid to go where you don't belong. Our G-d is not so weak and pathetic, that if you go to the wrong place, that you will be forever scarred and doomed to bad teaching. He'll just prompt you to go to a different church again, until you find a place that teaches from his word.

Eventually you'll go where you do belong, and you'll hear from the Word of the Lord, and be where he wants you to be.

As long as you continue to seek G-d first, then you will eventually reach where you are supposed to be.
 
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SpiritPsalmist

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
The truth is found in the scriptures. If you are seeing differences in what you are being taught and what the scriptures say, the scriptures have the higher authority. It is important to make sure you are understanding scripture correctly though. I would suggest going to Biblegateway.com and reading the verses in several different versions so that you can see the differing ways they explain things. I would suggest that you not read "doctrinal" stuff from any particular church but allow the scriptures and your study of them guide you to where God wants you. It sounds like He's already starting to show you things by your seeing the contradictions. I know it can be frustrating but don't get discouraged. Get before God and ask Him to show you the truth and to guide you to a place of fellowship where you can grow. God bless.
 
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SpiritPsalmist

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I don't like to tear down any other groups but there are churches that you need to not go to because they are cults. Two off the top of my head is Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.
 
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Dave L

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My experience in nearly 50 years as a Christian is that no church or denomination has all the truth. But God placed all the truth throughout christendom. So I've learned what I know now from many sources, provided they worship the true God in trinity.
 
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Confused which is the true church
Where is the truth some one please help.
The true Church keeps to the Word.

JOHN.1:1 & 14 = 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. & 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
 
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Willing-heart

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Of the more than 110 times in the New Testament the word ‘church’ is used, never once was it used to refer to a building, institution, denomination or an organisation. There are numbers of metaphor that has been used in the New Testament to describe the church, but never once to literally refer to a building. In fact, a church in the New Testament is referred to as a family, it is where the brothers and sisters of Jesus gather together to worship Jesus. The New Testament church is defined by Jesus himself (in Matt 18:20):

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am.”

The church is called ‘the body’ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) so to emphasize that it is linked to the head – Jesus. Without the head, it is like a body with a severed head, which is utterly useless. In this same passage, Paul is basically saying that just as the human body has many parts making up the whole body, so it is with the body of Christ. As the body of Christ, we all may have varying gifts and functions within the church, but we are all one and work together as one, and no one is greater or less.

In the book of Ephesians 2:19-22, Paul uses the word ‘building’ as a metaphor to describe the church by referring to us (believers) as the stones and bricks joined together making up the whole structure of the building, and he refers to the chief cornerstone which the building is founded upon as Christ Jesus because only when you come to ‘The Living Stone’do you become a stone living. Can you imagine a building that has some of the stones and bricks missing? Can you imagine how draughty that building would be?

The Bible refers to the church as “the Bride of Christ,” giving real definition to the fact that the church is only the church if it is madly in love with the bridegroom. All of these is basically telling us that the church and its focus is one person – Jesus Christ.

We are the church
 
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Greg J.

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
You may feel confused, but if you have been/are trying to understand the Bible, you are doing excellently.

#1 Scripture testifies that all the Scriptures are from God. The Holy Spirit "carried along" the Old Testament Prophets for what they wrote down. Their books and all the rest of the OT to the "least stroke of a pen" (jot and tittle, the smallest marks in the Hebrew language, Matthew 5:18). Scripture even tells us that if God speaks to us, it must be "tested" against Scripture. There are evil spirits, corrupt spiritual influences that affect humans broadly, false Christs, spiritually immature explanations, darkened understanding (spiritual blindness), and just plain misunderstanding of the truth out there that can speak to you that will affect our own understanding of truth (1 Corinthians 15:33, Ephesians 6:10-18, 1 John 4:1, and many others). The Scriptures are the firm and unchanging revelation of God that God has given us.

#2 The more human reasoning and deduction is involved in your understanding of a Bible passage, the farther you will be from the direct truths in Scripture. There are nothing in Scripture that contradicts anything else in Scripture, only people lacking understanding. We prioritize the simple (and uncontested) statements in Scripture over a human explanation of those statements. (However, each passage must be understood in the context of the whole Bible.) We have only one Teacher and that is God (Matthew 23:10, John 16:13). Humans can explain things to you all day long, but that doesn't mean you will "get it." However, if you do "get it," it is because God has revealed the truth in you. However, God himself will reveal truth to you through your own Bible study, prayer, and obedience. Ask him for help to know the answers to whatever questions you have in your heart.

#3 Do a Bible study on how the Bible defines what a "church" is. Consider what a church's top priorities are from God's perspective. This will help you understand what to do about going to church. This need not be a long Bible study.

#4 Do not get too sidetracked. There are many things in Scripture that can capture one's interest, like people other than Jesus doing miracles, or the hierarchy of apostles, teachers, etc., or, "is my church better than your church." The Bible tells us that the Law was to lead us to faith in God himself (Galatians 3:24). Understanding Scripture is extremely important, and we need to understand as much as we can so we are not deceived about what is true and so we know what God is like, but it is not our highest goal.

The #1 goal of every follower of Christ should be to know God like we know another person, i.e. not just knowing about him. It is a pretty severe test of one's faith to seek God in this way, and to expect God to reply to our prayers when he seems to be silent for years, but he will eventually, and sometimes regularly. This happens mostly to people who have the first and greatest commandment in their hearts (Matthew 22:36-40) rather than to those that live their lives to the best of their own ability (work toward living your life according to what God wants and to the best of God's ability). Until then, going to a church where people sometimes share their "God encounters" can help a lot with your faith.

You will neither correctly understand Scripture nor get to know Jesus himself without being obedient to God (James 1:22, John 14:21). Obedience is how we share experiences with Jesus (sharing experiences is a foundational part of building a relationship), as well as draw closer to God, who will then draw closer to us (James 4:8).

No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. (Hebrews 8:11, 1984 NIV)
 
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Albion

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
Hi. A couple of thoughts.

1. Congrats to you for taking the time to study Scripture and church history. Many people simply take as true what they are told, even though it may be totally twisted.

2. If you disagree with the Catholic Church's dogmas, then it would be wrong to remain a member and a communicant since, to the Catholic Church, these are not optional matters.

3. I am almost certain that what you sincerely believe, doctrinally, has a place in the spectrum of Christian churches/denominations. It just needs you to commit yourself to the task of examining the alternatives sufficiently to make the right choice.
 
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Tigger45

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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
Do you have other churches in your area close enough that you could visit? If you could list those we could help you navigate them.
 
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ovis90

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I am not native speaker we have bible in my country language but for some reason I don't like reading it in my language for me it seems not very good translation or I just prefer more in English because it's more clear,but my English is not perfect so sometimes it's not easy to understand everything perfectly. I been to other churches before to Anglican,baptist and other. I liked there I see better community and I found more similar people who have been born again. In my church it teaches If you leave the church you are fallen away and there is no salvation outside of the church at least that's what Vatican teaches.So there is also fear for leaving.If I leave I would feel like betraying Jesus
 
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Albion

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So there is also fear for leaving.If I leave I would feel like betraying Jesus
I cannot figure why that would be the case...unless, of course, you abandoned the faith altogether. That isn't what you have been thinking of doing, from what we have read here.
 
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hedrick

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So there is also fear for leaving.If I leave I would feel like betraying Jesus
I don't encourage people to change churches unless they are sure. But what matters to Jesus is that you follow him. You won't betray him based on what church you attend.
 
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SpiritPsalmist

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I am not native speaker we have bible in my country language but for some reason I don't like reading it in my language for me it seems not very good translation or I just prefer more in English because it's more clear,but my English is not perfect so sometimes it's not easy to understand everything perfectly. I been to other churches before to Anglican,baptist and other. I liked there I see better community and I found more similar people who have been born again. In my church it teaches If you leave the church you are fallen away and there is no salvation outside of the church at least that's what Vatican teaches.So there is also fear for leaving.If I leave I would feel like betraying Jesus
.
So sorry, I understand your fear. Unfortunately, that's how many churches keep their people in line. I see you are in Lithuania. I looked online for Lithuania but did not see anything I could reccomend but I know that not all churches advertise.

Off the top of my head I might suggest a Calvary Chapel, or Vineyard Christian Fellowship. They are not perfect but they do generally have knowledgable teachers. I've visited both in different areas and they can vary depending on the Pastor and congregants...some are good and some I would not reccommend to anyone. Also, since the Catholics have some similarities in custom, if there is a Messianic Congregation near, you might try it. Generally, I have found them to be good at teaching scripture.They also meet on Friday evenings or Saturdays so you could visit them without missing your own congregation. You might be able to find a weekly Bible study at any of my suggestions as well that you could attend until the Lord showed you what else to do.
 
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I have visited many, many churches in a few countries of different denominations, catholic, protestant, Lutheran, evangelic, presbyterian, ortodox, pentecostal, baptist etc and I must say I could pray to the Lord in them all, allthough some things were new to me, I think I learned someting good in all of them. Of course all things built by humans or where people are involved there will be things that are somewhat out of order but I think the important thing is that Gods word gets preached and lived.
 
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Hazelelponi

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I'm a reasonably new Christian as well. (Few years is all)

I'm protestant because that basic set of beliefs are what I see in the Holy Scripture as being the most accurate..

I did speak to the Catholics as well because I was saved outside of a church or anyone who attends one so wanted to be thorough and accurate.. I still chose protestant..

So within the protestant faith I didn't like the overall atmosphere of the church which was closest to my actual beliefs.. so I chose another church, one that was more comfortable for me, and where I could understand the preacher.

But here is why I was good with that difference. Every "church" has their thing, the set of beliefs from the Bible they set their focus on; they don't do it intentionally, but they all do it. Whether it's a product of how they were raised or how they were saved or a mixture of both, I found it impossible, at least in my area, to find a church that seemed very well rounded on the whole. The focus no matter where you go is on that one thing..

So in short, we rely on the Holy Spirit a lot I think and accept that none of us are perfect and perhaps neither is our sight, we are in short, working out our salvation and it's nice to do that where you feel most comfortable, with the people you can relate to the most. It is about Jesus after all..

Just don't fall in with a cult. So be careful and use discernment.

I'm a Baptist..(reformed)
 
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I have been born again and accepted Jesus Christ to my life 6 years ago. I am Catholic btw. Since that time while reading bible I found some contradictions with catholic teachings or confusion. I found that for me it's no difference in what church I am as I think The most important thing is our relationship with Jesus ,but not what church we attend. But also when I start reading bible I get confused with Catholic Church and i feel bad not knowing where is true anymore. It makes me feel like I don't belong neither in Catholic or other churches. I been studying in Vatican theology for a year,but still haven't mad me more clear although it does tract a catholic church as being one of the first and oldest churches ,but trough history there was some bad times where some teachings might changed..Where is the truth some one please help.
The truth you are looking for is in the Catholic Church. Note that I say that as an Orthodox Christian. Wherever valid sacraments exist, there is the original Church.
Now that you have read the bible, continue on with the canons of the ecumenical councils. You'll eventually find that you are already in the original Church.
 
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Albion

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The original church was non-denominational, ovis90. Thus, almost any denomination can claim to be closely descended from it if its beliefs and practices are seen to be in accord with the early church.
 
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Hazelelponi

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If you leave the church you are fallen away and there is no salvation outside of the church

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

Any teaching contrary to that is not teaching in accordance with what the Bible says.

It doesn't hurt to go hang out with another group for a long while before making a solid decision..
 
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