troubling Bible Studies

It's not a very popular view in today's world, but I agree with him in that I believe the world is around 6,000 years old. However, that isn't really the issue it seems. It could be the way in which he's presenting his views. Perhaps he seems to be forcing them upon you and not really giving you a choice not to accept his own views.

As for the Christmas tree issue, that does seem a bit legalistic to me. Most Christians I know of are not "worshipping" the tree, it's just a symbol of Christmas. A reminder to celebrate the birth of Christ and be thankful for that, to give gifts to one another because we care, and are thankful for the things we have.

Someone who's telling you that you can't wear make-up, jewelry and making a list of things you can or can't do seems to be becoming like the Pharisees. They could not allow someone being healed on the Sabbath because it was considered to be "work".

Bible studies are about people sharing their opinions, beliefs, and studying God's word together in a way in which iron sharpens iron. Not to hammer out your own beliefs onto someone else, but to discuss them in a loving and mature way, allowing both sides to state their beliefs and let the other side decide for themself.

I would say your best bet is to confront this person and say "Look, this is turning into a sermon. I don't come to bible study to be preached at, I come to learn and be open to different view and opinions, but the way in which you are presenting things comes across as too strong, and you are not allowing me to decide things for myself".

God does own us as Christians, we are to be slaves to the master. But not in the way that we think of slavery today. We should be obedient to God because we are His, and because we love Him. Yes, we still have free will.

But the bottom line is, if someone is doing something in bible study with you, that makes you feel uncomfortable then you need to confront and talk with them. Let them know how it makes you feel, but until you do that, nothing is probably going to change.

Collosians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.

I got a revelation of the verse above specifically over a course of a period which I believe the Lord is using in me and to help others as well including some people close to me

You can take something from it too. Really we are not under law. Do not let your heart be burdened by these things. Cast your anxiety to the Lord. Let your eyes be on the Lord.
Its said in the last days many will come teaching many things, even things that may sound biblical but underneath its meant to put you in bondage.

I remember a guy who was asking a while ago on here if it was a sin to drink coffee many times. When I see such questions i feel sorry for these people. People should not live in fear of if or what. This is why Christ died, for we have been set free from all these things.

It doesnt mean our freedom is meant to indulge the flesh or evil things, but we still should be able to live, laugh, love, go out, wear things, eat things, and give glory to God for everything without any guilt.

Its best to develop a close relationship with God on your own as well so that you dont rely on everything people tell you, for when the Holy Spirit is in you and active, He always tells you the truth and impress it in you so that you will know and can discern His truth and God's ways from the filth and lies out there.

Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. This you have to pray to God about to help you as well and to write His law on your heart, which is from the Holy Spirit that He will always guide you towards and those that are not beneficial for you he will always steer you gently away from it.

whoever tells you not to buy a xmas tree, tell them God hasnt told you not to. TELL them the freedom christ gave you does not prevent you from buying a tree. Apostle paul specifically warned against people like those who always say dont eat meat, dont buy trees or dont celebrate xmas etc. They may sound legit but they are actually the blind ones because we are free in Christ. Do not let anyone take that freedom away.

God has made all things clean for us, meat or no meat, everything. When we take or do these things we give glory to God. If anyone condemns you, tell them YOU DO IT TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
This does not mean to indulge in flesh and sins as i said, but when you stop following everything man says and you LET Holy Spirit guide you more and more, you will begin to find clarity in your life and you will be confident in your walk with the Lord.

Pray and ask for the Lord to help you.

Oh and some of your concerns, I believe 100% God created the earth and everything in it in 6 DAYS and rested on 7th day. If it was not so, they would have referenced the truth somewhere along the line in the Bible. Everyone of God's prophet and mouthpiece that mentioned the creation always mentioned 6 days. There is no nay or grey area there. You either believe in God;s word or you dont. You either believe in His power or not. God is powerful enough to create everything in 6 days. His breath alone could cause the sea to dry up. If He could dry up the sea as a pathway for His people by His right hand, He can do anything and everything.

Start believing in His power.

I also believe the earth is younger than what scientist says. How old it is, I dunno, because the bible didn't mention the specific age, but God is not a liar. I would believe God and His word over any scientist or evolutionist any-day for their wisdom, God has made it foolish anyway. They have no clue who God is in their wisdom of trying to find the how, why or what of the universe. They are blind to see that God made all of it. Its easy for God to turn the wisdom of the 'wise' to 'foolish' which is what Hes done with the scientists and all evolutionists and those who believe in them over God.

Lastly the fact that God own you does not mean your free will is gone. If God didnt own you,then He is not in control of what happens to you, and the enemy can easily do whatever he wants to you. God does not force to own anyone. He has extended His hand, and His power in His Son Jesus christ that whoever believes in Him will be saved and will be called 'God's children'.

There is more freedom for us when we are saved than when we were living in the world. pleasures of sins and worldly shenanigans are not freedom, if anything they are bondage. I have given you points in the start of my post as to why you should ignore those who tell you not to do things which Christ has set you free from. God is not the problem, the problem is people dont know how much freedom they have in Christ..

Mistia said:

This is driving me mad and if it carries on it's going to be Bye God, I mean to let the vile devil come into our churches and "decieve" us, is not our problem, we are not responsible for that, and as for God "allowing" the scum into our Church is disgusting, oh and don't get me started on how sin was created, as far as I am concerned you can't have something unless it was made by God!

Thank you for your time.

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Forget about the Christmas tree and Easter eggs for now but tell me this,
why would you say bye to God?

God is not the issue here but people and what they think God wants.

Here is what God wants from you....a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as the son of God sent to die for your sins?

Have you asked Him to come into your life as you know you are a sinner and
need His salvation in your life to save you from your sins?

Have you asked Jesus to be your Lord and savior?

Have you committed your life to Christ and in so doing, to God His Father?

A Bible study is good if it leads us to Christ and the relationship God
calls each of us to with Him through Jesus Christ His Son.

Sounds like to me you are studying the Bible with someone who doesn't have his
relationship with God in Christ as his first and foremost priority and is instead focusing
in on the dos and don'ts like whether or not we can have Christmas trees and Easter eggs.

I do not know what your religious background is but I would suggest that you either
begin or renew your relationship with God through Christ.

Here is a simple prayer you can pray if you want a relationship with God in
Christ to be your first prioity...

• “Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you.
• I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you.
• Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.

• I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead,
• and sits at Your right hand and I know You hear my prayer.

• I know that in Jesus Christ I can be forgiven, cleansed and given a new
• start as your daughter in Christ.

• I invite You Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart
• from this day forward.
• I give all of myself to You, holding nothing back, take all of me
• and make my life all that You want it to be.

• I recieve you Lord Jesus and your forgiveness and all you have for me.

• I ask You Father God to send your Holy Spirit to me to help me obey You, and
• to empower me to live my life for You and to do Your will for the rest of my life.

• I ask you Father God to take all of me and to bless me, heal me, deliver me and
• make me completely Yours and bring me into a deeper relationship with You in Christ.

• In Jesus' name I pray

This is driving me mad and if it carries on it's going to be Bye God, I mean to let the vile devil come into our churches and "decieve" us, is not our problem, we are not responsible for that, and as for God "allowing" the scum into our Church is disgusting, oh and don't get me started on how sin was created, as far as I am concerned you can't have something unless it was made by God!

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I think your problem is your attitude toward God. Maybe this guy was helpful at an earlier stage. But if your heart is right toward God He can continue to show you the way forward, possibly to a new teaching situation that isn't so legalistic.

But it seems you are ready to stand at a distance and judge God for the ills of the world. If that is accurate that indicates a low level of trust. How then can God lead you out of a situation that is running out of life and into a better one suited for this season? If you will abandon God for such a little thing, I hate to think what will happen when real tests come. Think carefully, sister.

I sounds as though this Bible study has ceased to be helpful to you. It may have been good for you at one time, but there's no reason to think that that will continue on forever. As you say, he's changed. The Christmas tree stuff is nonsense, for instance, and you saw through the errors in the viewpoint. So, consider it time to move on to other fellowships with no apologies or feelings of guilt for leaving this one.

Titus 1:15. I suggest you read the entire book of Titus. You might gain a new viewpoint. About the anxiety read Phillippians 4:6-10 and 2 Tim 1:7. Notice that it is a command to be anxious for nothing. It doesn't say wait for God to take away your anxiety. It says "don't be anxious..." and follows up with the formula to get rid of your anxiety. And finally, are you suppose to be a follower of this relative (or any other man), or a follower of Jesus the gentle master? A master is a teacher and Jesus said to call no man teacher. The work of the Holy Spirit is to teach you all things and He does this by enlightening the Word. Love and peace to you sister, and to your relative also. God bless you both, but just like we often have to separate our children when they romp too hard, perhaps the father is wanting to separate you two for a whileso each of you can be free to move into higher ground. Yes, God owns you, but not as a servant but as a child of God. Avoid foolish questions that cause aanxiety and strife because the servant of God should not strive and should be anxious for nothing.

Mistia said:

I have never in all my life been told not to have a xmas tree, not to wear make up or jewellery, can't listen to rock music, can't get another tattoo, even what I wear is "wrong", this all from my relative, yet my Bretheren who are strict don't tell me this, certaintly not in that way, I do know all about women adorning themselves so I don't mean that.

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I don't know how you dress, but there's nothing wrong with the rest of it. This "leader" does not study Scripture properly if his study leads him to believe otherwise.

You need to look to Jesus and His holy bible for the truth.. Stop looking to people.. Jesus Christ is the standard.. Not your church members, not your relatives or friends.. Not even your pastor.. Jesus alone..
As far as dressing a tree at Christmas time.. Thats something you need to work out.. I personally enjoy a tree. It brings warmth to the season.. Only because it adds to the ambiance of a room. Not for worship..
Homosexuality is forbidden in scripture.. And it doesn't omit those practicing it that claim to be born that way.. It's unnatural and we all know that.. Why do you think they hide it in shame.. They call it coming out.. The bible is explicit on this being detestable to God..
I really do hope you find peace....

there are times when he tells me things that I should not do such as have a Christmas Tree, I am well aware of Jerimah (10 I think) where is says to not dress up a tree and worship it, that's fine, I have never worshipped or devoted an unusual amount of time on a stupid tree!

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Okay, so, why the upset over his comments about the tree? They obviously don't apply to you since you aren't dressing up a Christmas tree in order to worship it.

He also frightens me, although that is not his intention, when he says that scientists are wrong, the earth is only 6000 years old so finding and dating fossils and dinosaur bones to be millions of years old is "lies" and that all Christians will be decieved in the last days,

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The Bible doesn't say that all Christians will be deceived in the last days. Besides, if that were true, it would include him, wouldn't it?

I don't believe the naturalistic interpretations secular scientists give to the raw data uncovered by the empirical method is always correct. I really do think that they are guilty of promoting falsehood, though not necessarily purposefully. They simply understand science through a naturalistic lense, which sometimes leads to faulty conclusions.

he says gay people are "wrong" even though a gay person could have through no fault of their own, these feelings because of maybe their brain being different to a heterosexual person.

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The research on the physical brain states of homosexuals ended up proving nothing conclusively. The brain is an incredibly malleable organ, which makes it impossible to determine if homosexual thoughts and feelings cause the condition seen in homosexual brains or if the homosexual brain exists congenitally. The popular media likes to promote the research in such a way as to make it seem like homosexuality is biologically mandated, but this has not been firmly established by any testing and research so far.

The Bible is very clear that homosexuality is sin. This is stated plainly in both the OT and the NT.

I have never in all my life been told not to have a xmas tree, not to wear make up or jewellery, can't listen to rock music, can't get another tattoo, even what I wear is "wrong", this all from my relative, yet my Bretheren who are strict don't tell me this, certaintly not in that way, I do know all about women adorning themselves so I don't mean that.

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Your relative sounds like he has become ensnared by a legalistic attitude. The heart of being a Christian, a follower of Christ, is simply loving God. When you love God, are submitted to Him, and desire to put His will and way before your own, no one will have to tell you how to live rightly before God. Doing so will be very clear to you. And when you are walking in loving fellowship with your Maker, you won't feel the need to lay restrictions on everyone around you. You will champion God's truth, but you won't feel the need to force everyone around you to accept it as you do. You will love people enough to give them the liberty to grow in Christ and in God's truth at their own pace. I don't see this kind of love and grace in what you've described of your relative. Perhaps he has lost sight of the love God calls him to have for others and the grace he is called to show to those whom God calls him to love. If this is so, you might want to leave off being taught by him.

I do have high levels of anxiety and I know why, unfortunately I can't change it, and yes God can take the anxiety away so why doesn't he?

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Perhaps God would take it away if you walked differently with Him. The Bible is very blunt that fear in a believer means he/she has "not been made perfect in God's love." The only thing that will dissolve your fear is the confidence and trust that comes only by knowing and believing in the deep, deep love God has for you.

And I do eat and buy easter eggs, so what??? it's chocolate for goodness sake. And after telling me all the things I cannot do I am left wondering, is it actually possible for Christians to have fun on this earth?

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Why are you allowing the views of this relative to have such power in your thinking? There is nothing intrinsically evil in eating a chocolate Easter egg. You seem to know this perfectly well, so why are you letting the comments of your relative to the contrary bother you?

And if we have free will and can do as we please then how come God "owns" Christians, cause if he owns me then I don't have a choice with my free will, it's his way or the highway!!!

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A follower of Christ is one who has yielded their will and all their rights to their Lord. They are "not their own, they have been bought with a price," the Bible says. For a believer, it really is, then, "God's way or the highway" - or it ought to be.

It's probably best I can't use bad language on here, my post would be full of it!

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Really? Would such language be honoring to God? If not, why would you wish to use such language. If so, how so?

This is driving me mad and if it carries on it's going to be Bye God, I mean to let the vile devil come into our churches and "decieve" us, is not our problem, we are not responsible for that,

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Hold on, now. Christians most certainly are responsible for watching for the deceptions of the devil and resisting them when they are encountered. Unfortunately, the majority of Christians these days have only a superficial acquaintance with the contents of their Bible and because this is so they cannot use it as the defence against deception that it is intended by God to be. God has done His part in giving to us His Truth; we must do our part and take pains to thoroughly study it. When we don't, the devil's deception enters the Church.

and as for God "allowing" the scum into our Church is disgusting,

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I don't follow you here...

oh and don't get me started on how sin was created, as far as I am concerned you can't have something unless it was made by God!

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God created us only with the potential to choose to sin, but He did not force Adam and Eve to choose to sin. Their choice to sin was entirely their own. A wood carver who makes a carving knife must make the knife sharp enough to carve wood. But if the knife can carve wood, it also has the potential to pierce and cut human flesh. The wood carver's intent, though, is not to wound people with his carving knife but to shape wood. If someone uses his carving knife to kill somebody, is the wood carver responsible for the death? Obviously not. In the same way, God has made us with the capacity to choose between good and evil. He intends that we use that capacity to choose good. When we choose otherwise, when we choose what is evil, we are like the person who uses a carving knife to murder someone. We have taken a negative potential and made it a reality. But it is no more God's fault when we do this than it is the wood carver's fault when someone uses his carving knife to kill someone.

Selah.

Have a look at your private message folder

aiki, I like the way you think. selah

I agree with Albion...the bible studies helped you at one point but now they are a cause of great stress. End the bible studies and thank your relative for his time. That's all you need to do for your sanity. You don't need to argue with him because you won't change his mind on his opinions.

Jeremiah 10 is referring to Asherah Poles, which was a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations. It was related to the worship of the fertility goddess Asherah, the consort of Ba'al. A Christmas tree is different. The tree is an evergreen which is always green, this represent Christ never dying. The lights represent Christ being the "Light of the World" The balls on the evergreen represent the Universe and God being the center of it all. The star represents the "Bright Morning Star", our Savior. So they are not the same. Do you worship your tree or put it up as a sign to God, that your heart is with Jesus? Its like baptism.... Baptism does not give a person salvation. It is an outward sign showing God where your heart is. People say you can't get a tattoo??? What if you find Jesus and already have tattoos all over you body? Some of the most Christian people I know have tattoos? Jesus did not come to make us Judges!! He came to free us from Judgement and love everyone. Now this doesn't mean we should except sin in our lives. It means we are to love the sinner and hate the sin. It seems that your friend mentions a lot about what is written in the Law, from the Old Testament or Old Covenant. We learn in John 1:17 that we are no longer under the law as it says,"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 3:6 Paul says,"He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." Paul also states in 1 Corintians 2:2,"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." We should focus of Jesus and not the petty things that divide us. At the end we ALL fall short of God's Glory!! which is why we all need Jesus who makes "All things new" Thank you for Jesus†††

Sorry to hear this. Praying for you. Happy to chat over any of the issues with you if it helps.

Mistia said:

Thank you to all of you for the replies, it has given me food for thought. Sometimes my anxiety makes me think why keep trusting God when it seems to be such hard work, I believe he has always had his hand on me from a very early age, I can see looking back what he has done for me, so when I say "Bye God", it's just me becoming so anxious and I think "oh well, that's it then"

I just can't understand why some people who are Christian can be so hardened, I'll just keep praying for this situation. Also, I know a couple of you have suggested that I cease the Bible Studies, it has not always been so stressful, my relative has often said to let him know if I want to study a certain book of the Bible, and he has taken so much time in preparing these studies, he sends me the notes too after each lesson, we sometimes spend a few weeks on one thing.

So I will be praying again because I do care for my relative deeply, my anxiety too, it gets the better of me sometimes, and I know God has told me quite clearly not to be anxious, I do take prescribed medication and will be starting some cognitive behaviour therapy very soon, that may help me to cope when I am finding a situation stressful.

It's like when my relative says in the end days even Christians will be deceived, well that really frightens me, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach, and my mind makes me think that those who are His and who will be deceived are not saved, and he focuses too much on the devil, yes it's good to be hardened against actual sin, but I thought as Christians we are there to set an example, as in to shun sin as best we can but not to hate those who sin, if that makes sense.

I used to think anxiety was silly when I was a teenager, but now I know what it's like and it's not nice, the fear I have sometimes is horrendous, and it's fear that makes me say things like "ok God, that's it, bye"

Another thing that worries and frightens me is the way Christians interpret the Bible, if we all belive in the same things, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus died for our sins then why can't they all agree on what the Bible is telling us? Especially when we all pray and ask God for the Holy Spirit to work in us, if that is happening how come we can't all agree?

I do appreciate all the replies and thank you, I know God says we have to encourage each other and that's why I post on here, when I receive encouragment from my fellow Bretheren I feel much more positive.

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We all can't agree because we are of a fallen nature. We chose to disobey God and therefore ruined having a perfect relationship with Him. Due to our sinful nature, we have a hard time understanding the things of God and often interpret things in our own ways. We are no longer in perfect harmony with God, but one day we will be in Heaven again. We all have different ideas about who God is, who He should be, how He should do things, how He should help us etc. We all probably have some thoughts about God that are incorrect and not accurate.

Thinking about the end times is okay sometimes, but we should not dwell on it. We need to remember that God is in control, and that we are not. We should do our best to follow Him personally, and encourage others to do so. But the "end times" will happen regardless of what we do, because God has said it will. Take comfort in the fact that it will happen according to God's plan, and not according to anything else.

Sometimes my anxiety makes me think why keep trusting God when it seems to be such hard work,

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Your anxiety is evidence that you don't actually trust God. THere is something(s) between you and Him, something that keeps you from resting your full weight upon Him. Until you sort out what that is, you will find your anxiety continues to interfere with your walk with the Lord. Really, you can't walk with God while gripped by fear. He asks you to walk with Him in love, not fear. So long as you are under the power of anxiety, you reveal that you are not confident in His love for you. If you were confident in God's love for you, you would be able to relax and be at peace in it and trust that God truly is "working all things together for your good" no matter the circumstance you are in.

my anxiety too, it gets the better of me sometimes, and I know God has told me quite clearly not to be anxious, I do take prescribed medication and will be starting some cognitive behaviour therapy very soon, that may help me to cope when I am finding a situation stressful.

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As one who at one time suffered severely from anxiety, I can tell you that it is not a disease, some psychological affliction over which you have no control, but the result of an attitude of fear, and a mistrustful habit of thinking, and a desire to control. You don't have to suffer from anxiety as one might from diabetes or Crohn's disease. God set me free from profound anxiety and He can do the same for you.

It's like when my relative says in the end days even Christians will be deceived, well that really frightens me, I feel sick in the pit of my stomach, and my mind makes me think that those who are His and who will be deceived are not saved,

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Being deceived does not mean losing your salvation. Christians are deceived all the time by the devil, but God doesn't abandon them because they are. No, He works to expose where they have been deceived, to deepen them in His truth, and to strengthen them to walk better in the future. God isn't waiting for the slightest excuse to dump you on your head. Read the parable of the Prodigal Son in the Gospel of Luke and you'll see the heart of God toward those of His children who wander into sin. It isn't a heart of anger and hatred, I can tell you!

I used to think anxiety was silly when I was a teenager, but now I know what it's like and it's not nice, the fear I have sometimes is horrendous, and it's fear that makes me say things like "ok God, that's it, bye"

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1 John 4:15-19
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.

and he focuses too much on the devil, yes it's good to be hardened against actual sin, but I thought as Christians we are there to set an example, as in to shun sin as best we can but not to hate those who sin, if that makes sense.

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Yes, it does make sense.

Another thing that worries and frightens me is the way Christians interpret the Bible, if we all belive in the same things, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus died for our sins then why can't they all agree on what the Bible is telling us?

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On the fundamentals of the faith I think most Christians do agree. There are some peripheral areas, though, where differences of view occurs. This shouldn't disturb you, though. Give others the freedom to have a view that is different from your own on peripheral matters. So long as the core, fundamental truths are agreed upon, the peripherals can have some flex room, I think. Some people like to major on the minor things. Don't be drawn into this spirit of contention and nit-picking. It leads away from God's grace into legalism.

Selah.

There are certainly Christians (one has responded above) that think a faithful Christian will be sure he is accepted. I believe that's a minority view. While it's true that the Bible says things like "perfect love will cast out fear", few of us have perfect love, so in practice even reasonably faithful Christians do have anxiety at times.

Anxiety can result from lots of things, anything from a misunderstanding to a psychological condition such as OCD. In this case what you report is a natural reaction. You've been hearing from someone who is trying to create fear of hell to get people to follow their legalistic version of Christianity. If you haven't ever faced this approach before, and you're not secure in the specific issues they raise, I could see finding this kind of thing scary.

Before I look at the specific question you raise, I have a more general one: Do you have a specific reason to trust this person's interpretation of Christianity? Do they impress particularly as reflecting the love of Christ, or showing the fruits of a relationship with him? It sounds to me like you do not in fact have any reason to trust him more than what you know already.

Now for the questions:

* Christmas tree. Jer 10 describes in some detail cutting down a tree, turning it into wood, and making an idol from the wood. That has little to do with a Christmas tree. Idols have two key properties that bothered the prophets: (1) they are representations of God, which is prohibited by the 2nd commandment (graven image) (2) people worship them. No one that I know of considers a Christmas tree to be an image of God nor worships it. Similarly with symbols associated with Easter.

* Christians disagree about evolution and gays. I believe most Christians think it's OK to believe in an old earth. There are plausible readings of Genesis consistent with that.

But at a certain point you may have to live with the fact that people will disagree with you strongly and even think you are unsaved. Like it or not, there are Christians who think that evolution and the acceptance of gays are lies from Satan. It can be a shock the first time you run into it from someone you meet personally. But I think the fruits of that particular kind of religion make it clear that it is not from Christ.

Is it right that Jesus said "Christians won't all agree on everything?" I can't find it in scripture.

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I'm not aware of Jesus saying anything like this. Paul, however, did spend a fair amount of time trying to reconcile people who disagreed on the role of the Law. That included issues that I think are the 1st Cent equivalent of Christmas trees and rock music: whether it was OK to eat meat that had been scarified to idols, and whether we should celebrate specific holidays or not. In both cases Paul counseled people on both sides that they should accept each other as Christians. 1 Cor 10:23-11:1 on meat, Col 2:16 on holidays and other issues.

However those passages probably don't apply to creation and gays. Those rest on broader questions about the role of Scripture. Even there, I would advise you to think carefully, and not be panicked by someone who is trying to threaten you with hell.

Sometimes, after a study I just feel llike I want to scream, I have said to him time and time again that if God tells me to not have a Christmas Tree then I won't, but he has not told me in Scripture.

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You are not obligated to attend every Bible study anyone offers you. If you are studying with people who push a highly legalistic version of Christianity, the obvious suggestion is to stop.

There are sometimes advantages to studying with a group of people who have differing views. But I can't think of any advantage to studying with a group that is trying to push an irresponsible version of Christianity on you, particularly using emotional manipulation such as fear.