I do not understand Christianity very well and I have some strange difficulties with Christianity. In the past I am debating about whether I gave my life to God or not, but today I really am confused. It is not a case of I do not know if I am a Christian anymore as I am confused as to what a Christian is. One person said "I honestly feel as if I am coming closer to God". In the context of what he said being told that need to try and believe in Jesus seems to lead me further away from God. God seems to tell me that I am wrong to believe in Jesus. Help me here as I am strange. What do you make of this?
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Christianity
- Thread starter GravGrav
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What questions do you have. . .perhaps I can help.GravGrav said:
Feel free to PM me too, if yuu like.
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Bizzlebin Imperatoris
A Sinner
- May 11, 2004
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First things first, you may want to get a Bible and read through John. That should definately help.
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Jkurtz
Skeptical Christian
Well i think we should just start with the basis of what you said. Point one. Jesus is worth believing in, he is the one that died on the cross for you and not one Christian here will tell you otherwise. Point 2. Jesus and God are the same person, you can believe and pray to either. When you give your heart to God, and you nurture your thirst for righteousness, there is freedom. He created you and loves you. And he has a special plan for your life. I believe that you need to seriously look at your life and see if something is missing. you need not be confused. All you need to thnk about in Christianity is. God sent his son, to die for our sins, and because of him, you're free.
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Hi GravGrav
I don't think you've really given enough information about yourself to really give a personalised answer. But there are a few foundational things that I can explain to you... they are really basic, and there are heaps and heaps of implications about behaviour, etc that follow from them.
Romans 10
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
That is pivotal to being a follower of Christ - a Christian. Consider carefully the implications of really believing this would have on the life of someone.
I don't want you to feel as though I am being judgemental. All of us are sinners - its just that Christians have accepted God's offer of Forgiveness - through God's grace.
How does Christ fit into the picture? A perfectly just God has passed a judgement of death for us sinners. This sentence can only be paid by Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross as a substitute for us- if we repent and believe.
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Does this make sense so far?
1 John 4
Test the Spirits
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
A Godly spirit will never lead you away from Christ, whereas one not from God will always lead you away.
You know, in spite of your confusion, I think that you should pray that God will reveal himself to you:
Mark 9
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
If you really mean this, He will answer in his own timing. In the meantime, feel free to PM me anytime, or keep asking questions here.
With love for a fellow sinner:
gnine
I don't think you've really given enough information about yourself to really give a personalised answer. But there are a few foundational things that I can explain to you... they are really basic, and there are heaps and heaps of implications about behaviour, etc that follow from them.
Paul, in the book of Romans gives an excellent foundational statement of what a Christian is:
Romans 10
9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
That is pivotal to being a follower of Christ - a Christian. Consider carefully the implications of really believing this would have on the life of someone.
I have trouble with this statement. This is because following Christ is a matter of God's grace. It is not something that you can force yourself to do any more than you can force yourself to believe that the sky is green. These are extremely complex and controversial topics - but suffice to say, you need to recognise the hopeless state that all mankind is in without Christ - including you, and then turn to Him in repentance. The first words Christ ministry on earth is "Repent".
I don't want you to feel as though I am being judgemental. All of us are sinners - its just that Christians have accepted God's offer of Forgiveness - through God's grace.
How does Christ fit into the picture? A perfectly just God has passed a judgement of death for us sinners. This sentence can only be paid by Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross as a substitute for us- if we repent and believe.
Romans 5
Peace and Joy
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Does this make sense so far?
Under the assumption that Christianity is true, then this simply cannot happen. It could be either that you don't really want to believe, or there is a spiritual battle occurring. In regard to the latter:
1 John 4
Test the Spirits
1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.
A Godly spirit will never lead you away from Christ, whereas one not from God will always lead you away.
You know, in spite of your confusion, I think that you should pray that God will reveal himself to you:
Mark 9
24Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
If you really mean this, He will answer in his own timing. In the meantime, feel free to PM me anytime, or keep asking questions here.
With love for a fellow sinner:
gnine
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LynneClomina
Well-Known Member
a Christ-ian is one who is a Christ-follower, or Christ-like (at least seriously seeking to be christlike). when one is truly saved, their hearts desire is to follow hard after Him. that is what it means to be a christian. a disciple of Christ. and there are, sadly, alot of ppl out there claiming to be christian but their behaviour speaks otherwise about them.GravGrav said:
God will NEVER tell you to not believe in Jesus. for one, Jesus IS God - He is one-third of the Holy Trinity or "God-head" as it is sometimes called. and God the Father and God the Holy Spirit will NEVER tell you to not believe in Jesus. what you are hearing tell you that is not God, it is the enemy of your soul, satan, who wants to decieve you and keep you away from a relationship with Jesus. and it's important to realize that what alot of other people call "god" is not in fact the One True God, the God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe and Saviour of all those who believe in Him.... they are actually false gods, ie, the devil, who is at his old activities trying to be like God when he can't be.
i have a close friend who has great difficulty with stuff like that too. for her, when she tries to read the bible, it seems to mean what it doesnt actually mean, and she gets really confused.
don't give up trying to understand, k? 
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Jkurtz
Skeptical Christian
Whoa buddy. That's the devil talking. He is trying to turn you away from him. Do not listen and turn to Jesus and God. God is not telling you to not believe in Jesus. they are both the same person. this could not be. By the way nice speech Gnine, good stuff in there. Also remember this scripture and things about it.
Romans says, for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. That's one part of the scripture. I think what you need to realize is, Christians have been saved. We are sinners, that have been redeemed. I hope you will be redeemed too.
Bye gravGrav
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If you think God is telling you to not believe in Jesus, that is not God. The Bible states that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light and that no one comes to God unless they go through the Son. Remember that.
If you have ANY questions, my PM box is ALWAYS open!
If you have ANY questions, my PM box is ALWAYS open!
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Blessed-one
a long journey ahead
*MOD HAT ON*
if you found your posts missing, they've been moved into the non denom forum here:
http://www.christianforums.com/t702744
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hi Grav Grav,
it seems you're struggling with the concept of the trinity. Please know that this is a difficult concept for christians too, us being humans, but we accept it with faith.
if you found your posts missing, they've been moved into the non denom forum here:
http://www.christianforums.com/t702744
*MOD HAT OFF*
hi Grav Grav,
it seems you're struggling with the concept of the trinity. Please know that this is a difficult concept for christians too, us being humans, but we accept it with faith.
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Reply to Blessed-one's message
I have heard before that the trinity is important but I do sometimes wonder why this is. I have heard that Jehovas Witnesses e.t.c. do not agree with the idea of the trinity and also that the trinity is not found stated in the Bible but is derived from what it says. What place does it have in Christian theory and why is it important?
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Reply to LynneClomina.
Yes, it does seem a bit strange God telling you not to believe in himself.
I find that this happens when people talk about how good it is to be redeemed and words along this line.i have a close friend who has great difficulty with stuff like that too. for her, when she tries to read the bible, it seems to mean what it doesnt actually mean, and she gets really confused.don't give up trying to understand, k?
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TheMainException
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You are a Christian if you have asked God into your life and are saved through faith by grace.
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