How do I choose which church to attend?

[onePOINTeight]

No, children as infants aren't saved, because even as babies we're considered as sinful (Ps. 58:3, Rom. 3:10), & we must become believers for our sin to be forgiven (Acts 10:43, Rom. 3:25-26).

Now children as infants are not saved? You see this is where my problem originates from, in that I don't know which churches are teaching they are and which are teaching they are not. One member tells me so and another tells me they are not. Why is this religion so confusing!!?? Are the words in the bible taken as literal or figurative. What's the difference between me reading the bible and interpreting it myself and having a pastor read and interpret it. It's like telling me I should listen to his interpretations instead of my own and who is to say his/her's is right and mine are wrong? I am overwhelmed by confusion to christians constantly contradicting each other, it is very difficult for me to keep up with who is right and who is wrong.

My simple question is this; do infants die and go to heaven? Yes or no?
If no, then why has god created a life simply to take it again. (And millions of other questions)
If yes, then why bother living when eternal happiness is assured at infancy and so effortlessly attainable. Maybe this is all a test to see if we are tempted by life itself, and if we can reject life itself, than we can truly be with god eternally. But in order to do so we must truly be willing to give up everything materialistic including our own flesh and blood.

I just want a straight answer on this subject. I'm tired of hearing people claim "oh this book says this and the new version says that". Is god's word so whimsical that it flutters and changes in the wind and men feel they can interpret and pass on so lightly? For instance, is killing wrong? "Yes, unless blah blah blah and under these conditions that blah blah blah". I'm beginning to think more and more that men are twisting the word of god to their own benefit as the centuries go on. As a new christian "candidate" I am very confused at what to believe with so many different stories and interpretations of what should be the final word of god.

 

[theophilus40]

Why is this religion so confusing!!??

The answer to this question is found in 1 Corinthians 2:14:

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
​

People are naturally sinful and unable to understand the truths God has revealed through the Bible. When someone puts his faith in Christ the Holy Spirit enters his life to enable him to understand things that he couldn't before. It is apparent from your posts that you aren't saved and so lack the help that the Spirit gives. Here is a good place to find help in understanding how to be saved:

Answers for Seekers | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

Once you are saved God will give you the help you need to help others, including your son, to come to salvation. Until you are saved you can't do anything to help anyone else.

 

[chilehed]

My town has many churches and I am not sure which to attend. Why do we have so many different churches if it's all the same religion? I want to become more religious (Christianity) but do not know where to begin.

As the Westminster Confession says, Christ established a government in the hands of Church officers... and that Church and government still exists today. All one need do is determine which one has existed since the time of the Apostles and join it, resting in the confidence that Jesus promised to keep it from straying into false doctrine. Christ's Church is His Bride, and what groom will fail to protect his beloved?

 

[If Not For Grace]

My town has many churches and I am not sure which to attend. Why do we have so many different churches if it's all the same religion? I want to become more religious (Christianity) but do not know where to begin.

Like a resturant-based mostly on what they serve..

& nothing wrong with visiting several, BF you settle on a favorite-I highly recommend it.

 

[Bible2]

onePOINTeight said in post 21:

My simple question is this; do infants die and go to heaven? Yes or no?
If no, then why has god created a life simply to take it again.

The same question would apply to even those nonelect people who live to 90 years old before they die and go to hell: Why would God even bother creating them in the first place, if all along they were predestined by him to spend eternity in hell?

The answer is that God doesn't love everyone: he hates the nonelect (Rom. 9:11-22). During their lifetime, God hardens the nonelect in their sinfulness instead of showing them his mercy (Rom. 9:18), for he created them to be vessels of his wrath (Rom. 9:20-22, Prov. 16:4). They were of old ordained to condemnation (Jude 1:4). They were appointed to disobedience (1 Pet. 2:8, Acts 2:23). But God never forces them or anyone else to commit sin; he never even tempts anyone to commit sin (Jas. 1:13-15). All people will be justly held accountable on judgment day for their deeds (Rom. 2:6-8), for neither election nor nonelection takes away the free will of people. God created nonelect people to be vessels of his wrath instead of vessels of his mercy so he might eternally make known his wrath & power (Rom. 9:21-22, Prov. 16:4, Rev. 14:10-11). And God created elect people to be vessels of his mercy so he might eternally make known his mercy, glory, & wisdom (Rom. 9:23, Eph. 3:10, 1:8,11).

God wants these aspects of his nature to be made known both to humans & angels (Eph. 3:10), neither of which group yet knows experientially the full extent of God's qualities & abilities (1 Cor. 2:9, 1 Pet. 1:12b). For example, the full extent of God's wrath won't be known to humans & angels until Satan & his fallen angels & all of unsaved humanity are cast into the eternal suffering of the lake of fire & brimstone (Mt. 25:41,46, Rev. 20:10,15, 14:10-11), & saved humans & holy angels go forth from the city of New Jerusalem on the new earth to witness the suffering of the unsaved in the lake of fire (Isa. 66:24), the eternal hell (Mk. 9:45-46), & realize by seeing it not only the extent of God's wrath, but by it (by way of contrast) the extent of God's mercy toward them (Lam. 3:22-23). Just as "up" can't be eternally known for what it is without the eternal co-existence of "down", so God's mercy can't be eternally known for what it is without the eternal co-existence of his wrath.

onePOINTeight said in post 21:

Maybe this is all a test to see if we are tempted by life itself, and if we can reject life itself, than we can truly be with god eternally.

If you mean we're to commit suicide, that's wrong. For our lives are not our own, but God's.

Suicide is self-murder, & Christians don't commit murder, for, again, "... no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 Jn. 3:15b).

Also, Job 2:9 could have been Job's wife telling him to curse God & commit suicide. But Job knew he was to do neither, even though his suffering was so great, & even though he himself at times considered hanging himself (Job 7:15). Instead, he waited patiently until his suffering came to an end, & God rewarded him greatly after that with a long & prosperous life (Job 42:12-17).

onePOINTeight said in post 21:

But in order to do so we must truly be willing to give up everything materialistic including our own flesh and blood.

This sounds like the false idea of Gnosticism.

Believers need to be careful not to be deceived by the Gnostic/antichrist lie that Christ isn't in the flesh (2 Jn. 1:7) & that believers won't forever be in the flesh. The Bible shows that Jesus Christ wasn't resurrected as a disembodied spirit, but in his fully-human flesh & bones body (Lk. 24:39, Heb. 2:17). That's why his tomb is empty (Mt. 28:6) & why he still has the wounds of the crucifixion on his resurrection body (Jn. 20:25-29). Lk. 24:39 didn't stop being true once Jesus ascended into heaven, for he will remain our fully-human mediator/high priest forever (1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 7:24-26), in human flesh, just like we're in human flesh (Heb. 2:17). And when he returns he will still have the wounds of the crucifixion on his body (Zech. 13:6, 12:10-14).

Gnosticism mistakenly thinks flesh is evil in itself, & that only that which is pure spirit can be good. But Jesus proves flesh isn't evil in itself, for he has been made flesh (Jn. 1:1,14, Rom. 1:3, Lk. 24:39) & remains wholly without sin (Heb. 4:15). Genesis also proves flesh isn't evil in itself, but was created by God as something very good (Gen. 1:31). Adam & Eve were flesh, for they were the progenitors of the human race alive today. And they were immortal before they fell into sin, for it was only their falling into sin which made them become mortal (Gen. 2:17). So Adam & Eve started out as immortal flesh. So the future resurrection or changing of the saved into immortal flesh bodies like Jesus has (1 Cor. 15:21-23,51-53, Philip. 3:21, Lk. 24:39, Rom. 8:23-25) will be God allowing saved humanity to partake of the original, very good, immortal flesh condition of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden before their fall into sin.

Also beware the more-general Gnostic lie that even the entire physical universe is evil in itself, & that only a purely-spiritual heaven can be good, for this lie is employed by Gnosticism to revile the Creator YHWH as some sort of evil, tyrant god, whom Gnosticism says created the physical universe as a foul prison house for the free spirits of humans, whom Gnosticism says by some accident fell from a purely-spiritual heaven into the physical universe & became trapped within fleshly bodies. No doubt the coming Antichrist will employ this lie as part of his utter reviling of YHWH (Rev. 13:6, Dan. 11:36). But Genesis shows our physical world was created by YHWH as something very good (Gen. 1:31).

And the Bible shows that the whole plan of Creation wasn't that humans, who are both flesh & spirit (1 Thes. 5:23, Lk. 24:39), would become purely-spiritual ghosts & float forever on clouds in a purely-spiritual heaven with God, but that God would become both flesh & spirit like man (Jn. 1:1,14) & that God would ultimately come down out of heaven to live with man on a new earth (Rev. 21:1-4), just as God had walked on the earth in the Garden of Eden with Adam & Eve (Gen. 3:8). Also, on the new earth, saved humanity will be allowed to eat from the tree of life (Rev. 2:7, 22:2,14), just as Adam & Eve hadn't been forbidden to eat from it in their unfallen state (Gen. 2:9,16-17). So, with regard to saved humans, God will completely undo the effect of the fall of Adam & Eve. Saved humanity will be able to live in an earthly, physical paradise forever with God (Rev. 2:7), just as Adam & Eve & their descendants might have done had not Adam & Eve fallen into sin.

So beware the Gnostic lie. Beware the Antichrist.

 

[maryofoxford]

My town has many churches and I am not sure which to attend. Why do we have so many different churches if it's all the same religion? I want to become more religious (Christianity) but do not know where to begin.

My heart truly aches for you my friend. I tend to get long winded, but I'll try very hard to condense my thoughts for you.

I've read all the posts up until this point, and I fear that they've only further confused you. So let me try to clear some things up.

On this web site many people will simply list "Christian" as their denomination, when in fact (although they sincerely follow Christ and so use that title) they are a certain denomination and follow a certain belief system. This is why the answers have been so varied.

A.) You state that you were told that you have basically "nothing to lose by following Christ, and everything to gain." but that if you don't follow him, you have "everything to lose if he exists." It made sense to you, so you're trying to follow Him. (someone condemned you for this, saying it was the wrong reason to follow Him.) Well, I'll admit, it may not be the right REASON to follow Him, but if that's what causes you to start seeking whether or not God exists and Jesus is God as man and died for our sins, and upon leaving this earth left us the Holy Spirit, then a GREAT GOOD came from that advise! Sometimes it is the only way to get a person to start searching for the truth.

B.) You're original question was, "Why do we have so many different churches if it's all the same religion?" The answer is: It is NOT the same religion at all. Jesus left only ONE faith, not over 33,000 different sets of beliefs as exists today, each one calling their's the "true faith of Christ". So how do we know this (that Jesus left only one) and WHICH faith did Jesus actually leave? We know this because the Bible (which is the INSPIRED word of God; meaning that it was written by men who error, but the meaning BEHIND the words was given by GOD to the WRITERS, so it is without error (the meaning, not the words). This is why the Bible might seem to contradict itself at times. For example in the Gospels, the stories of how Jesus called the apostles is slightly different. This is because as men the writers recalled it differently, but not differently enough to change it's MEANING. It actually gives their story MORE validity, (since investigators will tell you that when witnesses report what they saw EXACTLY like the others, it shows that they rehearsed a script about it to fool people.) In other areas of the Bible there are passages that are difficult to understand, because of this many who read it and believe, since THEY have the HOLY SPIRIT within them, THEY can interpret the scriptures correctly, come up with what THEY think is the correct interpretation, but it differs from the other "Christians" interpretation. Clearly someone, or both, do not have the gift of understanding the words of the Bible, but who? If any Christian that had received the Holy Spirit knows the correct interpretation of the Bible, then they SHOULD ALL have the SAME interpretation for those passages...but they don't! People should ask themselves WHY?
This difference has caused even more churches to start up, since often the person that thinks he knows the meaning of the Bible better than his pastor, decides to start his OWN church! Another split in the fabric of Christianity takes place then.

How do we know Jesus started only ONE belief, and that belief is STILL in existence today? We start by looking at the letters that were written and then combined into the book we call the Bible. It is written: "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HADES SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. (Matt 16: 18) So we know that Jesus said he will build a church, and that he started it with his apostles. We also know that NOTHING will be able to destroy it. (He didn't say that it wouldn't go through some very tough times though.) So that church STILL EXISTS TODAY. We also know that Jesus wanted the church to remain ONE and not to be split up into different beliefs. "There shall be one fold and one shepherd." (Jn10: 16) " There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were called to the ONE hope that belongs to your call, ONE Lord, ONE FAITH, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of us all..." (EPH 4: 4-6) also, "I appeal to you, brethren, to take note of those who create DISSENSIONS, and difficulties, IN OPPOSITION TO THE DOCTRINE WHICH YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT; AVOID them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded." (Rom16: 17-18) So we know by these words that Jesus established only ONE faith, and it was to remain as only ONE faith, without dissensions (disagreements). The followers of Christ were taught ONE DOCTRINE of faith, and they were encouraged to remain in that ONE faith.

So how do you find that ONE faith. Well you seek it! Jesus promised that if you, "Ask it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matt 7:7) So pray that the Lord lead you to the faith that He established, and then wait. I would suggest that you also ask the various churches when they were founded and who founded them. They should be able to show you a history of their church having been around when Christ walked the earth. If they can't, then they aren't the one. Also, read the writings by the earliest Christians! There are many that wrote down things about their faith and the Church. There is a 3 vol. set of books called The Faith of the EARLY Fathers, by Jurgens. It contains letters that date as far back as 80 AD. Another good book is Eusebius, The History of the Church. Eusebius was an early Christian from around 180 AD that recorded the start of the Christian Church. After you've read these books, simply look around for a church that follows the same things as the Church of the Apostles. I'm pretty sure that they were practicing Christianity the way Jesus taught. They even went to their deaths as martyrs for this faith! The way I see it, it's more likely that Christians that knew the apostles and were taught the beliefs of the Church back then, had the belief and the practice of the faith correct, then people over 2000 yrs later that simply read the Bible and think they know what it all means.

Sorry for the length of this letter, but I felt that you really needed someone to say it like it is. Yes, I recommend the Roman Catholic faith, but only because I truly believe that it is the Church that Christ founded and it practices and believes the same things that the first church did. But, you need to look that up yourself. You need to search, pray, and then wait for the answer to your prayers and follow where Christ leads you. As a Catholic I can tell you that our gathering on Sundays is ALL about WORSHIPING the Lord, hearing His word (which makes up about 80% of our service) and then receiving Him in the Eucharist, where he is truly present as we receive His body and his blood in the form of bread and wine. This is how HE becomes ONE with us, as He said He desired to be.
For those wondering, YES, the bread has at times turned into human heart tissue, or bled at times, and the blood has reacted too. These rare occurrances are considered true miracles after Scientists have studied them in depth independently. Please at least continue to seek for the truth, for you can never go wrong by seeking and praying for God to direct your path.

After this very lengthy answer I think that I'll answer your question about your son in another reply. But, no he won't go to Hell, before he's old enough to understand what it is to be a Christian. No, you shouldn't wish that he die early because God placed him on this Earth to do a job, to learn about Him and to lead others to Christ during his lifetime. It is up to you to raise him up as a Christian and show him the way to go. God loves him too, and would never want him to go to Hell.

Peace, peace, peace of Christ be upon you my brother. Worry is not from God, He desires you to be at peace.

Many blessings of Christ be yours.

 

[salida]

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[Andrew011]

If you are living in florida,usa then you have great opportunity by visit the great churches. Specially, christ fellowship site is good site for description of Jesus. So, i think you should take a drive of christ fellowship site.