Lutheran going to Free-Will Baptist Church

[Marieeeee]

I am new to the area where I live and have visited each Lutheran church and several Baptist churches in the area. The Lutheran churches are less traditional and conservative than the one I came from and none of them use the King James Version of the Bible which I have used all my life.

I went to a small free-will Baptist church that uses the KJV and the preaching was great and just what I needed to hear, unlike what I heard at the Lutheran churches. I attended Bible class and church and never heard a word that I disagreed with. It was truly faithful teaching. In addition, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I continued to attend this church and listened to my old church online. I read the Bible every day.

Ultimately, the Baptist church had a communion service and said that the bread and wine "represented" the body and blood of Christ, whereas as a Lutheran I believe that the body and blood of Christ is in, with, and under the bread and the wine--it is a special gift of Christ and not merely a remembrance. I spoke with the Baptist pastor and he confirmed their believes--he said it would be "impossible" for the body and blood of Christ to be contained within the sacrament.

I stopped going to the church, and I miss it a lot. Would it be wrong for me to continue going there and just set aside that I know we don't agree on the sacraments?

 

[chevyontheriver]

I am new to the area where I live and have visited each Lutheran church and several Baptist churches in the area. The Lutheran churches are less traditional and conservative than the one I came from and none of them use the King James Version of the Bible which I have used all my life.

I went to a small free-will Baptist church that uses the KJV and the preaching was great and just what I needed to hear, unlike what I heard at the Lutheran churches. I attended Bible class and church and never heard a word that I disagreed with. It was truly faithful teaching. In addition, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I continued to attend this church and listened to my old church online. I read the Bible every day.

Ultimately, the Baptist church had a communion service and said that the bread and wine "represented" the body and blood of Christ, whereas as a Lutheran I believe that the body and blood of Christ is in, with, and under the bread and the wine--it is a special gift of Christ and not merely a remembrance. I spoke with the Baptist pastor and he confirmed their believes--he said it would be "impossible" for the body and blood of Christ to be contained within the sacrament.

I stopped going to the church, and I miss it a lot. Would it be wrong for me to continue going there and just set aside that I know we don't agree on the sacraments?

I guess you gotta decide if you favor a real presence or a real absence. And then figure out where God stands on the issue.

 

[Thatgirloncfforums]

How important is it to you to receive Christ's body and blood for the forgiveness of sin?

I am new to the area where I live and have visited each Lutheran church and several Baptist churches in the area. The Lutheran churches are less traditional and conservative than the one I came from and none of them use the King James Version of the Bible which I have used all my life.

I went to a small free-will Baptist church that uses the KJV and the preaching was great and just what I needed to hear, unlike what I heard at the Lutheran churches. I attended Bible class and church and never heard a word that I disagreed with. It was truly faithful teaching. In addition, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I continued to attend this church and listened to my old church online. I read the Bible every day.

Ultimately, the Baptist church had a communion service and said that the bread and wine "represented" the body and blood of Christ, whereas as a Lutheran I believe that the body and blood of Christ is in, with, and under the bread and the wine--it is a special gift of Christ and not merely a remembrance. I spoke with the Baptist pastor and he confirmed their believes--he said it would be "impossible" for the body and blood of Christ to be contained within the sacrament.

I stopped going to the church, and I miss it a lot. Would it be wrong for me to continue going there and just set aside that I know we don't agree on the sacraments?

 

[Thatgirloncfforums]

@Marieeeee , you said that you find nothing objectionable about the preaching at this freewill Baptist church.

When the preacher begs you to cling to Jesus, to trust him, to turn to him, to look to him, where does he point?

My Lutheran pastor points to the altar (the place of the Eucharist).

Preaching is neither here nor there, if it doesn't lead you to take ahold of Christ and Christ isn't an idea in your head or feeling in your heart, he makes himself physically present for you. Don't reject that.

 

[Tigger45]

Ultimately the sacraments are not negotiable doctrines for me but I do glean from a few different congregations in my area for what they have to offer.

 

[Basil the Great]

You can always attend both a Baptist and a Lutheran church, though many might think such is not a good idea. There are a handful of people that do such. A deceased teacher that I had in high school long ago was a Catholic, but he also went to a Presbyterian church, in addition to his Catholic parish. He never explained why he did this, but he was a widower and I often wondered if perhaps his wife belonged to the Presbyterian church.

If you prefer to hear about a Lutheran, I also once knew a Lutheran who got all wrapped up with some of the Pentecostal tv evangelists and so I believe that he attended both his Lutheran church and a local Pentecostal church. As I recall his wife was expecting a child and I asked him what would he do about baptism. His reply surprised me and he said that he would have the child baptized as a Lutheran and then encourage the child to be baptized again when accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. I do not remember if he said whether or not he got re-baptized. Obviously Lutherans and other Mainline Protestants are not in favor of being baptized twice, nor are Catholics or Orthodox. From what I understand, some Baptists have what they call a dedication service for babies, where the parents pledge to raise them as Christians or something to that effect. However, Evangelical and Pentecostal Baptism does not take place until someone is considered old enough to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I do not know the approximate age used for this. It probably varies from person to person and church to church.

I see that this was your first post, Marieeeee, so welcome to CF.

 

[Thatgirloncfforums]

Being baptized twice will incur possible excommunication in conservative Lutheranism. @Marieeeee needs to speak with her Lutheran pastor.

You can always attend both a Baptist and a Lutheran church, though many might think such is not a good idea. There are a handful of people that do such. A deceased teacher that I had in high school long ago was a Catholic, but he also went to a Presbyterian church, in addition to his Catholic parish. He never explained why he did this, but he was a widower and I often wondered if perhaps his wife belonged to the Presbyterian church.

If you prefer to hear about a Lutheran, I also once knew a Lutheran who got all wrapped up with some of the Pentecostal tv evangelists and so I believe that he attended both his Lutheran church and a local Pentecostal church. As I recall his wife was expecting a child and I asked him what would he do about baptism. His reply surprised me and he said that he would have the child baptized as a Lutheran and then encourage the child to be baptized again when accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. I do not remember if he said whether or not he got re-baptized. Obviously Lutherans and other Mainline Protestants are not in favor of being baptized twice, nor are Catholics or Orthodox. From what I understand, some Baptists have what they call a dedication service for babies, where the parents pledge to raise them as Christians or something to that effect. However, Evangelical and Pentecostal Baptism does not take place until someone is considered old enough to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I do not know the approximate age used for this. It probably varies from person to person and church to church.

I see that this was your first post, Marieeeee, so welcome to CF.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I am new to the area where I live and have visited each Lutheran church and several Baptist churches in the area. The Lutheran churches are less traditional and conservative than the one I came from and none of them use the King James Version of the Bible which I have used all my life.

I went to a small free-will Baptist church that uses the KJV and the preaching was great and just what I needed to hear, unlike what I heard at the Lutheran churches. I attended Bible class and church and never heard a word that I disagreed with. It was truly faithful teaching. In addition, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I continued to attend this church and listened to my old church online. I read the Bible every day.

Ultimately, the Baptist church had a communion service and said that the bread and wine "represented" the body and blood of Christ, whereas as a Lutheran I believe that the body and blood of Christ is in, with, and under the bread and the wine--it is a special gift of Christ and not merely a remembrance. I spoke with the Baptist pastor and he confirmed their believes--he said it would be "impossible" for the body and blood of Christ to be contained within the sacrament.

I stopped going to the church, and I miss it a lot. Would it be wrong for me to continue going there and just set aside that I know we don't agree on the sacraments?

I have found many different churches where things said were good and true. That's because we're Christians, and there should be certain things that run concurrent through all Christian groups.

As someone who started outside of Lutheranism, being raised in a more Baptistic tradition (KJV-only Baptist school, and attending non-denom and Pentecostal churches the first ~20 years of my life) I can say this: No matter how often the Gospel was preached, there would always be a little something else added in order to lessen the power and force of the Gospel. It was always presented as a transaction, like salvation is a commodity and God is a salesman with a market stall. There were two ways I was supposed to know I was saved: Because I just "knew" it because I "meant" it when I crossed all my t's and dotted all my i's. And secondly, I should be producing "fruit"--and if I didn't see myself progressively and noticeably getting better--sinning less, struggling less, etc then it is possible I was never saved. Because I was supposed to have a "victorious" life constantly overcoming sin, temptation, and God would make me happy, healthy, with a wife, 2.5 children, a white picket fence, and live a well-adjusted spiritually, emotionally, and physically happy and healthy life.

Of course, failure (under the above system), doesn't mean merely the fact that we are broken sinners who always need God's loving mercy and forgiveness; but instead means we aren't properly walking with God and no it's my job to walk properly with God. Because, of course, it always comes back down to us, to our works, our efforts, our power, and ultimately our glory. It's the inevitable thing that happens where the Gospel is compromised.

And further: when we compromise on the Sacraments, we will inevitably compromise on the Gospel; it's one reason why Luther took a bold stand on the Sacraments, not just against the Enthusiasts and Sacramentarians but even in regard to Rome. Recall that Rome at the time denied the Lord's Supper in both kinds to the laity. The depth and beauty of God's promise to us in our baptism were not being affirmed in such a way to provide comforting Gospel to the conscience of the faithful who lived in fear of hell and purgatory.

I'm not going to try and tell you what you should or shouldn't do--that's no my place. But I can say that, speaking for myself, I cannot in good conscience partake of the Lord's Supper where there is a denial of Christ in His Supper.

The Doctrine of Justification, the faithful dichotomy between Law and Gospel, faithful preaching of the Gospel, and the Sacraments, these are not just things that are core to Lutheran identity in the Church; as Lutherans we confess these to be core to the Christian faith.

I'm not an anti-ecumenicalist, I'm not an exclusivist. But in the time since I've been a Lutheran, it seems to me that what makes Lutheranism distinctively Lutheran, is precisely what needs to be heard, needs to be preached, needs to be said. It is our Confession that we uphold, in the face of all principalities and powers, that we hold firm to Christ and His Word.

EDITED to expand on an earlier paragraph.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Marieeeee]

Thanks to all of you who replied. I am going to start attending one of the Lutheran churches for now. It's just that the the Baptist preaching and the KJV resonate with me more than what I heard in the Lutheran churches here. I'm having a hard time since I moved here. I lost my mom to COVID and no support system here really, and I'm searching for some comfort and peace, maybe in the wrong direction, but when the Lutherans read the revised Bible, I don't relate to it, I'm not used to it at all.

I spoke with my old pastor and he stressed that the Baptist church does not believe the same as we do, so I need to use caution, but he said it is not a sin to listen to a sermon if it is 100% faithful to the Bible.

I'm so grateful to have found this forum also. Thank you all for your help. God bless you.

 

[Basil the Great]

Thanks to all of you who replied. I am going to start attending one of the Lutheran churches for now. It's just that the the Baptist preaching and the KJV resonate with me more than what I heard in the Lutheran churches here. I'm having a hard time since I moved here. I lost my mom to COVID and no support system here really, and I'm searching for some comfort and peace, maybe in the wrong direction, but when the Lutherans read the revised Bible, I don't relate to it, I'm not used to it at all.

I spoke with my old pastor and he stressed that the Baptist church does not believe the same as we do, so I need to use caution, but he said it is not a sin to listen to a sermon if it is 100% faithful to the Bible.

I'm so grateful to have found this forum also. Thank you all for your help. God bless you.

So sorry about your mom, Marieeeee. May God bless you always.

 

[MarkRohfrietsch]

Thanks to all of you who replied. I am going to start attending one of the Lutheran churches for now. It's just that the the Baptist preaching and the KJV resonate with me more than what I heard in the Lutheran churches here. I'm having a hard time since I moved here. I lost my mom to COVID and no support system here really, and I'm searching for some comfort and peace, maybe in the wrong direction, but when the Lutherans read the revised Bible, I don't relate to it, I'm not used to it at all.

I spoke with my old pastor and he stressed that the Baptist church does not believe the same as we do, so I need to use caution, but he said it is not a sin to listen to a sermon if it is 100% faithful to the Bible.

I'm so grateful to have found this forum also. Thank you all for your help. God bless you.

So sorry for your loss. May she and all the faithful departed, according to God's will, rest in peace.