This is me

[Apollo Celestio]

Churches are full of hypocrites, right?
I think they always have room for one more.

 

[ephraimanesti]

There are many mature Christians who share your views about church. Some have just abandoned attending anything formal. Others are trying small groups and home churches. Some do find somewhere that is really suitable for them Others attend traditional churches, while trying to live out a Christ like life at a personal level and hope thereby to influence others.

So, you are not alone.
Bless you
John
NZ

MY BROTHER,

You have well described the various "options" available to "mature Christians." There are pros and cons to each--a lot depending on the attitude of the person who chooses one particular option over another.

My feeling--after dabbling in all of them at one time or another--is that to reject the injunction "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing . . ." (Hebrews 10:25) due to the fact that "the Church is full of hypocrites" is, well, hypocritical.

From the beginning, he Church has ALWAYS been "full of hypocrites"--beginning with the Apostles who were hypocritical cowards who denied and abandoned their Lord at His time of greatest need.

It is MOST IMPORTANT, to paraphrase Paul, that i/we never forget that God came to save hypocrites, of whom i/we are chief. Our Lord can much easier be denied with a kiss than with a slap.

For this reason, i would choose the last option you described:

Others attend traditional churches, while trying to live out a Christ like life at a personal level and hope thereby to influence others.

i believe that if we stop worrying about the "purity of the Church" and begin worrying about the "PURITY OF OUR HEARTS"--we AND the Bride of Christ will become what our Lord died and rose again in order that we might be.

There is not--AND NEVER CAN BE--a COMPLETELY pure vessel--either individually or collectively--to contain the Holy Spirit while we are in the flesh. The sooner we realize and accept this and begin, as Christians, to "bloom where we are planted" instead of running around in circles trying to create the wheel, the sooner we--individually and collectively--will find ourselves in our Lord's will and being transformed into His Image. In the process of removing the beams from our own eyes, we likewise remove the speck from the eyes of the collective Body of Christ--the Church.

UNLESS HERESY IS BEING TAUGHT--GOD'S SPIRIT IS THERE AMONG ALL THOSE--few though they may be--WHO LOVE AND SERVE THE LORD!

PEACE, LOVE, AND UNITY TO ALL OF GOD'S CHURCH!
ephraim

 

[PowderedGold]

Speaking of heresy, here is a link to some information about the cult with which I was involved. I suggest you all read it for your own edification and just in case you encounter this group.

www.cultwatch.org

Go to that site, then click on "Cults", then on "ICC."

 

[MoNiCa4316]

Hi
We all feel doubt sometimes, but what I've learned is that faith is a choice, not a feeling. Feelings come afterwards. Everytime you feel doubt, try to choose to believe anyway...and your faith might grow.

I understand what you are saying about church...a relationship with God is what truly counts, and I've known really strong Christians who don't ever go to church. But whether or not you go to church, I think it's really helpful to have Christian friends. We should not give up meeting together, as it says in the Bible. We always have God, but sometimes we're weak and find it difficult to approach Him but He can use people around us to help. There was a time in my life when I didn't know any Christians at all, and I felt really lonely. Yes, there are bad religious people out there, and Christians aren't perfect. That's why we need God But we should love them all anyway, and try to show God's light to others.

No church is perfect, but there are those that teach good doctrine. Make sure you really know what you believe and that it's from the Bible, pray about it, and don't compromise...don't go to a church that teaches something you find very wrong. But I don't think you should give up looking for one, because there are good churches out there, and good Christians I hope you find something...and I pray that God would guide you to the right people.

God bless!

monica

ps: Happy Birthday!

 

[ktwalker]

Church is not always an option, I visited the only church In my village and it really wasn't for me, transportation issues mean that i can't try a different church so I must be content to worship by myself, i can sypathise with yuor desire for someone to share discussions with and pray that god will guide you to the right form of worship for you,

on a different note

what are anyones opinions of online churches?

 

[artgaldayna]

It is good to go to a Christian church, but you are correct in saying many churches are in fact not Christian at all. Though it may be awkward at first, I encourage you to either call or visit churches and ask a questions about their teaching. Some important things for a church to believe are:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are 3 separate persons of the one God (though it seems basic some cults refute this)
Justification only by grace through faith alone
That the Bible is inspired by God and is fully trustworthy and true.

A very, very important teaching of a Christian church is the teaching of God's law: the rules (the Ten Commandments) that show us our sin. If a church denies the following Scripture, I am afraid it is not a church under God.
[bible]Romans 3:10[/bible] [bible]Luke 13:3[/bible] [bible]Romans 6:23[/bible] [bible]Romans 5:8[/bible]
The church must teach repentance, rather than just 'acceptance' of the message of Christ. This is important: even if someone says Jesus is Lord, he must personally come to hate sin and personally love God Himself in order to be 'born again' , or to be saved from eternal death.
Many churches have hypocrisy because they do not acknowledge that we are sinners: we are disgusting creatures without Christ.
I really hope you can find a Church that teaches the Bible - adding nothing and taking nothing away.
God bless you.

The church must agree that we must understand and see our sin, and turn from our sin - and despise our sin.