So here's the deal. My whole life I've been a christian. I believe in God and that Jesus is the messaiah.

I tried out a ton of churches but none fit me just right. So I don't really go.
I'm torn because a lot of what is 'perceived' to be in the bible I don't agree with.
Anyway people always ask what kind of christian I am, and I have no idea. I really don't

In essence I believe.
-God loves us and has a plan
- Does not control every single thing we do
-Always answers prayers just not always in the way you want.
-God loves EVERYONE regardless of ...anything. His love isn't conditional.
-Jesus is our savior.



please help! This confusion is driving me mad. :(

why not just be yourself. your beliefs are personal. if you choose, you can join others with similar beliefs, but you don't have to require that of yourself. christians should be promoting love and acceptance, not bickering over trivial details of faith. if you have gotten yourself to a place of understanding and are happy with your relationship with god, than don't worry about what the rest of the world thinks

stuff like in Leviticus it says man shall not lay down with man like with a woman for it is an abomination (or close to that) and alot of people like to use that to bash homosexuals and say god hates gays. That drives me NUTS. well all people who use the bible to spread hate drive me nuts.

Thank you folks :) it would just be nice to answer 'what kind of christian' with something other than 'uhhhh'

it drives me nuts to spread 'hate' too

but to spread the truth that people are imperfect or can live a life more pleasing to God is sometimes mistaken as hateful

in any case,,,,

what kind of christian are you is as personal as what kind of black/white person are you

there are as many 'types' of (christian/black/white) people as there are people in that group because they are first INDIVIDUALS


however, you sound pretty firm in what you believe so I dont know what confusion you speak of,,,there are plenty of reading materials to use in understanding the 'context' within the bible to try to figure out the difference between parables, true accounts, laws that were explicitly for specific people of that specific time, and laws that were universally expected later after Jesus came,,,

its not a simple book, its a history that teaches us from recounting the errors men have made as well as the guidelines men have been given to live by,,,,

try and attend the APOSTOLICFAITH CHURCH in your neighhbourhood, and youll find answers to lifes intriguing questions, their hq is in portland oregon .. Thanxxx

Exactly. Denominations and what not are man made. They believe this or that, but not believe this and that like the others, ect.

I personally don't believe one specific denomination has it totally correct.

Just read the bible, pray to the father for the answers you seek, and don't try to "fit in" with other Christians persay. The relationship between you and God is just that, between you and God.

Example -

7th day Adventists celebrate their Sabbath on Saturday rather then Sunday, if you look at our calender, Saturday is actually the 7th day eg., God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th blessing it.

Pentecostals believe Jesus to be God in the flesh, the father in the flesh. Not the son of God. Which really couldn't be true in that exact sense. Jesus is our father. If you read in Genesis 2, it states the LORD God made the Earth and Heavens. This could only be referring to Jesus, for he is our only LORD. But on this specific subject, keep in mind Jesus never says our father, only his father. And while Jesus was on the cross he cried out my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me. Again, HIS God, not ours or anything of such. "God" on a general note of the word is not an entity in it's own. It is a title giving authority to the one being referred to as "God". That is why Jesus is our God, and his father is his God, but yet we worship one God. Because when it comes down to us, they are both "God", they are both our superiors.

I personally don't see anything wrong with this. I believe every denomination has it's strong points and it's weak points. For one 7th day Adventists have a really good point about what day is the Sabbath. Only in our society is Sunday the last day of the week. Kids go to school Mon - Fri, then Sat & Sun are the weekend. When in fact the week truly ended on Saturday and Sunday would be technically the start of the next week.

Again, best of advice I could give is study, pray, and seek the truth and answer of the father.

Cowboy....

ALLL denominatins AGREE on the basic Fundamental Truths of Gods Word !!!!!!!!

Including Pentacostals !!!!!


MEANING...what you just shared here was INCORRECT .


(However, You probably meant the UPC church...but still the

information you shared just now,does not apply to them either).


The ONLY thing all denominations and nondenominations DISAGREE

on , are MINOR ISSUES ONLY!!!

But they ALL AGREE on the BASIC FUNDAMENTAL TRITHS OF THE BIBLE !!!!

Once more....ALL denominations BELIEVE and AGREE In the Basic

FundamentaL Truths of the Bible!!!


To the OP:

Are denominations man made??

Sure.....God never meant for us to have denominations..nor did

God mean for us to turn Christianity into a religion.


But nontheless, the BASIC FUNDAMENTAL TRUTHS of the Bible ARE

still taught in EACH denomination , and in most non-

denominations and inter- denominations as well, regardless .


But anyone who bashes homo -sexuals is just immature in the faith

walk..OR not even saved yet....BUT if a whole church is

doing this????

RUN!!!


But if just some in a church are doing this?

Not everyone in any church is saved...and also, even people who

are saved, range from babies to full mature people in the

faith...and none are perfect are have arrived yet.

We are to keep our eyes on Jesus, not on imperfect man anyway.

And pray for each other to grow in the faith.


But also....there are " psuedo christians" that take scripture

out of context....and twist it to mean something entirely

different from what the bi ble means... these psuedo

churches do NOT believe in the Basic Fundamental truths of God's

Word, even though they may call themselves Christian.


Usually you will see legalsim and a strong "religious sprit"

in those places.


I would pray about where God wants you to fellowship...to

make sure if you truly are in a true christian setting or not.


God is not a God of confusion.

Although all denominations believe in the Basic Fundamental

truths, not all who SAY they are ...are !!!

Just because a church says it is christian , doesn't

neccessarily mean it is.



Personally, although all denominational churches teach the

basic fundametnal truths of ther bible , I would find a

church where the FULL GOSPEL of God is taught and Jesus is

lifted up( a non-denominational church presents the FULL

Gospel...meaning,they don;t just stop at the Basic Fundamental

Teaching of the Bible.....but go further into a deeper study of

God's Word ) .



Pray...and ask God to lead you to the right fellowship..and God will.

To the OP:

There are no perfect churches....

and no perfect people.

That is why, instead of looking for the perfect church, ask God

what part you can do to add or contribute in a fellowship

that might not be growing, for instance.....and help out in

the body of christ.

Maybe you can start something to help bring the church

alive...like holding a womens bible study.


Find out what gift of the Spirit God gave you, and use the

gift God gave you to use ,and be a Blessing to others..

Start a ministry outreach.

It is also in reaching out and ministering to others, that

we grow.....doing our part can become contagious..and

others will bcome inspired to do their part too.



ps.....again, although all denominations believe and agree in

the basic fundamental truths of the bible,not all churches

present the FULL gospel...yes..they all believe in the basic

truths..BUT NOT ALL GET PAST THAT, AND GO ON TO PRESENT THE FULL GOSPEL....just the

basics ONLY.... ( btw, the basic truths are very

important..or else a church cannot be called Christian at all.}


So.... I personally reccommend finding a non-

denominational church...where the FULL GOSPEL is

preached......where the gifts of the spirit are taught...

and where the power of God is moving.

Amen?

Again....although ALL denominations( and non-denominations )

believe in the basic fundamental truths of the Gospel , not

all denomination are presenting the Full gospel....and therefore

might not be on fire for God.....because they are not

growing....simply because they never get past just the

basic fundamental teaching of scriptures.....

and stay stuck on just the basic teaching of

scripture ,and go no futher into all the rest of God's

Word ........and can therefore become quite dead.


But, it is still VERY IMPORTANT to find out, that at least

the basic fundamental truths of ther bible , ARE being taught

in a church, or else that church is NOT even christian at all!!!


So ....I strongly suggest finding a church on fire for God !!!!

Amen??

Amen!!!

No one is "bashing" homosexuality. If you say lying is a sin, are you then "bashing" liars? No, just stating God frowns upon such an action.

Secondly, homosexuality is a sin.



Romans 1:18-27
(NKJ}
24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
------------

1 Corinthians 6:9
(NKJ)
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
------------

The word arsenokoitēs (ἀρσενοκοίτης) has challenged scholars for centuries, and has been variously rendered as "abusers of themselves with mankind" (KJV), "sodomites" (YLT), or "men who practice homosexuality." Greek ἄῤῥην / ἄρσην [arrhēn / arsēn means "male", and κοίτην [koitēn] "bed," with a sexual connotation":[22] Paul's use of the word in 1 Corinthians is the earliest example of the term; its only other use is in a similar list of wrongdoers given in 1 Timothy 1:9–10:

1 Timothy 1:9-10
New King James Version (NKJV)
9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,
-------------

My perspective is that homosexual contact with another person is a sin and God hates sin. No man or woman can be sinless, our salvation isn't through living a good life, it's from Grace. I think it's better to be a homosexual who is a Christian than it is to be a homosexual atheist. The way I see it, if Jesus wants a homosexual to be straight, he'll straighten them himself. As Jeremiah wrote, the potter is always working to make a worthy vessel.

Leviticus is good for history, but the laws were directed at ancient Israel, not the modern world. Yes, we know that God hates the sin of homosexuality by the laws in the Bible, but God also hates liars and people with a lustful heart and people who don't do "good" in everything they do. We are all flawed and in need of grace, but I am disappointed at the Christians who spend so much time telling homosexuals that they are sinners.

When asked what kind.......

simply answer........

One who....Cares and does not....Judge.

Say it and live it!!!!

You already have it right.....He does Love....

Everyone.

He only hates the....

Sin.

We ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.


Yes..God hates the sin in ALL Our lives, but loves the

sinner.

But God NEVER said to get our lives cleaned up first, and then

come to Him.

No.


God says to come to Him JUST AS WE ARE....THEN God does the

cleaning up in our lives AFTERWARDS....and not before.....and also..

NONE of us can clean up the sin in our lives...only God can wash

us clean.

And again, NONE of us are without sin in our lives.

ALL are in need of Jesus as our Saviour.

Only Jesus can save us and make us brand new creatures in Chirst Jesus.


Only Jesus transforms our old nature into a brand new nature.


ONLY JESUS can wash us whiter than snow...


Jesus already bore ALLL our sins on that cross...now we by

faith, need to believe and recieve Jesus into our hearts...and

then when we do....

watch and see what God will do in and with our lives !!!

When we are Saved.....

" Old things are passed away....behold all things have become NEW ."

Amen !!!

I'm in agreement with this view.
More importantly the Bible is the inerrant Word of God.

It teaches us the creation
and fall of man from right-standing with his Creator.

And the Creator's work...
of redemption toward repentant man.

Except we repent we perish.
That is not hatefulness.

What you see is God's sovereign righteousness
and His perfect plan.

I Agree ,Spider.

And Yes...the Bible says that ONLY by GRACE thru FAITH are we

SAVED, and NOT of works, lest any should boast.


The ONLY thing that keeps and prevents one from having

eternal life is ONLY by never becoming SAVED ( born again).




Btw,In reading the bible , there are some who just stop reading,

after only reading 1st Corinthians 6: 9-10 ...

but also need to continue reading on to verse 11....



1st Corinthians 6:11 (NIV) says:


" And that is what some of you WERE. But you WERE

WASHED , you WERE SANCTIFIED, you WERE JUSTIFIED in the NAME OF

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND BY THE SPIRIT OF OUR GOD.



Now Notice !!!

Verse 11 says, "and that is what some of you WERE!!!"

WERE !!!

MEANING OBVIOULSY ,THE ONES WHO "WERE" , ARE NOW SAVED !!!


AND ALSO NOTICE THAT THE SCRIPTURE MENTIONS ," AFTER SALVATION

COMES SANTIFICATION and JUSTIFICATION!!"


AND THIS APPLIES TO ALL OF US WHEN WE BECOME BORN AGAIN!!!

AFTER WE ARE BORN AGAIN, WE ARE NOW JUSTIFIED BY FAITH,

BUT WE ALSO NOW BECOME A WORK IN PROGRSS (SANTIFICATION) AFTER WE

BECOME SAVED !!


AND GOD ( not us ) is the One Perfecting and continuing to do a

Good Work IN us and THRU us.......

IN OTHER WORDS, GOD does the CLEANING UP (Sanctification ) in us

All when we are Saved...NOT US !!!


And that ALSO includes homosexuals that have come to Christ !!!!

MEANING......WHEN THEY ARE SAVED, THEY BECOME JUSTIFIED

THRU CHRIST ALSO.......AND GOD IS THE ONE WHO IS WORKING IN THEM

AND THRU THEM,AND PERFECTING AND SANCTIFYING THEM....

JUST AS GOD DOES IN ALLLL OF OUR LIVES, WHEN WE BECOME SAVED!!!!



When Jesus died on that cross , Jesus bore ALLLLLLL the

sins of the whole wide world on that cross!!!!

That include EVERY sin !!!!

Not just SOME sins....but Alllll!!!!


ALLLLL !!!

Amen.

Correction:

Earlier I wrote , "by Faith thru Grace"...I MEANT to

say, BY GRACE THRU Faith are we Saved.




Ephesians 2:8-9


For BY GRACE are you SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that NOT of

yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD :

NOT AS A RESULT OF WORKS, so that NO ONE may boast.



Acts 15:11

No! We believe it is THROUGH THE GRACE of our LORD JESUS that we

are SAVED, "



Romans 3:24 and are JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE THROUGH THE

REDEMPTION THAT CAME BY CHRIST JESUS .


Romans 9:16

It does NOT, therefore, DEPEND on MAN'S DESIRE OR EFFORT , but ON

GOD'S MERCY.



Ephesians 2:5

MADE US ALIVE WITH CHRIST even when we were DEAD in

TRANSGRESSIONS--it is BY GRACE YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED .

" Christians Aren't Perfect....

Just Forgiven. "

Cowboy wrote:




Once again,your interpretation of God's Word is

OFF.....and you are now spreading your FALSE teaching on this

forum too now.. ....what you post on here, is NOT what the

bible teaches at all.

Isaiah 9:6

6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.


I wish to emphasize on the EVERLASTING FATHER. And he is not the same father as God the Father, for Jesus speaks of HIS father. Again never says our father, or your father. Only a "my" statement. Even while he was on the cross he cried MY God, not just "God", but specifically MY GOD. And Jesus is our God

Luke 4:12 12And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

ONLY by Being Indwelt by The Holy Spirit ,are we

able to Truly See and Understand the Truth of God's Word.

No other way.

All the explaining in the world won't help anyone to see...until

one's spiritual eyes are opened.

That is why I will not be correcting you on here any more.

I agree totally with you MorningSong. But no need to stop discussing on here, it's quite delightful to me. No need to get offended or anything of such MorningSong.

I find it very peculiar that you only say I'm wrong, that you do not believe the holy spirit to dwell inside of me, but you don't usually "correct" me. In this instance for example.

Please do enlighten us MorningSong. If Jesus and the father are one in the same being exact, and or if Jesus in particular is not our God, explain the verses mentioned and how Jesus only says his father.