I have been looking lately at being closer to my creator. I have been wanting to find a good church that I can feel comfortable in. I have found in my search for a good church, that everybody has different opinions on what will get me in heaven. Mormons have their rules, Catholics, have theirs. Lutherens have a differnt set of rules and they all have me quite confused. One god, One Bible, why so many interpretations?

Just read and believe in the bible and you'll do alright

I agree that the bible holds many of the answers I seek

The Catholics have their own Bible, the Mormons have the Book of Mormon.....you cathcing on?...... If it doesn't line up with the Word of God.....the Holy Bible....run fast! The Holy Spirit is your teacher. He will teach you the truth. Read the Word and ask Him to teach you.

Be Blessed!~

Because they are stuck in tradition. Yahshua came to take away the penalty of the law..Not the law.. You mention the OT and all of a sudden you are a legalists. I try to keep the OT laws because I want to as Heb. Says. If you don't follow the OT laws as you basic principals. Then anything goes. Thats why thier are over 700 different denomination claiming thier way is right. So put 700 names in a hat mix it up real good. Close you eyes and draw one out. Then that will be your denomination and laws. it is crazy..Blessings..Miles

Golden Rule.... that's the main thing.... If you get your heart right, God will reside in it...

Just to clarify... If you are not right with God, it doesn't mean He wont be there... He will be there... & you can pray & reach Him.... & ask Him into your heart....

If you are right with God & have him in your heart, He will guide you.... & If you listen carefully He will even guide you to the church that you need to be in...

& just so you know.... I visited several... & I went with a non-judgemental attitude.... The Bible is open to translation... many things are not clear.... All Christian religions are based on Christ & a Loving God & All religions have the one thing in common - Love One Another - The Golden Rule.......

I am not a religious person, but I have a close relationship with God & Jesus.... & they have done some pretty fascinating things in my life.... some may say & have said that it was coincidence... but, I know better.... b/c I know in my heart....

& I don't have a pure heart... but, God understand me & why I have some feelings of frustration & aggravation for some people in my life.... Yet, He is there for me & helps me to cope with these feelings....

What I am saying is that you don't have to be perfect or in church every week to have a close relationship with God!!!!!

r

Don't have to be perfect or in church, but being in the church helps.

There's many different religions and rules because there's many different worship styles, for one thing.

I believe that the word of God, the Bible, points the way to salvation. The Mormons clain that there was an apostocy, a period of God's silence before their scriptures were revealed, but I believe this is hogwash, pardon my bluntness. I don't know about people existing before this existence, but the three glories they talk about after death are not biblical principles at all.

You can get a basic understanding of salvation by answering 29 questions, more or less, in my book.

1. What is sin? 1 John 3:4 "Everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God."

2. What is sin? James 4:17 Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

3. Who's guilty of sin? Romans 3:23 For everyone has sinned: we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

4. What's the penalty for sin? Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord."

5. What's the remedy for sin? John 3:16 "for God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

I will break this up here and continue in my next post. Scroll down further in the thread to keep on if you wish.

This is continuing my earlier post. See above for one through five.

6. What's the basis for sin's forgiveness? l John l:17

"But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have frellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin."

7. Is there any other basis for forgiveness? Acts 4:12

"There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved."

8. Can you earn forgiveness? Ephesians 2:8-10

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this: It is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

9. Are there any terms for forgiveness? Hebrews 7:25

"Therefore, he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf."

10. Are there any terms for forgiveness? John 1:12-13

"Butto all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn--not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God."

I will continue toward the 29th and final question in posts below. Please continue reading below if you wish to follow and read some more. Thanks.

Toss the Bible aside. Really think about the fact that they want to pin sin on you for a guy that ate fruit long long ago. You do not have to take that sin on. Just get rid of the Bible and start working on the truth. Life is to glorious to be wasted.

Good Luck
Peace

11. Is faith a term of forgiveness? Acts 16:31

"They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household."

12. Is faith a term of forgiveness? Mark 16:16

"Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned."

13. Is faith a term of forgiveness? Hebrews 11:6

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."

14. Is faith alone enough? James 2:17 & 24

" So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless."

"So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone."

15. Is repentance a term of forgiveness? Acts 17:30

"God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."

Continued below. Read on!

It wasn't just eating a piece of fruit. It was disobeying God's will and God's command that brought about Adam's fall. That matches sin's definition and the results are described above. I'll continue toward the remedy below......

16. Is repentance more than being sorry? 2 Corinthians 7:10&11

(I believe repentance is personally turning from OUR way of doing things to GOD's way of doi9ng things, btw).

"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But wordly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you. Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal and such a readiness to puni9sh wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right."

17. Is it necessary to confess your faith? Romans 10:10

"For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved."

18. What is to be professed? Matthew 16:15

"Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah," the Son of the living God."

19. What is to be professed? Acts 8:36 & 37

"As they rode along, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look! There's some water! Why can't I be baptized?"

"You can," Phillip answered, "If you believe with all your heart."

(inotherwords, profess your faith and profess you want to be baptized by immersion)!

20. Is baptism a term of forgiveness? 1 Peter 3:21

"And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ."

Continue on to #29 further on in the thread, please!

It's still someone else's sin put on you. Something that Adam did does not make me guilty. It is a silly idea.

21. Is baptism a term of forgiveness? John 3:5

"I assure you, noone can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit."

22. What does God promise to the obedient? Acts 2:38

"Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

23. How many baptisms are there? Ephesians 4:4-6

"For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Gather, who is over all and in all and living through all."

24. After baptism, is it all done with? Rom 6:4

"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives."

(This also means we are "dead" to sin. If you're dead to sin, why bother with whatever is troubling you any more. If you're hooked on something, scrap it! Confess it to your pastor or another Christian, break its power over you, and scrap it)!

25. Does God expect us to be faithful to and active in the church? Heb 10:23-26

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.

There is only the terrible expectation of God's judment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies."

(Yes, the Lord does indeed expect us to keep walking with him and working in the church after our salvation)!

OK, we're getting real close to #29, the final one. Continue in the thread for more exciting news!

It's not just what Adam did. See #3 above, Romans 3:23, All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God."

What's the result? The wages of sin is death.

Adam and his fall just gave us the propensity to sin. We were perfect beings before the fall, afterwards, not so perfect, at least I ain't. I need the Lord and desperately. I'm as imperfect a human being as there ever was.

If I could be perfect and sinless, which I'm not, I might not need the Lord. I think I still would, though, because it's his way and his rules. His game, his rules, you know?

At any rate, just my two cents, you can accept or reject as you wish. May God Bless you, though. It's my advice that you accept the gift of God, publicly profess your faith and your will to follow him, get baptized and get in the church, the word, in fellowship, discipleship, ministry and missions. You can live a great and God-fulfilled life in that fasion. It is great. Greatest thing you could possibly do. But, it's JMO, and perhaps the Lord's too, from the way I feel and read things.

Stoppit with the rules. Rules kill, in more ways than one, and Jesus Himself acknowledged that. Get close to God, and everything else--the theology, the deeds, the wisdom--will follow naturally. Pray. Read the Bible. Praise and worship Him, however you like. When rules come first, religion is the result. When your personal, intimate relationship with God is your focus, you will find yourself freed more and more from those bonds that have become so familiar. You know what bonds I'm talking about: loneliness, low self esteem, addiction, worry...

Don't get me wrong, the rules are wonderful in their place. They show us the enlightened way God means for us to live. But when they become the end instead of the means there is death instead of life.

I pray God blesses you and guides you on your journey, my friend :)

Cheers!
-MarsNS

I was under that same sin guilt when I was a Christian. The day that I realized all this "sin" that was dumped on me only came from the Bible and the Church. I just naturally wasn't going to kill anyone, and I wasn't going to steal, the only sins that were left were things like lust, and I know realize that is a biological effect not a sin, nothing to feel shame over. Not keeping the sabbath holy, also only important if you believe in the myth of the God that created the world that needed to be saved by sacrificing himself to himself.
The day you walk away from that Bible worship is the day you will feel real peace. The day you can really look at truth and not have to make it fit some false idea.

Good luck

26. Can Jesus be our Lord and savior if we refuse to obey him?
Luke 6:46-49

"So why do you keep calling me Lord, Lord when you don't do what I say? I will show you what it's like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching and then follows it.

It is like a person building a house who digs deep and sets the foundation on solid rock. When the flood waters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.

But anyone who hearss and doesn't obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the fllods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins."

27. Will everyone be judged? Romans 14:10b-12

"We will all stand before the judgement seat of God for the scriptures say

"As surely as I live," says the Lord,
every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will confess
and give praise to God."

We each of us will give a personal account to God."

28. I'm missing 28. Skip to next number, please.

29. The blessed invitation! Revelation 22:17

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come," Let anyone who hears this say "Come." Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life."

So, with all that said, I have three questions for you:

1. Could you become a Christian?

2. Should you become a Christian?

3. Would you beome a Christian?

Well, will you? If you will, see your local Christian Church or e-mail me in this thread and to my box on JSH here. I'd be glad to tell you about the next steps: public profession, baptism by immersion, and walking with the Lord through worship, fellowship, discipleship, your ministry and your mission. It's a great life.

Hope this helps.

May God Bless You, give you understanding, and make you move upon your understanding of his word.

GS

I agree. I'm not so much into rules as scripture. Most of that stuff I've typed is from scripture.

And sure, if you disregard scripture, you're on your own. I could live free of it. I've tried. It didn't work for me. I have failed marriages and bad conduct to show for it. What5 do I want to be free of God's help for?

If you do, it's your choice and God Bless You. My testimony is that it doesn't work that way for me. I like a bit of order in my life and if I can find that in scripture, it's a blessing and a great comfort to me and it's my privilege and my honor to be able to share that with you here. There's a lot of countries in this world where sharing the Gospel or debating religion like this'd get us killed, imprisoned or whatever. Thank God for the USA!

"One god, so many rules.....created by men."