Replies

Very true!

Traditions and doctrine are important and many years ago churches began focusing on “feelings.”

Churches are less focused on teaching and instruction and more focused on making sure folks have a “good experience,” while at church. After all, if they don’t, they will simply go down the street to the next church that does. A consequence of a society where people have been taught to be consumers and where it’s all about one self.

The problem with that is as churches compete for folks:

(1) They are willing to distort the message (by omission or reinterpretation usually). Why you have every contemporary idea possible incorporated in churches in the US: feminism (Methodists did that early on), socialism (Catholics are on that wagon today, homo agenda (The ELCA jumped on that one early on)... From global warming to having my favorite pet in heaven with me, in America you can find it all!

(2) Folks sit there and feel good but are ignorant as to what the actual teachings are (little of substance being taught). Some can go to a church for 10 years and if you ask them the most basic questions they have no clue because they never received any real formal education on what it means to be a Christian. To them it’s just a feeling, like going to the movies.

(3) There are no actions backing up what the folks say they believe in. So they act and make decisions that are secular and a-moral Monday - Saturday, but then put on their religious hat and think that they are Christians and promised paradise because they say they believe in Jesus. After all, you don’t go to heaven through your works. This allows for American society to maintain their dichotomy of lying to a poor lady at a car dealership, but then feeling good about yourself while at church. Killing babies six days a week, but then feeling good about oneself at church (Heck, even George Tiller the infamous late term abortionist was an usher at his Lutheran church). Ripping people off with financial services at a bank and committing ursery (that’s a concept not taught anywhere in America - Usery just sort of disappeared) but then feeling good about oneself on Sunday. This is a really cool concept: you don’t need to be a Christian to be a Christian. After all, it’s faith alone! Come to my church and yell Hallelujah three times, say you really believe, and that’s it. Tomorrow you can go back to your family law practice and tear families apart or torture someone in a enhanced interrogation. LOL

You have yet to grasp the meaning of having God abiding in the spirit of the born again. For it is God Who is in you both to will and do of HIS good pleasure. Those in His family He chastens. Work out from your spirit through your behavior mechanism to the world around you the salvation God has gifted your spirit with. God does not abide in the behavior mechanism, the soul, He abides in the spirit if ye be in Christ, a new creation. Once born again, born from above, He will change your behavior else He will chasten you until you submit to His leadership in your spirit to change the behaviors.

God is not the author opf sin, the deadness of the soul is the author. The natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit for they are spiritually discerned. If there is no change in evidence it is likely the mouther does not have God abiding in his/her spirit.

Do not lump all into one lump, as if there is some behavior necessary to get born again. God does that for those who truly trust in Jesus as Savior. And then ... but wait, there's more! Live long enough after being born again and God's character will be evidenced. For some it happens immediately. For others it takes chastening to turn the soul around to face GOD's Presence, and tremble. And I offer this from experience not rhetoric.