Looking for a church

[The Light]

Whether people call themselves trinitarians or unitarians, and whether they treat Sunday or Sabbath - they do it for the Lord. If some doctrines make people closer to God, that is great.

We must search and know the scriptures as well as we possibly can so that when confronted with various doctrines, we can see if those teachings are consistant with the revealed will of our God. It matters what we believe and teach and we must realize that we cannot go go with whatever feels good if our goal is to be pleasing to our great God.

I do not have issues with the doctrines, they just do not reside in my heart. You see?.

I am not totally following you here. Are you saying that sound doctrine is nothing if its proponents are hypocrites that do not live by what they promote or are you saying something different?

 

[sourberry]

Well then


"You think that all needs to be checked out from Bible. It is a doctrine. And it is all fine, as I think." This sounds like you are against Scripture use to me, at least in the context of teaching. Maybe I was taking things out of context myself.

Ok, thank you, Navigator, I now understand your question better.

What I meant is that, historically, some individuals decided what to regard as a Scripture, and what not to regard as a Scripture. There were no commandments from Jesus, or apostles, or prophets in relation to what regard as a Scripture, and what not, as far as I know.

So, if someone thinks of the Bible as being a Scripture, and anything what is not in the Bible as being not a Scripute - it is a doctrine, particularly if such doctrine is required to be accepted by a congregation. I am Ok with it, but I am not very comfortable with it, because such doctrine does not originate from Jesus teaching, as I think.

In my opinion you are free to regard anything as a Scripture. But I do believe that it is a personal call, and that you do not need to rely on some other human making this decision for you.

So, I am not against the Scripture. To me, anything that is written and that is God-breathed is a Scripture.

 

[sourberry]

We must search and know the scriptures as well as we possibly can so that when confronted with various doctrines, we can see if those teachings are consistent with ...

If you are able to see, and others are able to see, then why would doctrines separate the church? You see?

Doctrines separate the church, but Spirit unites.

Yes, it is good to read the Scriptures, as I think.

 

[The Light]

If you are able to see, and others are able to see, then why would doctrines separate the church? You see?

Doctrines separate the church, but Spirit unites.

Yes, it is good to read the Scriptures, as I think.

One could make the case that it is the LACK of sound doctrine that separates believers. The lack of information leads to disunity as it opens the door people to use their own whims as opposed to what is written as a foundation for faith.

 

[Sparkey]

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: ... So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? [Mat 13:23-24, 27 KJV]


If we want a group of people who understand the mission of the Holy Spirit and are conjoined to the plan of God we will see "fruits". Growth is mandatory. Personally I put doctrine and teaching lower on the priority list unless there is some major malfunction (like a cult). If our hearts are united and fellowship between brothers and sisters in Christ is the ideal, we will see evidence of the success. There will come edification in the faith and that will include doctrine as the Holy Spirit teaches and places us according to His will.

Mostly what I do is look around, listen to what other Christians (Definition: Do they acknowledge and profess Jesus? Do they try to act like him?) say. When invited I go and it doesn't matter if I'm already attending another church or not -- it's His body, not ours.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. [Rev 7:17 KJV]

 

[sourberry]

Mostly what I do is look around, listen to what other Christians (Definition: Do they acknowledge and profess Jesus? Do they try to act like him?) say. When invited I go and it doesn't matter if I'm already attending another church or not -- it's His body, not ours.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. [Rev 7:17 KJV]

I love all churches too, and would not mind staying with any of them. However, when I see how pastors are trying hard to keep their flock in one place, and some times it is done not genuinely, by setting mindtraps and boundaries. So it is a very fragile structure, so that I do not feel I can express myself freely in such congregation without damaging the integrity of the flock, even so it is not a genuine integrity in my mind, I still respect the hard work of the pastor. I would feel more comfortable in the house church.