What's new
By:
Filters
Christian Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Which denomination do I belong to?

TonyChanYT

TonyChanYT

Member
I don't have a denomination and I don't belong to the category of non-denomination either.

Denominations disagree with one another on doctrinal issues. Each denomination has its strengths and weaknesses. I had set myself a program to visit all religious places accessible by Toronto's TTC. For this reason, I routinely visit denominational and non-denominational churches. I attended Catholic mass, Jewish synagogue, Muslim mosque, Mormon temple, Jehovah's Witness kingdom hall, Buddhist temple, and even some New Age meetings. I don't recommend this practice to everyone. It's good to have a home church and stay put :)

One reason I started this subreddit is to attempt to sort out some of these issues based on a denomination-free, disciplined logical approach to Biblical interpretation. Instead of forming an association by a fixed set of doctrines as denominational and non-denominational churches do, I attempt to form an informal association by a methodology by which any doctrine can be checked against. It is a dynamic way of forming an association.

I'm a Christian. The word "Christian" is in the Bible. I am a member of the Body of Christ.

BTW, you don't have to stay in a non-denominational church to be a non-denominational. For 10 years, I attended a Baptist church and never called myself a Baptist. I was a Christian in a Baptist church.

What does God think about denominationalism?

See Infantile Christians.

Calvinism, Arminianism, dispensationalism, cessationism, continuationism, and any kind of ism tend to over-generalize. From my personal encounters of over 3 decades, I've found that people who are not trained in first-order logic tend to over-generalize more than those who know FOL. I propose a denomination-free, disciplined logical approach to Biblical interpretation. I am neither liberal nor conservative nor the middle of the road; I am logical, or at least trying to be :)
 
Who Me said:
Yet we are encouraged to meet together regularly, not just for our good but primarily for the good of others.
No church or gathering of Christians is perfect, but then neither are we perfect, yet.
Click to expand...
You have no idea what the above words mean to me right at this moment. They are exactly the right words at the right time :) It is a confirmation.
 
Latin root word for religion is bondage, which is different then that of Gods pure religion of James 1:27, but that of following tradition and the doctrine of a mans church, not Gods true Church. The Latin root word is religare as re is a prefix that means return and ligare means to bind. Religion tells you what you can and cannot do and becomes socially acceptable by mans interpretations, traditions and doctrines. Religion is what nailed Christ to the cross because the Bible is not socially acceptable to society, if it were then Christ would have died in vain. God is not about mans religion, nor does he recognize religion of any kind. God is about a personal relationship with you and His son Jesus Christ.

John 1:1 in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:2 the same was in the beginning with God.
John 1:3 all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:4 in him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John 1:5 and the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 10:10 for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The biggest deception Satan can use is to confuse the unlearned mind. God said his people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. You forget me and my word and I will forget you and your children. This is a pretty profound statement that holds so much truth. This is why this world is in the shape it is in today with so many religions claiming they are the true religion and only they will go to heaven and those who do not conform to their ways will go to hell.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hosea 4:7 as they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
Hosea 4:8 they eat up the sin of my people and they set their heart on their iniquity.
Hosea 4:9 and there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

Truth has now turned to deception of the carnal minds ways of thinking which produces mans interpretations, traditions of law and doctrine. Satan has such a foothold on religions and has side blinded all of us into believing whatever is taught behind the pulpit is truth because after all, they are the Priest, Rabbis, Pastors, etc. etc. and they should know what they are talking about because they are our teachers. Satan is pretty clever and the master of lies and deceit.

1Peter 5:8 be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil is seeking to whom he may devour.
1Peter 5:9 Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
1Peter 5:10 but the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.

1Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles, (wisdom) of God, if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever, Amen.

Revelation 22:18 for I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
 
Any Christian who separates from the Body of Believers for a prolonged period of time, seriously risks becoming very...kooky in their thinking about The Faith. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Ephesians, drawing attention to the fact that being within a community of believers has a stabilizing, clarifying effect on the individual believer's understanding of their faith:

Ephesians 4:11-16
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Lions love the isolated prey, the antelope, or buffalo, or zebra separated from the herd. They are "easy meat" for the lion. So, too, those believers who go "lone ranger," from an unteachable spirit, bitterness, or anxiety making themselves an "island." These are easily devoured by the "roaring lion," the devil (1 Peter 5:8).
 
Just to be clear: A believer needs to "plug-in" to a particular, local community of believers in-person (not via Zoom, or Skype, Facebook, etc.). Merely "connecting" to the universal Church, the Body of Believers, by way of the internet and/or constant migration among churches is not going to engender the sort of spiritual stability Paul wrote of to the Ephesians. Healthy "body life" necessarily entails regular, intimate, prolonged face-to-face engagement with fellow believers in the context of a defined, local group of Bible-believing, Christ-honoring, followers of Christ. Healthy "body life" involves knowing, and being known by, with increasing intimacy, those in one's chosen local church community. Healthy "body life" requires being discipled and then discipling others; using one's spiritual gifting to the edification of the community of believers to which one has adhered oneself; evangelizing the lost in one's own locale; worshiping God in holy praise; bearing one another's burdens, and so on. These things cannot be properly done while one is in regular migration between churches, flitting about, butterfly-like, sipping some teaching here, dropping a truth-bomb there, enjoying the rockin' "worship" with church x, and the yoga class at church y, and the apologetics course at church z, always only a visitor or acquaintance in them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top