17. Author: Homebrew Date: 02/23/2009 05:56 PM Reply

I don’t go to church. But I do participate in a weekly Bible study group. I decided that I didn’t care for the duplicity found in many churches. I don’t need someone to tell me what the Bible says, because I can read it and decide what it means for myself. But if I have a question I can always bring it up at Bible study, and we discuss it.

I quit going to church because of one pastor.

I was raised southern Baptist. The issue was alcohol. This preacher told me that if I drank beer, I was going to Hell. I asked him to supply me with a verse that confirmed this belief. The verse he gave me basically said, do not drink until drunk. I responded, that it was OK to have a couple of beers, as long as I didn’t get drunk. He disagreed, but could find no verse to convince me with. He was floored when I told him that the sin refered to in that verse was Gluttony, and he should look at his plate at the next potluck dinner, before passing judgement on me, against the lords wishes. Judge not, lest you be judged.

Dave (A.K.A. Homebrew)

It is irrelevent....A sin is a sin is a sin....

Large or small

Everybody sins, but you must ask for forgiveness!

Here is a devotional I posted on another board. The Lord loves his Church but he doesn't expect us to check in our brains at the door. See Acts 17:10,11 The people of Berea were called nobel; they listened to Paul and then searched the Scripture to see if what he said was true.

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Simplify Your Faith

?You have only one Master, the Christ.?

Matthew 23:10 (NCV)

There are some who position themselves between you and God. There are some who suggest the only way to get to God is through them. There is the great teacher who has the final word on Bible teaching. There is the father who must bless your acts. There is the spiritual master who will tell you what God wants you to do. Jesus? message for complicated religion is to remove these middlemen. ?You have only one Master, the Christ.?

He?s not saying that you don?t need teachers, elders, or counselors. He is saying, however, that we are all brothers and sisters and have equal access to the Father. Simplify your faith by seeking God for yourself. No confusing ceremonies necessary. No mysterious rituals required. No elaborate channels of command or levels of access.

You have a Bible? You can study. You have a heart? You can pray. You have a mind? You can think.

From: And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado

I don't know where the question marks came from....

Why Go To Church?

__________________

It is the command of God...

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

Consider the reasons in this passage... it's not about you!

As well, the passage resonates in support of the OP.

And if you find your church to be uncomfortable or offensive, consider the following:

I. It's a bad church; find another; it is incumbent upon you to do so anyway. BTW, the three marks of a biblical church are 1) Preaching of the Gospel, 2) Scriptural administration of the sacraments, and 3) Exercise of church discipline with firmness yet grace.

The church needs you; you need the church. The church is a means of grace in your life, like the OP suggests.

II. You are unregenerate.

1 John 3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

I submit to you with every grace I can muster, without intending any offense, that you pray and seek God with all your heart, asking him to forgive you, and to grant you a renewed spirit to love Him, as well as His people, and to secure you in faith in Him.

Your soul's servant,

neo