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Former Adventist Fellowship Forum » ARCHIVED DISCUSSIONS 1 » SDA FEAR: "SALVATION BY DENOMINATION" » Archive through August 3, 1999 « Previous Next »

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Lynn
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 9:07 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

I heard the story of how the song, "He Lives" was written. A skeptic kept asking people how they know that Jesus lives. Many people tried to convince him with statistics & history; but one man said something like, "You ask me how I know He lives, I don't have any scientific explanations, All I know is, He lives within my heart." The man was so moved he wrote the song.

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Matt 11:2-6 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me."

This was testimony time.

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John 10:10 "...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

Amen, & I do.
Joni
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 10:24 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rayna,
I misunderstood your post. Sorry.
I think you are saved if you believe in Jesus. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.' Jn 3:16.

I believe when you are born again you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and God will finish the work He started in you. Eph. 1:13, Phil. 1:6

I also believe that when you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise you are taught by the H.S. You have the Spirit in you and He gives you spiritual discernment. (distinguishing of spirits 1Cor.12:10) Trust it!!!
You are probably seeing spiritual arrogance in the ones you talk about. (I don't know) in any case God is the Judge)

You don't have to go to church to be saved. Or rather just because you don't go to church it dosen't mean you aren't saved. I didn't go for a couple of years, I needed time to mend. Now I go and love it.
Church is to uplift each other "Not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near." Heb. 11:25

Church is nice, you can fellowship with like minded people, not perfect people, but if you find Christ like friends they will love you just as you are. Jesus loves us as we are and He gen\tly, slowly, leads us.
God bless you
Rayna
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 11:59 am:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Thank you Toni for that reply. Yes, I do not believe one needs to attend church to prove they are saved. I have been thinking this through. People today want a righteousness that they can see and believe in to say they are saved. But the righteousness of the law (which is our works in this life) will not justify us before God.. We are jusified only by the righeousness which is of faith in Jesus. It is only by faith and cannot be seen. Our works can be seen but they are sinful, no matter how good we think they are. In Phillippians 3: 9 Paul states: "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righeousness which is of God by faith". We will always fall short of righteousness. We cannot base our being "saved" on our works, not matter how good we think they are. We should not glory in our works but only glory in the cross of Christ and acknowledge God's mercy to us as sinners as we are accepted in Him.

All I can say to these people is that I am a sinner and continually fall short no matter how hard i try and do not base my acceptance with God on what I see in my life. My acceptance with God is based on the fact that I have accepted Jesus, His righeousness is imputed to me and I am sure that I am saved and have eternal life. I can base this fact on nothing more or less.

I truly do want to find fellowship with believers but have found it difficult. Will keep looking and thank you for the scripture you quoted about being sealed by the Holy Spirit. God will finish His work in me as He has promised. This promise is very comforting.

Thank you so much for your reply. I need all the help I can get. So thankful for this site.
Thomas
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 2:39 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rayna,

Just a thought. I too did not attend church for many years....more than the magic 2 or three that I read a lot in this site. I kept looking for a "true" church. Instead I found true believers in a very friendly church. I can not say that I believe in everything that I hear from the pulpit. I don't believe such a church exists. But in this church I have found a small group of members who are sincere believers, that truly love Jesus and are trying their very best to follow Him as He wishes. I do not go to church to be saved, but because I need the regular infusion of love and support from my brothes and sisters. "There is safety in numbers", so the saying goes. Jesus said "where two or more are gathered in My name, there will I be." I really believe that he wasn't naming a magic formula, but encouraging us to meet with believers. Believers are everywhere, in every church. Even the SDA's have believers. Find a church that makes you welcome, sincerely tries to follow Christ, and allows you the freedom to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christs and you will find believers. Don't get caught up in theology, but look for the love of Christ and you will find the fruits of the spirit.

God bless and the Spirit guide you in your search. You ARE His child. The Spirit IS guiding you and protecting you. Your future IS certain, because HE died and live again.

Isn't that the most exciting news you've ever heard?
Susan
Posted on Tuesday, August 03, 1999 - 3:47 pm:   Edit PostDelete PostPrint Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

Rayna, I just wanted to share a verse with you. "That if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you WILL be saved." (emphasis mine) Rom.10:9 Wow! Don't we serve an awsome God?

Joni and Thomas give some great advice. For me church is where I can worship God. Yes I know, that my "life" is to be a continual act of worship, because of Christ. But I need the corporate thing. I need the sacrament of communion and I need to be feed from the word on a regular basis.

One thing I've noticed about non-SDA churches that I've been to. They aren't as big into the fellowship stuff (pot-lucks, social functions all the time etc.). Not that they don't have these things, they just don't consume your entire life like the SDA's. This can present a problem for those coming out of a cult. Many mormons go through this exact thing. They feel that regular Christian churches don't offer as much as their cult did. They tend to feel "let down" if you will.

What has helped me, is to realize I don't need to know everyone in church or have a bunch of friends. Just a few is fine. Also, a good way to get to know people is to get involved in a ministry of some sort. Serving the kingdom is a wonderful way to make new friends. Small groups and/or bible studies are encouraging too. I hope this helps a little. God Bless! Susan

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