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Originally posted by Gustofer:

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Originally posted by Micropterus:
Churches are compromises. You'll never find one that does everything as you would like it.

Maybe I've had one too many tonight, and maybe I should keep my mouth shut, but I just couldn't let this one go by without commenting.

Faith and the Church are not about compromises, nor are they about fitting into your selfish beliefs.

Jesus Himself said, "I am the way the truth and the life". It is about Him, and not about you and what you would like.

That's not at all not what I am talking about.

Of course, there are no comrpomises with Christ. Christ is revealed to us as God with us and what He is He is.

I'm talking strictly about the methodology of churches in their services and practices. Everyone has an idea of what methodology or doctrine a church should follow or adhere to. It is difficult to find a church that meets every expectation. For instance, the fundamentalist Baptist or Reformed Christian may have a hard time accepting all the practices in a Pentecostal church. The Charismatic may have a hard time with the practices in a Lutheran church. People can even differ on doctrine and still be saved. For instance free-will versus effectual calling. (Free-will versus effectual calling has produced a ridiculous rift among saved Christians.) We all have our interpretation of the details of the theology laid out by the Apostles. Somethings we cannot compromise on - like the Gospel of Christ. Some things we can compromise on - like how to take a tithe, or how often to Commune, or whether or not we believe speaking in tounges still exists. I may have differences with fellow Christians over some details of theology, but as long as we agree on the Gospel of Christ, we are brothers in Christ and part of the worldwide church, though we may not be part of the same church.

I would be very wary of churches that call themselves progressive. One that ordain gay clergy, or go against the clear theology set forth by the apostles. Man doesn't have the power to sanctify sin and if a church is one of those that declares the "sanctity of gay marriage," says everyone is saved, or that people of other faiths are saved, or are universalist, etc, then stay far, far away. I can have personal fellowship with a Roman Catholic who I am convinced is a Christ disciple without embracing, ecummenically, his style of worship. I cannot have fellowship with a non Christian, except as he may be part of the world. But not Christian fellowship.

That's what I was getting at. Find a church that fits you best. It won't be perfect in your eyes. But neither are you to Christ. Get involved, serve, fellowship, make friends, find like-minded Christian friends outside of the church, and draw those friends near for your own personal church. As you know, being a Christian is a lifelong lifestyle and committment. The portion of your Christian life you live at church is a small part of your life. When you go through that narrow gate to justification, you go through it alone. Ultimately, your relationship with Christ is ultra-personal.

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No disrespect to anyone or their belief system, but if you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savor, believe his is the Messiah and the Son Of God, you have left the reservation that defines Jewishness.

Sorry but I have to disagree. According to scripture, when one accepts Christ as his savior he/she is "grafted into the vine" of Judaism.

For a Jew to accept Christ as his/her personal savior does not mean he/she is no longer a Jew.

One could perceive it as an adoption. Used to have hours long discussions with a very highly educated Jewish woman who had years of academic study of Christianity/Hebrew. We were in complete agreement that only Jews will be in Heaven. The key here being that Christians, who by definition believe in Christ, will be in heaven by virtue of having been adopted into the nation of Israel.

I did a 2 year bible study course at Liberty University, and that covered the issue of who will be in heaven. Accept Christ as personal savior. That is the only way to gain admission.