Does God have a Church?

phipps

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The problem
There are literally hundreds of denominations, large and small, each claiming to be God's church. How does one find the right one? Its a little like looking for a needle in a haystack.

One solution
In recent years, many of these churches have decided to unite together in a kind of federation. This process has already taken many decades and is by no means finished. At present, a number of churches work together in certain ways, while retaining their identity. A few churches have actually amalgamated. e.g the Presbyterians and Congregationalists joined to form the United Reform Church. Others like the Anglicans and Methodists, are still making little or no progress in negotiations to unite.

The difficulties
The principle problem in this process is the difference in beliefs and practices. For example, a church consisting only of born-again, baptised believers would find it hard to unite with a church which accepts christened babies as members.

Ways around this
The Churches involved decided to ignore their differences and seek the lowest common denominator of belief and practice. After decades of discussions, these conclusions were reached:

. Beliefs: all must be able to say, "Jesus is Lord." No other belief statement is necessary.

. All churches in the federation must agree to evangelise only to those who are not members of any church or those who used to be members but have fallen away.

The way forward: The latest developments in this trend is its been expanded to include non-Christian religions. Billy Graham, for example instructed his counsellors to send Jewish people, who came forward at his crusades, back to the synagogue.

Conclusion
This approach simply avoids the question. Instead of answering the question: "Does God have a church?" it says that any church is as good as any other. Indeed, it is beginning to suggest that any religion, Christian or otherwise, is as good as another. The only exceptions to this rule are those churches/religions that are unwilling to get involved in the ecumenical process.

Another solution

Has God given any guidance in His Word about this question?
 
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phipps

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Christians need to attend church.

Before we go into the tests of a true church, its important to mention that Christians should belong and go to a church (right now we can't for obvious reasons). "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25).

There will be many people in heaven who were not affiliated with any particular church—or for some reason could not attend church regularly. But one of the foremost principles of Christianity is that we are saved into the body of Christ, which is another name for the church (Ephesians 1:22-23). In Acts 2:47, the Bible says, “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” When you are baptized, you become part of Christ’s body and enter into the church (1 Corinthians 12:20).

Why would a person say he or she loves God but doesn’t wish to fellowship with His people? One of the reasons God wants us in church is because it has people with similar beliefs. It helps bolster our faith and makes us accountable to one another. Even in churches where there are some difficult people, it is the best environment to increase our capacity to learn to love one another. Part of the Christian experience is having a relationship with a fellowship of believers.

When someone lives as a hermit from society, he or she tends to become eccentric. Isolating oneself from others begins to affect the mind; the brain atrophies. You become socially inept. In the same way, it’s important for Christians to be social with fellow believers in corporate worship and gatherings to avoid becoming spiritually eccentric and inept. Church is part of God’s gift, so Christians should do their very best to find a biblical church in which they can grow into mature members of God’s family. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, "For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many."

In John 13:35 Jesus says, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” He knew that the love and unity of the church could be a powerful part of our witness to the world in the last days. Conversely, the devil surely realizes that the world would disbelieve by our division. He has been working toward that goal since the beginning.

Think of the devil as a wolf stalking a lamb. He knows that as long as the lamb is with the flock or close to the shepherd, the lamb is safe. But if the wolf can chase and scatter the flock from the shepherd and from one another, he can easily bring down a lamb that has strayed. The devil wants to separate from the flock the lambs (baby Christians who are more vulnerable) so he can destroy them.

As it says in Hebrews 10:25, we need to be firmly committed to corporate worship and assembly-especially “so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Do you see the day of the Lord approaching?
 
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phipps

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Yes, all through the OT He addresses false Prophets and false Gods and in the NT, He addresses false believers, Wheat and tares and Sheep and goats and in the epistles and in the revelation of Jesus Christ He talks about false churches....Study your Bible!
That was a rhetorical question. I am going to post how Christians should know the true church. I have studied my Bible on the subject.
 

phipps

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The Tests of a True Church.

God has given a principle (Isaiah 8:20) that those who do not speak according to His Word, "to the Law and to the testimony," have no light in them. Following this principle you don't have to examine every teaching of every church. If you find anything that is not according to God's Word in the teachings of a church, then simply dismiss that church from your search. There is no light in it. Adopt the same approach that you would in drinking a glass of water. If you find something in the water that shouldn't be there, you don't carry on drinking. You throw the water away and get some more, preferably from a pure source.

In Revelation 14:12, God's saints are described as "they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."


Test No. 1
Reject any church that tries to tell you that the Ten commandments have been abolished.

Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled."

John 14:15,
“If you love Me, keep My commandments."

Test No. 2

Reject all churches that contain images. Exodus 20:4-6. If you walk into any Roman Catholic church, you will not fail to see the prominence given to images. The same is true of many "high church" Anglican churches. The Eastern Orthodox Churches encourage worshippers to pay for the privilege of bowing down before pictures of saints and kissing them. While many members of those churches are following God as they know best, and God loves them, their churches are not God's true Church, because they do not speak according to His Word.

Test No. 3

In Exodus 20:8-11, God says that His holy day is the seventh day. Jesus confirmed this by describing Himself as "Lord of the Sabbath day." See Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5. The apostles followed Christ's custom of Sabbath observance. Read Luke 4:16 and compare Acts 13:14, Acts 13:42-44, Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4. If a church has no desire to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and prefers to observe another day as its holy day, because of man made tradition, it cannot be speaking according to God's Word. So reject all Sunday-keeping churches. There is no light in them. But again, there are many Sunday -keepers who think they are doing God's will because no one has brought this truth to their attention. God loves them. But Sunday-keeping churches are not God's true church. Nowhere in the Bible does God say that people should stop observing His holy day and start keeping Sunday, the first day of the week instead.

Test No. 4
What else should we be looking for? Read Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus told His disciples that their work was to teach people throughout the world and then baptise them. Then the teaching was to continue; they were to be taught to be obedient to the commandments of Jesus.

Look at the different churches and apply the following tests:

. Do they have a world-wide missionary work?

. Do they baptise people before they become members of the church? The word "baptise" is a Greek word which means "to dip" or "immerse." Reject any church that doesn't baptise people who wish to become members. Churches that Christen babies cannot be the true church.

. Do they teach people first before they baptise them? Churches that christen babies obviously cannot teach them first. Other churches do baptise but they don't bother to teach people first.

. Do they continue to teach after baptism, as Jesus said in Matthew 28:20? Or do they think that the work is finished once a person is baptised?

. How much importance does the church place on obedience to the commands of Jesus? Matthew 28:20.
 
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That was a rhetorical question. I am going to post how Christians should know the true church. I have studied my Bible on the subject.
I can answer that, Only Christ adds to the Church by rebirth, (you must be born again). The Body of Christ are each one individual. One may honor certain days unto the Lord, Others may honor everyday to the Lord. each one of us honors his own master (God / Christ) in his own heart. But there are two things that separates the body of Christ from denominations. That Christ is the son of God and salvation is by faith alone in Christ and not works, in whom Christ created the new man to do good works. Any thing else is false.
 
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phipps

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Test No. 5
What other things can we look for? If you read the New Testament through, you cannot help but notice that every New testament writer, Matthew, Luke, John, Paul, James and Peter, writes about the "blessed hope" of the return of Jesus in power and glory. In checking a church, you need to ask questions, and listen. Ask whether the second coming of Christ is as central in their teaching as it is in the New Testament. If they tell you it is, then listen and read their literature to see whether they have told you the truth. If it really is important to them, you should find repeated mentions of it in their literature, in their preaching and in their conversations.

Test No. 6.
Another thing to check. The Bible tells us that "every eye" will see Jesus coming. Revelation 1:7. Does this church teach that Jesus will return secretly? If they talk about "the Rapture", this sometimes is jargon for a secret return of Jesus. If they speak of the Rapture, read them 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and ask how the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God can possibly be secret. (Get them to read Exodus 19:16-19, if they try to tell you that people won't be able to hear the trumpet of God.)

Test No. 7.
Check this as well. Read Genesis 3:4. This was the very first lie told in this world, that people who have sinned won't actually die but go on living. When checking out a church, ask them what they think happens when a person dies. If they try to tell you that they actually go on living somewhere else, there is no light in them. They are simply repeating the devils old lie.

Check for yourself by reading these verses:

Psalms 146:4, "His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish."

Ecclesiastes 9:5
, "For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten."

Then check how often the Bible describes death as a sleep.

If a church teaches that the dead are actually alive and awake somewhere else, there is no light in it. Cross it of your list.

Conclusion:
By the time you have applied these tests, you will have eliminated most churches.

Jesus wants us as Christians to be united. But the unity He wants is based on the Word of God. There are thousands of different denominations today, very few of which keep all the Commandments of God.

It does not mean that the true church is better, or that it is the only way to heaven, but it does mean that if you want to be victorious in these last days you will be led to its body of believers. Reading this is one of the ways you are being led to the true church by God if you accept Him.

Just a final thought: when the Christian church was set up by Jesus Christ, it was a small group of people. Acts 1:15 suggests around 120 people. The true church of Christ has always been a minority. So don't expect to find a prominent and popular church.

Don't forget: God is deeply interested in your search. Why not ask him to help you? This is the sort of prayer that He loves to answer. He will lead you to a member of God's true church.
 
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phipps

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I don't feel the need...:)
There are many things we don't want to do or feel like doing but should especially if the Bible says we should. Jesus went to church and He was our example, so did the apostles. And I pointed out the reasons why.
 
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Thunderian

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@phipps, can you tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statements?
  • The New Testament Church is not a denomination, but a spiritual body.
  • The Church is made up of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ.
  • All believers in Jesus Christ are automatically members of The Church, regardless of which local Christian church they attend.
  • The local Christian church has no say or influence on whether that believer who attends that church is a member of The Church.
 

A Freeman

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Christ clearly told us NOT to go to church. Only hypocrites and heathens go to church.

Matthew 6:5-8
6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt NOT be as the hypocrites [ARE]: for they love to pray standing in the churches and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward (they have been seen by men, but God will not answer them).
6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and WHEN THOU HAST SHUT THY DOOR, pray to thy Father in private (Enoch 56:5; Sura 7:55); and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly (by answering you).
6:7 But when ye pray, use NOT vain repetitions, as the heathen [DO]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
6:8 Be NOT ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, BEFORE ye ask Him.

Christ clearly told us NOT to be a priest, pastor, etc. (one of Satan's ministers in one of Satan's churches/temples - 2 Cor. 11:13-15). So how can there be thousands upon thousands of people who claim to be "Christian" priests, etc., when Christ says they do NOT exist?

Matthew 23:8-10
23:8 But be not ye called priest (etc.): for One is your Teacher, [even] Christ; and all ye are brethren.
23:9 And call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, [even] Christ.

God does NOT dwell in churches; Satan and his ministers do. So why would anyone wish to go to one of Satan's temples?

Acts 7:48 Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and Earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
 
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phipps

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@Tidal,

I will add, God told the Israelites/Jews to attend synagogue/church on the Sabbath and that was their tradition that Jesus (the Lord of the Sabbath and God who told the Jews to congregate for worship), the apostles and early Christians followed. And we are to do the same.

Leviticus 23:3, " ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." Convocation means a public meeting or gathering. So the Sabbath was and still is a day for holy assemblies (i.e., worship services).

Further more, in Isaiah, we read, “ ‘It shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23). This is speaking of worship in God's Kingdom for eternity, but God specifically mentions the Sabbath and coming together for worship in this passage.
 
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@phipps, can you tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statements?
  • The New Testament Church is not a denomination, but a spiritual body.
  • The Church is made up of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ.
  • All believers in Jesus Christ are automatically members of The Church, regardless of which local Christian church they attend.
  • The local Christian church has no say or influence on whether that believer who attends that church is a member of The Church.
Hi Thunderrain, John give a peak of the beginning and reasons from denominations John 2:19>They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not of us. So.....denomination to show they are not part of the body.
 

phipps

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The Bride of Christ

The Bible says there is but one body, or church, into which Jesus calls His end-time people—the bride of Christ. To some, this is unnerving, as there are thousands of churches today that call themselves Christian. Virtually every one of them claims to be God’s church, yet they each differ widely in biblical interpretation, faith, and practice. It’s quite impossible for an honest seeker of truth to investigate the claims of each one. However, we can be thankful that Jesus has solved this dilemma for us by describing His church in such detail that you can easily identify it! That description, vivid and powerful, is found in Revelation 12 and 14, and it will thrill you with amazing truths that will help you in the end times.

1. By what prophetic symbol does Jesus represent His true church?

Jeremiah 6:2, "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a lovely and delicate woman."

Revelation 19:7-8, "Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."


Jesus symbolizes His true church (daughter of Zion) as a pure woman and the false, apostate churches as a harlot. (See also 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:22, 23; and Isaiah 51:16).

2. In Revelation 12:1, Jesus symbolizes His church as a woman “clothed with the sun,” with “the moon under her feet,” and wearing “a crown [KJV] of twelve stars.” What do these symbols mean?

The sun represents Jesus, His gospel, and His righteousness. “The Lord God is a sun” (Psalm 84:11). (See also Malachi 4:2.) Without Jesus there is no salvation (Acts 4:12). More than anything else, Jesus wants His church to overflow with His presence and glory.

“The moon under her feet” represents the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, so the sacrificial system was helpful spiritually only as it reflected light from the Messiah to come (Hebrews 10:1).

The “crown of twelve stars” represents the work of the 12 disciples, which crowned the early years of the New Testament church.

3. Next, the prophecy states that the woman is in labour, about to deliver a baby who would one day rule all nations with a rod of iron. She then delivered the “male Child,” and later He was taken up to God’s throne in heaven (Revelation 12:1, 2, 5). Who was this baby?

The baby was Jesus. He will one day rule all nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:13-15; Psalm 2:7-9; John 1:1-3, 14). Jesus, who was crucified for our sins, was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven (Acts 1:9-11). His resurrection power in our lives is one of Jesus’ essential gifts to His people (Philippians 3:10).

Link
 
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phipps

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This forum is not about denominations but about a people of God or church who trust and have faith in Christ and are completely obedient to His will as stated in His Word.

However we have to understand why denominations were started. When the early Christian church began there were no denominations because all the Christians believed the same thing. There were divisions between Christian Jews and Gentile Christians. The Jews did not seem to understand that the Old Covenant that included ordinances like circumcision had been nailed to the cross as Paul explained to them. They didn't understand that they were no longer a chosen nation and that anyone who comes to Christ and accepts Him and His precepts was a Jew because God had accepted them into the fold. Being a Jew was no longer about genetics and being natural, physical descendants of Abraham. It was/is about what is in our hearts. Again Paul explained this to both Jews and Gentiles and God revealed this to Peter in vision. The apostle Paul called all Christians “the Israel of God” and “the circumcision.” This new circumcision is not of the body but of the heart. Gradually many Christian Jews understood this message over the years.

Denominations came about because of false doctrine that entered the church. There are so many warnings about false doctrine in the Bible by Jesus and the apostles. Sadly many Christians departed from the truth and started believing non Biblical teachings. The Catholic church became the biggest sect to depart from Biblical teaching and started forcing the world to worship God according to their false teachings.

Then Protestantism was started to counter Catholicism's false teachings, but many of the leaders interpreted the Bible differently on certain topics and so many divisions were created. For example most Protestants clung to the tradition of Sunday worship; a tradition of the Catholic Church. Today still most of Protestantism has continued to reject the truth of God’s Sabbath. But there were always a minority of Christians through the ages who continued to observe the Sabbath according to the Bible. They spread the true gospel too though they have always been a minority. Biblically the truth is never with the majority. That's why we have so many Christian denominations today.

There is a denomination that teaches entirely biblical truths but I try not to bring religion into anything. Its about God's truth not denominations. But since we have to congregate and worship with fellow believers its important to find the right church with the right message. And most Christian denominations don't have the right message sadly. When the Holy Spirit convicts, God will direct people to the right church. All I can do is present God's truth and leave the consequences with God.
 
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A Freeman

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@Tidal,

I will add God told Jews to attend synagogue/church on the Sabbath and that was their tradition that Jesus (the Lord of the Sabbath and God who told the Jews to congregate for worship), the apostles and early Christians followed. And we are to do the same.

Leviticus 23:3, " ‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." Convocation means a public meeting or gathering. So the Sabbath was and still is a day for holy assemblies (i.e., worship services).

Further more, in Isaiah, we read, “ ‘It shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:23). This is speaking of worship in God's Kingdom foreternity, but God specifically mentions the Sabbath and coming together for worship in this passage.
A Holy Convocation does NOT mean a public meeting between people (who are most definitely NOT holy or good - Ps. 53:1-3, Rom. 3:10-12); it is assembling one's family in one's own house (dwelling) to think about and discuss doing God's Will, as expressed in His Law. God alone is Holy, and thus His Law is Holy, Just and Good; a Holy Convocation is therefore obviously referring to spending time WITH God, not in one of Satan's churches (formerly "the groves").

At the time of Moses, when Lev. 23:3 was first read to the people, there was a tabernacle that the priests used to store their utensils and to house the Ark of The Covenant, where only the priests were allowed. Hundreds of years later, when king David asked God if he could build a house for Him to live in, God answered:

“Shalt thou build Me an house for Me to dwell in? Whereas I have NOT dwelt in [any] house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. In all [the places] wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spoke I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why build ye not Me an house of cedar (2 Sam 7:4-7)?”

God, Who created everything, is NOT a man, nor the son of man (Num. 23:19, John 4:24), and thus has no need for a physical house. He lives in the hearts and minds of everyone that invites Him in to live with them, so He can teach them how to be good (like God).

Why do you think the PEOPLE were referred to as the “House” of Israel and the “House” of Judah? The people, whom God created, were to be His House, NOT some man-made building. And why do you think the symbolic place of God was initially a tent/tabernacle? Because a tent/tabernacle can easily be taken with you wherever you go.

However, because king “David” had been God’s “well-beloved” servant, and to serve as a lesson to mankind, God decided to allow David’s son, Solomon, to build Him a house (temple), on Mt. MORIAH, where Abraham had taken Isaac, to offer him as a sacrifice to God, centuries before.

That temple, or church, is the ONLY one that God has EVER given man permission to build, and it is Satan and his priests (who blasphemously claim to work for God) who have built ALL the others, of EVERY denomination (Matt. 6:5-6, Sura 7:55, Sura 9:107-109).

And what did God ultimately do with that temple? After it became a den of thieves, as ALL man-made temples eventually do, Solomon's Temple was DESTROYED not once but TWICE; the second time (Herod's version) so utterly that there wasn't so much as one stone left upon another (Matt. 24:1-2). This was to leave NO DOUBT that God does NOT dwell in temples made with human hands (Satan and his priests do – 2 Thess. 2:3-5, 2 Cor 11:13-15).

Today, every family has access to The Law available to them in written form and can read and study it in private. Previously, before that was possible, the men congregated three times a year to have The Law read to them, so they could share its fundamental principles with their families every Sabbath day.

Matthew 18:20 For WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE* am I in the midst of them.

*NOT in one of Satan's churches, with dozens or hundreds gathered to be seen by others so others thinks they are "good" people (Matt. 19:17).

Further, Isaiah 66:23 is NOT talking about going to church; it's talking about the time after the Last Day and The Fire, when Christ rules as The King of kings and EVERYONE who was redeemed from the Earth KNOWS Father AND His Firstborn/Created Son Whom He Anointed.

Isaiah 66:22-24
66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the "I AM", so shall your seed and your name remain.
66:23 And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall ALL flesh come to worship before Me, saith the "I AM".
66:24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.

Jeremiah 31:33-34
31:33 But this [shall be] The Covenant that I will make with the House of Israel; After those days, saith the "I AM", I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.
31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the "I AM": for they shall ALL know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the "I AM": for I will forgive their inequity, and I will remember their sin no more.
 

Tidal

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Jesus went to church and He was our example, so did the apostles. And I pointed out the reasons why.

Ah but let's face it, some churches are no good, so what advice would you give to anybody who tries a church but feels uncomfortable there, should he follow these verses or not?-
"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" (Provs 13:20)
"Keep away from profane babblers" (1 Tim 6:20/21)
"Don't sit with vain hypocritical evildoers" (Psaim 26:4/5)
 

phipps

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Ah but let's face it, some churches are no good, so what advice would you give to anybody who tries a church but feels uncomfortable there, should he follow these verses or not?-
"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" (Provs 13:20)
"Keep away from profane babblers" (1 Tim 6:20/21)
"Don't sit with vain hypocritical evildoers" (Psaim 26:4/5)
Most churches are no good and don't have the right message but there is a true church. God always has a true Church in every age and there is one right now that has the true message and obeys all the ten commandments. So if you really want to find the right Church pray to God to reveal it to you and then start worshipping God on the true Sabbath with the members as He commanded and as He and the apostles did as well.
 
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Tidal

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Most churches are no good and don't have the right message but there is a true church. God always has a true Church in every age and there is one right now that has teh true message and obeys all the ten commandments. So if you really want to find the right Church pray to God to reveal it to you and then start worshipping God on the true Sabbath with the members as He commanded and as He and the apostles did as well.

Yes, if we can find a good church that's fine, but if we can't I'm sure God won't mind if we stay away rather than subject ourselves to their bad vibes.
After all, God is EVERYWHERE, not just in churches-
God says "Heaven is my throne,earth is my footstool, how can you build a house for me?" (Isaiah 66:1)

And Jesus said it's okay to commune with God in private if that's what we prefer-- “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Matt 6:5/6)

PS- we could even say that discussion forums like this one are a "church", because strictly speaking churches are PEOPLE, not stones.. :)
 
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