However, I should warn that I may not have exactly the same beliefs as all Christians (not that any do), as I believe in the doctrine of universal reconciliation, which many Christians don't accept.

God bless.

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Drew Costen

I should have expressed our beliefs. In visiting several HC sites, I've found some likeminded on one thing or another & others not. We believe in the narrow way. Jesus is the only way to salvation & the head of the church. Although God would have everyone receive salvation, he says there are FEW that find it.

We believe one must repent. (Realize they are a sinner & be sorry. Why else would they need a savior? They must be willing to stop sinning (die to self) as the Lord works in their life.) One must believe in Jesus as payment for our sins. Belief is just the beginning. Remember the demons believe & tremble; but certainly won't be in the kingdom. Jesus said his sheep hear him, follow him & those who love him, obey him. To be an overcomer & finish the race, we must walk down the narrow path, humbly submitting to Jesus as Lord & King by doing all that he taught.

We don't "go to church" as the Nicolaitans. We are the temple of God. Christ lives in us. We have one Master, Jesus & one Father, our heavenly Father, God. We have no need of men to teach us, as the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. The old sacrifical laws & ordinances (laws of Moses, animal sacrifices, tithing & feast related to the temple) were nailed to the cross. We believe the 10 commandments, the laws of God, are still in effect; even more so today, as Jesus expanded them saying, hate is the same as murder, lust the same as adultry, etc. The first four teach us how to love God the last six teach us how to love man. All ten are summed up in Jesus's commands to love God & love neighbor.

We don't observe pagan customs as Easter, Christmas, Sunday, etc. Nor do we use pagan symbols, images, or idols: as steeples (oblisks), crosses, pictures of Jesus (Who knows what he looked like anyway?), etc. We are to worship in spirit and truth. We are to come out of the world and be seperate. We believe Saturday is still the Sabbath; but is a gift from God for man, not man for the day. We don't observe man's rules on how to use our Sabbath day as those in the IC do. Nor do we set only one day aside for worship. We can & should worship any day. We are non-resistant, " Thou shalt not kill." We prefer the KJV (only one not copyrighted), a concordance & greek interlinear for reference.
When reading or listening to others, we do as the Bereans: studying the scripture to see if what they say is of God's word.

That pretty well cover the things that make us different from the herd. We don't know it all, nor are we perfect ( All see through a dark mirror.) Thankfully , the Lord is still working in us. Anyone likeminded or want to discuss any of these things? Would like to see others discuss more of their beliefs to know if any are like-minded and to learn about things I haven't studied yet.

In Christ,

Faith

Yes, that's exactly what it is. I do believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation, but I also believe that His death was effective for all, as in Adam all died so in Christ all are made alive, etc. Not a point to separate from other believers, but many believers would prefer to separate from me for my belief (thankfully the group I fellowship with, while not believers in the salvation of all, are openminded enough to not have a problem with myself believing it. Some believe in eternal torture, but at least 1 believes in annihilation, and others are undecided).

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Drew Costen

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Drew Costen

I enjoyed your posts. I also am 25. We got saved ( 20 & 26) and attended an non denominational church. We had a 2 couples our age that we got along just fine with. Then 3 years later we left the church. They are linked with the 3rd wave movement. We didn't talk to theses couples in 9 months. One was the Pastor's daughter. Our relationship ( we were best friends) has definately changed. We do talk now on occasion, but we are at completely different levels. This was my favorite church. Now we, my hubby and I are tired of looking for a church to belong, then have to leave again. It seems that no church in our city has the same beliefs as us. So last week I came across this site and decided that we are going to meet at home. We haven't attended a church in over a month now. I have had no inclinations to go. The bonus is, Wade and I had always a hard time to study the Bible together. Now I believe that we are ready to do it together. We have only a few worldly friends. I have a prayer partner twice my age, but she has the same beliefs as us. We all left together. The Lord has led us through different exposings of false doctrines. We are lucky to have each other. We are home bodies, but some day I believe that the Lord will send us some other couples our age.

Exactly. In His time. Strangely enough I made my "house church" site (link in my signature below) long before I ever began meeting with one. In fact it was thanks to my site that a local "house church" here in Toronto found me if I recall correctly. Keep praying and searching Scripture together, God will find you a family to fellowship with when He is ready.

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Drew Costen

If you would like more info and would like to consider the trip down for the fellowship, sharing ideas, etc send me an e-mail and I camn tell you more about it.
My e-mail is wbwood4d@hotmail.com