Mature christians- tell me.. Does my faith sound genuine? <3?

Question

Hi. Mature christians- please let me know if the faith I have found and have brought into my life is genuine. After coming into faith, my life had become tormented and full of despair.I was constantly telling myself that if I didn't step it up I was going to lose my salvation and be condemned to hell. It was difficult for me to love god.. I was basing my life on the law and not on what god did to justify me.. A guilty sinner, deserving of punishment and death. I will never be deserving of heaven. I will always be a sinner. The works I do are not to gain my salvation, but are in gratitude to god for all that he has given me. I believe the only way one can love god with all their heart is to realize that they have been freed of the law by the death of christ.. and realize that the works they do are to lay up treasures in heaven, and to give glory to god raher than myself. upon accepting my gift, I found peace. I know that I still sin.. And I know that I am still deserving of hell. If I strive for perfection I fear I will become proud, but I have a new found desire to do good to my fellow brother and share the peace god has give me. I know that I am better than no other man on this earth, for I have broken at least one law, so I have broken the whole of it. It is by god's grace that I am saved. This is love, not the tyranny of the scribes and pharisees. Am I right? Please.. If my faith is conflicted, tell me. I desire to serve god. <3

Answer 1

You are on the right track but have some things wrong. Every one of us human beings is born through Adam's sinful fleshly nature. We born spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins, serving Satan in his kingdom of darkness, cut off from God and on our way to hell, so we must be born again - not of our mother's womb next time but of God, through Jesus Christ. How? Jesus said, unless we are born again (John 3:3) of water (that's baptism) and Holy Spirit, we CANNOT enter God's kingdom (John 3:5).



We must repent of our sins (or perish Luke 13: 3 & 5) and obey Christ's command to be water baptized by full immersion as an adult, in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19). During baptism, Jesus Himself will come with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33) and Himself will wash us from our sins in His own blood (Rev 1:5). Repentance and baptism is for the remission of our sins (Mark 1:4, Acts 2:38), so once we have obeyed, God can then deliver us OUT OF Satan's kingdom of darkness that we were born into the first time through Adam, and translate us INTO the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).



Because we are washed from our sins, baptized into Christ's death and burial, God will crucify for us, our old man (which is our old Adamic sin nature (Romans 6:6). Because we are then clean, we can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32) who is the Spirit of Adoption, whereby God adopts us as His true child and we have an inner witness to that fact (Romans 8: 15-17). We are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus and water baptism (Galatians 3: 26 & 27).



We are also now saved by baptism,.....through Christ's resurrection (1 Peter 3:21). What saves us is the washing of regeneration (water baptism in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance) and renovation of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). He who believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:16). So repentance and baptism are the first things. After that, praying, reading the Bible and attending Church services to fellowship with the brethren are all mandatory and enjoyable for fellowship with God and His people. Everything else after that will fall into place naturally as God by His Spirit leads and guides us daily through His Word.

Answer 2

It is God's GRACE that is trying to tell you to STOP SINNING.



Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;



If you will "always be a sinner" like you said, then you will not belong in heaven. Heaven is for saints, not sinners. You are to walk in all the light you have ... if you do not, then you are sinning. Faith is stepping out and obeying even when it does not make sense. An example - not only are you to do good to your brother (like you said) but you are also to do good to those who hate you. Actually, you are supposed to love your enemies, bless them that curse you and do good to them that hate you ... this goes contrary to the world and the flesh and it is hard to understand and put into practice, but these are the teachings of Christ and if we love him, we will keep his commandments.



Real faith obeys ... real faith is not something that is imagined ... real faith has substance.

Answer 3

You don't need to say to yourself that you are deserving of hell. You are not one "whoops" away from eternal damnation..Jesus died for all you sins past, present, and future. Don't obsess about the law, consider the spirit. God inhabits the praises of His people. If you walk in faith, the Holy Spirit will guide you and His will comes to your mind. Don't judge others. Make your own way, fellowship with believers, honor God. Jesus gave you His easy burden so He could carry your heavy one.

Answer 4

If we think the Bible teaches universal salvation, we may arrive at a false sense of assurance by reasoning as follows: Everybody is saved. I am a body. Therefore, I am saved.



Or, if we think salvation is gained by our own good works and we are further deluded into believing that we possess good works, we will have a false assurance of salvation.



To have sound assurance, we must understand that our salvation rests on the merit of Christ alone, which is appropriated to us when we embrace Him by genuine faith. If we understand that, the remaining question is, "Do I have the genuine faith necessary for salvation?"



Again, two more things must be understood and analyzed properly. The first is doctrinal. We need a clear understanding of what constitutes genuine saving faith. If we conceive of saving faith as existing in a vacuum, never yielding the fruit of works of obedience, we have confused saving faith with dead faith, which cannot save anyone.



The second requirement involves a sober analysis of our own lives. We must examine ourselves to see whether the fruit of regeneration is apparent in our lives. Do we have a real affection for the biblical Christ? Only the regenerate person possesses real love for the real Jesus. Next we must ask the tough question, "Does my life manifest the fruit of sanctification?" I test my faith by my works.

Answer 5

Well it sounds genuine enough.



However, it is based on a lie.



The whole Christian atonement for heaven, salvation from hell thing is a lie.



Christianity was never about that, Jesus was never about that, and the bible was never about that.



The bible tells the story of God's work to rescue his creation, and humanity from the power of evil.



It is to this narrative that Jesus was obedient. And it is to this end that Jesus did/does the work of bringing the kingdom of God to earth.



And that is what being a Christian means. It is about being Jesus' and God's agents in the world to bring the rule (reign) of God to the world, and in so doing break the power of evil over creation.



And it is about becoming what God created us to be: free, loving, full of Him, and caretakers of creation. (Like Jesus).



God loves you, therefore there is no sense in trying to be saved from hell.



And God is rescuing creation, reconciling it to himself, therefore there is no sense in trying to escape to heaven.



Instead, rediscover the calling of Christians: To be agents of love, to be agents of God's kingdom.

Answer 6

Yes. I've been where you are. Just keep striving to serve God. Read your Bible and pray often. Music is also something that helps me. Maybe it will help you too.



www.joyfmonline.org

Answer 7

Sounds right, but think of being a child of God and don't think of the negative, about being a sinner. Jesus Christ is our model. Most important is love.

The Holy Bible --

Mark 12:29-31

"29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (a)

" 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. "

Pray about your life, and seek God's will. Faith is about believing you are going to heaven and holding to it. When you mess up and sin, pray and seek God's forgiveness by Jesus Christ. Try not to sin, be friendly, kind, loving, helpful, smile, tell others about how to be saved by Jesus too.

Words that I recall to remember what God wants for me --- faith, love, peace, meekness, obedience, joy, hope, integrity, responsibility, holiness, maturity. You could pray and ask God for words for you to work on. Pray for the mind of Christ, and a pure and loving heart, full yieldedness to God.

Hopefully, you are a born again Christian, meaning you have prayed a prayer like the one below and/or got baptized at a traditonal Christian church. That's about knowing God's Son, Jesus Christ, in your life as your Lord and Savior as Jesus died on the cross as payment for our sins. Having Him with you will give you God's blessing and forgiveness, as you live God's way. Not following God leads to hell, eternal suffering. Instead, there is an important prayer to pray to become a born again Christian. This prayer should be said with faith in God and a sincere heart:

"Dear God, I know that I am a sinful person and I don't want to be like this anymore. I know that Jesus Christ died on the cross as payment for our sins, and I want to accept Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior so I can receive God's forgiveness, guidance, and go to heaven someday. Thank you, dear God, for your mercy and guidance; in Jesus' name. Amen."

This prayer can take you to a new place in your relationship with God and transform your life. After saying this prayer, you should check out a Christian church, like Baptist or Lutheran. The church can get you baptized and prayed for, and you can pray for yourself daily. Also, get into their Bible study group so you can learn more about God, Jesus, and God's will for your life.

Ways to stay connected to God's path include loving God and Jesus Christ, obeying God's ways, daily Bible reading, daily prayer for yourself and others, getting to church, having your church prayer group and/or pastor pray for you, fasting with prayer for a higher level of prayer, getting with other Christians and doing a Bible study, singing hymns to God, taking communion with the church, helping and loving others, expressing your gratitude to God for His help in your life by telling others of your progress and helping them draw closer to God too, tithing, volunteering at church.

Answer 8

If you really want to serve God in the truth please contact Jehovah's witnesses. They are the ones serving God in spirit and truth as He asked to be served. Best wishes.

Answer 9

If you have FAITH in anything you have been disingenuous to yourself.

Answer 10

no

Answer 11

If you have to ask, then no.

Answer 12

I lol'd.