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Ask The Pastor
May 16, 2001
Hi Friend,
You are quite young, but you have a good mind. I enjoyed
reading how you see the things of the Lord.
> Hello, I was wondering If there is a religion that
is THE religion.
There is no THE religion. Jesus did not come to give us another
religion. He came to give us a relationship with Him.
> I always used to think of it as If you follow
Christ, You shall be
> saved. I knew not that you had to be part of a religion to follow
> Christ.
You are correct. However, the Lord does place us in 'flocks' so
that we can grow learn His ways more correctly.
> When Christ was talking about the,'church' He did
not say
> Pentecostal, Baptist, Catholic, nor did He say Protestant.
Correct again. All these names are man made.
> If you are wondering I am a 15 year old boy
seeking to find the
> truth...
Good for you. Seems you have found the truth. The truth is
Jesus Himself.
> ...but about what can be called a 'religion war'.
Religion has destroyed a lot of people in the name of God. But
don't think for a moment that the Lord was in it.
> You see, I am saved and Christ is my Rock, but
would it be wrong
> Just to call myself a man of God and not a Pentecostal, Baptist,
> etc?
There would be nothing wrong with calling yourself a man of God.
But the Lord did give us a name to use. You can use the name Christian.
> I am not saying that the names are bad, or to be
recognized by that
> title is wrong,
This is good. We never want to pass judgment on other
believers.
> I am Just saying that because of the confusion and
misunderstanding
> between religions why don't we instead seek to find, with guidence of
> the Holy Spirit, what the Bible, the word of God, truly teaches?
Actually, many Christians are not as divided as you may think. It
is only the narrow-minded people who say you have to belong to
a certain group to be saved. But don't let that become a
concern. Who are 'they' anyway. Jesus is the one who saved
you, not 'them.'
> I know that the Pentecost was when the desciples
of Jesus were in the
> upper room and recieved the Holy Spirit, and that baptism was to show
> that one understood that all his sins are forgiven by God (Jesus).
Real good. You understand your own salvation.
> What I do not understand is what is the difference
between the two
> faiths?
I have to assume you are speaking of the difference between
Pentecostals and Baptists? The primary difference is how they
present salvation. Of course there are other differences. But I
understand your concern. It is so sad when groups of Christians
will not accept one another.
> Did not Christ Himself pray for unity for all?
Yes, He did.
> Perhaps I do not completly understand the
religions above. If the
> Spirit of God moves you to, please explain or provide websites where I
> can gain understanding. Thank you, and may God bless you.
Thank you for the blessing.
It would be too much to attempt to share the differences in the
various religions. But I would encourage you to continue studying
your Bible, and simply ask the Lord to guide you into His perfect
way. Where He may want you to be, that is, which which group,
will be something He can make plain. But if your family already
serves the Lord, you need to be with your family.
Thanks for writing.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Bro. Buddy Martin - Ask
the Pastor
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
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