I need help with guidance.  I have lately been doubting the power of God.  I need help gaining a religion to belong to.  In my family, there are many different and conflicting religions, and some have no religion at all.  I have gone to many churches, but I have never really belonged to one.  I worry about going to hell for my uncertainty.  Can you please help me?

Sincerely,
Looking For A Home

Dear Looking For A Home,

The problem with much of religion today is that it is confusing and contradictory!  Some churches teach one thing while others teach the exact opposite… yet, they all call themselves christians.  The confusion has occurred because most religion is built around people’s opinions and preferences, instead of the foundation of Scripture.  God’s Word isn’t confusing (1 Cor 14:33), but people sure have a way of muddying the waters, and the more confusing religion is, the easier it is to just want to give up trying.

The denomination world teaches that how you act and worship are matters of opinion, but Jesus said that how you act and worship are matters of truth (Jhn 4:24).  The only way to avoid denominationalism is to find a congregation that simply teaches what the Bible says – no creeds, no opinions, no personal agendas.  If we truly love Christ, we will follow His commandments (1 Jn 5:2).

Everything a church does (worship, membership, how they teach to be saved, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).

Our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  As you said, you don’t want to go to a church that offers their own thoughts – you want God’s thoughts.

There are other congregations like ours scattered across the country and the world.  Most of them use the name ‘church of Christ’, but then again, many churches that use that name aren’t faithful.  A Bible name for a church isn’t enough to make it faithful.  We have helped others, like yourself, looking for New Testament Christianity find faithful congregations in their area by contacting other preachers and christians that we know.  We’d be happy to do the same for you.  If you feel comfortable, just let us know what general area you live in, and we will try and get you in touch with a congregation that lives like your Bible reads (our e-mail is askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org).  It is frustrating, confusing, and exasperating to deal with denominationalism and it does lead to a sense of uncertainty.  Thanks be to God that there is a better option!

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

How is heaven real?

Sincerely,
Searching For Evidence

Dear Searching For Evidence,

Heaven, like all spiritual things (angels, God, demons, Satan, hell, etc.), is invisible… but still very real.  There are many things in life that we can’t see, but the evidence proves that they exist.  We can’t see the air, but there is a lot of evidence that it exists.  We can’t see the core of the earth, but evidence proves it to be real.  Gravity is invisible, but it still holds us to the ground.  Just because we can’t see heaven doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

We know heaven exists because we know that God wrote the Bible, and the Bible says that heaven is a real place (Php 3:20).  We recommend reading the article “Who Wrote The Bible?” on the subject of Bible evidence.  We may not be able to see heaven, but it is as real as can be.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

I am referring back to your question “Confident, But Not Careless”.  Are you saying that according to Hebrews you cannot repent and come back to God?

Sincerely,
Trying To Start Over

Dear Trying To Start Over,

Heb. 6:4-6 says that it is impossible for others to renew to repentance a brother who has fallen away.  It is always possible to come back to the Lord after falling away (1 Jn 1:9), but when someone has already been enlightened by the truth (Heb 6:4) and heard the word of God (Heb 6:4), there isn’t any teaching that can sway them from leading a wicked life.  If someone falls away from Christ, it means their heart has been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb 3:13), and it is up to that individual to soften their own heart and return to the Lord.