[Rockin' Flames]

Originally Posted by arloiginla

No, and I apologize that it came across that way. I am not trying to be holier than thou and saying that my form of Christianity is the "true" one. Everyone thinks that of course.

I just feel that for the past few hundred years Biblical doctrine has commonly held that salvation was earned or retained by works. Based on this, it makes a lot of sense that the angle preachers have taken is that "clean up your life or you are going to hell!" Yet the Bible speaks a lot about love and a loving God who shows mercy and compassion. Together, those two trains of thought contradict each other.

No wonder non-Christians take such a dim view of Christianity. When you witness blatant hypocrisy like that it's pretty hard to believe in.

Lately, the idea that salvation is a gift of God, and that the commandments follow voluntarily rather than as a means of obtaining salvation, has become more prevalent in Christian circles. The Bible supports this doctrine as far as I understand it and it freed me from great amounts of bondage. You have no idea how difficult it is to live life thinking that God hates you and that you have to choke the joy out of life in order to follow a bunch of pre-set rules in order to get to heaven. No wonder no one wants a part of it!

At the end of the day, I think it is a personal thing. God will look at each Christian's heart and based on that person's knowledge of right and wrong and what that person feels the Lord convicted them to do and not do in life, will determine that person's eternal destiny. Basically, did that person truly love the Lord with all their heart, seek to do the Spirit's will in everything, and love others as much as themselves?

So then, phrasing it as "true Christianity" was not the best way to do it. But following this particular doctrine as a Christian is going to be a much better way to experience joy in life, do God's work, and most importantly - win souls over for Christ instead of turning them off and disgusting them.

Once again you are able to phrase it so much better than I.