I'd be glad to get out of a church like that too!
"I'm obligated to go to meetings and fall into line with others."
Not in my case. I go to church for a few reasons. New Testament talks about church as a design by God to be of help to believers in their walk with God AND in their care for others. I notice that if I miss church I often get distracted easier by the business of life and don't seem to spend as much time in Bible reading, prayer and personal worship, so I make it a goal to attend regularly. This is a personal decision. I do not attend church for any sort of obligation put on me by my church, because my church doesn't operate in a controlling way.
"I need to please others under obligation."
I have no idea what you mean by this. Getting along with people and being friendly should be a part of every organization, in my opinion, and it's no different in my church, except for the motivation that we try to love others because God has shown us His love. Recently, a large number of ladies from my church helped a member of the church throw a baby shower for her daughter who grew up in this church, had a baby out of wedlock, lives with her boyfriend, sometimes still shows up at church and continues to have friendships within the church. Does my church condone the "sin"? No. But on the other hand, she's a person we care about, in spite of the sin. If she comes to repentance, that is between her and God.
"I love being told and constantly reminded I'm evil and guilty."
You have NO idea what it means to be born again by Jesus. Jesus gives believers His righteousness. I rarely think of my sin, and when I do, it brings about a sweet time of confessing that sin and worshiping God for how He delivers believers from any condemnation and has granted to believers the righteousness of God. That is a gift. I am not righteous, but I won't be judged for my sins....although I will be disciplined in this life and sin for a believer does have consequences, in this life and the next, those consequences are not coming under judgment or experiencing God's wrath.
You were in an Assembly of God church, I know they teach this, that at salvation, through faith in Jesus, our sins are washed by His blood (meaning the punishment Jesus suffered on the cross was applied as full payment for our sin debt) and we are counted as righteous before God (righteous in standing only, since believers continue to sin.)
I hope this passage makes it clear. It was very helpful to me when I came to understand it, years ago.
19Therefore, brothers,
since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place
d by the blood of Jesus,
Notice in the above verse, this is addressing believers who have confidence to approach God. The Most Holy Place was previously described as the temple in heaven, that the earthly Israel temple was a picture of. So, this is describing a believer having access to speaking to God in His temple in heaven. Our confidence comes that we DO have this access BECAUSE of the blood of Jesus. Why the blood of Jesus? Because it is what was required in all the old testament sacrifices, not just the killing of the animal, but the shedding of it's blood. I know, it's gruesome to think about, but truly, it is gruesome because OUR SINS are gruesome. And so the great exchange took place. The Innocent One was pictured in all the animal sacrifices from the beginning of Adam and Eve's sin (God clothed them with animal skins). The innocent animals dying in the place of humans was the picture of Jesus eventually fulfilling this by His own death....then His resurrection gives hope that the one who believes (trusts/calls upon Him for reconciliation) will be resurrected with Him.
20by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of
His body,
Once again, this verse (above) is drawing the comparison of approaching God through the sacrifice of Jesus.
e21and since
we have a great priest over the house of God,
Jesus is both the sacrifice AND acts as our eternal High Priest.
22let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:20-22
Again, this is how a believer prays and draws near to God. The idea of sprinkling goes back to the blood of the animal sacrifices that the priest would take and sprinkle over the people. This is was a picture of Jesus' blood being applied to believers. THIS IS WHAT CLEANSES FROM A GUILTY CONSCIENCE!
@themickey, I'm sure you must remember this verse:
According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22
Encouragement from Christians should be focused NOT on guilt, but on what Jesus has accomplished by forgiving our sins through the shedding of His blood. ONLY after you have come to know Jesus in this way, can your guilt be relieved and then the emphasis is no longer on guilt, it's on the Savior. The motivation for doing what is right comes from having been cleansed from sin, loving the Savior and wanting to show Him appreciation by living for Him. "Be holy, for I am holy" still applies, but not in the sense that we must struggle to become holy, but in the sense that the believer is already declared holy and righteous by God, and out of a sense of relationship.
If one compares the difference, it looks like this: those that try to achieve holiness by their own good works are never going to attain it. Those who are assured that they have been thoroughly forgiven are now freed from guilt and the burden that goes with it, to do what is good, because doing what is good is right, it is of God, and it's pleasing to God.
@themickey if you were feeling so guilty all the time when you were a Christian, what was your belief about this verse?
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1
The last two points you made are not true either and aren't worthy of commenting on.
