Find YOUR way
It is certainly a good thing to raise your children in church or to be raised going to church. However, it is a negative thing if you at some point don't develop your own faith and find and seek the answers and truth for yourself.
There are too many people out there, who have become "set in their ways" or become "narrow-minded" in their religion because they have not developed or matured in their own faith, but they simply have a belief system and not a relationship with Jesus. Their faith is based on what church they grew up in, what grandma or grandpa told them, what their family believes, or something along that lines.
It is certainly noble to have a family heritage that is christian, but, if we think we can grow and mature in a personal faith by simply beliving what we were raised to believe, we will be immature christians, narrow-minded, and judgemental people. Because what happens is the way we were raised or taught to believe becomes "the only way". First of all, the Bible tells us Jesus is the only way. Secondly, Jesus is the only way to salvation, but people come to Jesus, learn about Jesus, or grow in their faith in Jesus in many ways.
If your family raised you to worship a turkey, then you'd think a Turkey is the only way, and you'd do things turkey ways and have turkey rules, and turkey ideals, and everyone who didn't agree with you would be wrong. That may sound silly, but that is how many people are when it comes to their christianity. Think about it, you were raised that you have to dress up to go to church, so if you see other people that don't, you think it's wrong. Maybe you were raised to only used the King James version of the bible, or only sing hymns or without any music. Maybe you were raised as baptism can be in many forms, or that once your saved, you are always saved, and it doesn't matter how you live. There are all kinds of beliefs out there people have, soley based on the way they were raised or what they were taught and they have not taken the time to research, study, and pray on their own to discover the truth.
Some of those topics are simply preferences, but others can be more serious because they abuse or misuse scripture out of context, but my point is, we need to be careful to develop our own faith and we are responsible for our own salvation. Mommy or Daddy or Grandma or the Preacher cannot save us and we can not get to Heaven based on some of their well-meaning, but wrong teachings.
I encourage you before you choose to "die on that mountain" about a certain belief that you take the time to study it, see what your beliefs are based on, is it based on tradition or truth? The way you were raised or what you took the time to learn? I can tell you my views on certain things changed with age, study, discernment, and truth and will continue as I continue to grow and mature. I am thankful I was raised in church and for my family before me that were believers and I respect them, but sometimes we have to undersand those people in our lives, might be misinformed, taught in ignornace, or set in their ways, and they didn't know any better and they raised us the same way, but it is my hope that each of us would discover truth on our own and never stop learning, growing, and developing our faith.
Your faith should be based on God's word and your own faith in Jesus Christ, not tradition, denomination, family heritage, or narrow-minded and legalistic views. Seek God and develop and deepen your own faith, even if that means you have to do things different from what you were taught or raised. I'd rather be right with God than agree on every issue with my family.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
It is certainly a good thing to raise your children in church or to be raised going to church. However, it is a negative thing if you at some point don't develop your own faith and find and seek the answers and truth for yourself.
There are too many people out there, who have become "set in their ways" or become "narrow-minded" in their religion because they have not developed or matured in their own faith, but they simply have a belief system and not a relationship with Jesus. Their faith is based on what church they grew up in, what grandma or grandpa told them, what their family believes, or something along that lines.
It is certainly noble to have a family heritage that is christian, but, if we think we can grow and mature in a personal faith by simply beliving what we were raised to believe, we will be immature christians, narrow-minded, and judgemental people. Because what happens is the way we were raised or taught to believe becomes "the only way". First of all, the Bible tells us Jesus is the only way. Secondly, Jesus is the only way to salvation, but people come to Jesus, learn about Jesus, or grow in their faith in Jesus in many ways.
If your family raised you to worship a turkey, then you'd think a Turkey is the only way, and you'd do things turkey ways and have turkey rules, and turkey ideals, and everyone who didn't agree with you would be wrong. That may sound silly, but that is how many people are when it comes to their christianity. Think about it, you were raised that you have to dress up to go to church, so if you see other people that don't, you think it's wrong. Maybe you were raised to only used the King James version of the bible, or only sing hymns or without any music. Maybe you were raised as baptism can be in many forms, or that once your saved, you are always saved, and it doesn't matter how you live. There are all kinds of beliefs out there people have, soley based on the way they were raised or what they were taught and they have not taken the time to research, study, and pray on their own to discover the truth.
Some of those topics are simply preferences, but others can be more serious because they abuse or misuse scripture out of context, but my point is, we need to be careful to develop our own faith and we are responsible for our own salvation. Mommy or Daddy or Grandma or the Preacher cannot save us and we can not get to Heaven based on some of their well-meaning, but wrong teachings.
I encourage you before you choose to "die on that mountain" about a certain belief that you take the time to study it, see what your beliefs are based on, is it based on tradition or truth? The way you were raised or what you took the time to learn? I can tell you my views on certain things changed with age, study, discernment, and truth and will continue as I continue to grow and mature. I am thankful I was raised in church and for my family before me that were believers and I respect them, but sometimes we have to undersand those people in our lives, might be misinformed, taught in ignornace, or set in their ways, and they didn't know any better and they raised us the same way, but it is my hope that each of us would discover truth on our own and never stop learning, growing, and developing our faith.
Your faith should be based on God's word and your own faith in Jesus Christ, not tradition, denomination, family heritage, or narrow-minded and legalistic views. Seek God and develop and deepen your own faith, even if that means you have to do things different from what you were taught or raised. I'd rather be right with God than agree on every issue with my family.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
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