How to Be True Christians

CONTENT​

1. God's New Covenant Is Completely Misunderstood

2. True Christianity God's Way

3. What Must One Do To Become & Stay Saved?

4. It is All About Getting Our Sins Forgiven - The "Sinless" Cannot Enter Heaven!

5. Who Is Leading the Church in The True-Christian Mode?

6. Gather or Connect-remotely with your Family and Friends on Sundays

7. Is Baptism required for Salvation?

8. If Your Church Refuses to Preach the Truth Then Leave Them

9. Guidelines for Reading the Bible

10. Guidelines for Researching on the Internet

11. Guidelines to Bible Mobile-Apps and Versions

12. How to Tithe in the True-Christian Mode?

13. Many Christians have no interest in reading the Bible; they just go to church and that's sufficient!

14. Of Course Church Ministers & Priests Don't Want You to Do This!

15. The Antichrist & Today's Churches

(interpretation unknown to most!)

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1. God's New Covenant Is Completely Misunderstood​

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There is ONE new covenant from God for the whole world - not one for Jews by Jesus, and one for Gentiles by Paul!! And the covenant is not "by faith alone" the Protestant churches preferred way. It is "by faith alone" the biblical way. Jesus' sacrifice turned into a Bread of life that must be spiritually-eaten daily by faith, by praying the Lord's Prayer the proper way and with the proper meaning of the words!

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The new covenant of God is daily-sin-forgiveness by redemption. It is the substitutionary sacrifice of His Son Jesus on our behalf as a redemption for the forgiveness of our sins so we become "righteous", reconcile with Him, receive His blessings and eternal salvation. While it is commendable to minimize our sins out of love for God, let's make sure we understand that it is not done to maximize our chances for heaven!! God wants us to claim His redemption plan for our forgiveness. You are not bothering Him when you claim the sacrifice of Jesus as a substitution for you to truly get your sins cleansed as God intended. And here is the most misunderstood part - God only forgives sins on a daily basis, and only when we ask for the redemptive "Bread of life" by praying the Lord's Prayer daily. He has been forgiving sins on a daily basis ever since creation and it has not changed. No church today knows or teaches this crucial interpretation of the new covenant!

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1.1 First, Depending on which Church-Denomination you Come From:

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Catholics and Orthodox - The "sinless" (by human standards) cannot enter heaven. The person whose sins are forgiven will!  And your sins will not be forgiven when you pray to dead people (like Mary and saints) assigned as mediators by people, instead of the mediator asiigned by God in the Bible, Jesus Christ!! The Eucharist/communion is not the method for forgiveness of sins. It is a commemorating activity. Jesus said "... do this in remembrance of me". The Lord's Prayer is Jesus' command for the daily forgiveness of sins. Which has one condition after repenting - "forgive others". Not recite 20 Hail Mary's at confessions!

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Protestants - “By faith alone” does not mean do nothing and just wave arms & loud music. It means "no added works of the law of Moses". So, you need to learn Jesus’ commands and obey them to become truly saved. 

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Calvinists - There’s no before & after for God. He is outside of time; He sees infinity past/future from His place, and predestines accordingly. And it is a conditional predestination: What you do now in your life - obey Jesus' commands or not - determines your predestination status. If you're not praying the Lord's Prayer daily as He commanded, because "why bother, God already decided"? Then you're not predestined to life!

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1.2 What is the difference between "Churchgoers" and "True Christians"?

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"Churchgoers" - Claim to believe in a Jesus, but do not really know Jesus Christ of the Bible or His teachings, nor obey His commands. Their churches indoctrinated them with their individual versions of Him. Paul said this in the verse below, not me!

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"True Christians" - Genuine believers in Jesus Christ of the Bible, follow His teachings, and keep His commands. 

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Paul rebuked churchgoers even in his days as they obviously started this trend back then:

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2 Corinthians 11:4  

For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.

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Churchgoers, you are good people! But the problem is, you've put all your trust in your church. And your church is misleading you with their unbiblical doctrines and teachings!!

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1.3 You May be Thinking, "I Don't Care What You Say, All I Need to Know is, Jesus Died for My Sins"

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It is not all about you! Did you ever think about what Jesus wants from you?! It is not "nothing" like your protestant church convinced you. Before you can claim His blood, Jesus wants you to keep His commands!! Do you know His commands? No? Then it looks like you have some Bible-studying to do.

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2. True Christianity God's Way

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Summary:

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In short, learn Jesus' commands and keep them:

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• The Lord's Prayer daily to receive the Bread of life of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit

• Forgive others always

• Repent & humble yourself daily

• Seek God and His righteousness - by diligently studying the Bible

• Continue to mature in the knowledge and wisdom of God by understanding His ways as described in the whole Bible. Not only the parts your church points to.

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2.1 Without the Holy Spirit, We Cannot See or Understand God!

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Paul explains that the first requirement for understanding the scripture of God is to receive the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is just an antiquated book written by humans! We receive the Holy Spirit daily when we pray the Lord's Prayer (Your kingdom come). Then we'll see the scripture clearly!

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1 Corinthians 2:12-15

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments

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Jesus said that He talks to us through the Holy Spirit residing within us:

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John‬ ‭16‬:‭13-14‬

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth... He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive what He will make known to you."

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So He was saying this to His disciples. Does this mean He would not do the same for us, genuine believers keeping His commands? Of course He would!! Jesus told His disciples to go make disciples of all nations, Matthew 28:19. 

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2.2 Jesus Said, We Must Renew Our Righteousness Everyday

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• The Lord's Prayer Daily - Is not a "model" prayer nor a "template" prayer. Forget what your Protestant church told you. Jesus said His sacrifice on the cross turned into a redemptive "Bread of life" that we ask God the Father for, daily, by faith.

To remain righteous, we "should pray" the Lord's Prayer once a day to receive the Bread of life for forgiveness of our sins as Jesus commanded, "give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins" Matthew 6:11-12, and Paul re-iterated ...our inner person is being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4:16 "Inner Person" = "Holy Spirit"! Important clarification here: The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

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• Forgive Those Who Wronged You - If you forgive some of them but could not forgive that one person for the horrible things they've done? Then God would not forgive your sins! And you remain a wicked person in His eyes!! Jesus said that, not me.

If you don't forgive all of them, God will not forgive you. And if your sins are not forgiven, you will not receive God's blessings. Jesus kept stressing this several times in the New Testament and had a dedicated parable on it in Matthew 18:23-35. And Paul similarly pressed the "love" message. He said if you don't have love, you have nothing.

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• Repent & Humble Yourself Daily - Repent is not a complicated word: feel or express sincere regret about your sin. In other words, humble yourself and acknowledge to God that you have offended Him. (You want to know how you offended Him? See We're Good People, What Sins?)

Humbling ourselves before God by praying the Lord's Prayer on our knees in private, is an act of worship. God is alive; He sees all this, and He does appreciate it, as evident throughout the Bible.

Matthew 6:6 Jesus said: But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

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Matthew 26:39 (Jesus knelt when praying) "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible...".

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‭‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭11‬ ‭“It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me...

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‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth”

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2.3 Jesus said, Seek God and His Righteousness

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How? By Diligently Studying the Bible. Start fresh, with a clean mind like a child. Shed all teachings you learned in church. And start reading (or listening to) the Bible from an unbiased position. Sure it will take time to mature; better late than never. I provide a lot of help in sorting out things on this website, and help leap you forward. And no I have no ulterior motives except love for God and for people. This website is loaded with Bible references. I write nothing without a Bible reference attached to it. I highly recommend going through all my links on the homepage before starting with the Bible, or in parallel with.

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The most important thing to remember when starting to read the Bible is, if you start reading with preconceived expectations searching for them in the Bible, is the wrong attitude. Because God's ways are different than our cultural ways, which keep varying with each generation. God is the same eternally past and future; never changes.​​

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2.4 Jesus and Paul stressed, We must continue to Mature

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How? Study the whole Bible over time. Then start over.

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• One key improvement offered today, is the ability to listen to the Bible through an app on our smart device, and set the audio speed lower so we can take time understanding the words. We can pause, rewind few seconds at times, meditate, then continue. And we can listen to the Bible when driving or exercising, etc.. This is what helped me leap forward with wisdom and knowledge of God. The more I did this, the more God revealed of Himself to me!

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• Beginners, see section below for guidelines on how to read / listen-to the Bible.​

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• I suggest one or two chapters per session on average. No rush to finish reading. Take your time, meditate on the meanings, connect to other parts of the Bible, and ask God for wisdom. 

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• Pick a chapter in the Bible and start reading it with your group. Everybody contributes to the interpretations. Keeping in mind that when you meet again the following week, some people may have meditated over some verses, and guided by the Holy Spirit may have found more meaningful answers. 

• … Continued in Section 6 below.

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3. What Must One Do To Become & Stay Saved?

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I added this section because I keep getting emails asking this question.

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The full answer is in Section 2 above.

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Re-summarizing from the previous section, the answer to this question is 2-part. Both parts are needed for salvation:

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1. To become saved: Believe in Jesus as the Messiah, the savior Son of God. And receive the Holy Spirit by genuinely praying the Lord's Prayer with the proper words meanings as explained here.

2. To stay saved: Continue praying the Lord's Prayer once a day to become renewed daily. And continue to mature in the knowledge of God by studying the Bible.

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This is what the Bible teaches as shown in the many Bible references above and throughout this website, but churches missed it!

Note, the criminal on the cross who was saved instantly by Jesus, died moments later. Had he lived a full life, he would have needed Item #2 above like the rest of us.

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4. It is All About Getting Our Sins Forgiven - The "Sinless" Cannot Enter Heaven!

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No human is "sinless", no matter what the Vatican says. Because people's definition of "sinless" is different than God's. Jesus was the only sinless human that ever walked the earth. All humans are sinful. Ever since creation and the fall of Adam & Eve, the main focus of God has been on how to get our sins forgiven in order to reconcile us to Him. Both old and new covenants were solely designed for the purpose of getting our sins forgiven, and at the same time preserving God's holiness!!!

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We are called not to sin, but God does not use "the number of our sins" as a measure of our righteousness!! The Bible says the "righteousness" required by God can only be achieved through forgiveness of sins, by getting renewed day by day.  We refrain from sin because we want to, not because we have to; it is purely out of love for God!  And when we fall, we repent, humble ourselves, and ask God for forgiveness as in the Lord's Prayer.

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But trying to minimize your sins in order to maximize your chances to get into heaven, is not Christian - it is other religions. 

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Jesus said that, not me:

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Matthew 5:20 Jesus: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

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The Jewish scribes and Pharisees were the role models in perfection and living sinless all their lives. But Jesus told them it's not good enough!! He said they needed to exceed that level of sinless perfection in order to enter heaven! How do we achieve that? We do, by getting our righteousness renewed daily through praying the Lord's Prayer.

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The "righteousness" achieved by receiving the redemptive Bread of life daily, is impossible to achieve any other way!! 

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It is a "righteousness" bestowed upon us by God on a daily basis when we genuinely pray the Lord's Prayer daily.

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Another strong reference in Revelation:

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Revelation 22:14-15 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

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We have to "wash our robes" to make it into the gate to heaven. Implying that our robes get dirty, but we wash them, daily. Jesus' blood for washing is available, but "not to everyone who says Lord Lord". We have to know the proper way to wash our robes!!

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 God is not interested in counting our sins; he's interested in those who know the way to righteousness, aka "robe washing". The majority of Christians today do not know how to become "righteous"!!!  

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James 2:10

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

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4.1 Judgement According to What We've Done?

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You ask, "what then are all those Bible references about getting judged according to our works at judgement?" 

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All people are sinful! To avoid judgement is to learn the right relationship with God and how to get your sins forgiven.

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God's judgement only applies to those whose sins have not been forgiven! The "righteous" gets a fast-pass to heaven on Judgement Day:

 

John 5:28-29

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

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Notes: For God, there are only 2 categories of people:

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 - Righteous - Sins-forgiven (the Lord's Prayer daily) = "those who have done good" - Fast-pass to heaven.

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 - Wicked - Sins-not-forgiven = "those who have done evil" - Stand at judgement and provide account to what you've done.

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There is no in-between status for God - like, nice guy, churchgoer, helps people, etc.. You're either sins-forgiven "righteous", or sins-not-forgiven "wicked". Then when the sins are forgiven and we become righteous, helping people and other good deeds will automatically follow and will spring from within.

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You ask, where did I come up with this conclusion? It is directly from the Bible:

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‭‭John‬ ‭5‬:‭24‬-‭25

Jesus: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”

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5. Who Is Leading the Church in The True-Christian Mode?

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Jesus Christ is leading through the Holy Spirit within us. Here is a Bible reference that says exactly that - the Holy Spirit takes His input from Jesus. Then makes it known to us. We belong to Jesus, the only mediator with God:

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John‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ Jesus said:

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you.””

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For Jesus, the "church" is the Christian body of genuine believers, led by Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit within us. 

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When He told Peter he was the rock to build His church on, Jesus meant Peter was the role-model He intended for Christians to follow. So, we don't need an earthly church leader, because Jesus Himself is the leader of the church consisting of genuine Christian believers filled with the Holy Spirit.

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Here's why I say this:

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Jesus knows very well how inefficient humans are - all humans, including Peter.  Recall at one point Jesus called Peter "Satan", "a stumbling block", and "thinking earthly not spiritually". And also told Peter he'll deny Him in public later.  Matthew 16:23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

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Jesus would never hand His church-leadership to humans!! Knowing Peter inside out, He still saw him as "well-intentioned and 'about as good as it gets with humans'". And declared him a role model for us to follow. Because Jesus knew that when Peter, and us, receive the Holy Spirit later, then renewed daily we become true disciples. Jesus certainly did not want this whole hierarchy of life-time serving popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests, running it like a dictatorship and reviving the Jewish temple style, which was already rejected by Jesus!

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So why do we have a church leader with a name like “the pope”? How did these people manage to hijack Christianity like this?! If you lookup the translation of the word “pope”, it comes from a Latin word “papa”, which means “father”. Which the Bible specifically warns us not to call anyone on earth "father" when related to Godly things!

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Do Not Call Anyone on Earth Father​:

 

Matthew 23:9

But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher [Jesus], and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.

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Jesus is still leading today and "to the very end of the age":

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Matthew 28:18-20

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

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Notes: Jesus told His disciples, including Peter, "go and make disciples of all nations". Why do we ignore this? Jesus is the Head, we're all His disciples. Those disciples that followed Him then, did their part to fulfil Jesus' command. They wrote the Gospel in the Bible for all of us to read, learn, believe, and become disciples ourselves. And in turn we keep it going by properly explaining the sole interpretation of the same Gospel to the people around us, in today's world, that has become callous and has no clue how to be true Christians.

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"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” means He's the leader of the church through the Holy Spirit within us forever, not earthly leaders. And certainly not the Vatican people, who are filled with everything except the Holy Spirit. In the early days of Christianity, the disciples tried to lead the church themselves to keep the momentum going, to grow the knowledge of the one true word of God. But today?!! we're in a hodgepodge of loud and confused contradicting multitudes. 

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Also note what Jesus said here:

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Matthew 18:19

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Another strong evidence that no need for earthly church leaders. Jesus Himself is the leader of the church today. He is alive in the flesh and can be with us and guide us through the Holy Spirit if we choose. This is only possible when you pray the Lord's Prayer daily to receive the Holy Spirit.

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For genuine Christian believers, there is one truth in the Bible - One interpretation, not many. So, Jesus leads the church through His teachings in the Bible and we see His teachings clearly with the help of the Holy Spirit.​​

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6. Gather or Connect-remotely with your Family and Friends on Sundays (Continued from Section 2)

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If you need the social interaction and fellowshipping with others when seeking God, gather with friends and family at any home or venue. Use some of the money that would have been church tithing to fund any venue for your group. Example, a meeting/banquet room in a hotel, or if good weather outdoor setting, etc.. Some or all of you may even be remotely connected via audio/video conferencing apps. If you're genuinely interested in seeking God by studying His scripture, this is all you need to do. This is exactly what I do with my family every Sunday, and some of my adult children join in remotely from other states. We use a Bible app with audio, as explained in the Guidelines section below.  

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• A weekly group session, or as often as you feel dedicated to the Lord. It can be weekly, daily, or even monthly. It is your call as to how dedicated you want to be. You can read or listen to the Bible through a Bible app.​

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• This can either be one person or many. Don't worry if studying the Bible by yourself and reading my website / researching on the internet. This is equivalent to a gathering of more than one person as you read other people's opinions. Jesus will be with you.

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• For help interpreting difficult verses, follow the guidelines below for searching various sources on the internet.

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• No arguing, it is not about who is the smartest or the best at this; if can't agree, move on to the next chapter. God reveals things in His timing, so be patient.

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• Keep your focus on the objective - It is about maturing spiritually and growing our knowledge of God. So, we really get to know how awesome, loving, and magnificent He is. Which will result in a meaningful relationship with Him. Hosea 6:6 I don’t want your sacrifices - I want your love; I don’t want your offerings - I want you to know me. Everything else you previously did on Sundays, fades in comparison!

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• Keep notes for future reference - I use my smart-phone to keep notes, so I can easily search it in the same way I search the internet.

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• Closing your session: If you like, you can sing hymns, or your own choice of praising God music. This is completely optional; each of us can glorify God in their own way. Then you can close the session with your own prayer words.

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6.1 Do You Have Loved-Ones That Became Atheist?

Recognizing the churches fiasco and for lack of convincing answers to their good questions, young generations are losing interest and leaving in droves, to become atheist 😢. If you have loved ones that became atheist, I have the perfect link for you: Atheism - A Different Perspective. Young generations have already started losing interest in churches. Have you checked the news lately? Take a look at recent statistics. We're losing the young generations, because atheism is so appealing, and all their friends are doing it. Social media and peer influence is luring them in droves to atheism. If you're concerned about giving up your current tradition of going to church on Sundays, it is already on its way out. In some number of years this generation will die out and the new generation becomes it. Let's think forward for them and for God! Note, your children may not admit it to you, and continue to play along by going to church to please you. But I have college-age children, and they tell me how things are out there. They are alarmingly desolate! Not yet properly captured in statistics, as many don't want their parents to know. The explosion of social media, tik-tok, and influencers, have strongly pushed atheism. And it is strongly becoming accepted. 

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This page Atheism - A Different Perspective answers the most difficult atheist questions, and is filled with convincing information in a new never before seen perspective. It is the only way to get them interested again. This, combined with your new attitude about true Christianity and churches, and starting to gather with family and friends as described above, is the best way to get them back on the right path with God. I have done something similar in my environment, and it was widely received positively; it is the way of the future.

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7. Is Baptism required for Salvation?

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Baptism by water is not required. Baptism by the Holy Spirit is required for salvation.

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Jesus changed it from “water-baptism” to "Holy Spirit-baptism” after His resurrection:

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• Jesus said: Acts‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭5 John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

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• John the Baptist said: Mark 1:8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 

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These are undisputable verses. They clearly say "it was by water" [before resurrection], then was replaced by "the Holy Spirit" after Jesus' resurrection. There should be no debate about it. Water baptism is not required for salvation, but Holy Spirit baptism is!! Some people want to insist on the literal meaning of the word "baptism" meaning there is water involved. You can go your own way with that. As for us true Christians, we study the Bible to understand it consistent with the whole scripture, not out of context.

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Actually to those who insist that “baptism” must involve water, here is what Jesus said referring to His upcoming suffering and crucifixion:

Luke 12:50

But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!

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How do we know baptism by the Holy Spirit is required for salvation?

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‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬-‭16 Jesus after resurrection:

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.“

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This reference from Jesus was after He had told them that future baptism will be by the Holy Spirit.

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How do we get baptized by the Holy Spirit?

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→ By praying the Lord's Prayer with the proper Bible-meaning of the words. "Your Kingdom Come" means "give us the Holy Spirit". See my page The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

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→ Or if you know someone truly filled with the Holy Spirit (not a church minister because we know none are), ask him/her to put their hand on you. This is how the Apostle Paul baptized. If no Holy Spirit filled person around, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit when we pray the Lord's Prayer.

 

Water baptism is not required for salvation - It is a baptism of repentance and a public declaration of belief. This Bible reference confirms this explanation:

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‭‭Acts‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬-‭17‬

“Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.”

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These people were water-baptized, but no Holy Spirit yet! Until the apostles came and laid their hands on them! Then they received the Holy Spirit.

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8. If Your Church Refuses to Preach the Truth Then Leave Them

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Show them this website. If they ignore you and remain in their ways, then you have no choice but leave them. ​‭‭Matthew‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬ “Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

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So, are we saying don't go to church? Yes, that's what I'm saying. And the reason is: They all veered so far from the Bible. If you truly want God of the Bible, He's not in the church anymore. Concerned about the consequences of Leaving the Church? Here's my view on these concerns:

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•   Years of church debates on Christian subjects become thrown out?    They were already worthless and invalid, because the people debating them in the past few hundred years were not filled with the Holy Spirit, for the reasons noted in my page Are We True Christians? So really these debates were nothing more than social / political activities; nothing spiritual about them. 

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• Where will we go to do our christenings and weddings? Any venue; doesn't have to be a church. And have someone from the family read a few related paragraphs from the Bible. Then celebrate. This is all you need to do from a Biblical perspective. No need for any ordained people. Who ordained them? Certainly not God. Read my page on Are We True Christians? I understand this will be a major change for people, socially. We can be creative with these. Anyone in the family can read from the Bible during any of these events. And you can do your own creative setup for each. I assure you God will be among you and will accept it. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19–20.

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• Catholic confessions and first-communions? Not needed. Both are unbiblical; they were invented by the Catholic church to generate more donations. God did not say to confess to a priest. The Bible says confess your sins to God in your heart and pray the Lord's Prayer once a day to receive the Bread of life for forgiveness. A priest giving you a penalty for your sins to pray many times hail Mary, is against the Bible teaching. The Bible specifically says not to keep rattling-on with the same prayer (Matthew 6:7-8), especially not repeating the hail Mary prayer as in the rosary. And you don't need first communions. You can start teaching your kids to pray the Lord's Prayer at an early age. You can use that accomplishment to celebrate with family and friends instead of first communion. 

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• Where will we go for our funerals? Any Funeral Home. Then one of you will read some verses from the Bible. Trust me, priests and ministers are not adding anything to where your loved one is going after death. See my page on What Happens to Us When We Die?

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• What becomes our position on controversial subjects? Use the wisdom you gain from the Bible. Do you really need to have a position defined? Just keep genuinely seeking God, and He'll reveal things to you in His time.

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Focus more on God in the Bible, and less on worldly traditions. God will bless you beyond your imaginations. Did you know these Bible verses even existed? Is any church teaching them?

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James 4:4

You unfaithful people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.

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Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. 

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9. Guidelines for Reading the Bible

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First note, I highly recommend starting with this website before starting to read the Bible, or at least in parallel with. Repairing the damage done by churches for hundreds of years is not an easy task. But this is exactly what I've done in this website. All the links on the homepage are loaded with Bible references plus my notes. Pointing out many of the misunderstood parts of the Bible. Everybody needs to know at least this much before embarking on the Bible. I do the same with my own family and point my adult children to these links before reading the Bible.

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The most important thing to remember when starting to read the Bible is, have a fresh mind. Read it with the innocence of a child. If you go in with preconceived expectations searching for them in the Bible, is the wrong attitude. Because God's ways are different than our cultural ways, which vary with each generation. God is the same eternally past and future; never changes.

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Acknowledging that people are at different levels of Bible reading maturity, I will focus this section on beginners. My recommendation is to start reading in the New Testament, but excluding the book of Revelation at first. You can also include some good simple-to-follow stories from the Old Testament like, Genesis, Exodus, Noah, Jonah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Kings David and Solomon, Elijah & Jezebel. You can easily find these parts of the Bible by doing a simple keyword internet search. Always start your search with the word "bible" or "Jesus" for example, then the search engine usually takes you to the right places.

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Also see my page Bible Summary.

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Spend some time reading / researching these at first, and of course daily praying the Lord's Prayer and asking God for wisdom. You see, when you genuinely ask God for wisdom and more knowledge about Him, He will do it. I know this first-hand! And because of verses like these:

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James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

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Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

 

Some churches ignore the Old Testament as irrelevant. Jesus referenced the Old Testament many times. And therefore, it is very relevant (but it should be done with the understanding that most of the Old Testament was fulfilled by Jesus the Messiah). God's personality shines through both the Old and New testaments. You'll find that God's ways are consistent throughout. Keeping both testaments in focus, is key in our learning of God and our spiritual maturity. Note that the Old Testament is mainly the same as the Jewish Book of Torah, which is still being used by the Jews today. The main difference between Christians and Jews is that the Jews are still waiting for the "true messiah" to come. 

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Remember to keep coming back here to this website (homepage). I have many links that provide good clarifications on misinterpreted and misunderstood parts, complete with Bible references - a true Christianity from a different perspective uninfluenced by church denominations. And you don't have to put up with ads or donations.

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Don't be discouraged when you run into difficulty understanding some parts of the Bible. Do your best and continue on without fully understanding them. When you come back to them on the next round after starting over reading the Bible, you'll find they make more sense. This is exactly how I do it. And this is how we grow in the knowledge of God. He keeps revealing more of Himself as we diligently seek Him.

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Then at some point as you mature in the knowledge of God, you can start including other parts from the Old Testament like, Psalms and Proverbs. And later move into the rest of the Old Testament. I recommend leaving the book of Revelation till last when solidly mature and older in age. The book of Revelation is full of symbolic terms that require understanding the whole Bible first as a pre-requisite. Example symbolic terms in Revelation: "The dragon that rises from the sea", the most likely interpretation is a worldly satanic figure person making a rise from unbelieving parts of the world. Another fact about Revelation terminology is, that most of the time we don't know what things mean, so we speculate on the translation. If you lookup 10 internet search-results on a Revelation scripture, you'll find 10 different interpretations. This is why we keep seeking God in the Bible. He will reveal things to us in His timing.

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