My Journey in Christ

The Christian faith has been a journey of discovery for me. I see it discussed in scripture as taking the narrow road, walking as Christ walked, taking a journey that leads one from unbelief, to an greater understanding of the mercy, grace and love of God.

We start down this narrow way, with just a basic understanding of the love and grace of our wonderful Lord. We have entered into a life of freedom from sin, and learn to walk in righteousness. One aspect of this journey is the changes we do, leaving the way of sin and death, the works of sin that the wages of are death, and start doing works of loving service, works of righteousness. In the journey we learn and come to understand what is sin and what is righteousness, we grow in the knowledge of the truth as we obey the truth the Holy Spirit teaches us.

This has been my experience from the first I knelt down and asked the Lord to take my life and make it pleasing to him. I started by reading the Bible with Genesis. I read it like I read any other book. I carried it with me in high school, and read before the start of a class and after I finished any class room work. I read it at lunch, at home.

Eventually I learned about various study aids, and how to study the bible. I started to consider cross references and definitions of the original languages, Hebrew, Chaldean, Greek. And I listened to the still small voice of God, the Holy Spirit who spoke to me giving me personal direction and understanding, sometimes quickening my mind with verses of scriptures that were applicable to the situation I was then facing. Other times I heard the whisper of thought of the Spirit giving me directions on how to live the truths I was reading in the Bible, direct applications of scriptural truth.

I was not raised in a certain church. My father's family were long time members of the United Missionary Church, which was a branch from the Mennonite church formed during the Holiness Movement of the early 1900s. We did visit my grandparents church from time to time when visiting over weekends. So some of my earliest ideas about God and Jesus came from these visits. I learned that Jesus loved all...all the children in the world...and recall telling my dad one time after a visit to my grandparents that I knew I would go to be with Jesus in heaven when I died because I believed in Jesus.

So just a base idea of the truth at the tender age of 5.

It wasn't until I was 15 that the early truth and I think the prayers of my grandparents and aunts and uncles saw the fruit and harvest of my soul for the kingdom.

Over the last 45 years my theological stances have changed with my continued study and learning of the truth of God's word, and his will for us. I find that there are no theological camps that I agree with totally, but find general agreement with some. Over the years my understandings have changed, hence the reason today that I am not dogmatic about the truths I understand from the Bible. Some truths I hold as evident, beyond reproach, solid rock truths. To me these truths are a clear as a glass of water.

There have been other ideas that I once held as true, but as I learned what the bible revealed, and gained a better understanding of the fuller council of God, I had to change my ideas, sometimes in small ways, sometimes in big ways. Sometimes I had to discard a doctrine I held to and accept a replacement.

One such doctrine that has changed for me over 45 years of study, learning and consideration is that of the end times. Over the years I have held different views in mind and considered them as I read and studied scripture. I have read many books of different views. Some teaching convinced me that a different view held truth, others confirmed what I held at the time. I started out with the any moment pre-trib rapture and return of Christ. At present I am dealing with the full preterit view.

At each stage of my learning, I have held the view I was considering as the truth. But I always have considered arguments against it, as a way to testing the doctrine. I understand that if an idea can not stand against questions and arguments against it then I must consider it as false, or that my understanding is just not complete enough to defend the idea against arguments.

I have been posting a lot of threads regarding full preterism, also termed fulfilled eschatology in this forum. I do presently hold this view as the truth of scripture. I am not dogmatic on this, and am open to being challenged, questioned, and having arguments against it. I do consider what you all post against this view, as it helps me better understand the strength and weaknesses that may be inherent with it.

Over all I think that it is what we do, more so than what doctrines we believe, that mark our life as one of Christ likeness. Do we live the life of loving service that Jesus lived? Do we love the brethren of Jesus? Do we serve those in need, taking care of the "least of these"? To me a person who is loving others in the name of Christ is greater than the best teachers who has all of the "i"s doted and "t"s crossed. I hold that Christ died not to make us perfect theologians, but perfect lovers of God and our fellow man.

The greatest commandment is to love God with our all and our fellow man in the same way we love ourselves.

I place an importance of good teaching and believe the best Christian teaching leads other to live lives of loving service to others.

There are no teachings about our final judgment that involves any kind of questionnaire or test on our biblical knowledge, none. But Jesus does say our works will be judged, according to how we serve the least of his brethren.

So in doctrine I am not dogmatic. Thank you all for helping me test the ideas I think I understand in scripture. Over my time here you all have been very helpful, insightful and a blessing to me.