Am I saved, or have I lost salvation?

[billabong]

I do feel that Jesus is Lord and saviour, and is the way to reconcile humanity with God.

I feel that my experience with Hillsong has damaged my perception of Church as well as my desire to read the Bible.
How do I deal with this?

My perception of "church" was also damaged almost 20 years ago. I see it as a positive, as I am still finding things that I need to unlearn.
Although at the time when I decided to make a stand against the falsities going on. Well lets say it was a fairly rocky road that lasted 11 months, like a battlefield going on in my mind.

Would I do anything different If I had the chance to relive that time. Yes! I would stand against false teachers sooner rather than later, because i found the more I was compromising, making excuses in my heart, i was noticing a spiritual dullness coming over me more and more. That dullness was immediately lifted when I said no more! and made my stand for what scripture says.

I did read your correction to hillsong, and I think you are staying true to God, and very well presented I might add. Their response is expected, after all they need to protect their industry, industry of milking the sheep instead of feeding the sheep. If this incident is recent I can imagine what you are going through, loosing friends and feeling ostracized plus a wild battlefield going on in your mind, and all the more so if you have a family situation going along with you as I did.
I think you did well, hang in there the dust will eventually settle and you will see much more clearly.

 

[Adstar]

Interesting,vwhat is it exactly, out of curiosity?

Well remember you asked for it::

T,U,L,I,P The 5 calvinist doctrines::

"T" in "TULIP" stands for "Total Hereditary Depravity."

"Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is dead, blind, and deaf to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not - indeed he cannot - choose good over evil in the spiritual realm. Consequently, it takes much more than the Spirit's assistance to bring a sinner to Christ - it takes regeneration by which the Spirit makes the sinner alive and gives him a new nature. Faith is not something man contributes to salvation but is itself a part of God's gift of salvation - it is God's gift to the sinner, not the sinner's gift to God."


"U" in "TULIP" stands for "Unconditional Election" (Predestination).

"God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selects. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation."


"L" in "TULIP" stands for "Limited Atonement."

"Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation."


"I" in "TULIP" stands for "Irresistible Grace."

"In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is he dependant upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended."


"P" in "TULIP" stands for "Perseverance of the Saints."

All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of the almighty God and thus preserved to the end."

 

[Magenta]

I might be being incredibly lazy here, but I've started watching a film based on the gospel of John:

That looks like the word for word gospel of John. I think it is an excellent movie aside from the fact of which translation they chose

 

[Magenta]

Really? Where? What churches? You’re able to make this judgment?

This break from traditional formats of church services in order to appeal to non-Christians is called the “seeker-sensitive movement.” I have encountered (online) such admissions when the question is put to them, of whether or not certain mega-church's teachings are aimed at Christians. "The seeker friendly purpose driven Church growth movement is founded on world corporation marketing strategies and pop psychology concepts that are known to be successful to reach large numbers of people." They will even say (paraphrasing here): you are a Christian? Good for you. This is not for you, then. Go elsewhere if you do not like our teaching... because some (many?) Christians consider the message to be watered down and superficial.

This is not the video I was hoping to find, but revealing none-the-less.

 

[Lightskin]

Am I saved?
Have I lost salvation?

I ask for your guidance.

My first experience with any Church was with a Hillsong Church here in the UK.
This was a pretty bad experience, as two threads that I have authored will testify (I urge you to read at least the original posts so that you have context):

https://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/hillsong-a-cult.191745/

https://christianchat.com/bible-discussion-forum/tithing.191733/


I feel like I was baptised too early, before I had really started to get to know Jesus.
It's not that I didn't want to be baptised because I did, but I felt that I was rushed through a kind of process rather than given room to grow.

I was left very hurt from my Hillsong experience, to the point that I no longer wish to ever set foot inside a Church again.
I haven't even read the Bible since that experience.

So, was I ever really saved? Have I lost salvation?
Or was I saved, and will Jesus understand why I'm feeling the way I do about Church?

Thoughts?

You’re saved