I am struggling with FULLY accepting Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, what should I do?

2010-04-14T12:23:29Z

I am a reformed atheist still clinging in my heart to some of my old atheist ways of thinking about God.

Progressive Guy2010-04-14T12:30:43Z

Favorite Answer

The best thing you've done is admit it. I can't tell you how many people in churches are going through the same thing but put on a fake smile every Sunday. All of us should struggle with things in Christianity because not everything makes sense. It's not about "say a prayer and you're saved!!" as written before. It's about your daily walk with God now. As with every struggle, you'll only grow stronger because of it. You've partly accepted Jesus so all you should try to do is grow more and more every day. Maybe something is holding you back or maybe you are just trying to get your mind around surrendering everything. Just walk through your problems daily with Jesus and you will get through them. Remember, a simply prayer is not the answer. The answer is in your daily journey with Christ. Of course, people will disagree because they are either highly religious/reformed/fundamentalist/hard-headed.

Frankie H2010-04-14T19:44:19Z

People may tell you to do so just by faith. First of all the word 'faith' in scripture means 'trust'.
Trust is something you build by having a relationship over time (getting to know the character of someone, in this case God).
Jesus said "seek and you will find". I don't know why you say struggling, but if you want to know more about something go to the source. In this case the bible.
Biblegateway.com is a great website with many different versions of the bible. Surely one you will have ease in reading and you can compare them, if you don't understand something.
My favorite is the New American Standard. You can read and also hear the scriptures read. Start at the beginning just like you would any other book and read some daily until you get all the way through. When you have read it all, you will be less likely to be deluded by what someone else tells you it means. Then make your decision based upon what you have learned.
Knowledge is power.

Don't get overly concerned about non-believers insulting you either;
We are being asked to trust something that is not easy to trust in because we don't perceive it in the same way we perceive everything else. Last time I looked that is exactly the basis of science.

Sadly people resort to insults when they don't like the beliefs of another person.
People use insults to avoid actually having to give answers or comments that they have no real substantiating truth for.
Since they cannot present facts, the only method they have to validate their theory is to assault and attempt to assassinate the character, beliefs, theories, or facts of the opposition.
Christians are constantly dealing with character assassination it is the ONLY weapon the opposition has.

?2010-04-14T19:51:56Z

Dear Do Right,

You or others here may Email me with some specifics, and I will provide you with some significant facts, meanings and values to reflect upon. I used to be an atheist, then an agnostic, now I am a Jesusonian Christian Theologian and evangelist for over 34 years to date. Some beliefs of atheists and agnostics are correct; for example there is no "hell" and no "blood-sacrifice" or "atonement" doctrines are needed. Also, science is correct on the age of the earth and early man; and evolution is a space-time aspect of God's eternal creation to help us grow into all perfection. Perfection is our glorious destiny, not our origin or present experience. On our Sovereign God-Man Jesus Christ, I personally know Him well. Everything in John 1:1-18 is true about Him. Some parts of the Bible are not true. I can answer most of your questions and provide much free material for you to prayerfully consider.

Be now the beloved son of God in Jesus Christ that you are !

Peace and progress in Spirit and in Father-Son Truth !

Anonymous2010-04-14T21:25:39Z

You have already gotten some really great answers but I will add that some of your old atheist ideas may be fine depending on what they are. There are so many different types of Christians and some of us have some very different ideas about God but what we should all agree on is that He is love. Don't feel that you have to conform to how everyone else is because you are an individual. Read John 4, it is all about how God is love so we should love each other. I don't know what your old ideas are but just remember that God loves everyone and wants the best for all of us.

Patty B2010-04-14T20:02:44Z

Paul writes that the young needs milk to grow, adults can eat meat. Peter admits that some of Paul's writing is hard for him to understand and should be greatly considered before acting upon.

I had your problem 39 yrs ago. Science was and is still a big part of my life. I wrestled with the false belief that faith, in God and science could not exist. Some local/regional preachers had preached this. This kept me from simply becoming a sheep in a flock of questionable theology.

So, I decided way back then, that since it was Christ that had saved me not some preacher I would look to discover the works of those that acutally walked with him. Since I do believe that scripture is better than even the word of men of today. I found little problem reading the words of scripture of those history claims walked with Christ himself not those that came later.

In this fashion I decided I would read the Gospel of John, and those books written by Peter, James, and John only, until I no longer struggled. It took less than 3 months for me to cease my struggles and become a growing Christian. I began to read other scriptures but I continued to hold the newer scriptures under the light of those I know walked with the Lord Savior. The Gospel of John, the books of Peter, James (my book to live a Christ like life by) and the books of John- easy to see why John was so beloved by Christ in his books. I still have trouble listening to preachers because I know they are not always right.

I welcome you to the house of our Lord, encourage you to keep working and rejoice in your salvation always for this is pleasing to Him.

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