J
Well ,Nice Lady,to answer your question the difference even today is that a church is a place of no cursing,no saying God's name in vain,no influences of death such as cigarettes or worse yet beer,actually "caring" for each other instead of trying to be quote"nice" by giving someone a cigarette or buying someone a beer, that's just favors(that can kill but still favors)not caring,and in an "actual" church, people are "forgiving", there are many phony churches today so I get what you mean,though still yet again at a bar sure someone will be forgiving to you,for a few hours til their hang over wears off or if you give them money,but that's not being "forgiving" that's just a quick fix,and concerning whether or not people follow scriptures or preachers don't preach faithfully upon God's word,first off there are people like myself who follow the scriptures but if you are trying to indicate that everyone should follow the scriptures perfectly,that is impossible,for that would mean being under the law from the bible and noone can live like that because we'd all be dead,for noone can honestly say that they can live under it today,which is why Jesus was crucified for us,and was resurrected so that we could live under grace not law after Jesus fulfilled the law,not to say that it is gone or not still to be followed, it's just that we are to do right by God and help others whom are lost instead of having so much focus on the law,like commandments or statutes in the bible,alas many people think that this means we can behave anyway we want and receive heaven because they think the law is not to be followed at all because they misread the bible,the law was fulfilled by Jesus but never abolished,and I'm sure there are many in the world that follow the scriptures as best they can,you just clearly haven't seen or noticed anyone who does for whatever reason,second,my pastor preaches faithfully and I'm sure there are many others who do as well,though as I said there are phony or so called churches that don't teach nor preach what is truthfully written in the bible so I'm not surprised that you feel like that church is not for you because many so called churches force religion on to people,badger someone til they get baptized,act as if people can and must be perfect,or even twist the bible to their liking,it happens all the time,if you want to go to an "actual" church then learn what the difference is by their actions,if they try to force you to believe how they believe and don't strive to do right themselves then that isn't a church it's just a building,because the people are the church not the building in which you worship,if you go to a church and the people are compassionate toward you and actually admit that they themselves sin and strive to do right for God,then you are in the house of the lord and have found a church to possibly call home(it's up to you ,the first church you feel at peace at may not necessarily be the one you wish to commit to,just find which one you most feel at home with,)I hope you'll look into this,but of course I'm not going to bug you about this because I for one follow God and will not do wrong by him by pressuring you or trying to force you into this in anyway,this is your choice and all I'm allowed to do is tell you the truth and if you seek out a church or not by me trying to help you by way of the truth, then so be it,either way I'm content with knowing that I tried to help someone Learn the Truth about God's House!
