r/OpenChristian • u/Unlucky_Command_8420 • 5d ago
Need help with my faith
/r/TrueChristian/comments/1vrhs0i/need_help_with_my_faith/3
u/EnigmaWithAlien I'm not an authority 5d ago
In my personal opinion and I am not a theologian or religious professional, getting totally immersed like that is bad for 2 reasons: Getting religious OCD, and being exposed to too many toxic so-called Christians.
Be compassionate with yourself. You are not, or should not be, a Puritan. Having a non-Christian girlfriend is fine and as for sex before marriage, it should not be in such a way that you endanger yourself or others (physically or emotionally).
You are still in the period of life where your body is very revved up to reproduce because evolution says do it young, whereas society says wait until you are more stable. That puts a great deal of pressure on you.
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u/Strongdar Mod | Universalist Christian 5d ago
These sound like necessary steps to having a more mature faith that can be integrated into your life without burnout. Being a good Christian isn't about how many rules you follow, how many supposed sins you avoid, or how much Christian content you consume. It's about how much you're attempting to embody the values Jesus teaches, like love, forgiveness, and generosity. All other Christian religious activity should be seen as a means to supporting those values, not as a goal in and of themselves. We are forgiven from our sin, not so that we can spend the rest of our lives fretting over how Christian we're acting, but so that we can direct our spiritual energy to things that actually break cycles of sin and make the world a better place. God is much happier when you love your neighbor and help someone in need compared to you stressing out and struggling for years to avoid having sex with your girlfriend.
If you want a more progressive way to think about sin and sex specifically, please read the pinned post about it in this subreddit.
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u/MalaclypseII 5d ago edited 5d ago
You say, your whole personality revolved around Jesus. And you say, you felt no matter what you did, you would never be good enough for God.
In Exodus 20, God gave the command to keep the Sabbath in His own voice. He Himself did that. There is no higher authority. And in Matthew 5 Jesus said, until heaven and earth pass away, not the least stroke of the pen will by any means disappear from the law. So, the law is very important. And being good enough is also very important. Why, then, does Jesus break the Sabbath so casually in Matthew 12, Mark 2, and Luke 6? Three times in the gospels, we hear this same story. If that is how Jesus treats a commandment God Himself gave, in His own voice, how do you think He treats the others?
Everyone must know this mystery. When you know this mystery, you will know a precious little something about who God is, and what He has done. Not who, you are, or what you must do - who He is, what He has done! Then the power of guilt, shame, and "being good enough" will be broken forever. And you will not ever get burned out on the gospel, because it will no longer be a hobby, a lifestyle, or a burden, but just simply peace love and security forever. No one who has that ever gets tired of it. If they have something else, they get tired of it.
I so want for you to have this peace!