Hello

[TruthKeeper]

Hi,
My name is Ann. I am trying to find truth. I was raised Pentecostal and left the church for about 13 years... then after coming back I have not found what I feel is really God. I am a bit confused about some things. I feel I have probably been taught wrong doctrine but I am not sure how to "undo" what has been taught to me? Someone posted a link to Chris's youtube video about the 501c3 churches, in a group I'm in on facebook. I watched that last night and am currently watching a few more. I am interested to see if this is what I'm looking for. I'm not positive but I hope I can find truth.  By the way I am 47 years old and live in the south.

[Jeanne]

Hi Ann,

You will find here that what is taught here is nothing except what is in the Bible. You won't find anyone trying to get you to send in money (Read the article on tithing here: http://creationliberty.com/articles/tithe.php) or forcing ideas down your throat. Everything is thoroughly documented and backed up by Scripture.

There are several of us here who have come out of Pentacostalism and no longer have anything to do with any of the traditional church buildings.

I hope you can grow and learn with us, too!

Jeanne

[TruthKeeper]

Thank you Jeanne,

What was your biggest issue with the Pentecostal church?

[creationliberty]

That's like getting hit in the face with a cream pie, and then asking what part of the cream pie was the worst.

[Jeanne]

What Chris just said... I was in an Assembly of God church rather than United Pentecostal, but they're both still full of leaven and false doctrine.

[TruthKeeper]

I grew up Church of God and went a year to Church of God college.... I honestly don't know what is right and wrong at this point.

[Jeanne]

All you really have to do is compare what you're being taught with Scripture. We only use the King James Bible here; you can read why on the website. God promised He would preserve His word (Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.) but that doesn't stop Satan and his minions from trying to corrupt it anyway.

There are dozens of articles on dozens of different subjects at creationliberty.com and they are all backed up with extensive references from Scripture and other places. (Doctrine is backed up by Scripture; claims made by others are backed up with where the quotes came from.)

[TruthKeeper]

All you really have to do is compare what you're being taught with Scripture. We only use the King James Bible here; you can read why on the website. God promised He would preserve His word (Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.) but that doesn't stop Satan and his minions from trying to corrupt it anyway.

There are dozens of articles on dozens of different subjects at creationliberty.com and they are all backed up with extensive references from Scripture and other places. (Doctrine is backed up by Scripture; claims made by others are backed up with where the quotes came from.)

Other than Speaking in tongues... what would you say is wrong about the Pentecostal church?

[Jeanne]

Pretty much everything, same as with other denominations. They're mostly all 501(c)(3); they all want your tithes; they celebrate pagan holidays like Christmas, Easter and Halloween; they're respecters of persons (don't you DARE question the pastor!) and they flock to all sorts of wicked, unbiblical teachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, et al; they don't sanctify themselves from the world; really, too much to mention everything.

The topics I just mentioned are all topics Chris has written articles on. I would really encourage you to go over to the website and just start reading.

With all the questions you're asking about what's wrong with the Pentecostals, though, I'm really starting to wonder if you really do want to sanctify yourself from them. Are you really looking for the truth or are you looking for an excuse?

In your original post, you asked about how to 'undo' all the false doctrine you've been taught over the years. The answer to that is to simply start reading the Bible for yourself. Chris has done an excellent job of explaining a lot of things, but reading his articles and listening to his teachings are no substitute for just getting into the Word for yourself and studying.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

[Joop]

Hi Ann,

I love it when people are really looking for the truth! I was a pentecostal for nearly 40 years. I believe God led me out of this. I studied the topic 'speaking in tongues' for myself and came to realize it's all fake and false. Though lots of pentecostals are sincere, they are misled/deceived, specially when it comes to speaking in tongues. I left 'my' church 3 years ago after hearing a horrible preaching about speaking in tongues. It was claimed that 'speaking in tongues' could give you special wisdom. That did it for me. I am not going anywhere at the moment, I have had it with denominations in general. I Hope and pray for you that you may find some genuine Christians. Always keep Christ in the center of your life, He is Lord. Amen. BTW I was in a church linked to the Foursquare-movement.

[i7sharp]

Have prayed ... and will continue to pray for you, Ann. One of my sons-in-law was born in Georgia.  Am baby-sitting his son, Christiano. That should help me remember you in prayer.

[TruthKeeper]

Pretty much everything, same as with other denominations. They're mostly all 501(c)(3); they all want your tithes; they celebrate pagan holidays like Christmas, Easter and Halloween; they're respecters of persons (don't you DARE question the pastor!) and they flock to all sorts of wicked, unbiblical teachers such as Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn, et al; they don't sanctify themselves from the world; really, too much to mention everything.

The topics I just mentioned are all topics Chris has written articles on. I would really encourage you to go over to the website and just start reading.

With all the questions you're asking about what's wrong with the Pentecostals, though, I'm really starting to wonder if you really do want to sanctify yourself from them. Are you really looking for the truth or are you looking for an excuse?

In your original post, you asked about how to 'undo' all the false doctrine you've been taught over the years. The answer to that is to simply start reading the Bible for yourself. Chris has done an excellent job of explaining a lot of things, but reading his articles and listening to his teachings are no substitute for just getting into the Word for yourself and studying.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

For someone that is looking for truth and understanding.... it's not such a good feeling for someone to say that "I wonder if you are really looking to sanctify yourself from them. Or are you looking for an excuse?" 
Just because I don't understand everything does not mean I am looking for an excuse for anything.... have you never been confused?  That sure is not a good way to teach someone something. JMHO

[Joop]

"I feel I have probably been taught wrong doctrine but I am not sure how to "undo" what has been taught to me?"

As already been said: you can 'undo' the wrong teachings taught to you, but you''ll have to work on that. As for me, it took some time to 'deprogram' myself from false pentecostal teachings. I studied 1 Cor 12-14 multiple times, from multiple angles. I studied the roots of pentecostalism, you can find it on CLF too. Very helpful. Looking for the truth is not always easy: I had to leave the church I was in. I had to, there was no other option for me.
Pentecostalism is cultish, it has wrong foundations. Looking back now, there was a lot of superstition (though the church I was in was quite moderate). Please consider the advice being made here: study the Word of God for yourself.

[i7sharp]

John 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak:
and he will shew you things to come.

Who is "he"?
The Holy Ghost - as far as I can see.

[TruthKeeper]

The problem is that I always thought the Holy Spirit was the one teaching me before.  So how do I know when the Holy Spirit is really guiding me? That's the big question for me.

[creationliberty]

Whenever what you're learning lines up perfectly with the Bible. More study in the Word, and discernment of doctrine, will help breed the confidence you're looking for.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
-Rom 10:17
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2Ti 2:25

[TruthKeeper]

Whenever what you're learning lines up perfectly with the Bible. More study in the Word, and discernment of doctrine, will help breed the confidence you're looking for.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
-Rom 10:17
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2Ti 2:25

Thank you!
The Lord led me to start reading all the way through the Bible this year. I am currently up to the last chapter of Jeremiah.  I cannot believe how much I truly don't know about the Word. I got involved with my church at the age of 16... prior to that I just went because my parents made me... and that was not all the time. Then I was molested at the age of 11 and had emotional issues that popped up at the age of 14. So, I was looking for answers then but I was very swayed by emotional things. After High school I went away to a Pentecostal college for a year.  I married someone from that church but when the marriage started to fail I quit church all together until a few years ago. The main reason I have not continued in church was because I have health issues that prevented me from going. During this time away from church I have started researching a lot of things and I'm finding things I never thought I would. So here I am just wanting to know what God is really all about.

[Jeanne]

TruthKeeper, the only reason I questioned your sincerity is because you kept asking what was wrong with the Pentecostal church and what the worst part was. That's like asking what's the worst part of a poo sandwich, and which is worse; dog poo or cat poo?

Then, after I told you that all you had to do was compare what you were being taught with Scripture, you still came back and asked what was wrong with the Pentecostal church other than speaking in tongues. Past experience has shown me that people who keep asking the same questions after being given an answer are not really looking for answers.

If you truly are just looking for understanding, then I apologise for misjudging you. I'm also very sorry to hear about the things you've been through.

I'm sure you've heard about all the scandals going on in the Catholic Church about sexual abuse, since it's been in the news a lot lately. What most people don't realise, however, is that these same types of things are just as prevalent in the Protestant churches, but they're still more hidden and not publicised as much. It may not involve children quite as much, but that does still happen, too.

The bottom line is, if an individual or organisation is leavened, you stay away from it altogether. As the Bible says, 'A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.' Sure, there may be a little bit of truth mixed in there somewhere, but you can't really separate the truth from the lies.

[TruthKeeper]

I guess I am wondering what all the things were in the Pentecostal church that were not Biblical. I am still learning and honestly I would say I am probably still indoctrinated. Am I trying to think differently? Yes... I am trying to learn what is not Biblical... Do I know yet? No.   This would not be a reason to question someone desire to know the truth.

[creationliberty]

Perhaps the folly was mine, that I inserted a joke that may have caused a problem in communication. I was commenting on the question about Jeanne's experience, which was "What was the worst part?" This is not to say there are not worst parts, but all of it is bad. However, if the question is about what all the aspects and details of their deception, there are some points I think Severius (one of the men in our church) would probably be able to answer more thoroughly. Sadly, he's bogged down with work right now, so he probably hasn't had time to come on the forum lately to check these posts.