If You Believe In Jesus

 What is the requirement for being a Christian? I heard Franklin Graham just talking about it tonight. If you believe in Jesus, you are part of the body of Christ, if you have realized you are a sinner and have confessed those sins and asked Jesus to come into your heart. I grew up in a certain denomination and I really felt like I had to be part of that particular denomination up until about 36 years of age.  Even then it was a struggle when I attended a church that was not part of that denomination, I felt like I was going against God.  The gospel is so simple even a cave man can do it, to borrow from a Geico commercial. But in our denominational world, I believe the same struggle exists today. People feel they have to be a part of a certain denomination because that is where they were raised. I heard it in a safety seminar one time, the speaker was called the best in the business because he was part of the organizers church.  I hear it from ministers about other ministers, he is one of the good guys, he is one of ours (from our denomination). Denominations range from legalistic to license and it is not a requirement to be a part of a certain denomination to be in the family of God. Why do so many feel it is? Why do people stay in the denomination they were raised in when they see bad leadership, and they still stay?  I saw on Facebook a person moving across country and looking for a good church in the area they were moving to, and they ask of a church in their denomination? Would a better question be of a prospective pastor, how is your relationship with your spouse? If we believe in Jesus for the remission of our sins, we are part of the body of Christ. When looking for a church, pray about it and ask God to help you find the right place for you. God bless, LVZ