in the church

I don’t know why I write this other than to say, I really want to attend church but I don’t want to associate with those considered virtuous because they aren’t. That's also the main reason I've stayed away from churches. So many phony people (Sunday Christians) with lukewarm hearts and unholy hands, worshiping a Holy God. I live in a community that has several dozen churches -- churches that are so full they have two or three services every Sunday morning, but my community is also known for its impatience. The people here are very quick to anger. So, I often wonder, "Where are all the Christians who go to church on Sunday and act so holy?" That's it -- they act. They are right in there with the rest of the world. You can't tell the difference. They don't read their Bibles, or spend time in prayer with God. They listen to the junk lyrics on the popular music stations. They watch the same garbage television shows that everyone else watches. Their minds become infiltrated with that stuff. It dumbs them down and makes them think that character and integrity don't matter; therefore, it's rare we ever see anyone with character and integrity. However, if we're Christians, we are told to "...come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). If the church is full of people who are content with their unrighteousness (cf. 14-16), then what are we doing there? We need to be somewhere that we can be encouraged to walk an holy Christian walk; a place that believes in the One True God, a loving God who has made salvation open to all (not just Protestants or Catholics) through the sacrifice of Jesus who died for all mankind. Salvation is very simple. I often use the Roman's Road to show how simple it is: Man is a sinner. Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; There is a price on sin, eternal death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Jesus paid that price on the cross. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. By faith in Christ we can be saved. Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. This is salvation by grace. It does not say you have to do anything else to be saved. It says that FAITH in Jesus is how we are saved, and we show this faith by calling on His name. No matter if we call ourselves a Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, etc. There may be some serious doctrinal differences among all these religions and denominations, but it doesn't change how we are saved. Anyway, I'll say a prayer that you find the church that God already has planned for you to attend. I'm still looking myself, and I'm not against church-hopping until I find a church that feels like home. Not only where we feel comfortable, but a place that challenges us to grow and offers opportunities for us to minister to others. In the meantime, visit places like http://www.worldchallenge.org and listen to the online messages there.