Wondering if legal drugs and drinking alcohol are a sin?

What in your life stands between you and spiritual, physical, emotional, or mental health? Alcohol or drugs can be an obvious struggle, but what about some other habits that can wreck our lives? We turn to over-eating, become workaholics, shopaholics, addicted to social media, struggle with pornography, and many other things, to numb the pain. Jesus wants us to be filled with something better than substances or distractions. He wants so much better for our lives. The Bible says to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When we let God control our life, we don’t need to turn to these other things to fill that void.

Grace is messy and hard to accept. We can be so hard on ourselves, refusing to believe that grace could overcome our sins. When we doubt our salvation, what we’re doing is doubting our ability to be a good person. Thankfully good works are not the basis of our salvation.  It is grace that God offers us.

If we doubt our salvation, we don’t understand the extent of what Jesus did on the cross for us. There is not one sin God cannot forgive. We, as flawed people, have made lists of the deeds we believe are unforgivable. That is not what the Bible says. The Bible says, “where sin increases, grace increases all the more”. (Romans 5:20) Faith activates God’s grace. We just have to believe, and we are forgiven.

Often our insecurities keep us from viewing ourselves as God’s handiwork. We allow those insecurities and the lies that go with them to cause us to doubt. If you have been saved, you can live with that assurance, confidence, and security.

Are there hurts, habits, or hang-ups that create doubt and keep you from living in the assurance of your salvation? Every one of us experiences a moment of doubt, and it can be helpful to have tools like prayer, journaling, and verse memorization to fall back on and remind you of God’s truth. Something as simple as keeping a Bible verse on a card in our desk or toolbox, or glove box can become a powerful word of truth to strengthen us.

We think you’ll quickly discover why we say, “This is for everyone.” We are a safe place for you to take a next step wherever you are in your spiritual journey. We welcome the skeptic, the doubter, and the believer. Eastside is a place where it’s okay to not be okay. We know you might have some questions about coming to church. We want you to feel welcome and comfortable, and at ease when you join us in person. Click on the button below to learn more about what you can expect.