Some people make a big to do about what has to be believed and what should be shunned at all costs. Does it matter? I mean, if you believe that Jesus died to save you, and you know that there is no salvation in any name but Jesus, isn't that enough??? Jesus didn't intend for us all to become Bible scholars, and Lord knows we don't all have the aptitude for it, and we are covered by His grace after all, right?
Yes, of course....and no....(yikes! am I getting into a murky quagmire here!!!???)
I personally believe that we do have a responsibility (and the Lord knows our capabilities, and is compassionate, to be sure) to seek out whether what is being taught is true (Acts 17:11 is a reminder that we need to check and recheck to make sure we are taking in accurate info). Of course the Lord knows we are not going to do it perfectly every time, and He also knows our limitations of our comprehension skills, the Lord is not stupid, and He IS forgiving (Thank You Jesus!), AND we shouldn't use those facts as an excuse to be lazy either.
My personal pet peeve (one of them, anyway) is the pre-trib rapture theory, and yes, I said theory, and I mean theory. I do see it as a hindrance to a proper reading of scripture, and placing of faith on an EVENT over and above of the placing of faith where it needs to remain: in the PERSON of Jesus.
We can all disagree on the timing of an event...the most recent event setting that messed alot of people up came through the "teacher" Harold Camping. Yes, obviously, he was wrong, and many people got hurt as a result of his error. Did any lose their salvation over this? No, I know that Jesus loses NONE of His own, so ultimately He will bring all of us to Himself....however, there are many places in the Bible where there are warnings not to fall prey to false teachers and wolves in sheep's clothing who ravage the flock. There is damage that is done, and we do need to use caution and seek the Lord's guidance through it all, always.
It is good, and often interesting, to read or listen to this theory and that, but at the end of the day, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY (in context)? Let's not let our or someone else's dogmatic assertions cause us to follow the wrong shepherd....we must still keep our eyes focused on HIM over and above all pet theories.
I have been thinking about this issue a lot lately, and I am still trying to clarify my thoughts about it, but here are some quick suggestions.
ReplyDeleteFirst, before we do anything else, we should turn to the Bible to see what it says about theology. When we do this, I think it quickly becomes clear that the Bible is very much interested in theology, and that certain theological themes are sounded over and over again throughout Scripture. At the same time, many theological questions that have interested believers and vexed scholars are largely or entirely ignored. I won't go into great detail, but some of the themes that are repeatedly sounded include the issues that have been most hotly debated by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants. These include the nature of sin, depravity, providence, salvation, and the nature of faith. These themes come up over and over again, beginning in Genesis and continuing right through to Revelation. It seems undeniable to me that God thinks that these themes are extremely important, and that He wants us to pay close attention to them. It also seems to me that the importance of these themes is obvious even apart from the witness of Scripture. Furthermore, it seems to me that the Bible takes a definite stand on all these issues, and that most denominations of Christianity have misread the Bible on these issues, and that only a very few denominations have read the Bible right on them. I think that the church has failed monumentally in its teaching and evangelization duties. So then, do I think that most Christians are not true Christians? Of course not. Do I think that the Christians who do get these doctrines right are automatically closer to Christ, or automatically more holy, than Christians who don't? Of course not. But I do think that these doctrines are very important and that all Christians should be studying them and challenging one another about them.
I am extremely hestiant to say that one cannot be Christian unless one believes this or that doctrine for a number of reasons. First, we all experience serious doubts about our faith from time to time. Second, I think that the Bible clearly testifies that real faith can be quite weak. I could mention more reasons, but I won't. What I will say is this - even if we are reluctant to propose criteria for being a true Christian, I think that the Bible does suggest that there are certain doctrines that form the core of Christian faith. The doctrines are few in number, and they go like this: God exists, and He is perfectly good, loving, merciful, just, powerful, wise, and holy; Christ is God; we are dead to sin; Christ saves sinners; there is no life apart from Christ; we receive life from Christ through faith; and, we should love God with all our being and love our neighbors extremely well. Much of Christ's teaching boiled down to these doctrines. Moreover, the letters of the New Testament contain numerous creeds from the early church, and these too largely boil down to these doctrines. (See, e.g., Colossians, Philippians, and Titus.) I wouldn't want to say that someone who rejects or doubts one or more of these doctrines is not a true Christian, but I would say that accepting these doctrines is definitely enough to be a true Christian. One doesn't need to understand the exact nature of faith, salvation, sin, providence, the church, the sacraments, or even the Atonement. But if one affirms that Christ is Lord and that He is the only thing that can cleanse us of our sin, reconcile us with God, and grow true love in our hearts, then we can be confident that we know Christ - rather, that He knows us, and that He called us out, that He has grabbed us, and that He will never let us go.
One more thing - as important as the theological debates about salvation etc. are, they too often distract us from going out to love and serve others. That shouldn't happen.
Hi Leslie,
DeleteYour "one more thing" is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT thing, lol, I hear ya though, we can get complacent about it (me included) or swing to the opposite extreme where we become so passionate we go overboard on one point of doctrine to the exclusion of others failing to see the bigger picture (I'm also guilty there---I've always hated roller coasters, yikes!)
His love is what always needs to guide us, and that is not the wishy-washy stuff that passes for love these days, it is a love that is firm and holds on through thick and thin and wavers not (that's His love, I know mine wavers so I cannot put my trust on my love, His love is the constant here)...
Great things to ponder and pray about :) Love your input!
One more thing - as important as the theological debates about salvation etc. are, they too often distract us from going out to love and serve others. That shouldn't happen.
DeleteKnowledge puffs up and love builds up:)
Whatever doctrines "pet" or otherwise that any of us believe or don't if we are His, he will take care of the particulars in His time.
That is a big one I have learned, that not everyone is on the same page and it is not good to put ourselves above others....even in our own minds- that is a toughie....., that what we believe is true and what they do is not.
Romans 4:14
Hi Ma,
DeleteI agree :) but the roller coaster continues none-the-less :-| thank goodness His love is perfect even when mine isn't ;-)
Funny, though....I have been willing to look into the rapture thing more than I was in the past. It's awesome how perfect love casts out fear, and we really do have nothing to fear. I'm entertaining all kinds of things now that I wouldn't have a year, ago. I suppose it is all part of the process and if I end up back where I started, that is part of it too:)
DeleteI'm going to listen to a study exposing what the author calls "Secret Rapture" Theory and see what I can glean from it, I'll share it if its any good;)
See I'm teachable:P
Yes, do let me know if you find it to be any good, Ma. :)
DeleteIt's a huge study, and I'm not quite through it (and will have to go back over it) but what I have appreciated is so far the author hasn't played the "the rapture was invented in the 1800s" or "it's all a big conspiracy" card. He is using only scripture and giving me a lot to think about.
DeleteI'll report back;)
I'm definitely going to go over it again, but it struck something with me.
Deletehttp://bible-truths.com/rapture.htm
It's probably not anything you need to read, but I included the link anyway.
We have to love and serve one another to be like Jesus. God bless you.
ReplyDeleteI'm seeing more and more how forgiveness is a key factor, Jesus forgave us so I need to be forgiving of others also. I can try to fake it...but Jesus would know (I might be able to fool others sometimes, Jesus...never).
DeleteI think we all have one or two (at least) points of doctrine where we are wrong, but the wolves are deliberately deceiving people, for whatever reasons, I think it's usually some kind of fleshy/worldly gain involved, usually money.
Jesus needs to be lifted up to the putting down of the flesh...He must increase and I must decrease, but my flesh sure puts up a massive struggle!
Thanks for your encouragement, JT :)
I have been thinking more about your post, and something occurred to me - if Christians read the Bible more, and were more firmly rooted in Scripture, I think that we would have more wisdom about doctrine and that we would also have more love and be better disciples. The church is important to the Christian life, and indeed I would say that it is essential. But the Bible is important too, and in fact it should be part of the rhythm of the life of the Christian. We need to read and hear God's Word constantly - both for our minds and our hearts. Thus, we need to ask how we can study Scripture more faithfully ourselves, and also how we can encourage others to do so.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Susan!
You make an excellent point, Leslie...when I was a new Christian I poured over the scriptures and begged for wisdom much more than I do today...I take things too much for granted, and it is like what the
DeleteSpirit of the Lord says to the Church at Ephesus in Revelation about their first love. When we are newly weds we go out of our way to make sure our spouse is happy, but as the years go by, we tend to get a bit lax...thanks so much for that insight, it is so on the mark!
Thanks for your kind response Susan. I think that many Christians feel daunted by the size of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, and that this is one of the reasons why Christians don't read the Bible more. Picking up on the thread at DebbieLynne's blog, I also think that many Christians, myself included, struggle with our prayer lives, and that it is difficult to read the Bible prayerfully if we are having difficulties with our prayer lives. Improving our prayer lives can help with the latter problem. The former problem is a tricky one - not that improving one's prayer life is easy - but perhaps the church should be more comfortable encouraging Christians to focus on a few of the shorter books in the New Testament, at least for a time, so that they can get a secure footing in some books before moving on to longer, more challenging books. I think that many of the shorter New Testament letters are good here. And the gospels shouldn't be too daunting. Have you heard pastors or other Christians talk about this? Have you discussed this issue in a small group etc.? I think that it is good to spend some time thinking about how we can encourage ourselves and others to read the Bible more, but in order to do this we should try to figure out why we aren't already reading the Bible more and then come up with some practical advice to remedy those problems.
DeleteI just had the most rambly reply ever, and when I reread it I saw that I was making absolutely zero sense, lol, so I deleted it.
DeleteI'll pray about putting up some thoughts and verses about prayer. :)
I wish you hadn't deleted the reply. :(
ReplyDeleteQuestion - I believe you wrote on your other blog that you do not attend a brick-and-mortar church. What exactly does that mean? That you don't attend a regular church? Sorry if my question is elementary. I was going to ask about the teaching at your church. Specifically, I was going to ask whether your pastor hosts classes on the Bible or provides Bible study materials of any kind. I am starting to ask people about this in an attempt to get an impression of the state of Bible instruction in the church today. God bless.
Hi Leslie,
DeleteIt was really late, I was sooo tired, and I said a whole bunch of disconnected stuff that ended up not coming to any point, and had somewhat of a pompousness about it (too much about me, blahbla-blah-blah-blabla, too little about Jesus, lol)
Yes, right now I'm "between" churches, I work every other weekend, and am too tired (lazy?) to try to find one right now. I do go with friends from time to time, and not the same church each time. Each time I've had them try to "sign me up" which involved more than felt right at the time. I get the impression that they think you aren't really saved unless you "belong" to them, and it gets a little creepy for me. I belong to Jesus, not any organization.
One day...maybe...as Jesus directs, but as of right now, not yet. :)
I completely understand. It can be very difficult to find a good church. My wife and I are struggling with that problem right now. It isn't easy.
DeleteHi Susan, My #2 daughter got married this past week so I have missed my net friends! Hope you're OK?
ReplyDeleteThat message board hits me upside the head like a red flag to a bull! You'd see me leaving his church like a kite rising in a tornado if I drove up to service and saw that! OFFENSIVE to the MAX! I'm a sheep not a cow! My shepherd is THE Shepherd THE Word, not one of his pastors who wants to shut me up and fill my ears with politically corrected interpretation. I believe in Jesus Christ alone without a go between other than the Holy Spirit. God gave us the printed word about 600 years ago and KJV 400 years ago and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to understand THE Word. The veil was ripped from top to bottom when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He is my High Priest, thank you very much, Pastor J L Peake.
Now with that rant out of the way, I'll read what everyone commented here and see how off the mark and totally hotheaded I've been.:( matermusearts.wordpress.com
Congratulations, Muse!
DeleteI agree about the sign, but I think he might be on the mark about where many pastors are in relation to their congregations, and perhaps he was only more honest about that :( that doesn't make him any better, I suppose, every once in a while the devil reveals himself of who he really is, sometimes a flatterer, sometimes he seems so helpful, helpful if it leads away from the Lord and into his rebellion. These are perilous times.