Hopefully Posted February 14, 2021 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 6 Topic Count: 52 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 1,323 Content Per Day: 1.07 Reputation: 1,465 Days Won: 5 Joined: 12/07/2020 Status: Offline Share Posted February 14, 2021 I’d just like to say the Holy Spirit worked on me first then I started reading the Bible. Before I had the spirit the Bible was not on my mind and neither was God on a daily basis like now. I have always believed in Jesus but didn’t have a relationship with him until he came and got me. The condition I’m in is that the Bible is cut and dry with no need for debate because God helps me understand what I need to know which is not everything. “Those who are not Jews don’t have the law. But when they naturally do what the law commands without even knowing the law, then they are their own law. This is true even though they don’t have the written law. They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands, and their consciences agree. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done right, and this makes them not guilty.” Romans 2:14-15 Looks like God is happy with some people who don’t have the Bible because of how they live knowing the difference between right and wrong. “Then Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. I am thankful that you have hidden these things from those who are so wise and so smart. But you have shown them to people who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because it’s what you really wanted to do. “My Father has given me everything. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father—only the Son knows the Father. And the only people who will know about the Father are those the Son chooses to tell. “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”” Matthew 11:25-30 To me it’s people who complicate the Bible and make following Christ technical and burdensome. “These are the proverbs of Solomon, the son of David and king of Israel. They will help you learn to be wise, to accept correction, and to understand wise sayings. They will teach you to develop your mind in the right way. You will learn to do what is right and to be honest and fair. These proverbs will make even those without education smart. They will teach young people what they need to know and how to use what they have learned. Even the wise could become wiser by listening to these proverbs. They will gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. These sayings will help you understand proverbs, stories with hidden meanings, words of the wise, and other difficult sayings. Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.” Proverbs 1:1-7 ERV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul James Posted February 14, 2021 Group: Senior Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 771 Content Per Day: 0.53 Reputation: 392 Days Won: 1 Joined: 04/27/2020 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/07/1947 Share Posted February 14, 2021 17 hours ago, AND IN THIS CORNER said: Is the Law an answer to the question? problem is if that worked then everyone would believe the same thing yes? the problem is most Christians have preachers and teachers telling them beforehand what the word says and the way it should be is to find out for yourself if say once saved always saved is true or not and don't just take a few scriptures they give you and look no further It is up to the individual believer to search the Scriptures for him or her self and at the same time asking the Holy Spirit to either confirm or deny what the preacher is saying. The Pharisees had the Scriptures alone without the involvement of the Holy Spirit and so they used their own skewed interpretation to support their desire for power and control. It is no different than any modern power and control type of pastor or church leader. Any person who is attempting to establish their own spiritual empire through using their own interpretation of Scripture to exercise power and control over others is doing nothing but spiritual abuse, and the Holy Spirit is not supporting him. There is a real problem when that type of pastor or preacher is "hero worshiped" and seen as an authority in spiritual matters. In that way, the people who follow that person's teaching don't know that they are being deceived by teaching that is not inspired by the Holy Spirit. A faithful pastor or Bible teacher will always welcome people searching the Scriptures for themselves, and praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit to either confirm or deny what he is teaching them. If the Holy Spirit denies what the Bible teacher is teaching, a faithful one will accept correction, because his desire is to do the will of God and to glorify Christ. The sign of a false Bible teacher or pastor is what was said by a prominent New Zealand church leader when subjected to correction over something he was doing and that questionable: "You can't talk to me like that! I'm an apostle!" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul James Posted February 14, 2021 Group: Senior Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 7 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 771 Content Per Day: 0.53 Reputation: 392 Days Won: 1 Joined: 04/27/2020 Status: Offline Birthday: 10/07/1947 Share Posted February 14, 2021 Because we have the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels, and that when we teach the Bible we do it in faith according to the light that we have. And we see through a glass darkly. This makes our teaching susceptible to error at any time, and because our teaching has a prophetic aspect, we need to follow Paul's teaching where every prophecy, including Bible teaching, needs to be evaluated by mature believers qualified to do so. By "mature" I mean those who by use and experience, through years of study of Word and prayer, are able to discern between truth and error. This type of evaluation is not for novices, especially those spiritual novices who set up websites with the intention of conducting witch-hunts against teachers and teachings that don't fit into their limited religious theology. I have always been grateful that when I have preached or taught the Bible in church, I have been supported by a team of fellow elders who have not hesitated to give guidance and correction when they have seen things that need improvement in the content and delivery of my teaching. In my experience, false teachers are those who gather to themselves disciples that agree with them, and are unwilling to take correction from those outside of their select doctrinal view. To be honest, I lean toward a Calvinist view, but if one of my advisors is an Arminian and gave me advice to give more emphasis to people deciding to receive Christ as the first step toward salvation, I would listen and take their advice on board, because believing the gospel and deciding to embrace Christ has strong Scriptural support. But I wouldn't reject his advice just because he leans more to the Arminian side than I would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeyondET Posted February 16, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 118 Topics Per Day: 0.05 Content Count: 2,868 Content Per Day: 1.23 Reputation: 816 Days Won: 0 Joined: 11/29/2017 Status: Offline Birthday: 04/01/1968 Share Posted February 16, 2021 On 1/23/2021 at 9:57 PM, LearningToLetGo said: Apparently this question has been, not surprisingly, asked many times before. A quick Internet search yielded a dozen or so articles by various biblical scholars on this very topic. From what I looked at it seems there are two basic approaches to answering the question: 1) the Bible itself says that God inspired it therefore it is so, or 2) The Bible lists historical information that has been proven true along with scientific information that has been learned to be true (for example isolation of sick patients to prevent spread of disease). I suppose that's about as good a proof as one can expect under everyday circumstances. Interesting you mentioned disease, the once incurable disease leprosy in early times even mentioned in the Bible is now curable if treated by use of medical science basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the watchman Posted February 16, 2021 Group: Junior Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 9 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 106 Content Per Day: 0.04 Reputation: 54 Days Won: 0 Joined: 10/01/2017 Status: Offline Share Posted February 16, 2021 On 1/23/2021 at 1:54 PM, LearningToLetGo said: How do we know the scripture in the Bible is truly the word of God? It seems we have a sort of circular logic in that the Catholic church declared the Bible as canon and the Bible declared the Church as the definitive legacy of Jesus. What am I missing here? that is a good question this is my though how do we know who our real parents are? yes there is a connection most cases we will favor both our parents in actions looks. i been told i look like my dad... here is my point on scripture we have to take it by faith. with out faith it is impossible to please God. we know paul wrote all scripture is GOD breathed . we are told to search the scriptures John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.. we wasnt there when the Holy Spirit inspired the written word of God ,the word of God is sharper than a 2 edged sword read it enough. We will soon get cut by the HOLYSPIRIT the spiritual surgeon.. imo the world knows its the word of God . yes they ignore it but they also are trying to rid it mainly by watering it down . one example the ten commandments. tells us what sin is. . just like when we travel the state has speed limit signs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis1209 Posted February 17, 2021 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 18 Topic Count: 347 Topics Per Day: 0.13 Content Count: 7,468 Content Per Day: 2.70 Reputation: 5,378 Days Won: 1 Joined: 09/27/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted February 17, 2021 On 2/4/2021 at 7:59 PM, LearningToLetGo said: I agree one hundred per-cent. In fact, it was this observation that originally drew me to read the Bible. Within its pages I have found much wisdom, comfort and solace, and for that am grateful. However, I admit that I still struggle when asked to accept the Bible as the literal and exclusive word of God. Can I tell it is inspired? Absolutely! But I feel the same about other non-canonical texts so... well. It's a process, as they say. My thoughts: The Bible contains roughly 1,500 prophecies; of which about 1,000 have been fulfilled [100% accurate, 100% of the time], and about 500 remain to be fulfilled. 2 Peter 1:21 (KJV) For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. What other religious book predicts the beginning to the end with prophecy? The Bible is also a scientific book and even today science is just catching up. SCIENCE OF THE BIBLE Ecclesiastes 1:7 [rains; mountains; and evaporation] Isaiah 55:10 [hydro cycle and recycling] Psalm 135:7 [evaporation to the atmosphere] Jeremiah 51:16 [thunderstorms and rain] Jeremiah 10:13 [thunderstorms; rain and evaporation] Job 36:26-28 [precipitation] Psalm 33:7 [ocean reservoirs and life cycle] Job 38:22 [treasures of snow and hail] Psalm 147:16 [snow and frost] Job 28:24-26 , Job 38:16 [hydrology balance and sea springs] Job 26:10; Job 38:12-14; Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 40:22 [Geology and the shape of the earth] Job 26:7; Job 38:6 [magnetic and gravitational forces] Job 14:18 [Erosion of rock for nutrients] Job 38:29-30 [ice age; glaciers] Job 40; Job 41 [dinosaurs] Genesis 1:26; Genesis 11:6 [the complex human mind] Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:24-27; Job 30:3-8 [chemical nature of flesh; no cave men but the degeneration of man] Colossians 1:17; Psalm 19:6; Job 38:34-35 [physics; electrical transmission and radio] Genesis 11:6; Daniel 12:11; Revelation 11:9-11 [television; smart phones; satellites] Nahum 2:3-4; Daniel 12:4; Isaiah 31:4-5 [automobiles; airplanes] Genesis 10:25 [continents; land masses; islands] 1 Timothy 4:8 [physical exercise] Exodus 20:11 [who made the heavens, earth, seas and all that is] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted February 17, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,300 Content Per Day: 1.72 Reputation: 1,685 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted February 17, 2021 On 1/23/2021 at 7:54 PM, LearningToLetGo said: How do we know the scripture in the Bible is truly the word of God? It seems we have a sort of circular logic in that the Catholic church declared the Bible as canon and the Bible declared the Church as the definitive legacy of Jesus. What am I missing here? Turn it around. How do you know that it is not the word of God? Please supply reasons and supporting evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LearningToLetGo Posted February 17, 2021 Group: Senior Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 37 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 717 Content Per Day: 0.35 Reputation: 660 Days Won: 0 Joined: 09/21/2018 Status: Offline Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 53 minutes ago, Who me said: How do you know that it is not the word of God? I don't, and I'm not asserting that it isn't. I'm simply asking the question how do we know it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAZARD Posted February 18, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 320 Topics Per Day: 0.04 Content Count: 6,830 Content Per Day: 0.84 Reputation: 3,570 Days Won: 1 Joined: 02/16/2002 Status: Offline Share Posted February 18, 2021 On 1/24/2021 at 6:54 AM, LearningToLetGo said: How do we know the scripture in the Bible is truly the word of God? It seems we have a sort of circular logic in that the Catholic church declared the Bible as canon and the Bible declared the Church as the definitive legacy of Jesus. What am I missing here? "Over forty different authors wrote the sixty six books of the Bible during a period of 1,800 years; and they all had one theme. The creation and redemption of the human race by God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. These books of the Bible were written by men from all walks of life such as Kings, Priests, Judges, lawyers, Princes, Shepherds, Soldiers, Courtiers, Statesmen, Musicians, Inventors, Singers, Poets, Preachers, Prophets, Fishermen, Farmers, Tentmakers, Publicans, Physicians, Rich men and Poor men. They were written in various lands of three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They were written in different ages and by many men, some who never saw each other or knew what the others wrote on the same subjects, yet when their writings were all assembled into one book, there is not one contradiction among them." I believe each and every one of the individual authors were inspired to write the particular book or books that God inspired him to write. Many if not most of them did not know each other, and even would have known what every and any other author was called and inspired by God to write if at all. After all the books were finally written and were all compiled into one, they were in complete unison on every doctrine and they agreed with each other and they were then re-written several times over the years by other men of varying and even if only slightly differing religions who never knew any of the original authors, who never knew each other as they copied and re-wrote, and things were sometimes, accidently or on purpose, changed because of the different understandings of some foreign words some dialects and even the languages themselves. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted February 18, 2021 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,300 Content Per Day: 1.72 Reputation: 1,685 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted February 18, 2021 21 hours ago, LearningToLetGo said: I don't, and I'm not asserting that it isn't. I'm simply asking the question how do we know it is. If one cannot prove one assertion, it follows that the opposite is true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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