Not of the World Posted November 17, 2022 Group: Diamond Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 86 Topics Per Day: 0.15 Content Count: 1,060 Content Per Day: 1.84 Reputation: 456 Days Won: 1 Joined: 10/12/2022 Status: Offline Share Posted November 17, 2022 1 hour ago, Dennis1209 said: ...to secondary issues of church doctrine. Is it not fair to say that the "Great Commandment" is all we really need to believe and follow to be saved? Love and follow Jesus, obey his commandments and love everyone else as we love ourselves, right? Beyond that, might it all be "secondary"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR7 Posted November 17, 2022 Group: Royal Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 49 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 2,907 Content Per Day: 1.29 Reputation: 614 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/03/2018 Status: Offline Birthday: 03/06/1952 Share Posted November 17, 2022 On 11/15/2022 at 8:20 AM, BillyBOC said: You still have not answered my question! When we have the mind of Christ then we will all be united together in one mind and one accord. WE can only be united together in and with God. This is why God caused confusion at the tower of Babel. Gensis 11 6And the LORD said, “If they have begun to do this as one people speaking the same language, then nothing they devise will be beyond them. 7Come, let Us go down and confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8So the LORD scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they stopped building the city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis1209 Posted November 17, 2022 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 18 Topic Count: 349 Topics Per Day: 0.13 Content Count: 7,505 Content Per Day: 2.70 Reputation: 5,404 Days Won: 1 Joined: 09/27/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted November 17, 2022 11 hours ago, Not of the World said: Is it not fair to say that the "Great Commandment" is all we really need to believe and follow to be saved? Love and follow Jesus, obey his commandments and love everyone else as we love ourselves, right? Beyond that, might it all be "secondary"? I hope I was not misunderstood what I was trying to say. Everything word of the Bible is of immense importance: 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. I use the term primary and secondary to separate Salvation, redemption, and the core tenets of the faith from hermeneutics in scripture. In other words, there is no compromise on why we need a Savior, our fallen condition, and the only way to be redeemed is through Jesus Christ, our Lord. There is room for debate and understanding with such topics as prophecy and right or wrong; I call those secondary issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristen Posted November 17, 2022 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 9 Topic Count: 3 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 2,378 Content Per Day: 0.63 Reputation: 1,357 Days Won: 1 Joined: 01/26/2014 Status: Offline Share Posted November 17, 2022 On 11/14/2022 at 3:01 PM, BillyBOC said: It is stated that God is not the author of confusion but the author of peace as in all the churches of the saints, then why are there so many denominations with so many different beliefs and doctrines and outright confusion, where is the peace and understanding? We see this in 1 Corinthians 14:33 and then we see in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 that scripture is profitable doctrine, correction, study and that is that the man of God may be perfect. We see in Matthew 4:4 that the Word that proceed out of the mouth of God feeds us and we see that that word is the scriptures today and that that is all we need according to 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Then in John 14:26 we see that the Holy Ghost will teach you everything, then again, why are there so many conflicting doctrines, so many arguments and meaningful but misleading and sometimes purely false doctrines and statements, so many minor and major points of confusion in the Body of Christ, why is the Bride of Christ so questionable today? Just thinking out loud! Response to OP (so my apologies if I’m repeating ideas that have already been stated) Firstly, I think the levels of division in the church are vastly exaggerated by outsiders; especially by those who seek to criticize the church. Not that division doesn’t exist in the church, but that the magnitude and extent of the division is amplified in the minds of those who are critical of Christianity. Many denominations are indistinguishable from others in terms of doctrines – they are simply different organizations doing fundamentally the same thing (maybe using a different method or having a different ministry focus). Secondly, given the nature of creation, God clearly loves variety. The church is required to cater for many different types of people, coming from a vast variety of backgrounds and life experiences. It is therefore unsurprising that there is a large range of church teaching, and praying, and worshipping styles. It would be more surprising if all churches were the same. Third, All Christian churches agree regarding the Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith; e.g. the Divine Authority of Scripture, the Eternal Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the Vicarious sacrifice of Christ, the Bodily Resurrection of Christ etc.. These ideas are stated repeatedly in Scripture. However, many doctrinal concepts are less clear in scripture. That leaves room for free thinking/meditation, for learning, and for giving Christians opportunities for respectful disagreement. God is more concerned with our attitude and behavior, than with us being right all the time. Leaving some things a bit more vague makes allowances for disagreement, and gives us opportunity to practice good behavior despite our disagreements. Fourth, only God is omniscient. No human has all the right information. The church is a “body”. We each have different roles in the body. The fact that one part of the body plays a different role to another part does not mean the body is divided. God gives to each part what it needs; including the information it needs. Therefore, not everyone in the church should be an expert (and necessarily agree) on every doctrine. God has taught each of us things that He has not yet revealed to others. Likewise, God has taught other people things that He has yet to reveal to us. Finally, whilst “God is not the author of confusion”, God is not the only one in church. The church is full of fallen humans, all at different stages of sanctification and maturity. These corrupted humans are accompanied by personal biases, and agendas, and spirits they derived from the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Who me Posted November 18, 2022 Group: Royal Member Followers: 5 Topic Count: 17 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 3,300 Content Per Day: 1.71 Reputation: 1,686 Days Won: 0 Joined: 01/27/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted November 18, 2022 On 11/15/2022 at 1:20 PM, BillyBOC said: You still have not answered my question! No, but I've given you the tools to find out. That is the best form of learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
com7fy8 Posted November 19, 2022 Group: Senior Member Followers: 2 Topic Count: 41 Topics Per Day: 0.02 Content Count: 873 Content Per Day: 0.45 Reputation: 520 Days Won: 0 Joined: 02/05/2019 Status: Offline Share Posted November 19, 2022 If God is not the author of confusion, then He is not the author of the confusion which results in divisions. But if we pray the way God's word means, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (in Philippians 4:6-7) This is God's own peace which guards our "minds" against confusion, if and while we obey how God guides us in His peace. But there are people who give their main attention to ideas and proving their ideas over other people's ideas. So, that keeps them out of God's peace so their minds can be confused and they can have emotional trouble, and break down in their relating so they break apart from others competing with them. And their divisions show outwardly, while we who are one in God's peace ruling us are blessed in this peace which is invisible! So . . . instead of letting wrong people control our attention to feeding on and criticizing their failure - - and even blaming God for what Satan's evil spirit is doing (Ephesians 2:2) - - we are wise to stay attentive and submissive to how our Heavenly Father now is succeeding in ruling His obedient children in His own peace > "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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