A hypotethical situation

[Phil.2:12]

Consider the following situation

Two missionaries, totally unfamiliar with each other, plan to preach and teach the Word of God along the banks of the Amazon river in Brazil. One takes the left bank and one takes the right bank but neither is aware of the missionary on the opposite bank.

These two brave souls have no denominational ties of any sort, hence they are completely free of all the doctrines and traditions of men. All they have is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. They are both totally dependant on the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God since neither of them has a theological background. They are totally on their own and totally unaware of each other. Their only teacher is the Holy Spirit which teaches both equally throughout their long journey up the Amazon.

These two missionaries continue up the Amazon to the very headwaters of the mighty Amazon only to find that the headwaters of the Amazon is nothing but a small stream at this point. Both missionaries stay on their respective banks without ever crossing and thereby run the risk of meeting each other. Finally, they come to a tribe that freely hunts and lives on both banks of the Amazon headwaters. The left bank missionary as well as the right bank missonary continue to teach the Word of God to the members of this tribe, each thinking that they are the only missionary teaching the members of this tribe.

What would be the outcome of these two separate teaching styles, one from the left bank missionary and one from the right bank missionary on this tribe that is common to both banks of the river? Remember, both missionaries were guided solely by the Holy Spirit and had only the Word of God to teach from and both are totally lacking in any of the doctrines and traditions of any denomination. When the tribal people began to compare notes on what the two missionaries taught, would there be two distinct versions of the Word of God taught, the left bank version and the right bank version, or would both versions be identical?

[Guest]

A Hypotethical Answer

What Was Heard And Where?

Right then Left?

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

Left then Right?

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13)

Right then Left?

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." (John 15:4)

Left than Right?

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 3:14)

Right than Left?

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" (1 Peter 1:22)

Oh!

I remember now!

We used to march to this ditty in The Good Old U.S. of A's Armed Forces!

I was left - right out of your heart

I was left - right out from the start

I was left - right- right - left

Left right out of your heart!

Love, Joe

[Guest Biblicist]

I'm surprised that one or both of them made it all the way up the river without getting killed and eaten by head hunters. . .

Likely they would be completely different. Look at worthyboards, people here have a great deal of education and they can't even agree on any issue. Maybe their education is the problem. . .

[Phil.2:12]

A Hypotethical Answer

What Was Heard And Where?

Right then Left?

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

Left then Right?

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12-13)

And your p[oint is?

Right then Left?

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." (John 15:4)

Left than Right?

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." (1 John 3:14)

Right than Left?

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:" (1 Peter 1:22)

Oh!

I remember now!

We used to march to this ditty in The Good Old U.S. of A's Armed Forces!

I was left - right out of your heart

I was left - right out from the start

I was left - right- right - left

Left right out of your heart!

Love, Joe

And Joe, your point is?

[Phil.2:12]

I'm surprised that one or both of them made it all the way up the river without getting killed and eaten by head hunters. . .

Likely they would be completely different. Look at worthyboards, people here have a great deal of education and they can't even agree on any issue. Maybe their education is the problem. . .

Remember, Biblicist, I stipulated that neither missionary had any doctrines or traditions to fall back on. All they had to teach them was the Holy Spirit. All of the posters on this board, as well as other boards, come to the boards with their own filter pack through which they view the situation. These hypothetical missionaries had no filter packs at all to look through, only the Holy Spirit and what He revealed.

[EricH]

Consider the following situation

Two missionaries, totally unfamiliar with each other, plan to preach and teach the Word of God along the banks of the Amazon river in Brazil. One takes the left bank and one takes the right bank but neither is aware of the missionary on the opposite bank.

These two brave souls have no denominational ties of any sort, hence they are completely free of all the doctrines and traditions of men. All they have is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. They are both totally dependant on the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God since neither of them has a theological background. They are totally on their own and totally unaware of each other. Their only teacher is the Holy Spirit which teaches both equally throughout their long journey up the Amazon.

These two missionaries continue up the Amazon to the very headwaters of the mighty Amazon only to find that the headwaters of the Amazon is nothing but a small stream at this point. Both missionaries stay on their respective banks without ever crossing and thereby run the risk of meeting each other. Finally, they come to a tribe that freely hunts and lives on both banks of the Amazon headwaters. The left bank missionary as well as the right bank missonary continue to teach the Word of God to the members of this tribe, each thinking that they are the only missionary teaching the members of this tribe.

What would be the outcome of these two separate teaching styles, one from the left bank missionary and one from the right bank missionary on this tribe that is common to both banks of the river? Remember, both missionaries were guided solely by the Holy Spirit and had only the Word of God to teach from and both are totally lacking in any of the doctrines and traditions of any denomination. When the tribal people began to compare notes on what the two missionaries taught, would there be two distinct versions of the Word of God taught, the left bank version and the right bank version, or would both versions be identical?

We have no promise in scriptures that our interpretations of the word will be inerrant. All we have is the promise that the word itself is inerrant. There are many variable that could impact what your 2 missionaries taught (their yieldedness to the Holy Spirit, their interpretations skills, any sin in their lives, personal agenda's etc.)

[Openly Curious]

Consider the following situation

Two missionaries, totally unfamiliar with each other, plan to preach and teach the Word of God along the banks of the Amazon river in Brazil. One takes the left bank and one takes the right bank but neither is aware of the missionary on the opposite bank.

These two brave souls have no denominational ties of any sort, hence they are completely free of all the doctrines and traditions of men. All they have is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. They are both totally dependant on the Holy Spirit to understand the Word of God since neither of them has a theological background. They are totally on their own and totally unaware of each other. Their only teacher is the Holy Spirit which teaches both equally throughout their long journey up the Amazon.

These two missionaries continue up the Amazon to the very headwaters of the mighty Amazon only to find that the headwaters of the Amazon is nothing but a small stream at this point. Both missionaries stay on their respective banks without ever crossing and thereby run the risk of meeting each other. Finally, they come to a tribe that freely hunts and lives on both banks of the Amazon headwaters. The left bank missionary as well as the right bank missonary continue to teach the Word of God to the members of this tribe, each thinking that they are the only missionary teaching the members of this tribe.

What would be the outcome of these two separate teaching styles, one from the left bank missionary and one from the right bank missionary on this tribe that is common to both banks of the river? Remember, both missionaries were guided solely by the Holy Spirit and had only the Word of God to teach from and both are totally lacking in any of the doctrines and traditions of any denomination. When the tribal people began to compare notes on what the two missionaries taught, would there be two distinct versions of the Word of God taught, the left bank version and the right bank version, or would both versions be identical?

Nevertheless Christ was preached

[Phil.2:12]

We have no promise in scriptures that our interpretations of the word will be inerrant. All we have is the promise that the word itself is inerrant. There are many variable that could impact what your 2 missionaries taught (their yieldedness to the Holy Spirit, their interpretations skills, any sin in their lives, personal agenda's etc.)

You are absolutely right, EricH, our interpretations of Holy Scripture often times are not without error, however in this hypothetical situation, the two missionaries are depending solely on the Holy Spirit for the interpretation of the Scriptures they are reading. Their personal feelings, etc. play no part in this scenario.

[kittyjo]

If they were relying completely upon the Holy Spirit to guide their ministries... Then I believe that whatever, their style or method was that it would be perfectly inspired by God and used for His purpose whether they were the same or different... The tribes people would be able to identify the Spirit of the Lord either way.

God speaks His Message/Truth to us all in a different manner, one that we can understand based on our individual circumstances, experiences, trials etc... This situation would be no different.

[EricH]

We have no promise in scriptures that our interpretations of the word will be inerrant. All we have is the promise that the word itself is inerrant. There are many variable that could impact what your 2 missionaries taught (their yieldedness to the Holy Spirit, their interpretations skills, any sin in their lives, personal agenda's etc.)

You are absolutely right, EricH, our interpretations of Holy Scripture often times are not without error, however in this hypothetical situation, the two missionaries are depending solely on the Holy Spirit for the interpretation of the Scriptures they are reading. Their personal feelings, etc. play no part in this scenario.

In a hypothetical world, with all things being equal, if the only influence was the HS, they should receive identical revelation on areas where the same topic was addressed