Why are there so many…opinions…. arguments….debates….about what the scriptures mean?
Why are there over 30,000 registered Protestant denominations?
I am sure some know that there are several “Catholic type” religions around the world.
And then there are the non-denominational churches that number in the 100’s of thousands.
Then we have the heretical denominations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Voodooists, the Calvinists. And the less organized denominations that are more or less “religious movements” the new age’rs, and what I call the new denomination.
Why is it so difficult to come up with a concise meaning for the Bible? This is serious business because it has inspired wars between the Catholics and the Protestants….The 30 year war fought in Europe and the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics in Ireland that also lasted 30 years. And the deaths and casualties from these wars challenge the death tolls in the World Wars. How could the Bible be so confusing that it would fracture the Church of Christ and cause this amount of death and suffering?
There are answers to a lot of this, that will explain how all this happened and bring a lot of the scriptures into focus.
Explaining the numbers….
Actually if you look it up there are more than 50,000 registered denominations worldwide. Of course it stands to reason that there has to be duplicates….right? I have been interested in this for a long time and was happy when the topic came up while I was in collage, not by the professor, but by a student that had gathered information on this.
He estimated that 70 percent of these numbers were unintentional duplicates that were caused by regional naming. By duplicates I mean churches of very similar beliefs. Then 10 percent of the churches that split, were because of personality conflicts in the administration or the congregations. Of course there is a certain percentage of unknown causes, but the rest of them are mostly due to doctrinal differences. So then this reduces the number of denominations that actually have different beliefs significantly.
Some of the divisions involves the decision to focus on an element of salvation, a particular Christian event in the Bible, to focus on one of the members of the Trinity, styles of sharing the Gospels, or the type of administrative structure of the church. Still there are doctrinal differences between these types of churches that can include moral tolerances.
Still this does not explain how so many doctrines or beliefs can be rendered from the Bible. Over the past several months I have tried to highlight the answer to a lot of this confusion. One of my frequent saying in my book is that, “Someone should have noticed this!” Here on the forum I would go into where they were debating a topic and give them all the scriptures for both sides of the debate. And then challenge them to figure out why this is? I never got any takers
So here I have chosen one of the most divisive topics and I will give examples on how each individual wrote about both sides of the topic in the Bible, that is Christ and the Apostles
The topics;
Grace and Eternal Security and Sin and Punishment.
This is what the Apostle Paul wrote;
Paul---regarding Grace and Eternal Security
Roman 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
1st Corinthians 1:8-9 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Roman 4:7: Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Paul--regarding Sin and Punishment.
2Cor:5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
1st Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Romans Chapter 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace & 6:18 Being then free from sin, you become the servants of righteousness.
Rom:1:32: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Rom:1:32: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Galatians 5:21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The Apostle Peter
Peter—regarding Grace and Eternal Security
Peter in Acts 2:38-39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
1st Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1st Peter 3:17-18 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
1st Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
Why are there over 30,000 registered Protestant denominations?
I am sure some know that there are several “Catholic type” religions around the world.
And then there are the non-denominational churches that number in the 100’s of thousands.
Then we have the heretical denominations, the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Voodooists, the Calvinists. And the less organized denominations that are more or less “religious movements” the new age’rs, and what I call the new denomination.
Why is it so difficult to come up with a concise meaning for the Bible? This is serious business because it has inspired wars between the Catholics and the Protestants….The 30 year war fought in Europe and the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics in Ireland that also lasted 30 years. And the deaths and casualties from these wars challenge the death tolls in the World Wars. How could the Bible be so confusing that it would fracture the Church of Christ and cause this amount of death and suffering?
There are answers to a lot of this, that will explain how all this happened and bring a lot of the scriptures into focus.
Explaining the numbers….
Actually if you look it up there are more than 50,000 registered denominations worldwide. Of course it stands to reason that there has to be duplicates….right? I have been interested in this for a long time and was happy when the topic came up while I was in collage, not by the professor, but by a student that had gathered information on this.
He estimated that 70 percent of these numbers were unintentional duplicates that were caused by regional naming. By duplicates I mean churches of very similar beliefs. Then 10 percent of the churches that split, were because of personality conflicts in the administration or the congregations. Of course there is a certain percentage of unknown causes, but the rest of them are mostly due to doctrinal differences. So then this reduces the number of denominations that actually have different beliefs significantly.
Some of the divisions involves the decision to focus on an element of salvation, a particular Christian event in the Bible, to focus on one of the members of the Trinity, styles of sharing the Gospels, or the type of administrative structure of the church. Still there are doctrinal differences between these types of churches that can include moral tolerances.
Still this does not explain how so many doctrines or beliefs can be rendered from the Bible. Over the past several months I have tried to highlight the answer to a lot of this confusion. One of my frequent saying in my book is that, “Someone should have noticed this!” Here on the forum I would go into where they were debating a topic and give them all the scriptures for both sides of the debate. And then challenge them to figure out why this is? I never got any takers
So here I have chosen one of the most divisive topics and I will give examples on how each individual wrote about both sides of the topic in the Bible, that is Christ and the Apostles
The topics;
Grace and Eternal Security and Sin and Punishment.
This is what the Apostle Paul wrote;
Paul---regarding Grace and Eternal Security
Roman 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:38-39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
1st Corinthians 1:8-9 Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Roman 4:7: Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 1:13-14 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Paul--regarding Sin and Punishment.
2Cor:5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
1st Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Romans Chapter 6:14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace & 6:18 Being then free from sin, you become the servants of righteousness.
Rom:1:32: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Rom:1:32: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Galatians 5:21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The Apostle Peter
Peter—regarding Grace and Eternal Security
Peter in Acts 2:38-39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
1st Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
1st Peter 3:17-18 For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
1st Peter 4:10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
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