Authority over one’s faith.

MatthewG said:

Because of this if Jesus hasn’t returned everyone needs to follow every single directive in the Bible and not veer off course.

Im not against anyone who still believes the devil is around or that Jesus is coming back, or that people will end up in hell, or whatever.

That has no effect on me personally trying to live by the spirit and do what Jesus had said objectively in the Bible such as forgive your enemy, love your enemy, turn the other cheek, be humble as a child, to pray for all people, to submit to governing authorities “earthly” and these tenants and principles founded in the Bible.

You are free to believe what you want, because undoubtedly many are going to choose and believe what they want, and their relationship is between them and God. I can not interfere with this, but growing in truths founded in the Bible it is able to set one free in Liberty that is founded in Christ to have faith in Him, loving God and loving others.

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Is Satan, evil and sin have been done away with as you claim in 70ad then there is no need for being forgiven or forgiving others .

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MatthewG said:

Still valid?

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Is what still valid can you not be so vague ? Thanks

MatthewG said:

There is no authority over a believer save Jesus Christ himself .

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A better way to think of your concept is that : Jesus is Lord.

And the Bible is the Believer's final Authority.

However, God gives to the body of Christ, Teachers, Evangelists, Apostles, Pastors, and Prophets" for the instruction and PERFECTING Of the Saint's Faith and Discipleship.

A good NT Teacher, anointed of God to Teach, can show you more in 4 weeks, more revelation, then you can get in 40 yrs, trying to understand the bible.
This is why God Gives Teachers..
God is not interested in a believer taking 40 yrs to figure out the basics of "working out your salvation" as, that is not the prime way to achieve that maturity.

Listen Reader,

If you go to a Church, you have a Pastor, or similar who is the Head of this local body.. So, he is the authority...yet, you have to discern if this person is anointed of God or anointed of SELF< which is to be deceived by the Devil.

Find out if the Pastor and if the Church Doctrine, the fundamental core doctrinal belief of the Pastor and the Denomination teaches that "you can lose your Salvation".
If He does.... if the Denomination does, then they are a CULT.
Get out.
Dont even try to stay there, as this CROSS REJECTING DECEIVED GROUP will have you up on the Cross trying to save yourself, and keep yourself saved.
This "denomination" is not built on Faith in Christ.. It is built on LEGALISM, and that is : Galatians 1:8

Statements like this is why i often say that Protestantism is significantly more dangerous than Catholicism. Such a religion is extremely attractive because it gives individual adherents the authority to define Christianity(and even God)and morality on their own terms while putting on a charade that their beliefs come directly from the Bible alone.

Interestingly enough, it just so happens that at the time of this post, i am studying a couple of articles about how Martin Luther became the inspiration behind the kind of widespread humanism and individualism that is so prevalent in the West today when he first developed the false theology about how a Christian can have a relationship with God on their own terms.

While Jesus rules over His true followers, He does it through men. That's how it was in the OT, and that's how it has been throughout the last 1900+ years in the history of the true Church.

When i open a bible to 1 Cor. 12 or Eph. 4, i see a government structure where men are placed in authority over congregations by God. When i look at Rev. 2-3, i see Jesus speaking directly to the leaders of every respective Church era, from the Ephesian era all the way to the Laodicean era. That automatically implies that there is a consistent and never-ending government structure where men were given authority to rule over the congregations of those eras.

What i clearly don't see when i look at 1 Cor. 12, Eph. 4, or Rev. 2-3 is a passage that says a Christian posseses the authority to believe or do whatever they want without any ecclesiastical supervision. This belief is the same exact lie Satan told Eve when he said that she didn't need to submit herself to Adam's authority, or even God's for that matter. It's downright amazing that more Protestants haven't recognized the fact that this dangerous belief is such a transparently obvious lie!