Given the fact that the bible warns against the private interpretation of scripture' date=' who's interpretation should we follow if not of the Church that originally assembled the bible?[/QUOTE']The Holy Spirit. The true Scriptures where produced by men guided by the Holy Spirit and any doctrine that runs in rebellion against the true scriptures must be rejected along with the evil organization that brought them forward.
You mean the way that the Protestants did? The Reformers said that the Bible had one clear meaning. They also argued that it taught one clear doctrine - Protestantism. But as new Reformers emerged in the wake of Luther, it soon became evident that each Reformer had his own interpretation of what the Bible meant. For Luther, the Bible told him that the body and blood of Jesus were truly present in the Communion. For Zwingli the Bible said the exact opposite. For Bucer, the Bible approved infant Baptism, Menno Simons disagreed. Calvin believed the Bible taught we had no Free Will and we were predestined either to Heaven or Hell, others bitterly disagreed. Some Reformers believed all property should be held in common, others persecuted them for that belief.
I am not a calvanist and i am not a lutheran. I have stated already in this thread that i do not call myself a protestant. I see the events of the protestant rebellion as achieving one thing only and that was the liberation of the Gospels from the clutches of the catholic church and allowing the Word to be read by and to all men. That is what was important. In the OT God used the Persians to bring about destruction of Israel and lead the survivors bound in slavery to Babylon, now the Persians where not true Jews. God can and does use people who are not His followers to achieve His purpose.
The truth is that the Bible is an immense and complex book. There is an infinite number of doctrines that could be constructed based on its various verses. This has been the revelation of Protestantism. 25,000 different Protestant denominations have been recorded in the United States alone. Each one believes that their specific doctrines are based on the correct interpretation of the Bible.
:) But the Word of God is free and men are free to be convicted by the Holy Spirit Directly from the Word. True Seekers who are willing to forsake anything for the truth will be lead by the Holy Spirit unto salvation.
Really? Our future sins too? Would you be kind enough to explain Hebrews 10:26-27 ...
For if we go on sinning deliberately AFTER receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Lets read the Scriptures shall we:
Hebrews 1026 For if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.It is not "for if we sin after we have received the knowledge of truth"..It is: For if we sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth,What does
willfully mean? It means that we sin with a spirit of wilful defiance to the Holy Spirits conviction. This is totally different from a sinner who sins because of the weakness of the flesh. As Paul confessed to doing.
Romans 714 For we know that the law is spiritual, but
I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice;
but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I
will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Paul was a sinner after becoming a Saint. But look at His
will He agreed with the Law that it was good He hated the sin he committed. This is the right spirit of a true Christian. He was not a
willfull sinner His
will was against the sin He did. Now if Hebrews 10:26-27 conforms to your false catholic view of scripture then no one is saved because all are sinners. And if your going to dispute this let me add again a word from Paul.
1 Timothy 115 This is a faithful saying and worthy of
all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
If they are all guided by the Holy Spirit, why is there disagreement on doctrine to the extent that they have splintered into THOUSANDS of different denominations?
That's it. They are not all guided by the Holy Spirit. I never said they where.
There is one Spirit, one Truth. Not 25,000+ truths. Do the math! If the Catholic Church isn't the true Church and it is one of the Protestant Churches, then only one of them can be correct and 24,999+ of them are wrong. Tell me, which is the Church that contains the correct teaching?And before you answer, remember that the NT descibres a Church that has a visible Hierarchical structure. Additionally, the bible also says that this Church would exist for all generations -- those two elements EXCLUDES EVERY Protestant Church!
The Body of Christ is visible and always has been. We do not need official titles backed by the power of the state and tax breaks. I am a part of the Body of Christ. I am here with the scriptures communicating with you today. Working as an evangelist and a watchman. I will stand by the truth that the Holy Spirit convicts me of. You can accept or reject what you will to do. You cannot claim that the catholic church is correct because there are many protestant organizations. The Word of God and the Holy Spirit establishes what is correct, not your use of arguments derived from the thinking of man.All Praise The Ancient Of Days