Stranger said:
1. Scripture is words that are inspired by God.
2. Truth is not contradictory. If it has the appearance of contradiction it is only because we don't yet understand what is being said. You check what others say by the Bible. I'm not concerned with percentages.
3. Indeed, I check what anyone says by the Bible.
4. No one knows everything about the Bible. Just because we don't know it all, doesn't discount what we know. We build on it.
5. Scripture is the final authority.
6. Scripture is words inspired by God. If Scripture is just words, why bother interpreting them? "It is written".
7. "It is written" That's what Scripture says. I believe it.
8. Scripture is the final authority. If it goes against what you say, I believe it. If you show me in Scripture where I am wrong, then I would believe you.
9. "It is written"
10. I've never been concerned with being in the majority. Thus I will continue to believe that Scripture is the final authority. "It is written" By now it should be realized that your concern is more in who tells you what to believe than what the Bible says.
Stranger
When you say "it is written" we still have to interpret what
it is. Your interpretation of
it could be different than mine and my interpretation of
it different than the Mormons. You are still presenting a circular argument.
You said: "
It behooves other believers to show them where they are in error...according to the Scriptures."
If 51 believers show 49 other believers they are in error according to Scripture then, according to your theory, the 51 would be right and the 49 wrong or in error. According to your theory the majority rules. If the majority rules we should all be preaching the same truth. So why aren't we all preaching the same Truth?
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. How do we fulfill this text from Scripture? According to your theory majority rules.
Scripture does not support your theory. Scripture says:
If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
One cannot just create his own religion and follow “Jesus” according to
his own interpretation of scripture without there being eternal consequences (treated as a gentile or tax collector) . What we believe is based on the decision of The Church. Not “churches” but one visible, recognizable church that has a recognizable leadership with universal authority. Jesus used the word
church twice in the gospels (both in Matthew). He said,
“I will build my Church”. He didn’t say
churches nor did he imply it would be an invisible church made up of competing groups. The Apostles at the Council of Jerusalem acted as
The Church when they made a binding decision upon all Christians. Jesus said,
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Those MEN, the leaders of The Church at the time, interpreted scripture and made all Christians bound by their decision and their decision was bound in heaven.
So which Church do we "tell it to" that has the final authority? Which Church gets to decide who is a gentile or tax collector? Which Church has the authority to bind or loosen? Baptist? Catholic? Mormon? Lutheran? Berean?