mjrhealth said:
Here in lies the issue. People go to bible college, seminary school and lear "the bible". depending on who or what denomination is running taht school, it gets slanted towards "their" doctrine. What you end up with is a lot of peole preaching "their" version of the gospel, not based on the " pure word" of God but their own undertsanding. Why,
1. because most are not called by God.
2. They are not led by the Spirit.
3. it is mens doctrines and not Gods truth.
4. They are not being tauight by the Holy Spirit nor Jesus but by men who are learend but what that count for in the Kingdom of Heaven
2Ti 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
2Ti 3:6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
2Ti 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Php 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Gal 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
Gal 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So many seek the wisdom of man, so few seek revelation from God, one is is Mcdonalds breakfast the other Nourishing food.
Joh 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Joh 5:40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
Mat_7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Joh_6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Joh_11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
Joh_14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There is no life outside of Christ, it matters nothing to God what certificates you may have, or how much of the bible you know, it only matters that you know His Son.
The "dead letter" cannot give you life, not unless you are in the desert have no food and hungry so you need to resort to eating the pages, and even than it will not satisfy.
In all His Love
The other side of the coin is people read the Bible, with little to no instruction from others, then gain a distorted view of the gospel. Then they decide they need to teach a congregation that you can just name and claim whatever you want. They teach that God is there to serve us and not the latter. Then people are told they don't have enough faith and that is why they are not getting what they want.
Also you have others receiving revelation, Joseph Smith, they deem from God starting a completely different religion all the while insisting that they are Christians.
Then you have others who deny the divinity of Christ and the reality of hell because it does not fit their interpretation of the Bible...Charles Taze Russell.
Then we have the obvious from every post on this forum... everybody thinks they are "Spirit led" and that they have the "right way." Their opinion is the only correct view and the rest of the church is just wrong and displaying what it means for "man's doctrines."
Most of the time I see posts that point out just how bad everyone else is doing it, how wrong their teachings are, and how bad the state of the church is. If someone has a different view, they are part of the problem and not the solution. If there is a disagreement the argument tactic is to say these are "men's teachings" and not God's. The reality of the matter is God used men to express all of His teachings and writings! Moses, John, Paul, Peter, and Jesus just to name a few.
What I tend to hear is Israel in the wilderness as opposed to saints loving one another!
Now lets get to the heart of the matter...
Truly there are different views on how to interpret scripture. First you have sacramental theology, then you have a literal hermeneutic, also you have a critical view of scripture. There is different views on the inerrancy of scripture. There are different views on soteriology, eschatology, and ecclesiology.
Lets look to the Jesus seminar, and the age of enlightenment...
Let me name men the likes of Calvin, Wesley, Luther... Polycarp, Aquinas, Augustine
All of this to say there is enough there to make your head spin.
Some say you only need the Holy Spirit to teach you or Jesus. Where is their classroom? I will be the first to sign up. Perhaps I could phone God and set a personal appointment, maybe tomorrow around 9:00 am. I tend to retain more in the morning and I am willing to scrap my entire schedule for eternity.
Oh wait a minute, maybe I am not being spiritual enough to really listen to the HolySpirit's teachings. Maybe I need to listen harder to that small soft voice, maybe I need more faith, or more prayer. Oh yeah it must be that I am too dependent on "man's teachings." Phooey!
I am not one to boast, yet I am steeped in the Word. I have continual relation with God. I pray daily and that often. I set my mind on things above and avoid sin. I am a broken vessel, humbled by the compassion of the Christ. I am a living sacrifice dedicated to the needs of others. I implore God to open my mind, soften my heart, and teach me. I seek the constant filling of the HolySpirit and the outpouring of God's grace and love in my life. And this not for my own gain, but so that I might better share the gospel with others. This so I might tear down powers and principalities filled with darkness in the strength and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This so I might be a better witness in my everyday example. This so I might teach others in the power of the HolySpirit. All this I boast in the Lord, for it was Him that gave me the heart and resolve to seek Him in earnest, as He gave the Spirt that brings this dead body to life. It is He that quickened my passion and sharpened my compassion.
Being taught by the HolySpirt is not what some make it out to be. Most scriptures are taken out of context and applied incorrectly.
As an example...
1 John 2:26-27
27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you,
and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
Some say "see... if you have the HolySpirt then you don't need anyone to teach you."
WRONG. This is not what this verse teaches.
First off "you have no need for anyone to teach you" is a teaching within itself. Was John undermining himself in scripture? I think not.
No, John is writing to this audience because of the heresies he was combatting. Certain groups I will call separatists were teaching against what the apostles taught from the beginning. This is the main purpose and thrust of the letter, to dispel the teachings of the separatists. Now I did not come to this knowledge by some mystical revelation of the HolySpirit, I learned it from a man whom I feel is anointed with the HolySpirit.
Without this insight you can see how some may distort what is intended by the author, yet with this insight you can see past our modern bias and limited scope and into the depths of what scripture really reveals. Education can and does help people.
Now in full humility I do concede that there are those with a real knack for preaching and teaching that are not educated, yet when it comes to certain issues these individuals will humbly seek out what the scholars say... most if not all preachers and teachers have some form of library usually with more than one commentary in it.