WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN A NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH?

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marksman

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I think the relevant Scripture in this regard, was given by John before the crucifixion:

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." John 16:13

I believe that the promise of the Holy Spirit who was about to come, would guide us in all truth as we study Scripture.

A very important verse Stan. The fact is we do not and cannot understand everything that is written in scripture as the finite man cannot comprehend the infinite. Without the Holy Spirit to teach us we are like fish floundering in the water, trying to make the best of a bad situation.

When a church says they do not believe in the gifts of the spirit for today what they are actually saying is that they don't want the Holy Spirit to interfere in what they are doing.

As an example of the difference the Holy Spirit makes, I was in a meeting at a church in the UK where anyone could participate as they felt led to do by the Spirit. A Deacon stood to his feet and said. "The Holy Spirit has shown me that there is someone who is in bondage to smoking. if you will acknowledge it we will pray for you and you will be released from it. He has given me the number 5 but I don't know what that means."

He sat down and there was a few moments of silence. Slowly a visitor stood up and said "That is me. The number 5 you were given is because I smoke 5 cigarettes a day every day." They prayed for him and the meeting went on.

Six months later he was back again. During the meeting, he stood and introduced himself saying he was the person they prayed for about smoking 5 cigarettes a day. He said since that day he has not touched a single cigarette and has had no desire to smoke.
 

Bobby Jo

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... I believe that the promise of the Holy Spirit who was about to come, would guide us in all truth as we study Scripture.

Perhaps you missed the part about Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and TEACHERS.

Or maybe you don't need the body of Christ and can do/be all things by yourself:

1 Cor. 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”


And so GOD sent each of us with our individual giftings to complete the works in each other ...
Bobby Jo
 

marksman

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There is a lot of contention about what happens in Acts probably because very few have made any attempt to live by its tenets. I will make a confession here. When I see a child that is dependent on a wheelchair to get about I want to go up to them and lay hands on them and command them to walk. It hasn't happened yet but......

Acts 2:47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the assembly, the ones being saved from day to day.

Fascinating. The Lord added.... it seems that evangelism was not on the horizon because it was not needed as the Lord added daily those being saved. If no evangelism was embarked upon, what was the reason why they were saved? I am quite sure they did not bowl up to someone's home and say I was saved so I would like to join you. Something must have happened that convinced them what Peter said was true. Did they see the change in the thousands that were saved on the day of Pentecost? Did the Holy Spirit of his own accord convince people about their need for repentance and baptism? That happened in the Welsh Revival.

Or perhaps it was this....Acts 2:43 And fear came to every soul, and many wonders and miraculous signs took place through the apostles. Many wonders and miraculous signs. Be honest with yourself. If in the town where you live there was a spate of people who were beyond help physically were suddenly healed, don't you think people would sit up and take notice. Not the odd case but many wonders and signs. Several children in wheelchairs walking again. Perhaps this was the key to the grown of the NTC.

The word fear is the Greek word Phobos where we get our word of phobia which means an extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to something. The people had an irrational fear of what they were seeing in the area of the miraculous. Due to the fact in all probability that it had not happened for a very long time except through Jesus. He had left earth and blow me down it was happening again through the ones he left behind.

Is that telling us that we need to get back to signs and wonders in the name fo Jesus? Do you know why they are not prevalent? Again the problem is fear. Fear that it will go wrong or nothing will happen or we will be seen as silly. The only fear we are allowed is the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. Does that mean if we don't fear the Lord we are stupid??
 
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marksman

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... being religious, but not necessarily Christian.

Alternately, one can be a COMPLETE Christian by Observing and Obeying the Entire Bible.


Who'da thunk,
Bobby Jo
A very important observation as I have found that too many expressions of the church seem to believe that denominational dictates are more important than scripture.

When I was writing a dissertation on the NTC, I spoke to several denominational leaders to ask about their particular doctrines and how they deviated from scripture. In every case, the answer was "yes but..." In other words, you are right but denominational teaching is not subservient to scripture.
 
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marksman

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Perhaps you missed the part about Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and TEACHERS.

Or maybe you don't need the body of Christ and can do/be all things by yourself:

1 Cor. 12:21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”


And so GOD sent each of us with our individual giftings to complete the works in each other ...
Bobby Jo
There is no doubt that the church, in general, has missed the boat regarding the five ministry gifts in Ephesian 4:11. In all my 66 years as a Christian, I have only been part of one church that acknowledged all five gifts and made room for them. As a result, hundreds of churches started up. I believe there are other groups that came about during the renewal movement in the UK that are doing the same thing.

The fact is you cannot see New Testament growth unless you utilize New Testament teaching.
 
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Bobby Jo

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... The fact is you cannot see New Testament growth unless you utilize New Testament teaching.

This is nonsensical, -- you don't grow peas unless you plant for peas.

We need to plant ALL Chapters and ALL Verses from ALL Scripture. To do otherwise denies the FULLNESS of GOD; just as eating only peas denies the fullness of a meal. :)

... and I don't like peas, or anything that starts with a "k" -- corn, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, quiche, ...
Bobby Jo
 
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marksman

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This is nonsensical, -- you don't grow peas unless you plant for peas.

We need to plant ALL Chapters and ALL Verses from ALL Scripture. To do otherwise denies the FULLNESS of GOD; just as eating only peas denies the fullness of a meal. :)

... and I don't like peas, or anything that starts with a "k" -- corn, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, quiche, ...
Bobby Jo
Why is it nonsensical if you agree with it?
 

Bobby Jo

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Why is it nonsensical if you agree with it?

My point being, -- neither the O.T. nor the N.T. should be the "core" of any theology. They're BOTH required for a balanced perspective. For example, in a church where we had previously attended, in a subsequent conversation with the Pastor's son (the "Youth Pastor"), he explained that ONLY the words of Jesus mattered, in contrast with my "Daniel" interest. I cited where Jesus quoted Daniel and he didn't believe it, so I showed him in the Book of Matthew. -- But of course, it didn't matter. His mind was made up, and he didn't want to be "confused with the facts".

And as a personal testimony, I was "saved" through the prophecies of Daniel. I had a "church" upbringing, but never knew who Jesus was. Then after accepting the TRUTH of GOD I started attending a true Christian church where I was introduced to Jesus, and accepted HIM as my Savior. So the O.T. brought me to the FULL TRUTH in the N.T.


Bobby Jo
 
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Philip James

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Joining a NT church is not difficult, many of these communities are still around..

The bishop of the Church in Rome, i think most here are familiar with..

A quick search for the bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth etc.. will quickly lead you to the apostolic Church in those locations..

Peace be with you!
 

Marymog

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We are being taught by men who has their interpretation. By men who HAVE their interpretation.

At the Passover meal, the eldest male would recite the deliverance from Egypt by the children of Israel, every year. They did not have newspapers, TV and radio in those days, and even if they did, they would still recite the story every year

That is how the Jews learned. By repetition. The New Testament is nothing more than a book that repeats what was passed on by the disciples. The basic essentials never change. What changes is people's interpretation of it?
That is true. What changes is people's interpretation of it. That is how heresy entered the Church.
 

Marymog

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I think the relevant Scripture in this regard, was given by John before the crucifixion:

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." John 16:13

I believe that the promise of the Holy Spirit who was about to come, would guide us in all truth as we study Scripture.
If all of us are guided to truth why are all of our truths different. You theory doesn’t work
 

mjrhealth

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I believe that the promise of the Holy Spirit who was about to come, would guide us in all truth as we study Scripture.
What like this bit

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.

So who is it the Holy Spirit leads us to? Christ who is the truth

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.

Is there any other
 

marksman

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My point being, -- neither the O.T. nor the N.T. should be the "core" of any theology. They're BOTH required for a balanced perspective. For example, in a church where we had previously attended, in a subsequent conversation with the Pastor's son (the "Youth Pastor"), he explained that ONLY the words of Jesus mattered, in contrast with my "Daniel" interest. I cited where Jesus quoted Daniel and he didn't believe it, so I showed him in the Book of Matthew. -- But of course, it didn't matter. His mind was made up, and he didn't want to be "confused with the facts".

And as a personal testimony, I was "saved" through the prophecies of Daniel. I had a "church" upbringing, but never knew who Jesus was. Then after accepting the TRUTH of GOD I started attending a true Christian church where I was introduced to Jesus, and accepted HIM as my Savior. So the O.T. brought me to the FULL TRUTH in the N.T.

Bobby Jo
You know the old saying "Never ruin a good story by telling the truth."
 

marksman

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Completely false. Indulgences are still ok

The history of the Catholic Church that I have read said they dumped them because they were seen as buying your way into heaven and it was giving the catholic church a bad name.
 

marksman

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WRONG.
Time for a Bible lesson . . .

- Jesus is TRUTH itself (John 14:6).
- Jesus promised His Church that the Holy Spirit would guide her to ALL TRUTH (John 16:12-15).
- The Church is the Pillar and Foundation of TRUTH (1 Tim. 3:15).
- The Church is the FULLNESS of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).
- Jesus identifies His very SELF with His Church (Acts 9:4-5).

It's not Christ "OR" His Church. It's not the Church "OR" Truth.
Christ IS Truth - and He and His Church are INDIVISIBLE.

There ends the lesson for the day.
Have a nice day your majesty.