Results 1 - 4 of 4
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Truth, Character, and Fruit of Teaching | Matt 7:19 | DocTrinsograce | 233639 | ||
“He [Christ] warns that fruitlessness in good, fruitlessness in righteousness will lead to judgment and condemnation. So Jesus speaks of the kind of the fruit and He speaks of the condition of the fruit as ways that we can see a true and a false prophet. Notice in particular that Christ’s test of fruits has at least two or three aspects. “First of all, there is the fruit of doctrine. We may distinguish the false prophet from the true teacher of God’s word by the doctrine that he teaches. Is his teaching in accordance with the Bible? Is it in accordance with the sound doctrine which has been received and believed in the church down through the ages? Or, does he claim to be revealing some new truth which no one has ever heard of before? We may be sure that when someone is claiming to tell us that they have found a truth that no one else has understood, that they are a false prophet. We note the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 12 verse 33, this same thing: ‘Either make the tree good, and it fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.’ He goes on to say to the Pharisees in verse 37, ‘For by your words, you shall be justified. And by your words, you shall be condemned.’ He is saying to these false teachers, by your doctrine, by the words that you preach, you will stand or fall. If you speak falsehood, you will be judged. If you speak truth, you will be justified. The Lord Jesus is reminding that the teaching which is not in accordance with the Bible, is false teaching and it abounds today. There are all manner of people who, in the name of Christ, speak that which is positively contradictory to His words. They are, according to the Lord Jesus, false prophets and they will be condemned. It doesn’t matter how sincere they are, it doesn’t matter how apparently successful they are. They will be condemned, if they do not speak in accordance with the word. “The second aspect of this test of fruit is the test of character. The Lord Jesus makes it clear that the true prophet has his life in accordance with the true teaching of His lips. If he speaks the word of truth, you must also look at his life. Does he live a life of godliness? Does his life display the fruit of the Spirit? Or, does it display the works of the flesh? Does his life show that he is under the lordship of Christ? Or does he claim to be a follower of Christ, whereas his life shows signs of ungodliness. In this passage, Jesus’ words about the fruit of the tree is directly refers to the condition of our lives before the Lord. The false teacher does not display the fruit of the Spirit. He does not walk in the counsel of the Lord. “There is a third aspect of this test. And that is the fruit of the teaching of the prophet in the life of his hearers, of his followers. What happens in the lives of the followers of this prophet? Does his teaching promote godliness, or does it insight them to ungodliness? Does his teaching exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, in their lives and hearts, or does it make the Lord Jesus Christ less significant than He is in the scriptures? Does their teaching upset their faith? Or, does the teaching of the prophet build up their faith? Does the teaching of the prophet cause ungodly divisions in the body of Christ, or does it promote a healthy biblical and spiritual unity? “All of these are tests which the apostle Paul speaks of in the pastoral epistles in II Timothy, chapter 2, verses 18 and 16, and also I Timothy chapter 6, verse 4. Paul over and again speaks about the impact of the teaching of false prophets on their hearers. And so, by their doctrine, by their character and by the fruit of their teaching in their followers, we may test the teaching of those who claim to be preachers of the Word. Jesus, after teaching us and calling us to be prepared to test the spirits, repeats again the test in verse 20.” –-J. Ligon Duncan |
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2 | Truth, Character, and Fruit of Teaching | Matt 7:19 | EmethAlethia | 233644 | ||
Tit 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. I understand that you may not be an elder. If you are, the object in Christianity is not to hold fast to what all the religious leaders and experts say. By that standard, Jesus, all the remaining 11 disciples, and Paul, who was chosen as an apostle afterwards, would fail your test. THe bible does not say, "Trust those who have gone before for centuries" It says continuously keep on proving all things, over and over again, as a habit and wayof life, and hold fast to that which is good/true. It talks about those who are noble minded who examine the scriptures diligently daily, not for the purpose of holding fast to their accepted religious views, but to see if what is said is so. Do you understand that if we teach as doctrines (of God) the doctrines of men, or if we nullify what God has said to hold to our "well established", but untrue traditional beliefs, that even the time we spend in worship is worthless? We get what we love most. If we close our eyes and our ears to any belief other than what we have already accepted, how can we say that it is just for Mormons, Jehovah's witnesses, or any other group that so firmly stand on the "Fact" that "Their beliefs" "Are" "Truth"? I have no problem with the "feeling" that my views contradict some of the religious teachings that have been in place ... in this culture, for centuries. Jesus did the same. Some false teachers do the same. What I am looking for is someone who is an Elder and does as God commands an elder should do. Tit 1:9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. Or someone who is not an elder, for whatever reason, but has a strong reason for the faith that lies within them, and is wiling to shoare those things with me. So far there has been no real attempt to "both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict." Help me out here guys. Many are afraid of the topic, understandably so, but I would prefer not to leave this belief intact. I fought against it for over a year, and I am loosing this fight because I cannot find any evidence to the contrary on my own without twisting, distorting, adding meaning to passages and ignoring what GOd, and Godly men and women, have done over the centuries. |
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3 | Truth, Character, and Fruit of Teaching | Matt 7:19 | EdB | 233646 | ||
EmethAlethia First I think you appended this to a thread you didn't intend to. I think you are still talking about Adultery and married women. I have followed the thread and find it to be a very stimulating subject. However to discuss such a subject with you requires critical thinking, something many in Christianity are afraid of or simply won't do. Further there is the problem that on an open forum such as this most such discussions evolve into hostility and behavior unbecoming a Christian. You make raise a valid and interesting point but such discussion because of the above stated reasons are frowned upon. If you would like to discuss this offline my email address is found in my profile and I would be happy to respond to you. However I'm afraid you will not find me the opponent of your position that I think you are looking for. |
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4 | Truth, Character, and Fruit of Teaching | Matt 7:19 | EdB | 233647 | ||
EmethAlethia After rereading this thread I realized I was wrong that you did intend your post to be on this thread. However your focus I believe in on Women and Adultery. If however you really intend on discussing your statement "Do you understand that if we teach as doctrines (of God) the doctrines of men, or if we nullify what God has said to hold to our "well established", but untrue traditional beliefs, that even the time we spend in worship is worthless?" Then I can assure you that such discussion is frowned upon and actually violates Forum guidelines. However that is a topic in which I'm very interested in but again I'm more of proponent than an opponent. MY email address is in my profile. EdB |
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