Results 1 - 9 of 9
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | Emmaus | 62434 | ||
John, "The difference is that on non-essential matters, (other than)such as are codified in the Apostles Creed for instance, my conscience is bound solely to the inspiration of Scripure as the Holy Ghost applies it to my heart. I am bound to no mere man or doctrine or confession or church dogma." Your comment above of course raises the question of authority and how the Holy Spirit works in and through the Church which Christ established and of which He said, "He who hears your hears me." Luke 10:16 This authority and working of the Holy Spirit is shown in Acts 15:22-23,28. Issues still come up from time to time in the Church that demand difinitive and authoritative teaching or interpretation of scripture in order to preserve unity. Catholics do not believe the Holy Spirit has abandoned the Church, despite the sins of her members and hierarchy (e.g. Peter's denial and Judas' betrayal), but still continues to "lead you (the apostles and their successors) to all truth." "Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings... For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and o us..." Acts15:22,23,28 Emmaus |
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2 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62454 | ||
Dear Emmaus, You replied saying that my comment " raises the question of authority and how the Holy Spirit works in and through the Church which Christ established and of which He said, "He who hears your hears me." Luke 10:16 ". Context Emmaus, context! Who is Jesus addressing here? The Seventy He sent out before Him: Luke 10:16 "The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.". How does verse apply to the question of final authority? The final authority is the written Word of God. We have many wonderful and godly theologians in the Reformed Faith, and what they say is oft times then not a treasure of Scriptural insight and it is wise not to dismiss what they teach lightly. Nevertheless, it is not Holy Writ in itself. None of these men lay claim to infallibility but rather exhort us to prove them by the foundation laid down by the Apostles themselves. Acts 15:22, 23 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings. The passage above deals with the administration of the church and has no relation (at least that I can see) to the topic of Final Authority, or as I would prefer to say "Sola Scriptura". Acts 15:28 "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: Again, I fail to see the relavence. The Holy Spirit impresses the hearts of all true christians. You said the Holy Spirit still continues to "lead you (the apostles and their successors) to all truth.". What about the rest of us pew warmers, do we not have the Holy Spirit as well? John 16:7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you" You believe this refers to the Apostles and their successors. I believe it applies to the Apostles and every one who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Your thoughts? Brother John |
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3 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | Emmaus | 62455 | ||
John, The final authority appealed to in Acts 15 was not scripture(i.e the Old Testament) but the authority of the apostles and elders in Council guided by the Holy Spirit. And that is the indisputable biblical pattern and subsequent historical fact of how the Church has dealt with thorny issues since its establishment by Christ. History also shows that appealing to scripture alone leads to even more divison and doctrinal chaos if there is never any final definitve or authoritative interpretation to resolve conflicting and mutually exclusive exegetical interpretations, all appealing to the personal inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that are causing divison. Emmaus |
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4 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62470 | ||
Dear Emmus, I realize that protestantism must seem chaotic from the RC perspective. Rome was right when it claimed that placing the Bible in the hands of the laity wouldd lead to strife and division and it has. From the very beginning there were differing opinions. Luther and Calvin on The Lord's Supper was the first split in doctrine and there have been more splits than I care to think about down through the centurys. It is a natural consequence that comes when people are set free to pursue the truth for themselves. I do not believe we are to follow the pattern of the Levitical priesthood under the NT. Our High Priest is Jesus and the believers one and all are made to be a kingdom of priests, prophets and kings. I see too much error in RC doctrine to believe that the Pope is infallible when speaking ex cathedra or that these doctrines were a result of the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. John |
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5 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | Emmaus | 62484 | ||
John, "Rome was right when it claimed that placing the Bible in the hands of the laity would lead to strife and division and it has." Actually, the Catholic laity who could read and could afford a hand made manuscript copy of the scripture have always had it in their hands, as well as in their ears. It is also worth noting that most heresies from the earlies centuries of Christianity have sprung from the clergy, not the laity, and all used scripture to support their positions. After the invention of the printing press Catholic as well as Protestant laity have always had access to scripture. " It is a natural consequence that comes when people are set free to pursue the truth for themselves." As Peter warned from the beginning. "First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." 2 Peter 1:20-21 "And count the forbearance of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, beware lest you be carried away with the error of lawless men and lose your own stability." 2 Peter 3:15-17 "I do not believe we are to follow the pattern of the Levitical priesthood under the NT. Our High Priest is Jesus and the believers one and all are made to be a kingdom of priests, prophets and kings" Actually the Catholic pattern is the priesthood of Melchizedek. Hebrews 5:9; 6:20; Psalm 110:4; Genesis 14:18. And Catholics also believe in the presthood of the people conferred in baptism, when we are baptized into Christ and His priesthood. The ordained ministerial priesthood is for the special service of the whole priestly people and are drawn from among them, not from a particular cast or tribe. Jesus is the High Priest of Catholics too. Emmaus |
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6 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | Morant61 | 62500 | ||
Greetings Emmaus! You wrote: "It is also worth noting that most heresies from the earlies centuries of Christianity have sprung from the clergy, not the laity, and all used scripture to support their positions." Very astute observation! :-) I'm not sure that much has really changed today. I had an opportunity once to fill the pulpit for a church which belonged to an extremely liberal denomination. This denomination took very unbiblical stances on many issues. Yet, the laity of the local church was very sound in their theology. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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7 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62510 | ||
Dear Tim, I'm afaid that our friend Emmaus was quoting a statment of mine. However I am in hearty agreemeement with your assesment of it. :-) John |
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8 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | Emmaus | 62520 | ||
John, Actually Tim was quoting me in response to your comment which was: "Rome was right when it claimed that placing the Bible in the hands of the laity would lead to strife and division and it has." about the dangers of the laity getting their hands on the scripture. I was pointing out that almost all heresies spring from the clergy. But I am pleased to see we are all of one accord at least on that point. Emmaus |
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9 | complete return to biblical Christianity | Bible general Archive 1 | John Reformed | 62521 | ||
Dear Emmaus, You are correct as well as astute. My apologies, I did not mean to plagerize your idea. I can't even spell plagerize or is it plagerise?? Oh well, now I'm neither astute or clever! :-( John |
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