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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | why was the thief saved without baptism? | Luke 23:43 | Hank | 129957 | ||
Karen, you ask how we can tell the difference between our presuppositions and scriptural truth? I sort of wish you hadn't asked! Your question is tough. It makes me think, and I don't like that. .... And I don't presume to have all the answers, or even most of the answers, to your question. Time has taught me a few important lessons, not the least of which are these two: the unwisdom, not to mention the futility, of trying to convert every person, or even every Christian, I meet to every doctrinal position that I hold. The second lesson is to stay keenly aware of the possibility, not to mention the foolishness, of pride trumping humility to the extent that one ceases to seek the Spirit's guidance and does it his way, becoming so fossilized in his thinking that he no longer can bear the thought that he may be wrong in certain of his interpretations of Scripture. In the quest for truth there is every reason to learn how to study Scripture and to study it long and hard; every reason to pray for divine guidance; every reason to avail oneself of the wisdom and insight that the Spirit bestowed upon godly men and women of ages past; but no earthly reason to build a system of theology upon one's own guesswork and speculation, or upon the guesswork and speculation of anyone else. The Bible does not answer man's every question, but it does answer what man needs to know in order to become a regenerate follower of Jesus Christ. But one of the problems the church has had to grapple with for 2,000 years is false doctrine: the human tendency to interpolate, expand upon, and base doctrines upon things that the Bible clearly doesn't teach. The "gray areas" of disagreement between Christian communions cannot be blamed on Scripture's lack of clarity but rather on man's lack of Bible knowledge and spiritual discernment, and on his unwillingness to accept God's word for what it says. Man loves to gussy up the plain gospel message with "user-friendly" dross; to dilute its power to convict sinners and feed the saints by sprinkling in a big dose of I'm-O.K.-you're -O.K. humanism. ..... But I still haven't answered your question, Karen. How do false teachers and those whom they're deceiving know they're wrong? I'm convinced that some don't know, don't want to know, and may never know. Others eventually may be led and come to a knowledge of the truth that is God's word. But not all. Universalism is not a biblical teaching by any means. Not everyone will be saved. ..... So there you have it, my answer to something or other...probably not your question :-) ...... How would you answer your question? --Hank | ||||||
2 | why was the thief saved without baptism? | Luke 23:43 | DocTrinsograce | 129959 | ||
Hi, Hank... thank you for your posts! I always appreciate them. This one too! I'd put more of my testimony in here, because its pertinent, but it would put some folks with keen sensibilities on here into high dudgeon! Suffice it to say that I've been digging pretty deeply into theology over the last ten years or so. The problem is, of course, as Paul says in I Cor 8:1b "Knowledge puffeth up." Spiritual pride is an awfully damaging sin. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." The wonderful thing about the doctrines of grace, though, is that they are, necessarily, awesomely humbling. They kick the pins out from any prideful attitudes of the heart. They keep us focused on our only source of hope! Additionally, of course, you find that no matter how much you study and read, there is still more to study and read. (Karen and I are both taking theology courses this fall!) Its an exciting and delightful process -- at least most of the time -- exchanging the lie in my head for the truth in Him. One thing that seems to come up constantly for me is how the gospel is incredibly comprehensive, far more than simply fundamental. I think I had quoted a pastor friend of mine elsewhere in this forum. He said, "The gospel is not the ABCs of our faith, rather it is the A through Z of our faith." Anyway... thanks again for your participation in the forum. |
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3 | why was the thief saved without baptism? | Luke 23:43 | Hank | 129961 | ||
Doc, it's good to learn that you and Karen have plans to dig deeper into Scripture. Perhaps you will be encouraged by the following quote excerpted from one of Spurgeon's sermons: "Many books in my library are now behind me and beneath me; I read them years ago, with considerable pleasure; I have read them since with disappointment; I shall never read them again. They were good in their way once, and so were the clothes I wore when I was ten years old -- but I have outgrown them. Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years. The deeper you dig into Scripture, the more you find that it is a great abyss of truth." ........ Indeed, as your pastor friend observed, the gospel is the A to Z of our faith. But, alas, in far too many watered-down, pale versions of the gospel that are popular in our time, the gamut of genuine gospel teaching runs all the way from A to B. --Hank | ||||||