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 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | kalos | 151573 | ||
What does this verse mean to you? ____________________ "Otherwise, we would be saying that God did not actually mean anything specific when He inspired the writers of the Bible. If we were to say that God's word can mean different things, then the word of God doesn't mean anything at all." ____________________ "I was once at a Bible study and the Bible study leader read several verses of Scripture. He then pointed out a particular verse and asked people what they thought it meant. The verse was not particularly ambiguous, and it was not explicitly clear. So, people in the room began to give their opinions on what the verse meant. Some of the opinions contradicted each other. I waited to see what the Bible study leader would do with these contradictions and how he would handle what the verse might actually mean. He simply said that all the opinions sounded good and that we must find out for ourselves what God's word means. Of course, this bothered me. Such relativism is dangerous. "The Bible study leader proceeded to go on to another verse where the same thing was done and other opinions were offered. After a few minutes I could no longer remain silent and I spoke up. Not wanting to dominate the study, I tried to remain polite and cautious as I attempted to correct an error that had just happened in the Bible study. "I carefully pointed out that though there are times when certain scriptures are difficult to understand and that our opinions on these verses might be equally valid, if they contradict each other, they cannot all be valid. Furthermore, I pointed out that we must not subject God's word to our opinions. It is a mistake to have a group of people look at a Scripture and offer varying opinions on what it means as though God's word means only what it means to us at that time and that we can contradict each other and that's fine. Instead, we should ask ourselves "what does a text say?" We should work hard at trying to discover the best single possible meaning to the text is -- if that is applicable. We should not view God's word as a well from which we draw whatever feeling, sensation, or opinion that suits us for the time. Instead, we must do our best to find out what the word actually says to the best of our ability instead of "feeling" our way through the scriptures using relativism as a guide. Otherwise, we would be saying that God did not actually mean anything specific when He inspired the writers of the Bible. If we were to say that God's word can mean different things, then the word of God doesn't mean anything at all. The problem here is that relativism was creeping into the Bible study. "The danger in this is that if taken to its logical extreme, verses could mean anything we wanted them to mean. With no absolutes to draw from, apostasy would begin to creep in. For example, I am reminded of how some major denominations are actually putting millions of dollars into studying the issue of homosexuality to determine to what extent people can be held responsible for this sin... if they determined that it is a sin at all! This, of course, leads down the road apostasy and needs to be stopped. "So I ask you. When you study God's word devotionally, or otherwise, do you hope to find what it actually means so you can subject yourself to what it says, or do you try and find a meaning for Scripture that suits your needs, your feelings, and your desires? I would hope that you do the former. We need to check ourselves. "To test yourself, I suggest that you read Romans 9:9-23. This section of Scripture is often difficult to interpret and can even be controversial. But it is God's word nonetheless. In it, there is a test. As you read the text, see if you find yourself objecting. See if you find yourself complaining the same way Paul did. See if you ask the same basic objections to the arguments that Paul is raising. If you do not, then you are failing to understand the text. If you do raise the same basic objections as you read through the verses, then that means that you understand what it says...not what you hope it means. Then, see what your attitude is towards what the text says. It can be very revealing. "Let our devotion to God be a subjection to his word." (http://www.carm.org/devotions/verse.htm) * * * * * * * * * * * * * www.seekfind.org Christian Search Engine The mission of SeekFind.org is to provide God-honoring, Biblically-based, and theologically-sound Christian search engine results in a highly accurate and well-organized format. |
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2 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | Not yet | 151789 | ||
Scripture says what it means and means what it says. The Word, is not relative. It is absolute, but even absolutes have comparisons. The fact that one can associate personal experiences in life with scriptural depictions, and learn from the comparison, does not make their conclusions incorrect, as long as they do not differ from the line of scripture. Scripture can mean many different things to different people, depending on the current happenings in their life at one particular time. When one studies something, they attempt to understand and master the fundamentals of that something. Understanding and mastering the fundamentals of scripture is just like graduating college. One can use what they have learned and build on it, or simply spread what they know as a teacher. In the case of scripture, hopefully the teacher will be led by the Spirit. Teachers do not always have the benefit of experience. They tend to teach what they have been taught, and consider everything else superfluous, incorrect or irrelevant. . Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Who can say that learning cannot come from association? In His loving Name. |
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3 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | kalos | 151808 | ||
Not yet: I could agree with you if you were to say: "Scripture (scriptural truths) can have different APPLICATIONS in the lives of different people, depending on the current happenings in their lives." But the MEANING of a passage of Scripture does not change according to a person's needs. The MEANING does not depend on the current happenings in their lives. Therefore, I cannot agree with your assertion, as you worded it: "Scripture can mean many different things to different people, depending on the current happenings in their life at one particular time." Grace to you, Kalos ******************** "This verse means to me...." ____________________ "Avoid adlibbing in Bible interpretation. Avoid free wheeling in Bible interpretation." ____________________ 'Avoid superficial interpretation...avoid superficial interpretation. One of the common problems in interpreting the Bible is this little phrase, "This verse means to me...." so forth and so forth and so forth. Let me tell you something. It doesn't matter what it means to you, the question is what would it mean if you didn't live? What would it mean if you didn't exist? What does it mean period is the issue, not what does it mean to you. 'Sometimes you'll hear people get together and supposedly have a Bible study which is little more than a pooling of ignorance. People say, "Well, I look at this verse and I feel this verse is saying..." It doesn't matter what you feel. That has nothing to do with it. It's not a matter of how you feel about the verse, it's not a matter of what you think it means to you. Avoid adlibbing in Bible interpretation. Avoid free wheeling in Bible interpretation. Haphazard handling of God's Word. 'We all want to acknowledge the priesthood of the believer...yes, we all want to acknowledge that we have anointing from God, the Spirit of God who dwells within us and the Spirit of God who dwells within us is the teacher who teaches us. We all want to acknowledge that. But that is not justification for flippancy dealing with Scripture. That's why in 1 Timothy 5:17 it says, "The elders who work hard in the Scripture are worthy of double honor." It is hard work. 'Avoid superficial interpretation. Avoid "this means to me." That is not a statement that should preface any interpretation of Scripture. The question is, what does it mean if you don't exist? What did it mean before you were born? And what will it mean after you're dead? What does it mean to people who will never meet you? What does it mean period, is the issue' (www.gty.org). __________ http://www.biblebb.com/files/macqa/70-19-6.htm * * * * * * * * * * * * * www.seekfind.org Christian Search Engine The mission of SeekFind.org is to provide God-honoring, Biblically-based, and theologically-sound Christian search engine results in a highly accurate and well-organized format. |
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4 | Why can we not just be Christians? | 1 Pet 1:2 | Not yet | 151885 | ||
I stand corrected. You, dear Kalos, are 100 percent correct. I tend to think of scripture and truth as one and the same, and chose to omit the latter. NYP |
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