Subject: Unforgivable sin |
Bible Note: Greetings Teacher! I hope that you aren't saying that wisdom and information are dangerous! :-) The verses you quote are not arguing that wisdom is wrong, but that wordly wisom is often counter to the truth and at it's best is as foolishness to God. Allow me to make a few observations about Gnosticism. While full blown Gnosticism did not come into being until about the second century, there were traces of it found in the first century. The books of the Bible that deal with this early form are Colossians and 1 John. The basic error of Gnosticism was it's denial of the Deity of Christ. However, the first council at Jerusalem did not deal at all with Gnosticism. It was dealing with a group called the Judaizers, who believed one was not really a Christian unless one was circumcised and obedient to the Law of God. Paul argues against this heresy in Galatians and Acts. He consistenly made the point that we are saved by faith alone, not by works of any kind on our part. Just as a side note, I believe that there are two kinds of doctrinal disputes. The first kind results from people simply ignoring plain statements of Scripture. The second kind results from good people simply understanding Scripture in slightly different ways. I have to run now, but maybe we can chat more about this issue! Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |