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NASB | Matthew 10:33 "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 10:33 "But the one who denies and rejects Me before men, that one I will also deny and reject before My Father who is in heaven. |
Subject: Can A Christian disown Christ? |
Bible Note: The Bible determines truth, not experience. I completely agree with you Kalos. I do not share my experience as a proof (which I stated right off the bat), but rather so that others could have a better idea of where I'm comming from. The great theologian, Charles Wesley, had 4 ways to determine truth. It has become known as the Wesleyan quadrilateral. The four sides are: scripture, reason (logic), church tradition, and personal experience. However, of the four, the most important and critical side is scripture, and all other sides must be judged according to it. I have found this to be a balanced way of discovering truth. In my opinion, the idea that a Christian is able to deny Christ is supported by all of these sides. Let me take them one at a time. There are many scriptural passages (Tim Moran has done a good job of bringing up many of these on this forum) which at least imply, if not appear to clearly indicate that it is possible. Scripture also leads me to believe in "free will", and the ability of human beings to either choose to accept or reject God. Logic would lead me to believe that if a person had truly "free will", then they could reject and deny Christ at any time. I can see no rational reason why something would eliminate this abiltiy when a person became a Christian. There is definately an abundance of Church tradition which supports this idea. It is found in both the Catholic Church, the Methodist Churches, and many Pentecostal Churches. (On this point, I should add that there is also significant church tradition supporting the opposing perspective. This is particularly true of the Baptist and Presbyterian Churches.) And finally, I have shared already how my own personal experience is in line with this belief. Therefore, it is not for only one of these reasons, but rather for all of them, that I am convinced that it is indeed possible (although extremely tragic) for a Christian to deny Christ. |