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NASB | Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]--he cannot be My disciple. |
Subject: I'm skeptical |
Bible Note: Hi BradK, I do appreciate your concern and thanks for caring. But I am in a place right now where (I know this is going to sound sacriligeous) quoting key scriptures just doesn't help me very much. Why? Isn't it because I don't believe the scriptures? Well, yes and no. I believe the scriptures are from God and are therefore infallible. But I don't believe that we interpret them infallibly. I know that I don't. I've been wrong so many times (while claiming to know for absolute certainty) that I no longer trust myself. And everytime I would have sworn that it was the Holy Spirit revealing truth to me. For example, I could list about 8 verses that seem to say that a person can lose their salvation. I could list about 8 that seem to say that salvation is eternal. I could list about 6 that seem to say that salvation is a progressive process. And I could list about 6 that seem to say that it is an event. So it is difficult for me to know what truth is anymore. That is why I am seeking it and what others may say about it. The beauty of a forum like this is it encourages us to look at more than one passage of scripture and to consider more than one viewpoint. I have a philosophy (and I admit that this may be wrong) that truth cannot be known UNTIL all the passages of scripture concerning a certain topic have been considered and there is no contradiction between them. Unfortunately, I find that Christians can (and do) argue about almost every doctrine and each one has their "pet" verses they use to substantiate their view. If you will find my post about Jesus' criteria for being a believer, you will see what I mean. (Sorry I don't have the link) But Jesus listed criteria for believers in Mark 16 that I just don't meet. So by His own words, I am not a believer (at least, not in the sense that He requires). I tend to think that I believe in Jesus like I believe in Abraham Lincoln. He lived, He died, He ascended, He will return. But I do not speak in tongues, pick up serpents, drink poison, heal the sick, thread on scorpions nor can my faith move an anthill, let alone a mountain. So by Jesus' own estimation and definition, I am not a believer. And I don't know if I ever will have that kind of faith in Him to do those things. I know, that makes me not worthy of the kingdom. What can I do? I guess all I can do is to trust that He sees my heart and that somehow His grace will be sufficient for me when it is all said and done. Thanks again for caring, BradK. If I relied on ONLY John 17:3 and 1 John 5:11-13, I might have some hope. But I know way too many other passages that say that I must endure to the end to be saved, or that I must be baptized to be saved, or that even acknowledging that He is Lord AND doing some of the miracles that He listed as signs of true believers is not enough. He still says to depart from Him. All I can do is to be like Job and say that though He slay me, yet I'll have to trust that His judgement is right. seeking4truth |