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NASB | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ. |
Bible Question:
Joe, How do you know if your pastor/minister teaches truth? How do you know if your church holds to the truth? No church or pastor/minister is going to say, "Come and hear false teaching." Everyone in Christendom thinks that they proclaim the truth. Many (not all) Baptist would say you've got to be immersed to be saved. Catholics and Methodists would say the sprinking is fine. Pentecostals would say that you need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues. Conservatives would say that those gifts have passed away. One church says you can't have musical instruments. Another says its fine. One church says you have to worship on Saturday. One says you need to worship on Sunday. One church says you need to confess your sins publically. Another says that open confession is not necessary. One church says that anyone can partake of communion there. Another says that you can only if you are a member. One church says they believe in the free will of man. Another says they believe that God is completely sovereign and man has no choice in the matter. Once church says you can't have female pastors. Another says that there is no male and female in Christ so it's OK. One church says that the Christian is no under Law. Another says that Christ in us enables us to fulfill the Law as He did. One church says that your salvation is secure because it comes from God. Another says you can, at some point, reject it and fall away. Joe, how do you KNOW that you are being taught truth? Everyone of these churches have certain scriptures to back up their view. EVERYONE! So it is not a matter of the church not following scripture. So how do you know what the truth is? In Christ, Bill Mc |
Bible Answer: Bill: "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." --John 17:17 I am quite sure that I will find out in Heaven that I was wrong on a lot of things. And ultimately, on issues which the Bible has touched on, it will indeed be a matter of not following Scripture. It is not Scripture that is unclear, but our interpretation of it which errs. Even removing the question of false teachers (and teaching should always be tested), one's interpretation can be influenced by vestiges of sin oin our lives, by the environment we live in, by our education (or lack thereof), by animosity toward individuals/churches/systems which have "burned" us in the past, etc., etc. That's why it takes careful study, a reasoning mind, a listening ear, and reliance upon the Holy Spirit to discern truth. Yes, the Holy Spirit is our teacher (John 14:26), but that does not imply that we are always the best learners. God will accomplish His purposes in my life, but He has more than one arrow in His quiver which he uses to bring that about. Scriptural truth is not a quick study, and God never said that growing in knowledge of the truth would be some easy 3-step procedure. It is not a "clean" process, either, where all truth on every Christian issue is settled in our minds upon conversion to Christianity. So how do I KNOW that I am being taught truth? I prefer to say that I am convinced that I am being taught truth, but here are a few reasons which I consider to be strong evidence: 1. It is internally consistent. 2. It takes into account the whole counsel of God's Word, rather than building a theology out of three verses and twsiting the rest of Scripture to fit the model. 3. It explains reality (e.g. human nature). 4. There is a long, unchanging historical tradition which has held the same views, a tradition made up of men used by God in very mighty ways throughout the last 2000 years. 5. God's Spirit testifies within me to the truth. Having examined other world views and theologies, they don't meet the preceding qualifications. Some of these others may meet one or two, but never all of these that came right off the top of my head just now. Personal searching of the Scriptures as well as listening to both sides of such debates has settled my mind on the important issues. I am always open to hearing new arguments from those who hold opposite views; I just have not found any to be terribly compelling thus far. Therefore, I consider what I hold to be truth; and like Martin Luther, unless one can show me from Scripture or from reasonable deductions from Scripture where I am wrong, I will consider myself adhering to truth. That having been said, there are some issues which have not been settled in my mind; and even the ones that are settled at times are not of such a nature as to be called heresy. However, heresy does exist, and God has called on us to identify it and expose it as the false teaching that it is. He has not left us with some "cosmic guessing game" as far as most of the examples you brought up in your post. I also know that you hold very strong positions yourself on a lot of the issues you mentioned. So, turning the question back to you, how do you KNOW what truth is? --Joe! |