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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. |
Subject: Joe, how do you know truth? |
Bible Note: Bill: You wrote: "Human nature is born fallen and should not be considered reality." The fallenness of human nature was what I was referring to. The reality is that humanity is not basically good nor morally neutral. Most other religious viewpoints (and many claiming to be Christian) do not agree with that. Therefore, the Bible does accurately reflect the observable reality of the depravity of man. As far as the horrible teaching you received, I understand completely. It's very much the same garbage that my wife heard through her formative years. And while they may have cited a Scripture passage to support their false teachings, it certainly would have been out of context. No one with a working, thinking KNOWLEDGE of Scripture would allow themselves to believe prosperity doctrine, for example. If they did, then poor, shipwrecked, beated, and imprisoned Paul was just to blind to realize the bountiful Christian life he was missing! That is why I am so adamant that we be using our brains when we study Scripture. Too many people substitute skimming or light reading for studying and probing with an alert mind the depth and wonder of the Bible, or else they try and find verses which support their pre-conceived notions or wishes, ignoring the passages which rule out their views. What happens in such situations is that any kooky idea that pops into their heads suddenly becomes a revelation of the Holy Spirit! After all, they couldn't have some up with such an interpretation on their own, could they? ;) By the way, I would be interested to know which verse they used to support being slain in the Spirit... In any case, may I suggest that you do not err toward the opposite extreme of rejecting any teaching which may challenge your views as you hold them now. For just as teachers can be false, so can our own interpretations of Scripture. I have worked in countercult apologetics for a decade now. Trust me when I say I know what it is like to dialogue with people who unquestionably accept what any church official says to them. However, I have seen the other side of the coin where people have the attitude of "this is what this passage means to ME" or "the Spirit has shown me the truth of what I believe, so that settles it." Such people make the error of refusing any correction whatsoever. The Word properly preached is a corrective for false thoughts, theology, and to point out to us things we never even have thought about in our own studies. Likewise, a thorough familiarity with Scripture will help us be discerning when confronted with teaching, which may or not be in error. That's why God gives us this dynamic, this "checks-and-balances system" so that we do not go to either extreme: 1. uncritically accepting everything from the pulpit or 2. pridefully thinking that we come to all knowledge and truth as individuals in isolation from the church. Neither practice is biblical. --Joe! |