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NASB | Ephesians 4:11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:11 And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct], |
Bible Question:
HELP ME HERE! I quite agree with you in principal. But there are nearly 300 different denominations and sects most of which say they believe the Bible, yet they disagree with each other. For example I might say I could not fellowship with a Catholic Church because I disagree with too many important doctrines. You may pick a different church but could find some that you feel the same way about. Where one draws that line is a real point of concern for me. As we have attempted to fellowship with local churches, we find that our personal fellowship with God through scripture has made us unpalatable to these churches and them to be very uninteresting to us. The more we read and study our Bibles the less Biblical the churches seem and the farther to the right we tend to draw that line. Is there a chance that we are seeing II Timothy Chap 3 and 4 being fulfilled? |
Bible Answer: Yes, there are different denominations and sects, and many of them do disagree with each other on important doctrines. Some of the differences are not so major (i.e. fall into the category of seriously false teachings), and many differences stem from differences in practice and not in doctrine. My wife and I left the church we had been attending because of an irreconcilable difficulty with the general direction that the church was heading. I understand what you are talking about when you say that it is difficult to find a good church which holds firmly to the whole counsel of God. We have found what I hold to be a very biblically-functioning church in the denomination we are members of now (see my profile if you are interested in knowing which one). One is not going to agree 100 percent with all of the practices/doctrines of any church, in my opinion, and even within denominations there are differences of opinion. In any case, God instructs us to be in communion with the body of Christ, so we have to discern what the most important doctrines and practices of a church are and then seek God's help in finding one that matches up. --Joe! |