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NASB | Ephesians 4:3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the bond of peace [each individual working together to make the whole successful]. |
Subject: denominations. |
Bible Note: Doc Since the thread is restricted I feel a certain liberty to correct your inaccuracies. First the thread was not about the Apocrypha or any personality, it was about denomination and the charge to be in unity. Now I realize to someone that openly admits that he loves denominations that would probably go against their grain. Perhaps Luther did reference those books but he also referenced the Apocrypha so what. The fact is that he wanted them removed is fact. Did his opinion change later in life? Yes. My point was that there were decisions to exclude books that were later restored, these decision were made by men and they sometimes make decisions that they later must recant. That was the only point. I wasn't demeaning Luther at all. The question remains however, had Luther lived longer would he have perhaps decided to include the Apocrypha once again? I openly agreed that the church first split east and west so your offering nothing new here. The rest of your discourse on the 5 pillars stand only if you accept them as gospel which the church did not for over 1500 years and only a rather small proportion of the church does today. No where did God declare Sola Scriptura, or Sola Fide. These are terms made up in the minds of men of the reformation to combat Rome. The are both with out scriptural basis in and of themselves. What you call gospel is rejected by many in church today. Remember less than 30 percent of Protestant Christians agree completely with these 5 pillars as you call them. Lastly you said your disagreement with me is over my condemnation of denominations. I say I was asking a question, “How do we justify denominations in light of Jesus explicit commands of unity and Paul's teaching on such?” Nothing more nothing less. I condemn separation and division that is in direct disobedience to Jesus’ command for us His church to be in unity and one accord. As to your charge I misrepresent historical accounts. I say to you I have never intentionally misrepresented anything historically or other. For you to bring such a charge is nothing more than an attempt to cast doubt on what I have said. You have my forgiveness for these falsehoods you speak about me but nonetheless they are in fact false. Your charge of faulty hermeneutics again stands only in the light that for yours to be work we must apply new and different definitions to commonly understood words. While mine takes the Scripture unchanged by either redefinitions or new meanings to say what it says and mean what it means. I will stand on my method of hermeneutics over yours any day. I will let the reader decide for himself on which is faulty and which is not. You have taken this thread to places never intended and have tried to minimize everything said within it not with fact but innuendo and implications of misrepresentation. You failed to stick with the subject and never even attempted to answer the base question. Which was. How do we justify denominations in light of John 17:20-23 (NKJV) 20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Which in effect is calling for unity and says the world will know Jesus is authentic by the unity it sees in the believers. Then we move to 1 Corinthians 1:13 (NKJV) 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Corinthians 12:25 (NKJV) 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another Therefore I think you don’t have anything to offer this discussion or me. EdB |