HOW TO READ THE BIBLE AND WHY

[superdave5221]

Protestants should stick to the Bible. Their first premise, "by the Bible alone", is NOT TAUGHT BY THE BIBLE! Therefore, their instance that everything must be written down completely in the Bible IS NOT BIBLICAL. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 proves that Scripture alone IS NOT ALL THAT THERE IS.

This is also not taught by most Protestants. STOP STEREOTYPING ALL PROTESTANTS AS FUNDAMENTALISTS!!!

The only Protestant churches that are close to solo scriptura are the fundamentalist bible churches.

Most Protestants would fall somewhere between sola scriptura and regula fidei as far as authority and sources of Truth for doctrine.

Even those who claim to be solo scriptura are not so in practice, as they do recognize the Trinity as proposed in the council of Nicea (325), as well as many other agreements proposed in the first four ecumenical councils that would be considered to be traditional.

It is only when the temporal Catholic Church (composed of Roman Catholic and EOC) clearly deviate from the Truth following these first four ecumenical councils that the temporal church's tradition is no longer seen as valid, and, in fact becomes quite questionable.

At this point, the Catholics (composed of Roman Catholic and EOC) began to put their trust in the episcopacy and temporal structure, as well as in manmade sacraments, and depart from the spiritual church, which is the true Church of Christ.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born from above. In other words, he must be born spiritually, (John 3:3). When we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are born spiritually into His Church. Your temporal church cannot take the place of the spiritual church.

It is this spiritual church of Christ that is described in the bible.

1 Peter 2: 4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2: 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Not the manmade one which is temporal and will not stand against the gates of Hades.

 

[OldOrthodoxChristian]

This is also not taught by most Protestants. STOP STEREOTYPING ALL PROTESTANTS AS FUNDAMENTALISTS!!!

The only Protestant churches that are close to solo scriptura are the fundamentalist bible churches.

Most Protestants would fall somewhere between sola scriptura and regula fidei as far as authority and sources of Truth for doctrine.

Even those who claim to be solo scriptura are not so in practice, as they do recognize the Trinity as proposed in the council of Nicea (325), as well as many other agreements proposed in the first four ecumenical councils that would be considered to be traditional.

It is only when the temporal Catholic Church (composed of Roman Catholic and EOC) clearly deviate from the Truth following these first four ecumenical councils that the temporal church's tradition is no longer seen as valid, and, in fact becomes quite questionable.

At this point, the Catholics (composed of Roman Catholic and EOC) began to put their trust in the episcopacy and temporal structure, as well as in manmade sacraments, and depart from the spiritual church, which is the true Church of Christ.

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born from above. In other words, he must be born spiritually, (John 3:3). When we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, we are born spiritually into His Church. Your temporal church cannot take the place of the spiritual church.

It is this spiritual church of Christ that is described in the bible.

1 Peter 2: 4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2: 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Not the manmade one which is temporal and will not stand against the gates of Hades.

Dear Superdave: John 6 doesn't say anything about manmade sacraments. The Lord Himself instituted and founded the 7 sacraments of the EOC. The EOC is not temporal; She is the Body of Christ against which "the gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18). There is no such thing as a temporal church. As for the Church that Christ founded, it is Christ's spiritual body. It is visible.
Protestants place their trust in themselves as substitutes for the episcopacy.
The true Church is gathered around bishops and priests and deacons together with in fellowship with the people (laity).
I still have a lot to learn. I wandering into error this week when I called St. Peter a false teacher. I was not thinking correctly. I let my thoughts of logic get away from honor of the 12 apostles, who were not false teachers, even if they made some mistakes. I have stated this already in other threads.
Nobody is perfect in this life. That doesn't mean there isn't a true, visible Church of Christ which will prevail against the gates of hell.
That Church is the EOC.
God save us.
In Erie Scott R. Harrington
PS EOC= Eastern Orthodox Church
PPS John 6, the Holy Eucharist, is not a manmade sacrament: it was founded by Jesus Christ Himself, and Christ is the Truth. The EOC is centered around Her celebration, among the baptized, of the Holy Table of the Holy Eucharist of Her, the EOC, the One Church.

 

[superdave5221]

Dear Superdave: John 6 doesn't say anything about manmade sacraments. The Lord Himself instituted and founded the 7 sacraments of the EOC. The EOC is not temporal; She is the Body of Christ against which "the gates of hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18). There is no such thing as a temporal church. As for the Church that Christ founded, it is Christ's spiritual body. It is visible.
Protestants place their trust in themselves as substitutes for the episcopacy.
The true Church is gathered around bishops and priests and deacons together with in fellowship with the people (laity).
I still have a lot to learn. I wandering into error this week when I called St. Peter a false teacher. I was not thinking correctly. I let my thoughts of logic get away from honor of the 12 apostles, who were not false teachers, even if they made some mistakes. I have stated this already in other threads.
Nobody is perfect in this life. That doesn't mean there isn't a true, visible Church of Christ which will prevail against the gates of hell.
That Church is the EOC.
God save us.
In Erie Scott R. Harrington
PS EOC= Eastern Orthodox Church
PPS John 6, the Holy Eucharist, is not a manmade sacrament: it was founded by Jesus Christ Himself, and Christ is the Truth. The EOC is centered around Her celebration, among the baptized, of the Holy Table of the Holy Eucharist of Her, the EOC, the One Church.

Dear brother in Christ. Would you condemn me to hell?

If I am right, then all those who are in a saved relationship with Christ, are in a state of salvation. That includes you, and others in the EOC, Roman Catholics, or any temporal church congregation. Your salvation is not dependent on where you go to church, or who you pay tithes to, or who you congregate with. IT IS DEPENDENT ONLY ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!

Consider the following:

Ephesians 4: 4 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is only one church of Christ!! You are either in this church, or you are not. When Christ returns, he will return for His Church.

If you are right, and the EOC is the only true Church of Christ, then ALL Protestants from Luther to the present day are condemned to hell!! This is so because if the EOC is the true Church of Christ, and they were not in that church, then they are not in Christ's church, and are thus condemned.

Do you see now why the EOC is a temporal church? Because you are tying salvation to the membership in a congregation of people, rather than in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Does this seem right to you?

 

[OldOrthodoxChristian]

Dear brother in Christ. Would you condemn me to hell?

If I am right, then all those who are in a saved relationship with Christ, are in a state of salvation. That includes you, and others in the EOC, Roman Catholics, or any temporal church congregation. Your salvation is not dependent on where you go to church, or who you pay tithes to, or who you congregate with. IT IS DEPENDENT ONLY ON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST!!!!!!

Consider the following:

Ephesians 4: 4 There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

There is only one church of Christ!! You are either in this church, or you are not. When Christ returns, he will return for His Church.

If you are right, and the EOC is the only true Church of Christ, then ALL Protestants from Luther to the present day are condemned to hell!! This is so because if the EOC is the true Church of Christ, and they were not in that church, then they are not in Christ's church, and are thus condemned.

Do you see now why the EOC is a temporal church? Because you are tying salvation to the membership in a congregation of people, rather than in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Does this seem right to you?

Dear superdave, The EOC does not say that all those outside the EOC are condemned to hell.
Why would you think that the EOC believes that? Do you know what the EOC believes? Or do you want to believe what you want to believe about the EOC? The EOC believes that only God is the Judge of who is saved or lost.
See Timothy Copple, "Does Orthodoxy Really Think It Is the True Church"? Orthodox Inquirer/Convert Home Page
God bless you. Do you think that membership in a church keeps people from a relationship with Jesus Christ? Where do you get that idea? Do you think Christ called one apostle, or many apostles? He didn't choose just St. Peter. He chose St. Paul, and 70 other disciples as well, and others besides that. He chose the Virgin Mary. Thus, salvation is in communion with other persons in Christ, not a personal relationship with Christ all alone on a desert island of self alone with Christ, with no other church members.
It is not so that if the EOC is the true Church, this condemns all people outside of the EOC to hell.
People were saved in the OT before there was an EOC. The thief who repented was saved without baptism.
God can and does have mercy "upon whom [He] will have mercy" (Romans).
God save us all. Amen. In Erie Scott R. Harrington
PS Right: there is only one Church of Christ: The EOC. All will be in Her some day. All whom God saves, that is, will believe the same Faith, the Orthodox Faith, that the EOC believes now.
A person could believe the same thing the EOC believes without knowing it yet.

 

[Grandpa]

That's assuming they believed a little bit differently. That doesn't make sense in the light of Ephesians, which says "One LORD, One Faith, One baptism ....". They all believed the same Faith. By the way, denominations don't exist in the True Church. Anything that is a denomination isn't the Church founded by Christ. Denominations didn't happen until after the schisms of 1054 and 1521. Heresies were expelled from the Church along the way. These never succeeded in the long run. If no one group of people can claim to be the True Church, then Matthew 16:18 is false, and so is 1 Tim. 3:15, and so that makes both Christ and St. Paul into liars.

Assuming?? Its in the bible. They believed differently, and were corrected by Paul. IF a church believes differently than another church we call it a different denomination. My point is that even in the beginning there was not a SINGLE church that believed the same exact things as all the others. So if the very first churches established had to be corrected then why would you think that churches after that time wouldn't need to be corrected?

There is one True Church. It is not a denomination. But it is made up of many different believers from many different denominations. These are Gods people who believe His Word and His Spirit over all mens traditions and mens teachings.

Just in case you still don't get it...

1 Corinthians 15:12-18
12Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
14And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.


Galatians 3:1-9

1O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?
2This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
4Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
5He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
6Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.


Each church that Paul sent an epistle to had a different error that needed to be corrected. To say that denominations didn't exist before we started calling them denominations is to turn a blind eye to the actual reality. This is exactly why we follow the bible and what it teaches according to the Holy Spirit. This is exactly why we don't blindly follow the tradition of men and the tradition of a single church claiming that it is 100% free from error. We know there are no perfect physical churches because there are no groups of physically perfect people. We do know that there is a perfect spiritual church because we know that the spirit is perfect.

 

[Katy-follower]

Every religion should be compared to the bible. If you only read the bible with the goal of defending your religion you will not find the truth, because you are inadvertently twisting scripture to fit with your beliefs. This is dangerous, because it leads you to error, without realizing.

It's like chalk and cheese. You cannot say you believe in the chalk if you also believe in the cheese, which opposes the chalk. Do you see? You may not be aware that they oppose each other, but this is where the bible helps you. Since the bible is God's word, his love letter to us, his instruction, we should compare everything to the bible.

I strongly advise that you take a small break from your church and just read the bible for yourself, without any distractions that your religion brings.


Luke 11:9-10: "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened"


Remember this scripture.....

Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it"

(Some may say "how can millions of religious people be wrong?" - the answer is this scripture. The true church/those who find the truth will be very small, unfortunately. However there are a lot of people currently on that broad road leading to destruction. So who are those millions on that road to destruction? - the bible tells!)

 

[resurrection33]

I did that myself. It works great until you hit 1 Chronicles.

After a couple days, I just skipped ahead to Matthew and kept reading from there.

Read 1 Chronicles.

 

[willfollowsGod]

Yes, please read 1st Chronicles, I could see if one skipped Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy but skipping 1st Chronicles. When it comes to the word of God do not skip anything even if it looks boring. All is helpful, teaches lessons, and shows that through history His Story is told. We should read the Bible based on what it says and avoid some traditions that have creeped up into the church. Such as the fruit in the garden of Eden was an apple when it is does not say it was an apple. It is a mistranslation of the fruit in the Bible, when in Hebrew the word for fruit is the term used in that verse. God bless.