I know others can teach you but how do you tell who is right? I get so many different people telling me their own interpretations and I get so confused if I’m doing the right thing!!!
Gave my life to Jesus just last year. Have some questions and advice needed.
- Thread starter Juliadelores
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Hi @Juliadelores so nice to meet you and have you joining the fellowship here at CC
That's a smart question you ask. People offering opinions rather than advise that is Scriptural is the difference. Right, common sense plays a part in everyday life but it always has to line up with Biblical standards. I'm sure you will get more great comments on this. God bless and keep you and your family!
That's a smart question you ask. People offering opinions rather than advise that is Scriptural is the difference. Right, common sense plays a part in everyday life but it always has to line up with Biblical standards. I'm sure you will get more great comments on this. God bless and keep you and your family!
You tell yourself what is right. Others just inform you and opine, you decide. You ask the questions you have, you get both or thrice, or whatever opinions there are. You decide, God will guide you. This is what I do at least. I read, I take on faith in trust, if I wonder, I ask. People opine and spit out verses, I read, judge which opinion is true, then go with it. Easier than it seems.
Pray to God to give you wisdom and discernment in understanding His Will and Word:
6 Bible Verses about
The Holy Spirit As Teacher
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Nehemiah 9:20
“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,
Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst.
Matthew 10:19-20
But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Mark 13:11
When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.
Luke 12:12
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
1 John 2:27
As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
Pray for discernment to lessen the confusion. Someone may tell you something but then see how what they say is applied in their own lives. You have asked a very good question and hopefully this site will provide spiritually meaningful guidance. Glad to have you as part of our community. Welcome to CC.
Acts 17:11 - These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Which means, listen to sound Biblical Scholars but search the Scriptures yourself. Do your own homework and let the Holy Spirit guide you to find the truth. God Bless!
Greetings and Welcome, Juliadelores!
The only way that you can discern between what it the true word of God and what is false, is by studying it for yourself. Otherwise, your knowledge will always be based on what someone else said or wrote. It is also important to consider all scripture on any given Biblical subject in order to come to a right conclusion. One of the biggest problems that we have today, is that people have adopted the teachings of men, label it as the word of God and then they contend for it tooth and nail. Below are the days that we are living in:
"For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." - 2 Timothy 4:3
I would encourage you to at lest read the New Testament.. And while doing so regularly ask God to cause you to understand what He knows you need to understand.. And just read.. If reading exhausts you then access a talking Bible software and listen..
Yes there are a lot of false teaching out there.. The best defense against being lead astray is to know the Word of God yourself..
Welcome to the forum!
Christianity is made up of 40,000 different denominations and climbing...
So you have 40,000 all vying for your attention and membership. (Even non-denominational is a denomination)
Even though I grew up in a Christian home and knew the Bible I had exactly that same question. And I decided to go down the list of what I knew about God himself that was likely true.
You know...the list of "Omni-somethings" and exactly what those things meant. And how would someone who had all those attributes would behave and think.
Churches are kinda like Social Media platforms...free to use because you are the product that they are selling while selling to)
(Kinda twisted IMHO but still necessary)
So...I studied the scriptures again...this time in a fashion that was different than anytime before. (This may not be for you but it was for me)
I studied them like it was a college education course for a doctorate degree... taking notes and writing questions about exactly what God had said and why and why He said it the way He said it. (Keeping in mind what I knew to be true about God) And then writing out detailed summaries about the various things I learned.... trying to do it in the most organized fashion possible.
God is a person...not an energy source or good luck charm or anything else...a person. Meaning that we all have a unique relationship with God.
God is always going to relate to each of us in a slightly unique way that we can relate to and not in a way how we cannot eventually understand Him.
All of this that I went through to discover the truth about God actually has a name. It's called the Halaakh. (Or The Way/Path) The reason it has a name is because it has been seen happening to a lot of people. Some of the most noted Theologians in history did exactly what I described.
Your "Path" might not result in you becoming a theological giant...but it isn't exactly not fun either. Church is for socializing...study happens independently. Yes, small group bible studies are good and fun and you can make friends there...but real study and knowledge happens all by yourself.
Hi Julia, for the most part the bible does not need to be interpreted, just read and believed. FIRST ask the Lord, He LOVES to teach His word ... He gets a little miffed when He sees us running here and running there.
Reminds me of the Serta sheep. And he looks scared.Welcome to the forum.
Ask 100 different Christians what is the right thing regarding discernment, finding if you are connected to God, and you'll get 100 unique answers. Because it is a relationship, not a religion.
First, if you felt led to accept Christ as your savior, you are on your way to being open to enter that personal relationship.
My advice, because this worked for me when I was new to the faith, stop asking others how to "be" Christian.
You aren't meant to follow in their footsteps.
Their understanding and journey is not for you.
Read the Bible. Some start at Genesis and vow to take a year and a day to get through to the end at Revelation.
I think putting a timeframe around such an effort can make someone feel more obligated to keep to that timetable than to take their time to delve into the word.
I read the gospels first and took my time.
The Bible while appearing as a book in print is far more than that.
It's a portal to a special message in a hidden symbolic language.
Metaphors, allegory, parables, idioms.
If you search for, how to understand biblical symbolism, you'll find a number of resources that may peak your interest.
One example, @layscholars.com
5 Things You Must Know About Bible Interpretation
Test all things 1 Thessalonians 5:21. Take what they say and take what scripture says and test it. Then test what you think. See if it line up.
Pray of course.
Study hard. You must read daily to steadily renew your mind in scripture Romans 12:2. The Word is truth and the more you stay in it the closer to truth you will be. The goal is to read scripture so much you begin to think like God. Kinda like being around a friend all the time. After awhile you almost know what the other is thinking. Knowing how God generally think and act will make discerning truth much easier. Study The Attributes of God to help understand His person.
Be open to the opposing view. Listen and compare it to what you know or what you think you know. Make them prove to you why they are right. They must have evidence.
Find good wise teachers. I prefer old and gray headed. Someone who truly dedicates time in reading and studying the Word. No sense in asking other new Christians questions all the time. Blind leading the blind and you will both end up in the ditch. Cherish wisdom and hang close to those with it.
Seek holiness and purity. Being wrong has to do with sin sometime. God will not open your eyes to truth if you are willingly chasing sinful passions. He may blind you from truth. Deuteronomy 28:28. Or perhaps our pride will blind us. We could be so sure we know it all that we won't listen to anyone.
https://www.amazon.com/Attributes-God-Study-Guide-Journey/dp/1600661297
Hi Julia! Welcome to the forum!
Scripture interprets itself, so as you're reading God's word, a concordance can be helpful for reference to finding similar verses and finding context. Second, I'd like to suggest on reading the Word and praying for wisdom. Jot down what you read and learn, and think about what God's Word says.
I hope this helps you! And I hope you enjoy your time on the forum
I didn't know that there was actually a formalized group running around by that name.
There used to be a Bible marketed with "The Way" stamped/printed or leather tooling with that name on it. But that was all I ever heard about.
Halakh is the Hebrew word for the expression..."the way" is seen in the book of Acts but usually not capitalized as we would customarily see it.
i know nothing about the group you are talking about though. If it's a small group bible study it's probably ok...most are. There's a ton of them usually found in Panera bread around here.