This again? We can just as easily say that
you follow the traditions of men over 15 centuries separated from Jesus and His apostles.
It is absurd, and extremely unBiblical, to think you must join a certain church or do any sort of works to get saved - Eph 2:8-9. Works would include things that many different churches believe in, like Baptism, communion, sacraments, etc. To get saved, all you need to do is believe in all your being, that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and was resurrected 3 days later - 1Cor 15:1-4. That's it! No Church can ever enter into your salvation at all. If you know that you truly believe in Christ, and His death, burial, and resurrection, you KNOW you are saved.
Every Word in the Bible is God-breathed, inspired, and the only word of God that will be ever given to us or spoken to us during our lifetimes is the Bible. There are no prophets today and no one today speaks through God, period. None of the oral traditions are inspired. Christ made that clear, when He told the Pharisees that their oral traditions made God's Word of none effect. God said He would preserve His Word to every generation and He has done that, in the form of the Bible, only. Ps 12:6-7 and 2Tim3:16 are proof that the Bible is not based on oral traditions.
Listen ONLY to Paul, when it comes to your hope, calling, rules, and directions. He is THE ONLY apostle to us Gentiles. His words are just as inspired as Christ's Words - 2Tim 3:16. The difference is that Christ's ministry was only meant for Israel - Mt 10:5-6, Mt 15:24, Rom 15:8, Jn 1:31 - and Paul's words in his last 7 books, Eph, Phil, Col, 1&2Tim, Titus, and Philemon, are meant only for us Gentiles, and any Jew that believes in Paul's Gospel of 1Cor 15:1-4. Also, these 7 books are the ONLY books that give anybody a calling of going to Heaven - Search and See. A hope of spending eternity in Heaven is not found anywhere in the other 59 books. If Christ's Words are contradictory with Paul's words that are in those last 7 books (and a lot of them are contradictory), always choose Paul's words, as those that pertain directly TO you. God has always treated Israel different than Gentiles. If you try to blend Israel's doctrine with Gentile doctrine, you will be totally confused, as proven by the obscene state of denominational Christendom today.
Practice right division, 1Tim 2:15, if you really want to understand the Bible (and especially the NT}. And, according to 2Tim 2:15, you must rightly divide to be approved unto God and to prevent the need for you to feel ashamed. If, in 2Tim 2:15, your Bible says "correctly handle" or "handle aright" instead of "rightly divide", ignore that, because the actual meaning of "rightly divide" is "cut correctly" or "dissect correctly". Never listen to any church that doesn't rightly divide and that includes about every church or denomination in the world. Therefore, none of these churches are approved unto God, according to 2Tim 2:15.
Right division is simply a matter of eliminating any doctrine in the 59 books pertaining only to Israel that has anything to do with their hope, calling, rules or directions. In those 4 categories, there is nothing there for Gentiles. Any preacher, priest, or layman that doesn't rightly divide has very little understanding of what the NT is all about. There are no exceptions to this. The Bible is your only guide through this life. Don't let any church spoil it for you. That's what they all excel in, if you let them. Why? Because they don't rightly divide, as they are directed. Right Division is the #1 key to understanding the Bible. If you rightly divide, you don't need a church to tell you what's what. If everyone rightly divided, as directed, there would be no denominational system, There would be one huge universal Gentile church whose doctrine, as far as our hope, calling, rules, and directions are concerned, would be based around Paul's last 7 epistles.
If you would rightly divide and listen to Paul, your only apostle, you would absolutely know if you are saved
