I have a full set of Charles Spurgeon's Expository Encylopedia, covering a wide range of Biblical topics, and I have found them very straightforward and easy to understand. If someone wants to really get their spiritual knife and fork into really meaty stuff, William Gurnall's 17th Century "The Christian in Complete Armour" is an excellent book, which might take several years to read right through, but will certain give one a very sound foundation for their faith.
And if you want to get into the real meaty stuff, download the 23 volumes of the works of John Owen, and that will leave you in absolutely no doubt about what Christian faith is all about.
There was a whole world populated with people, to produce one righteous man for YHWH, Noah. Our righteousness is to exceed that of the Pharisees.
It is always good check our own ideas with a range of sound Bible teachers. It serves to ensure that we are on the right track. Cults are usually formed by people coming up with their own interpretations of what they want the Bible to say to them, and they tend to be unteachable, maintaining that their revelation is special - "I got this from God and not from man". But the Scripture says that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. I read a good range of Bible teaching material just to make sure that my thoughts are consistent with what recognised, sound Bible teachers are teaching.Hi Oscarr, nice to see you again. Do you think we need these things to know God's Word?
God bless.
It is always good check our own ideas with a range of sound Bible teachers. It serves to ensure that we are on the right track. Cults are usually formed by people coming up with their own interpretations of what they want the Bible to say to them, and they tend to be unteachable, maintaining that their revelation is special - "I got this from God and not from man". But the Scripture says that in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. I read a good range of Bible teaching material just to make sure that my thoughts are consistent with what recognised, sound Bible teachers are teaching.
The written Scriptures are our foundation for monitoring whether something is truth or not. Now this is not just quoting one or two random verses while ignoring context and other passages of Scripture which support a particular doctrine. If I read someones "revelation" and can't find support for it in the written Scriptures, then I reject it as being from the Holy Spirit.Yes true Oscarr if these people have the truth of Gods' Word. As you would already know the techings of the new testament scriptures show that in the las days there will be many false teachers trying to lead us way from God and his Word. How do you know what is true and what is not true and if you are being lead away from Gods' Word or not? For example did you want to comment on the teaching of Universalism that seems to be overflowing in this forum at the moment? What are your thoughts?
Thanks for sharing.
Sorry for the slow reply. I have been a little busy elsewhere. Yep I agree with what you have posted but I guess the point I was wanting to make is if that were the case alone only the scholars would be correct but as you can see there is no agreement between the scholars on many things relation to the bible and today we have over 40,000 different forms of christianity based on someone's scholarship. Another example is that in the days of ISRAEL the Scribes and Pharisees were the scholars and the keepers of the Word of God yet they did not know the Word of God or JESUS was the very Messiah that the Word of God pointed to. God revealed His Word to babes while the learned had no idea.The written Scriptures are our foundation for monitoring whether something is truth or not. Now this is not just quoting one or two random verses while ignoring context and other passages of Scripture which support a particular doctrine. If I read someones "revelation" and can't find support for it in the written Scriptures, then I reject it as being from the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures don't support universalism at all. They do not say that everyone will be saved. They say that the way to eternal life is narrow, and few there be who find it, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. So we have to have our doubts about popular religion that purports to be true Christianity when meetings and conferences fill great stadiums with people. The Scriptures speak of true believers as being "a little flock" (Luke 12:32). What I have observed is that it is the prosperity preachers like Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Joyce Meyer who are filling stadiums, but you never hear them preach the true gospel of repentance, forsaking of sin, as part of their version of the gospel. They are more of, "Jesus is your friend" and, "He is just longing for you to accept Him to make you prosperous and to give you guaranteed healing". They will never preach that Christians will be hated, persecuted, imprisoned and even killed for their faith. Because they are "positive confession" type preachers those are too negative for them.
Yep. Let's go for it.Sorry for the slow reply. I have been a little busy elsewhere. Yep I agree with what you have posted but I guess the point I was wanting to make is if that were the case alone only the scholars would be correct but as you can see there is no agreement between the scholars on many things relation to the bible and today we have over 40,000 different forms of christianity based on someone's scholarship. Another example is that in the days of ISRAEL the Scribes and Pharisees were the scholars and the keepers of the Word of God yet they did not know the Word of God or JESUS was the very Messiah that the Word of God pointed to. God revealed His Word to babes while the learned had no idea.
That is not to say God does not want us to have correct methods to study His Word. He does. But I believe no one can know God's Word by being simply academic. The scriptures teach that unless God is our guide and our teacher there is no way we can know God's Word *ISAIAH 55:8-9; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:19-21; 1 CORINTHIANS 3:19. We cannot know God's Word no matter how learned we might be if God is not our guide and teacher for which he promises to babes who call out and trust in His *JOHN 14:26; JOHN 16:13; JOHN 17:17; 1 JOHN 2:27; HEBREWS 8:11 which are all conditional of course on JOHN 8:31-32.
Yea I agree. I am tempted to start up another thread wanna come join?
Are you really in the faith beloved? If you say you are why? JESUS says you shall know them by their fruits. What are your fruits?
God bless
And what happens when you discover that "fruit" can be faked?
What happens when you put down the commentaries and actually study the New Testament and find out that The Devil will come as preachers - teachers of "Light", pretending to perform as "Christianity", complete with a church, a pulpit, a choir, robes, a TV ministry, communion, and a welcoming smile?
So, what DO you do when you are sitting in a church inside a denomination for 25 yrs 35 yrs, and one day you realize that its all a cult? That Christ is not trusted there as keeping you saved , Paul's "justification by Faith" is unknown there, and the entire situation you realize is one big religious Cross rejecting self effort exercise in how to stay self righteous and blinded by the devil.
What do you do then?
I wonder what you'll do.
I wonder what you will do to find out?
I wonder what it takes to make you care enough to find out.
So, that is how you know if you are really "following God or not".
Become that person.
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