You left a real good passage out.
Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. 3 For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
Understand that the Jews had gathered everything they needed both to justify believing as they did and for rejecting Christ. The problem is their Methodology. They went to scripture to justify "what they wanted to believe" "as" truth. And yes, in accordance with those beliefs, they had great zeal for God. But when you go to scripture to establish the correctness of your views and for reasons to discredit all opposing views, you aren't in pursuit of truth. You are in pursuit of ways to prove your beliefs true and hold fast to them. It also explains those who believe Jesus is their Lord, God and Savior in Mat. 7, and who are doing every sign and wonder the true Christians are doing. Why do they respond like those in Mat. 7:6 when other beliefs are presented? Because they have gathered everything they need to justify what they want to believe.
Mat 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
It doesn't matter what belief group you arte in if you love your beliefs and keep on doing what it takes to prove them true and prove all opposing views false. If you use the same Methodology as every other belief group you will always get the same result.
Pick a belief group on the planet, any belief group. Do they not:
1.) Gather whatever they can “use” to prove what they “want to believe” to be truth.
2.) Accumulate all evidence they believe proves all opposing views incorrect.
3.) Assume their beliefs are unquestionable truth, and interpret everything in such a way as to make it all support, or at least not negate, their beliefs. Think about it. If your beliefs are unquestionable truths, all “valid” data, must support … or at least not negate, your infallible beliefs, right?
4.) Reinterpret, ignore, discredit, invalidate … anything that doesn’t seem to fit with their views, Why? Our beliefs are “Fact” Valid data interpreted correctly can’t contradict the facts.
5.) Gather all the other experiences, feelings, data … to solidify their beliefs such as signs, wonders, spiritual gifts or facts about your belief group. Things like: we have a burning in the bosom, we speak in tongues, we perform signs or wonders, a statue of Mary came to life and told us our belief groups views are correct, we have prayed to God for the truth and received “feelings” or even signs from heaven. Or, on a more concrete level: Our belief group is the oldest, largest, fastest growing, wealthiest, has the most experts with doctorates… Include anything that adds assurance that your views and belief group have the most truth.
But these are the things we do "if" we just want to believe what we want to believe, and have reasons for discarding the rest. This process closes our eyes, ears and hearts to even considering anything else. And this process allows all the people from every belief group that believes themselves Christian to believe the gospel is simple, while each of them believes completely different “simple” gospels. Everyone gets what they want. And every belief group knows they love the truth and have the truth using this Methodology.
Everyone doing the above process has unquestionably true, infallible beliefs. And if you do more of any one of them, all you will do is harden yourself more and more into what you “want to believe” Why? Look at 1-5 above. I call these 5 "Methodology One": The Methodology of belief groups. Every one of them is designed to keep people locked into the belief groups beliefs forever and die with those beliefs intact.
Think about it. If you do more of any of them, how long before you discover your beliefs are false? How long before you realize something else is true? Answer to both is you can never get to anything but complete assurance of your beliefs, whether you are an Atheist, Moslem, Jew, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Mormon ... everyone does the methodology above to hold fast to their beliefs "as" truth.
But it is not "cutting-straight" the word of God as that 2Timoth passage states:
2Ti 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, "cutting straight" the word of truth.
You will notice that there are two possible outcomes in that passage. "Standing ashamed" when you stand before God, or "being approved". Given that we can hold fast to anything "as" truth using the first Methodology, or reject the exact same doctrines and lies from the pit of hell depending on the desires of our group, it is quite obvious to me how good this Methodology is for getting to truth. Yet, what do belief groups teach? They teach their people how to "hold fast to their beliefs" "as" truth. And if that is what you want to do, there is no better Methodology to teach those whose eyes and ears you want closed to even considering any other doctrine. And it works for every belief group on the planet.
But then, if this is what you do, do you really want truth, or just to keep everyone's eyes and ears closed to openly and honestly considering anything else? Since every possible belief outcome is possible using that Methodology, I suggest a second one for those hungering for truth.
If we want truth, no matter what the cost to our beliefs, we must have different, and contrary Methods to those used by every belief group to hold fast to their beliefs "as" truth. If we want truth ...
1.) We Avoid “Methodology One”(Mentioned prior): Proving your beliefs true and holding fast to them, is not the same as, “Proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life, and holding fast to what is good/true.” Look at that 2Th. 2:10-13 passage. Paul said that the lost in the end times failed, and Paul used the same standard and judged that those he was writing to were held to the same standard but passed the test and received a love of the truth and were true Christians making this a timeless truth.
2.) We maintain a state of Open-mindedness: We remain open-minded to altering any, or all of our beliefs in the light of the fullness of the word of God rightly divided. All belief groups believe in being open minded … “until” you accept their beliefs. Then they believe in being as closed as possible. If you love truth, you will continually remain open-minded to altering any or all of your beliefs in the light of the fullness of the truth, when everything that “might” pertain to the topic at hand is rightly divided. How many passages are there about closing your eyes and ears lest you see or hear. Look at Methodology One again. What is it designed to do?
3.) We stay in a state of Habitual ongoing Labor/ Getting Every Piece of Data that Might Pertain: That "Be a workman who need not be ashamed" part. It's in the present tense, indicating ongoing continuous, never ceasing labors to cut-straight ALL that God says on every topic. If you Love Truth, you, personally, must become a manual laborer and keep on gathering every fact anyone thinks might pertain to every topic at hand. Then gather all the data that “might pertain” no belief group gathers because they can’t use that information to prove their beliefs true or opposing beliefs false. Yes, that’s every piece of data that proves all your current beliefs false that the opponents to your beliefs have gathered, and every fact that might prove beliefs you believe to be wrong to be truth on that topic as well. We are commanded to be habitual, ongoing, never stopping laborers who are approved by God and won’t stand ashamed before Him. How do we determine what that outcome will be? We habitually “Cut-straight” every single piece of the word of God that “might” apply to the topic at hand. This is way different than looking for passages of scripture to prove true what we want to teach on a topic.
Fact: CONSISTENCY IN INTERPRETATION: If God, God’s word, and God’s people are not consistent in what they say and do and DON’T SAY AND DON’T DO, then looking for truth in the bible is a waste of time. Holding to consistency includes:
4.) Consistency with Background Context: Pick a meaning that fully aligns with the historical, legal, architectural, agricultural … context.
5.) Consistency of Meaning of words/root words/figures of speech: Hold to a meaning for all words, root words, and figures of speech consistent with their usage throughout the Old and New Testament. We have a Greek Old and New Testament and a Hebrew Old Testament, pick a meaning fully fitting everywhere the same word, root word, and figure of speech is used. If in p the Septuagint and the N.T. Greek the word phobos is translated as fear, terror, ... and you choose that meaning in 542 of the 544 places it is used, but change the meaning to respect or honor in 2 places because you neither like, nor understand the meaning in the two remaining, then you have altered the word of God to fit what you want to believe.
6.) Consistency with the Surrounding Discussion: Hold to a meaning consistent with the entire discussion surrounding the verse or passage being considered, hold to the flow of thought, flow of arguments, meaning of points made … If Paul just spent an entire chapter telling us that spiritual gifts are assigned by God, distributed just as He wishes, that not everyone gets every gifts, and that all gifts are equal and equally necessary and then "seems to say", "Earnestly desire the greater gifts." We have a contradiction. Paul said there are no greater or lesser gifts. Paul said desire has nothing at all to do with the gift(s) we are assigned. "But" there is another possible interpretation that fits perfectly in the context. "But you are desiring the more showy gifts.". That is a possible interpretation that does not contradict anything, and indeed fits perfectly with what was happening. People were forsaking the gifts assigned for what they though was more impressive, "acting" like they had gifts they didn't while forsaking what they were given.
7.) Consistency with conscience: Example: If your interpretation would be a sin if a man did likewise and your interpretation results in believing God does what would be sin for us, your interpretation is wrong. i.e., there are no illustrations in the Bible where God says He commits adultery. If your chosen meaning for the word adultery would make God an adulterer, and by His own admission, you picked the wrong meaning for the word. Find every place where God uses the word adultery in the Old Testament. In more than one place God says His wives committed adultery against Him. Now if your modern definition of adultery includes the fact that taking a second wife is automatically adultery, what are you accusing God of. (Yeah, getting all of the data that might pertain up front, and not just gathering what we can "use" to hold fast to "what we want to believe or want to reject is an important first step.)
8.) God, God’s People and God’s Word are 100% consistent: Pick an interpretation for all the data that makes God, God’s people and God’s word 100% consistent in “all” they say and do and “all” they don’t say and don’t do. Any inconsistencies, are proof of incorrect beliefs/definitions. Let's go with the same topic although there are many possible ones where we totally interpret everything to fit what we want to believe... How many times does the bible say David committed adultery? Once. With Bathsheba ... wife number eight. David also took at least 10 wives after her, and many people believe it could be as high as 20 more. Yet, only one case of adultery. How many times was Solomon said to have committed adultery? God did reprove Solomon for his wives, but it wasn't for the number of them.
9.) Always apply logic, reason, and rational thinking: Pick an interpretation fully fitting with all logic, reason, and rational thinking. (Back to the spiritual gifts illustration. If the writer spent a whole chapter saying all gifts are equal and necessary, that none are greater than any others, … do not choose an interpretation for the very next verse that would command us to desire what God spent the previous 30 verses saying doesn’t exist, and that you can’t get, period, regardless of your desire. “Earnestly desire the greater gifts”, contradicts everything prior. Look for the “other” possible meaning. Note: There is one.
10.) Start with the Easiest/Clearest … data on the topic: Interpret the clearest, easiest understood, most straightforward data/passages first—then the more complex or difficult passages. The complex, convoluted, and difficult passages are easy to distort to fit beliefs.
11.) It ALL fits together: Pick a meaning for the parts that fully fit with the whole of the data that might pertain without adding meaning, subtracting meaning, or distorting anything to force it to comply with your beliefs. If everything gathered (#3 above) does not fully fit with everything in #4-10 above, you have the wrong meaning, and you are forcing the scriptures to fit what you want to believe “as” truth.
12.) Keep on continuously proving all things over and over again as a habit and way of life and never stop … and hold fast to what is good/true. Getting to truth is an ongoing process that never ends. One single verse, one fact you missed, one slight change in interpretation … can force a complete reevaluation and even a complete a change of beliefs. That is, if you love truth, and obey what God commands all His people to be continuously doing for and by themselves. If not …
13.) It’s all on You! Trusting others to get to truth “for” you, is like trusting others to have a relationship with your wife / husband / kids “for” you. It cannot be done. Your failure to keep on habitually doing as God commands all His people to keep on habitually doing, proves you have gathered enough using Methodology One to hold fast to what you want to believe and fall short of 2Th. 2:10-12
The wonder isn't that there are over 500 "brands" of Baptists on the North American continent all with slight variations in beliefs, the wonder is that "if we change our methodology" to one designed to get us closer and closer to truth, altering our beliefs as we go, we will all end up unifying in our faith more and more, rather than just holding fast to our beliefs "as" truth. You see ...
That which we love least is always forced to conform to that which we love most. Everyone either loves the truth or loves their beliefs. Pick one. Which do you choose to love. Your "Methodology" proves which you love.
Zeal for God ... every belief group that believes there is a God, or Gods has people with great zeal in accordance with their beliefs who will respond like dogs or pigs if you try and tell them that they are still lost and headed for hell, or show them how their beliefs are incorrect. No one believes Mat. 7:22-23 applies to them and their belief group.
Here's a good summary passage of the process. Note. 10-12 is about the deceived in the end times, but Paul judges the very group he is writing to, by the same standard and says that they did receive a love of the truth so as to be saved.
