Of course there is one truth, and yes, water is wet. It clearly understood, proven and written in such a way that it is easy to understand why water is wet and undebatable. There is no room for interpretation, it is clear and precise.
The bible however is far from precise and open to interpretation, hence the confusion.
The bible is messy, written in an old laguage, hard to translate and largly irrelevant to todays society. It should have been updated through the centuries, but somehow it wasnt.
And that is WHY we MUST rely upon the Holy Spirit's 'guidance and conviction' in order to UNDERSTAND what is written within it's pages.
I know. Hocus Pocus, right? Not according to the Bible itself.
I am a FIRM believer that the Bible was ONLY written for FEW to understand. That is WHY there are SO MANY 'different' interpretations. For ANYONE that attempts to interpret what it offers WITHOUT the guidance of the Holy Spirit is BOUND to MIS interpret what it has to offer. That is ONE of the reasons the Catholic Church was so insistent about keeping the Bible FROM the 'people'. ONE of the reason{s}.
It's kind of like this. In college most end up taking certain required courses. Composition is one of those courses. And in order to get even an associates degree, MOST are REQUIRED to take both I and II.
In MY comp class, part of the curriculum required that we read certain pieces of poetry and then explain what the writer was trying to convey. Not an EASY task for some. But in TRUTH, there IS common consensus that is UNDERSTOOD by SOME. And that SOME being a SMALL percentage of those that are ASKED to INTERPRET what the writer was writing about.
In my class, there were about TWO people out of forty that came CLOSE. That means that 38 of those that completed their assignment WEREN'T even CLOSE. But there WERE TWO who's papers DID describe something almost IDENTICAL, (no, they didn't cheat). It was simply a matter of them being ABLE to UNDERSTAND and the REST NOT being able to UNDERSTAND.
And it is this way with LIFE in general. Most people never even CONTEMPLATE REALITY. From an early age they are taught to create their OWN. And RARELY do these 'realities' come CLOSE to TRUE reality.
And when one creates their OWN reality, it is very difficult, if not absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for someone to UNDERSTAND the TRUE reality. For they won't even contemplate it after forming their OWN. As far as they are concerned, their 'created reality' IS reality. The ONLY reality.
Six billion people could read the Bible, and without the GUIDANCE and CONVICTION of the Holy Spirit, come up with six billion DIFFERENT interpretations. The six billion could be six TRILLION.
The point is; that UNTIL one is TRULY 'born again', (I know, more hocus pocus, right?), it is literally IMPOSSIBLE for them to even come CLOSE to a TRUE interpretation of the Bible. For it is NOT possible for the FLESH to correctly interpret it. It takes a LITERAL 'circumcision of the heart' in order to SEE what the words MEAN in TRUTH.
Otherwise, one is simply reading words that ARE left up to PERSONAL interpretation. And this is PLAINLY illustrated THROUGH the words of the Bible itself. It STATES that: to the world, the words contained within it's pages are BUT FOOLISHNESS.
That means that one trying to interpret what it offers is forced to MAKE UP what they decide it means in order to TRY and make ANY sense of it. And if one is MAKING UP what they BELIEVE it offers the odds of their interpretation being correct are BILLIONS to ONE. And those are odds that are beyond even those of the lottery. You would stand a better chance of being bitten by a shark or struck by lightening.
And I will offer this as well. IF one is ABLE to come to a correct interpretation of the Bible, their WORKS will REFLECT IT. So if one's WORKS do NOT reflect what the words offer in TRUTH, then that person is OBVIOUSLY convincing themselves of something INCORRECT so far as interpretation is concerned.
To BE a 'true follower' and UNDERSTAND what it is that the Bible offers, one MUST make a COMMITMENT. And not a 'commitment' of the sort 'the world' has come to accept as commitment. It takes a TRUE commitment. DEVOTION. A belief that goes BEYOND just SAYING one believes. It takes TRUE belief, and in coming to that belief, utter commitment. The sort of commitment FEW will EVER decide to FOLLOW.
But the 'churches' won't teach you this. They want you to keep coming back. And if they EVER started TEACHING the TRUTH, no one would. For once one is Able to come to the TRUTH, they will recognize just how CHILDISH the 'churches' truly ARE. Not even capable of teaching the congregation to CRAWL, much less walk or RUN.
Just take these FEW words into consideration instead of listening to MINE:
Matthew 7:
12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them:
for this is the law and the prophets.
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and
in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them,
I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
MANY will follow a path to destruction, FEW will follow the path that leads to LIFE. Not MY words. These are words straight out of the mouth of Christ.
in thy name, in thy name, in thy name. WHO would profess to be DOING things in 'the NAME OF CHRIST' other than 'the churches'? Who would THINK that they had the RIGHT TO BRAG about the WONDERFUL 'things' they had done other than 'the churches'? Yet what are Christ's words to those that PROFESS to have been doing what they THOUGHT they were suppose to? "I never KNEW YOU".
The obviousness of this statement is: if Christ did NOT KNOW THEM, then THEY DIDN'T KNOW Christ. They were simply USING His NAME.
And THAT is EXACTLY what one would expect to SEE from someone READING a book of instructions and MISINTERPRETED what they were READING. They had an IDEA of what they were reading, but in TRUTH, they didn't REALLY understand what they were reading. They MISINTERPRETED what they had read and this led to a FALSE understanding that could only lead to a false PRACTICE.
Each of us is only able to UNDERSTAND what we are able to BEAR. For some that is MUCH, for most that is LITTLE.
What if I gave you instructions for the first two steps in creating antibiotics. What would be the chances of you being able to GUESS your way through the LAST TWELVES STEPS? What YOU would end up with would most likely be POISON. Instead of HELPING those with infections, your 'creation' would end up KILLING THEM instead.
And that is EXACTLY what the 'churches' are DOING. They are offering bits and pieces of the truth yet INSISTING that it is the WHOLE truth. Promising fulfillment when they aren't even able to offer more than the FIRST STEP. And teaching others to FOLLOW in their FOOTSTEPS instead of the footsteps of Christ. Teaching the congregation that it's OK to be a sinner. That ALL we NEED to DO is SAY we believe. We don't NEED to be TRUE followers. Just SAY we BELIEVE and then go out and live the rest of our lives like the 'rest of this world'. Go out and lie and cheat our way through life, all the while living in a state of utter DENIAL, yet professing to place our faith in something GREATER.
Read the words I quoted a FEW TIMES and SEE if you can UNDERSTAND THEM in TRUTH. These aren't RANDOM 'thoughts' of 'the one' so many PROFESS to follow. These are DIRECT instruction from the Son of God. God's Word delivered directly by His only Begotten Son.
Blessings,
MEC