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Because it's the earlier part of the story that makes sense of my part of the story.Note that I'm not asking "Why follow God?" I'm asking why follow the Bible. A subtle but very important distinction. Whenever I come to a Christian and ask why they act the way they do (for example shun an ex-Christian or oppose homosexuality) they turn to the Bible and quote a relevant part. That is all fine and good but why would a translation of an ancient text from a far removed culture have any relevance to the issue at hand? So I ask this why do you follow the Bible?
If a person believes the Bible is true, that it is the revelation of God, then to follow what God says in His word is tantamount to following God.
It is true that parts of the Bible are not relevant to us today, such as the superseded parts of the Old Covenant.
Does the Bible say we are to shun an "ex-Christian?" I thought the Bible said there are no ex-Christians, once saved always saved, nothing can separate us from the love of God. As for tares, folks who profess they are Christians, but have not been spiritually born again by the will of God, we are not to shun them, but rather cultivate, plant and water so they might come to the knowledge of the Truth.
Since a discussion of homosexual behavior is not allowed on this forum, lets leave it with acknowledging that if the Bible is true, then homosexual behavior is sinful.
In summary, why do I follow the Bible - I try to follow the Bible because I believe it is true.
It is my belief the Bible gives us the most accurate portrayal of what God wants from His people. Im one that has studied other religions including the new age movement and have come away believing the basic laws that God set down for us through the ten commandments and the Mosaic law are probably just about as accurate as anything else that is available to us today.
It is interesting that people that find fault with the Bible is generally because it is speaking against some sin that is part of their lives that they choose not to give up. So it is much easier to slander the messenger than submit to Gods will.
Because it is the only guide we have on how to follow God. We may not understand all of it, we may argue over what parts mean and which parts do/don't apply to this or that situation, but in the end, the Bible is the only place we have to look for answers about who God is and what He expects from us.
Because its has the most circumstantial evidence that its from God. So, we better follow it. Go to: www.TheBibleProofBook.com and learn something.
Why follow the Bible?
Suppose for a second that a person came up to you and he says that he wrote a book that was inspired by God. Would you count this new book as a source on God?
In anycase you follow the Bible because you believe the circumstantial evidence is enough?
Suppose for a second that a person came up to you and he says that he wrote a book that was inspired by God. Would you count this new book as a source on God?
If a person came up to Biblical Christians today and said that he wrote a book that was inspired by God, they would have to check its teachings against what God's word the Bible already says (Acts 17:11) and make sure that it didn't contradict anything in the Bible (2 Timothy 4:2-4). Also, even if if didn't contradict anything in the Bible, its teachings would still have to pass the test of Biblical Christians being able to (as it were) recognize the voice of Jesus Christ in what it was saying (John 10:27). Biblical Christians are able to recognize if something which is said is from Jesus Christ (John 10:4) or from "a stranger", and they will not follow the latter (John 10:5). Biblical Christians are able to do this because they have received God's own Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-13), Jesus Christ's own mind (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Non-Christians reject the Bible because they do not have God's Spirit, they do not have Jesus Christ's mind, but only their own, natural minds, which can only see the things of God as foolishness (1 Corinthians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 1:18), because of the wholly-corrupt nature of all humans in their natural state (Romans 3:10-12).
Biblical Christians follow the Bible not only because of the direct, spiritual evidence referred to above, but also because of the direct written evidence in the New Testament, where Jesus Christ himself confirms that all of the Old Testament is true (Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 24:44-48). And all of the New Testament was written by eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:16, 1 John 1:1-4, 1 Corinthians 9:1, John 19:35, John 21:24, Luke 24:48, Revelation 1:17-19) or their immediate followers (Luke 1:1-2, Hebrews 2:3).
Also, no teaching in the Bible has ever been proven false. So there
is no reason for any Christian to reject anything in the Bible.
Jesus says to Christians: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" (John 8:31). Christians must be willing to die before they would deny any part of his word: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:35-38).
Why do I believe the Bible is true. I chose to trust in the truth of the Bible, rather than reject it as the work of men. We all deal with our limited knowledge of reality, and make choices based on what we believe to be the best course of action.
Can you provide a reference for those passages that supposedly support shunning an ex-Christian? Of course folks who say they are Christian treat others poorly, but to claim the behavior of some sinners reflects Christianity without Biblical support is outside sound argumentation.
Yes, there are more definitions for "sin" than you can shake a stick at, but I like missing the mark, thinking and acting in a way that is not as pleasing to God as some other viable option.
Folks sometimes like to draw a distinction between knowingly violating God's word - a transgression - and unknowingly violating God's desired behavior, but such distinctions are very much blurred in the Bible. In any event, doing something that you should know is wrong, like treating others differently than you treat yourself or your loved ones, is sin even for someone who has never heard of the God of the Bible. They will be judged based on what they knew.
I think that would depend, in part, on the message contained in his book. We are told to test all things. If this new writing did not line up with previous accepted writings, then no (which I why I do not follow the Book of Mormon). Also the individual in question's credibility would also come into play.
If you follow the Jewish line of thought then the New Testament didn't line up with the previous writings. And what of the credibility of the the ancient writers. It is one thing to know that John Smith wrote the Book of Mormon by sticking his head in a hat and then not being able to repeat it but how much do we really know about the Biblical writers?
What I'm getting at is that you follow the Bible because it is your source on God but why do you trust the Bible as such?
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