I don't need to define those terms with precision, to know that our churches proclaim the same gospel, nurture the same faith, serve the same communities. If you look at what I do, and what my male colleagues do, there might be nuanced differences across the denominations (Catholic priests probably hear more confessions, for example, and your governance structures I believe give your priests more administrative responsibility), but there is no fundamental difference of principle in how we conduct our ministries. Preaching, administering the sacraments, leading people in prayer, pastoral care, and so on, are not things which set us apart.
Matthew 7:15-20 was the passage I had in mind.
No, it most certainly is not. Love is not mostly a feeling. It is a consistent commitment to building up those around us.
And do you imagine that the ordained life involves self denial and mortification of the flesh? That it "feels good" most of the time?
Irrelevant to ministry.
It has nothing to do with feelings, nice or otherwise.
Well, your post ignores the question and does not give an answer. What is the basis for your position?
The Bible says to be instant in season and out of season always ready to give a reason for the hope that you have. If you refuse to answer, how can you be trusted as a minister?
What I see in Christianity today is more Free Masonic thought rather than Christian humility. The error of the Free Masons is indifferentism. It doesn’t matter what you believe in as long as you believe in a higher power, a grand architect of the universe.
Sounds pious but is really a refutation of God and an elevation of the human intellect above God. Christianity can be a part of Masonry, but is subservient to it. That is straight up Luciferian teaching. We can be righteous apart from Jesus, so we no longer worship Him, but sit in judgement of Him. Masons make themselves look good, but like Satan as an Angel of light, they have the original lie told to Eve. Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil. It is absurd for a Christian to be a Mason as it would to be a Christian witch or warlock. That is the lie of indifferentism.
How do you know that you are not doing the same thing? All denominations are basically the same and it doesn’t matter what we believe as long as we say it is Jesus. Is it really, and how do you know?
Jesus called His Apostles and commissioned them to build His Church. He sealed them with tongues of fire in the Holy Spirit and they went out baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching to obey all that Jesus commanded them. We had the Apostolic faith once delivered to the saints. The history is there for anyone to read.
Then men had it in their minds to rebel against the apostolic faith. They said we don’t have to submit our wills to the Church, we can do things ourselves, the way we want, as we read the Bible.
How do you know that is not what you are doing?
What reason do you give for your faith? You say that you cannot define it with precision. Why not? Is God the author of confusion? We can’t know what He wants, so we just go forward with a guess? That does not sound very trustworthy
Would you clear the confusion ?