A few things I've noticed lately, that have been bothering me. There seems to be a belief that one can choose their own path to God, or that there are several different ways to reach the same destination.
Off the top of my head, I can recall I Corinthians 12, where the Bible speaks of the body being composed of many parts. As with any scripture, we have to take all of it, and in context. It seems obvious to me that Paul is confirming that all Christians are important, regardless of the role they play. The preacher is no greater than the elders; the song leader is no greater than the Sunday school teacher; the man that leads the opening prayer is no greater than the lady that prepares the Lord's Supper. It is not indicating that the Church is made up of all different beliefs.
Another is Phillipians 2:12 where we are told to work out our own salvation--again, could this mean we are to choose our own path? No. We have to work out our own savation in the sense that nobody can do it for us--I cannot be baptized for someone else, someone else cannot confess for me, etc.
What do I base this on? The Bible clearly tells us. Ephesians 4 tells us there is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. In Matthew 7:13,14 Christ tells us that strait is the gate and narrow is the path that leads unto righteousness--not gates or paths.
Just something I've been pondering on for a while, and felt I should speak out on.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Chad, I agree with you completly there is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The question is how much margin for error or misunderstanding is there? What is the criteria that one must meet to be part of that body? This has the makings for a good thread with much scripture . . . or maybe it will just be the civil war all over again.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mac, I agree and I hope it doesn't take a nose dive. This was not intended to be a "my way is the right way" type discussion. Honestly, the folks that I had in mind the most were those that say they don't go to church at all, but do their best praying/meditating/etc. in a treestand, on the lake, etc. And, to be honest, I've gotten the impression (and I may be way off base here) that Alex feels he has a different path to follow because of his lineage.
I'll never claim that I'm right--the Bible is right, period. The only way I'll never make another mistake would be if I were to die real quick. How much lee-way do we have? I don't know. All we can do is strive to follow God's Word as closely as we can.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
The chaplain where I work says he is no longer dogmatic about how one is saved and thinks there are a number of ways.
I couldn't disagree more.
I agree that there is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. I don't believe that you can pick and choose your path to God. The Bible is very clear on this and the path must go through Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Without His awesome sacrifice, we have nothing.
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Today' s small bucks are tomorrow' s trophies.
[image]http://www.whitetails.com/deer8.html[image]
Honestly, the folks that I had in mind the most were those that say they don't go to church at all, but do their best praying/meditating/etc. in a treestand, on the lake, etc.
Those places are really good places to pray and meditate and I believe we are encouaged to do just that biblically . But the Lord indicates that He wants His children to come together also. "Fosake not the gathering together of the Saints".
I'm lazy tonight and havn't looked up scripture.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
It's easier for a camel to walk through the tip of a needle...
Astounding it is.
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πνεύμα γ*μισα
"Error never shows itself in its naked reality in order not to be discovered. On the contrary, it dresses elegantly, so that the unwary may be led to believe that it is more truthful than truth itself."
-Irenaeus of Lyon
One, Or Many?
I'll save this one for Mac.
