What do You Think?
Ultimately, we need to make sure that Jesus (not the Bible, or any particular interpretation of the Bible) is the rock upon which Church, faith and our lives are built."Jesus is the Word of God, the bible is merely our record of Him, though an extremely important one.
The problem is that each denomination has a different idea of exactly what the Bible says, and each denomination claims to be right, each claims (or at least implies) that to be the best Christian you can be you need to follow their understanding of the Bible. When we do this we run the risk of encouraging others to conform to our religion, rather than becoming disciples of Christ.
I got these two statements off Mo's blog. I think they both speak volumes of truth, but I'd like to know what all "you guys" think. See, I've always said that the main question is "Who then do you say Jesus is?" That is why, I guess, I can say that I have found Christians in every sort of denominational setting, from AOG to Roman Catholic. Once, early in my walk with the LORD, some door to door evangelists came up to me. They were not the typical Mormon, or JW (who do not believe in the Jesus recorded in the Bible), these were Baptists. I told them I was born again, and they were happy to hear it, but when I told them I was going to a United Methodist Church, they stepped back and informed me that then I wasn't really saved.
There was an Elim Bible college near the city I lived in, and they would actually send "missionaries" to the Liberal Churches in town to "help" with Children's Church. Our church accepted their "help" one year. I had a chance to talk with one of the students who had been assigned to our church. He told me that he was confused, because he was told that these kids had never heard the "True Gospel", yet the kids he was working with in our church were the "most Christian, Bible believeing kids" he had ever encountered.
I am having a real problem with people who confess the LORD Jesus as their savior and who blast other people who also confess the LORD Jesus as their savior, because they don't use the right words or the right methods, or because, as the quote above says, they don't follow the right understanding of the Bible.
Can people disagree with each other and still be brothers and sisters in the LORD?
Are there negotiables? Tongues, Worship Styles, How and When to Baptise, How and When to observe the Lord's Supper? Pretrib, Midtrib, or Postrib rapture,
What about Evolution, Creation, Old World, Young World????
Who decides what the negotiables are?
Who then do you say Jesus is?
And just what are His commandments, which He instructs us to teach in Matt. 18:20 ?
And, what is the Good News we are instructed to share?
7 comments:
"Ultimately, we need to make sure that Jesus (not the Bible, or any particular interpretation of the Bible) is the rock upon which Church, faith and our lives are built."Jesus is the Word of God, the bible is merely our record of Him, though an extremely important one."
Well this statement is problematic right off. The Bible is "merely" (MERELY!!??) our record of Jesus.
Yes, it is extremely important as it is the only place in which Jesus is revealed to us.
Sounds like Mo is separating Jesus from the written record.
Can Jesus be known to us outside of the written word of God?
If Jesus is known outside of Scripture, where, when ,and how, is He known? How do we know who's subjective definition is accurate? This is the crux of the emergent argument. Jesus is the Word. How do you know that? By the Word, i.e. the Scriptures. Do you know how many times I have read that as a response to scriptural debate? They define who Jesus is based on their own ideas.
Without the Bible we are in a world of trouble in trying to define who He is. We are not supoosed to define Him, because we can't. We are to read the Word and believe in the Christ of Scripture only.
You cannot have the WORD without the Word. They are inseparable. The walk of a believer is not one of subjective experience, and/or relativism.
Luke 24:25-27
actually it was Monk in Training, not Mo that wrote the green quote, on Mo's site.
Can Jesus be known to us outside of the written word?
I think there are some accounts of such encounters, the "Eskimo" on the Transformation Video, and Hellen Keller come to mind.
I don't think we are talking about relativism here. I'm really concerned about the denomiationalism question, and the debates over what certain Scriptures "really mean".
Knowing of the existence of Jesus, and
"knowing" Jesus are two different things.
The Inuit still needed the missionary to come and give them the doctrine and theology.
so is it doctrine and theology that save, or Jesus?
AMEN! Sister. I am also a Pastor's wife and we are house church planters. Nice to share thoughts with you.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. You figure it out. :-)
Hey Chris, I appreciated Monk In Trainings comment on my blog, but I would never use "merely" to describe the Word of God.
As for your other question: Can Jesu be known to us outside of the written word of God?
I would say 'yes', and 'no'. Yes because I have 'met' God a lot of places outside of my study of scripture. No because I believe that all of those meetings have to be viewed through the lense of scripture since it is the primary way He is revealed to us.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I agree with your comment here, especially the part about not being able to seperate the WORD from the Word. What I have issues with is, as Maryellen put it, denominationalism.
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