"Authority of the Scripture."

This is going to be a short post but I want to address an issue that I am seeing within the "christian" community.  All of us are guilty of this, don't get me wrong... even myself. 

Often times the things I write about are just as much for my benefit as for the benefit of others.

I would like to address the "Authority of the Scripture."

Without getting exceedingly in-depth, first I would like to point out that due to all bibles being a copy of a copy of a copy... and on top of that it is a modern translation of one language into another... there will always be issues of interpretation.

These issues must be solved by not isolating single scriptures. They must be compared to the bible as a whole and set side by side with parallels in scripture by principle and grammatical usage of the words.


That being said... I would ask the question. If a man disagrees with the bible who should be follow?

Logically anyone following truly will admit that we must follow the bible! The bible is the ultimate authority and anything that disagrees with it is just flat out wrong. I say this not to be rude but to simplify.

For everything we say, believe, or teach, we must have chapter and verse. Anything you hear ask, "Chapter and verse?"

If we do NOT have chapter and verse what we are saying should be automatically suspect.

There will always be issues that are not directly addressed in the bible but if you look hard enough most everything has a biblical principle that you can glean from scripture.

Ultimately the verse below is what I am trying to say in a much more complicated way....

Romans chapter 3 and the middle of verse 4 "let God be true, but every man a liar"


Let us test all things against the scripture and trust nothing that strays from the word of God. Question everything you do. This is how we grow.

IN the world but not OF the world.

I would like to address an issue that was brought up in a recent discussion I was involved in on Google+. What I would like to address is the role of the church in our society today. As the body of Messiah, we are called to be holly and set apart. James tells us to be in the world but not of the world.      Because of this people should look at us and know that there is something different...something positive. Now I am not much of a sports fan, but let me use an analogy with baseball. (pardon me if I get a few details wrong about the game)      In major league baseball they have a skilled roster with proven players. They keep track of what these players have done in their career and their progressions. If a kid off the streets wants to play on a major league team he has a long and rigorous task ahead of him.      First he has to have skill, then he must practice and compete in low level games, move up the ranks, and finally be chosen out of a competitive group of peers. If he is chosen he then joins the elite. Now our church, though infinitely more important than any sports team, should work on a similar plan. If we let the kid off the street in (a non-believer) he will not only be ill equipped to carry on the work of the kingdom but will give all believers a bad name because everyone will look at the church and see the world. Remember we are to be in the world but not of the world...how can we accomplish this if the world is in us? So first, as in our baseball analogy, we must have skill, (a calling of the Holly Spirit) then we must compete, (Change our life, confess Messiah, and live for Him)  then we must move up the ranks, (learn, mature, and grow close to God) and then we are ready to join God's elite. (Take our ministry to the road and win others to Him) It is my personal belief that a church is not a witnessing tool. It is a group of believers who come together to minister to each other, strengthen and teach one another, and edify each other in Messiah.      Then we leave equipped to be effective witnesses for Messiah in our lives, to win others to Him and bring them into the church so they too can grow, move through the ranks and join in to the body of Christ.      Now I am not saying you are not a part of the body until you are in the "elite" but simply until you are to a certain level of maturity (faith wise not age wise) you can not be an effective witness. Paul told the Corinthians ( 1 Corinthians 5) to kick the man out of the church who was found in sin. 1 Timothy 1 also eludes to this.  In Corinthians after the man repented they were told to accept him in again.      Because of these principles I believe that no one who is not a follower of the Messiah should be allowed to be a member of a church.      In times past it used to be you had to have a letter declaring your faith, an interview by the pastor, and a spiritual evaluation to even be allowed to come to some churches. Today you simply walk in the door and they "accept you the way you are."      We should accept people for themselves but that does not mean we agree with the way they live. We certainly should not accept them into the body of Christ if they are living contrary to Christ! Messiah said himself, "A house divided against itself can not stand."  Yet we wonder why so many churches today are falling apart... The number one thing I have heard from individuals I know who have been turned off from the faith is "There is simply to much hypocrisy in the church," The sad thing is it's true! Unbelievers who see it want nothing to do with it because to them we simply act like we are better than them and live just like them.      Unfortunately what they don't realize is that the hypocrisy they see is not from believers as much as it is from non-believers who have been accepted into the body, thus damaging the witness of all. So may our churches be made of believers, our believers be involved in outreach, and our LORD use those outreaches to bring in more believers in a self perpetuating cycle that can not be broken!      Why should the world look at us and see a reflection of itself?