The Minister: Do you question the will of God? Are you putting Him to the test? Peter's questions betray his disbelief in the Pharisees opinion about circumcision. God released the Holy Spirit onto these new Gentile believers but still they continued to try to put the "yoke" of the law onto them. Peter reminded them that no generation has been able to overcome this weight and now they had the grace of God through their faith in Him to release them.
We are free. Free in the knowledge and faith that God gave His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us, a perfect sacrifice, releasing us from the bondage of sin and death and that belief in Him and that only through Him we may know the Father and one day stand before Them and revel in the light of their Glory for eternity in Heaven. We can all agree on that, right? Then why do we continue in the Pharisaical fashion by putting the burden of our "laws" on believers? Contemporary's the way to go, Traditional's the only way to go, Catholicism's the only true church, Mega churches are most like heaven, home churches are most like the Acts church, only hymn's, drums are bad, Pelagian's, Calvin's, Arminian's, seeker sensitive's, liberals, conservatives, relevants, emergents, TULIP, doctrine's, creed's.... Let's take the yoke off of ourselves so we can be free to follow Him.
Father, we don't get it do we? Like Peter told the Pharisee's, we have Your grace through faith that You have released us. Why do we keep fighting to put the chains back on that through faith in You we have already been freed?
The Crackerhead: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. [2 Timothy 4:2-4 NIV]
Please do not fall into the trap of wanting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. For doctrine helps to define things for the benefit of those who do not really know the Word of God (who truly is the Lord Jesus Christ [Revelation 19:13] and not just the book that He had written about Himself [John 5:31-47] yet; and it is for this very same reason that we should want to be like-minded [1 Corinthians 2:6-16]. For to accept a divided front is to invite further confusion.
The Minister: It's a sign of the confusion and a pointer to the fact that we'll never all be like minded when in your comment you separate the Word of God and "just the book the He had written about Himself".
The Crackerhead: Please let me help clear-up some confusion about this. For it truly is as it is written: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17 NAS]
Be assured that the part that is so misunderstood about this is that our Heavenly Father's Holy Bible was never meant to be employed as a book of instruction in the same way as a school textbook upon science, mathematics, nor even history naturally would be. For it is truly a book full of spiritual truths that only the spiritually-minded can correctly discern [Luke 24:45].
No, this is not meant to dismiss the significance of His Holy Bible in any way, shape or form. If anything, it is meant to enhance it. For the true Word of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Scriptures were given to serve as written confirmation of what He Himself wants to personally reveal unto us through the work of His Holy Spirit [John 14:26].
Yes, this is a very hard thing for those who have been led to believe that faith comes from hearing the Bible being preached in Spirit and Truth (which is a misinterpretation of [Romans 10:17]) to accept, but it is the ONLY way that we can truly have faith in what is contained in His Holy Bible. In fact, it goes even farther than that. For without the witness of our Heavenly Father, everything about Christianity could only be based upon the opinions of others not so different than ourselves [John 6:44-45].
Be also assured that it is through this that like-mindedness can be achieved throughout the Christian community, and this is something that is most pleasing unto our Heavenly Father. For it truly is as it is also written: Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe's {people,} that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? [1 Corinthians 1:10-13 NAS]
Yes, it can be argued that the Apostle Paul was only addressing divisions in the church at Corinth, but does it really matter? For with God nothing shall be impossible. [Luke 1:37 KJV]
The Minister: We're gonna have agree to disagree on this one bro. I feel your first paragraph makes my point stronger. As for the second, well I guess we should just go back to the original Latin so only the spiritually minded would be able to read it along with discern it. Who needs the common people getting in the way. Forth paragraph, basing doctrine on extra-biblical revelation has caused the divisions in the church that make the likemindedness in paragraph 5 impossible.
The Crackerhead: No, what I have been given to say about this has nothing to do with anything but the Author of our Heavenly Father's Holy Scriptures and His direct participation in our daily lives in this world at this time [Hebrews 12:2], and this experience does not have anything to do with any sort of spiritual gift that only the most worthy can obtain, neither. For it truly is as it is written: If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. [James 1:5 NIV]
Be assured that I felt as you do about this for over 30 years. For I was raised to be a very conservative Southern Baptist. In fact, I was even the pastor of a small Southern Baptist church for 2 years, and even though I had no doubt about Him truly existing as a full and equal member of the Trinity [1 John 5:8], our Heavenly Father's Holy Spirit did not have anything to directly do with my life in my mind.
Perhaps it would be helpful to think of it in terms of a classroom setting. For which is more important—the teacher or the subject matter?
Yes, it could be argued that the subject matter is far more valuable if what is being taught is not of the teacher, but what if we were talking about someone like Einstein teaching a course on the factors that led up to his theory of relativity? For who could know more about it than him (naturally-speaking, of course) [Galatians 1:11-12]?
Nonetheless, it could also be argued that the subject matter is still of the most importance. For someone like Einstein cannot stay with you forever, but can the same be said of our Heavenly Father [John 14:15-21]?
Please forgive me for not going away before now. For I have no desire to be contentious, but I was compelled to say something since you made me sound like a Roman Catholic longing for the days before the Reformation.
The Minister: Don't apologize for anything. I appreciate your efforts, and I'm learning as I go having spent the first 30 years of my life ignorant of His love and His Word in general. I need as much input as I can get and do agree that I need to build my relationship with Him and become more receptive to His Spirit.
The Crackerhead: Be assured that your response just now stands as a very clear witness of just how much our Heavenly Father's Holy Spirit has already accomplished in and through you. For you could have very easily just let it go as it was before, and been applauded for standing your ground by so very many. Instead, you chose His grace and humility. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment! [James 2:12-13 NIV]
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