The Five Tests of False Doctrine

Faith & Science Conversation
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There are a few complications affecting this statement. One, the forum includes all sorts of people - postings do not have official BioLogos endorsement, nor does everyone have the same view. So there are some people who regard Scripture as authoritative and some who are skeptical. It’s not always easy, but it’s necessary to keep track of who’s saying what.

Another complication is whether the scriptural reference is presented in a useful way. What is the connection between the verses and the point of the discussion? Merely posting some verses is often not effective communication of an idea - what conclusion are you drawing?

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“The Bible is an authentic ancient near eastern compilation, and is quite useful archaeologically. Anti-Bible archaeology is not sound. But trying to “prove the Bible is a reliable source of history” can easily bias one into misinterpretation, even if one is not operating entirely on imagination like Wyatt.”

Interesting comment David
What about the spiritual benefits of reading His Word?
How can one grow in the grace and knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus without being in His Word?
Why are there many explanations of His Word? Do we just pick one explanation that we like because it fits our belief? What book do we use test false teachers? What book do we use to know the Lord and His ways?

He tells us history, tells us the future

Isaiah 46:10
Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure:

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1Cor 11:19
It is necessary for there to be divisions in the church. All churches are separated and different from each other because of personal beliefs and convictions. Proclaiming and teaching the Word brings division.

Only those who belong to Christ will come to Him to seek out that personal intimate relationship and to receive the answers to the mysteries of Christ.

It is God’s Spirit through God’s Word that makes the changes and transforms our lives giving the understanding we need of the mysteries of Christ.

Christ does not allow the general public to understand the things of Christ because they don’t want Him. Many are more interested in the Bible than they are in Jesus.

God’s Spirit uses the truth of God’s Word to bring Christ into our lives, and to make our relationship with Jesus Christ more intimate, more substantial.

Jn 8:31
‘You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ He did not say the Scriptures would set you free, or the Bible would set you free, but the truth would set you free. Scripture, as taught in context, will set people free.

The church began with just a few people. After three years of ministry Christ died, was buried, raised from the dead and ascended up into heaven.

In Acts 2 there were only 120 believers of which He gave the Holy Spirit. After three years thousands of people were touched in miraculous ways but only 120 were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Most people are camped out among the miracles, attractions and programs, but back off from walking in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, to be His disciple you must deny yourself. Leaders in the church today say ‘Come to church and express yourself.’ It’s following Jesus Christ and letting Him be Lord, making the changes in us to bring us closer to Him. That is what Biblical Christianity is all about.
Pastor Bill Klein

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Interesting statement. The in context statement is enough of a qualifier to make it valid, but often that is ignored or fudged by preconceived bias. No doubt the Pharisees would have heartily agreed with it. My thought on reading “The truth will set you free” is that the context is Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Light, not scripture out of that context,

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Hi Phil
If you continue in my word, you see the only way that a person can remain in and continue in His word is if they have God’s Spirit there to drive them and to draw them to Christ. People work hard at it. They work hard at studying the Bible but they don’t experience any spiritual life. The spirit of Christ within draws us to His word. It is not natural. It is something that God does.
Secondly, verse 32, you’ve verse you probably heard and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Notice that He is talking to those who said they were believers. This is not an evangelical message this is to His genuine disciples that as you get into My word and you find the truth, the truth will set you free. I love that verse. The more you study the Bible the more it sets you free from your sin, from the dominance of the world around you. It didn’t say the Bible will set you free, it says the truth will set you free. Even many cults today use the same Bible that we use. It isn’t the scriptures that set you free, it is the truth. When the Bible is taught in the truth that is presenting it will set people free. Some of the religious groups that are out there that deny the deity of Christ when they teach the Bible they bring people into bondage. Jesus Christ sets people free. Free to serve the Lord without any hindrance and to have the Lord fulfill that person’s purpose for which they were created for. Free.
Pastor Bill Klein

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So something is being added to scripture to get to the truth? How do I trust whatever it is that is being added?

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People say the Bible is relative, whatever it means to you.
1 Peter 2:2 shoots that down because the word of God is without duplicity. Peter said, that it is without double meaning.
Pastor Bill Klein

Won’t be responding to this thread anymore.
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So yours is the correct meaning and everyone else’s is wrong?

Certainly heard that before.

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The spiritual benefits of reading Scripture are indeed of irreplaceable value, but they aren’t relevant to the context of the quote from me, which was simply about the application to archaeology. The Bible is not an encyclopedia of the cultural geography and culture of the ancient Near East, which is the sort of information archaeologists want. We can get a rough idea of where towns and events were, and plenty of aspects of culture make some appearance in the text, but there’s also a lot of uncertainty. For example, the account of Joshua and Jericho does not tell us exactly where in the vicinity of Jericho had the settlement, how big the settlement was, what kind of pottery they were using, etc.

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Hi Kelli, I looked up 1 Peter 2:2 and it does not say that at all.

As for deny yourself verse, I challenge the notion that expressing oneself is against walking with Christ in His Lordship.

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I do believe that the truth will give us a greater freedom, even when the truth is painful to accept. When we build our worldview and life on truth, we can trust that the building will not collapse when others have differing opinions. This leads to less fear and lack of fear can help us to live free.

One key problem with the biblical scriptures is the need of interpretation. All of us have to make multiple layers of interpretation to get the message. As we have seen in the threads on this forum, the interpretations may be in conflict even when those making the interpretations are honest Christians. This should make us Christians humble. The truth is not always obvious to everyone.

I see the scriptures as a dim window through which we can learn about God and His will. God knows the truth. For us, learning the truth is a life-long journey.

I believe that the crucial thing in this search is our attitude. Are we ready to receive the truth, even when it would be against our previous opinions? When we are, I believe that the Holy Spirit can lead us towards the truth. Usually using the biblical scriptures but He is not restricted to the scriptures, although the teaching He gives is not in conflict with the biblical scriptures.

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There is no duplicity in purity. The Bible is spiritually impure of course.

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I was more going from the angle of verses and interpretation having more than 2 states is not really addressed by duplicity

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God’s Word is Jesus Christ, John 1:1, not the Bible. God is Trinity, Father/God. Son/Word, and Spirit. The Bible is not part of the Trinity.

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AMEN. Since when is the Bible the same as Jesus Christ. Many people who say they believe in the Bible do not believe in Jesus Christ.

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Kelli, I apologize for playing catch-up on past comments, but it feels important to document and respond to the histories of this conversation in the order they happened. Truth is true, unless it’s out of context. Then, it’s possible to turn truth into a deflection, a false equivalent. Jesus often turns truths taken out of context into larger truths. E.g., a legalism from the Hebrew Scriptures. Deflecting the word “reality” into a truth, out of context of the comment made, seems like a false equivalent, which managed to get back onto solid, certain, comfortable ground for you: “we are all sinners.” Agreed, you’ve made it to Jonathan Edwards. But there are other truths and expanded truths beyond that. To name one of thousands of examples in the Bible of those expanded truths, in Matthew 25, God praises a servant, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

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Kelli, pleae don’t leave. These people - I don’t know them or their backgrounds personally - they are encouraging to grow in your faith. You have so much to offer; like the rest of us, you have so much more to grow. You seem stuck in a place of great sayings, phrases we all know and cherish. It’s hard to let go of the side of the boat and walk into the deeper water. The side of the boat represents comfort, certainty, and doesn’t allow doubt to be examined or tested. Certainty doesn’t allow growth; searching for answers to new questions allows growth. Be well. Go with God.

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