Harmony of the Scriptures

There is harmony in these verses.

They attest to the fact that what we are expected to BELIEVE is
the fact that Jesus is the prophesied savior...He constantly asked "Who
do ye say that I am?"

We are not expected to believe IN a system or a church or
doctrines to gain salvation. So when Christians say "I believe in Jesus"...
it merely means they have accepted the fact that He was sent from God
and is the influence whereby salvation entered and sins are forgiven. Belief
is not an action word in the sense that it then promotes rightful living or
membership in a church that we might EARN salvation.

Jhn 11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the
Son of God, which should come into the world

Jhn 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may
believe that I am [he]

Jhn 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe
that thou hast sent me

Jhn 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name

Acts 8:37 If thou believest with all thine hear, thou mayest. And he
answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

We're making it too hard, people.
There is no mystery of what the Gospel is. It's simple...not a compilation of
mysteries that takes decades of thological study to interpret. Children can
understand the Gospel...but bible scholars cannot understand some of the
garbage presented to them today by those seeking to promote their own
version of another "Gospel".

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God...Try that and let the Holy Spirit
lead from there. It's harmonious with the Bible.

 

The fact remains that Believing in Jesus is ALL that it takes to be CHRISTIAN! If you don't believe in Jesus, You CANNOT BE CHRISTIAN.

Being Christian, and BEHAVING as a Christian are two closely related but different things. Behaving in a Christian manner does not require belief in Jesus, but a simple adherance to Christian teaching. Many there are who behave in accordance with Christian teachings, that is, they do all the right works. But being Christian is not a matter of doing works any more than being American is living in America. You actually have to emmerse yourself in belief in America to be an American. So it is with being Christian.

John 3:16 is the starting place for BEING CHRISTIAN! One must believe in the Christ in order to be CHRISTIAN! The four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the "baby food" of Christianity. Pauls letters are the meat of Living the Christian Life. Johns 1,2 & 3 are essential food for the Christian to eat and grow on, Peter 1 & 2, are root strengtheners that keep the Christian strong and Healthy. BUT if you do not Believe in Jesus, The CHRIST, YOU CANNOT BE CHRISTIAN no matter how hard you try!

Faith? Faith is another word for Belief. ALL faith has an object. The object of the Christian FAITH is Jesus, THE CHRIST! All other faiths are pseudo-Christian, and lack of Faith in Jesus is self Condemnation! John 3:18.

 

Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

 

Are you saying that to be an American you must know and agree with every single law that governs the American people? Less than .5% of Americans can even recite the preamble to the American Constitution, let alone quote any of the amendments to it.

What I'm trying to convey here is that it is not necessary for one to believe that every scripture is in complete harmony with all other scripture in order for one to be a believer in Jesus the Christ. Whatever scripture it was that caused you to believe in Him is sufficient unto your salvation! Praise God!

 

Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.' </font>[/QUOTE]Nevertheless Tuor, If one does not believe in Jesus there is no salvation under heaven, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved.

 

Faith is sustained belief, When belief starts faith starts and when belief stops faith stops.

 

Bro Adams said:

Thus to say that we hold to right doctrine, it must not contradict, but work with and in all scritpure.

Since you didn't specify, I would say that scripture would indeed not contradict iself when it comes to issues regarding faith and morals, or in other words scientific matters or matters that may appear chronologically different for example may differ or contradict themselves or our present understanding of science as far as that goes. That of course is not saying that some things in scripture do indeed appear to contradict something else until a third or fourth scripture text is considered.

All too often somebody will run off with just one of these truths of scripture and not have the full picture in place. Next thing you know we have half-baked beleifs masquerading as the faith.

 

Thanks,
I guess you noticed I'm new here...I hope it wasn't my novice-like answers that gave me away. I've enjoyed your posts -challenging yet insightful!......and to think I was gonna ask if anyone remembered how to do that hand trick with church and steeple ..open the doors and see all the ........oh well

 

Stephen, did you get a chance to attend the Eucharistic Congress there in Atlanta two weeks ago? The speaker lineup was pretty amazing. If you did attend, how did it go?

 

Carson,

I was in San Diego that week... missed it.
I'd like to take this opportunity to commend you and the other Catholics on this board for doing an awesome job of defending the Faith. Keep up the good work!