My Spritual Pilgrimage - an Update

Would you expect protestants and baptists to rejoice with you? Have I seen you before...around Matt Slick's ministry perhaps?

May God grant me the strength to stand in love toward you my friend, as a sign and a warning that says, "Turn back, that is not the way of the Lord." raying:

RB

 

Admonitions:

1) Stop basing your acceptance of church on your feelings.

2) Remove yourself from that mother of harlots at once

 

Was there something unloving about my post? Granted, you don't believe your headed into further and further error. But if a man sees another heading into what he believes is a pit of destruction, woe to that man if he warn him not.

Your words in your signature would be enough to begin a discussion. It is the exact opposite to the truth and opposed to all godliness and righteouness. It subordinates the authority of Scripture to man, and exalts man to place God never placed him.

By your own words and testimony the wrongful error has is clearly seen. You have devoted yourself to uninspired writings, although sometimes helpful, are not profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, lacking nothing.

Tell me friend, in your studies, have you compared God's Word to you with the words of men? Are you sacrificing your own conscience to the authority of a church father, or whom you believe to be a successor of an apostle? You know history well, how that in times past the papacy held back the Word of God from the people by forbidding them to have the Scriptures in their own tongue. And how God raised up holy men, not fearing death, to translate the Bible and bring the Word of God to the people, who also paid with their lives for this.

I have no doubt that you read the Scriptures. But is your concience more bound to the interpretations of fallible men or to the infallible Word of God?

RB

 

Agnus,

YOur so-called Pilgrimage reminds me of my life in pursuit of the Truth before my Salvation. I visited about 100 churches before Salvation. Actually it was worthwhile.

My recommendation is this.
You may not be able to judge whose history is correct between RCC history and Baptist/Brethren History, because nobody from the past can witness for you and the history is quite controversial.
You'd better find another starting point, then move to the history.

The best starting point is the Bible. You told me you read the Bible with the assistance of the Catholics ( or anyone else). I recommend you to read the Bible for yourself or for yourself along with your wife, without any commentary or any other Brain-washing materials.
You can read your own Bible compared to King James Version.
I can guarantee you that King James Version is the best tool to convict anyone of the sins and help them to hear the Words of God. You can compare the differences among the Bible, and mark the difference, and meditate about the teachings, and read and discern about them as Bereans did ( Acts 17:11)

Especially I recommend you to read Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Zechariah, then New Testament. Thereafter you can move to Genesis Exodus thru the Old Testament.
I am very sure that the Bible reading will convict you of your sins very much and make you feel thirsty for the Truth more and more, then you will find the beams removed from your eyes ( Mt 7:3-5)

If you have ever read the Bible, it won't take very long time.

Thereafter you can have the right eyes to see thru the history.
If you don't have much time, please read Isaiah and Romans 3,4,5,6.
You will be challenged by the Truth.

 

Double Post

 

I guess, I would just have to say, you're getting warmer.

 

This presupposes that the differences between evangelical protestants is that great. I have found this to be a great misconception among papists and orthodox churches alike.

I stand in my faith and conscience on Scripture alone.

This semantic trickery doesn't work on me. The Scriptures are the Word of God, without mixture of human thought or interpretation. They were meant to be read and understood from God's mouth to common people's ears. Both the papacy with their lies of infallible interpretors (magisterium) and orthodoxy have run headlong into this error. Sir, the Scriptures of truth are OVER you, your priests, your synod, and all peoples of the earth. It is the Word of God.

This is some of the most disgusting, arrogant and henious heresy ever to be thrust into the face of God's people. God's Word DOES NOT derive its authority from His Church, but from God alone. The Church is UNDER the authority of God and His Word.

And see how far error the papists and orthodox churches have run into with their infallible interpretors!

Call no man thy father.

I know they are different, but so look and smell like one another its often hard to tell the difference.

 

If you read the Bible with the conviction that you need the assistance of the church, then you have to decide which church you should choose. At this moment you are about to decide which church is correct. Then how can you make the right choice among many churches and many denominations?
Therefore you need a neutral guide, namely Bible alone.
People do not know that the Bible itself has the power because God works thru the Holy Spirit into the minds of the readers.

A problem is that people have the fear that they may find themselves and their churches wrong! You need it!
If you read the Bible for yourself, you will be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit works everywhere and whenever you read the Bible.

Don't be scared to confront changes given by the Holy Spirit. You can find God exists and works for you.

Read the Bible without any Brainwash, a complete neutral approach to the Truth, because at the end you will have to confront only God, all the others will be set aside. Between you and God, don't have anything. Confront with God, the Supreme Judge.

I personally trust the people of so-called Plymouth Brethren, however, when I meet the Only God, I will have to confront Him, without any PB's.
You cannot excuse to God, for your salvation, on account of Roman Catholic. Everyone will stand alone for his or her own behaviors and own faith.
Therefore, set aside all the others first, then try to have the answer and guidance from the Lord, thereafter you can make the choice of the churches and denominations, then you can read the Bible along with them.
Read the Bible along with your wife, one in you favor and King James Version because there are big difference between them.
Let the Bible, the Words of God convict you of your sins. You will have very clear view about the world, about the church and about the Salvation and about the Truth.

 

2 Timothy 3:16a "All Scripture is breathed out by God" (ESV).

Scripture, being the written Word of God and having come from God, derives its authority direct from God.

I would not use this argument again. Catholic polemicists use it. In doing so, they assert authority over something that God has written. Among people like me, only shows how brazen and presumptuous their leaders are.

It would only reduce the respect any Bible-centered Christian has for either group who ever use it. That is why I do not like to see it.
__________________

That aside, I am glad to see that you have considered Orthodoxy instead of Catholicism. Most people assume that once they have reconsidered Evangelicalism/Protestantism, that the only route to go is Catholicism. I am glad you investigated the idea that Orthodoxy has a claim to the important decisions of the third and fourth centuries.

As you know, in the period of the church after the Lord Jesus Christ's apostles, there was only one dominant church body. It was overseen by five major metropolitan bishops. The metropolitan bishop of Rome claimed increasing levels of preeminence and authority. Finally, in 1054, he decided that he would no longer accept being disagreed with, and excommunicated a whole lot of people. As he initiated the actual split, he caused the division. Because of that, I see the Orthodox having a superior claim to the third, fourth, and fifth century "church fathers" and council decisions.

Also, as I compare Orthodoxy and Catholicism in Scripture, I believe the Scripture evidence is in favor of Orthodoxy. If it is really important to you to be in an ancient group who will tell you what to believe to avoid confusion over religious details, I think Orthodoxy is the place for you.

 

And on what basis do you make this claim?

A_D, every blessing in Christ Jesus to you as you embark on your quest. May the Holy Spirit continue to guide you and your wife and give you the illumination you so richly deserve in seeking the Lord.

 

I thought the catholics on this board who were 'grandfathered' in were allowed to stay on the BB as long as they didn't proselytyze their false religion?

Moderators?......

 

Scripture...but of course you won't take that as authoratative...:BangHead:

 

Oh, I'm quite prepared to accept the authority of Scripture, as I hope you are, with particular reference to I Tim 3:15 which refers to the Church as "the pillar and foundation of the Truth". I'm just concerned that Reformed Baptist doesn't seem to share in the view that this Scripture is authoritative but rather refers to it as "a disgusting and arrogant heresy". I was just asking on what he based that claim; clearly it can't be Scripture, and I can therefore only deduce that it must be his own personal opinion.

 

Under the new covenant, the system of priests was done away with. All NT believers are priests, with Christ as the Chief Priest. We have the God given authority as individual believers to approach the throne of God without having to go through anyone else because of our faith in our chief priest, Christ. Therefore, as a priesthood of believers, God has given each believer the authority to read and interpret scripture for ourselves, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 

Yeah...because that really works, doesn't it?

[An interesting and informative article is here. Whilst I'm not about to swim the Bosphorus myself, it does encapsulate neatly the problems I have with evangelicalism and why I left the Baptist polity.]