Christ never said you don't need rules: (New Testament | Matthew 5:17 - 20) 17 ¶ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
One True Religion?
by blondie 40 Replies latest watchtower bible
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avidbiblereader
Obviuosly many of us THOUGHT that the witnesses had the one true religion, however instead of drawing millions who would never leave the Org, it has been no different than the religions they condemn. As Christ said in Matt 7 "the standard or measure that you measure out will be used on you" Sad, but the witnesses are no different than any other religion, they have brought reproach on God and more specifically because of their self exalte use of His name, appropriately why Paul said in Romans 2:1-3
1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?. vss 23-24 23 You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. 24 No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”
They have good and bad in their ranks just as many religions do, that is why as most stated here I agree with and love the last part that was quoted when it said The test for each christian to develope a personal relationship with God and Christ and allow God's Holy Spirit guide their thinking and actions.
I agree with this statement and some of the scriptures already used as to our own personal responsibility before God and Christ, as Jesus said , "what I say to you, I say to all".
Believing in one true religion is a nice mental massage for a person who is a part of that but it also eliminates any personal responsibility before our Creator. I actually think that instead of making these strong Christians as the Society is always trying to get others to believe in, it has made weak individuals who cannot think for themselves nor want to. It is as King Solomon said they have a nose ring in and are being led around by it. As Jesus said, "let them go, blinds guides is what they are, if a blind man leads a blind man, then both will fall into the pit.
I believe as Peter said, i"in every nation the MAN who fears him is acceptable to him"
The arrogance; That Jehovah, the Grand Creator, the One who doesn't need anything or anybody needs a earthly organization to accomplish anything for Him. Thanks for the article Blondie
abr
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Qcmbr
Avid - assuming you lived at the time of Christ when He was teaching would you have wandered away after a bit to get strong or would you have followed Jesus' acknowledging you were weak and needed to be taught? Its a brave person who claims to believe God but to reject that He would have any representation on earth and to reject all His ordinances.
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willyloman
Qcmbr:
The scripture you cite doesn't touch on my comment. Perhaps the one you're looking for is in John 4: "My Samaritan ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God." To which Jesus replied: "Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem...."
One could cite countless examples of Christ denouncing religious leaders for their narrow minded vision and poop pile of rules and regulations, none of which would be needed in the future. No wonder they killed him! He threatened the very existence of religious institutions and the privileged lifestyle of the church fathers.
This is exactly why JW elders squirm and detest those dubs who were prominent members in their group and then walked away without a 'by your leave.' These guys hate it when their perceived power and authority is simply dismissed as irrelevant. They'd kill us, too, if they could.
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Qcmbr
Willy - what do you mean it doesn't touch on your comment??? Jesus goes on to list a tightening of all the rules in the following verses. It directly touches upon your assumption that Jesus said we don't need rules. Jesus rejected man made rules however.
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avidbiblereader
qcmbr,
I apologise for any misunderstandings in my post. I don't have a problem with following Christ or even when the first century congr was established but now when it has become evident that men have turned aside from the healthful teachings and accumilated teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled (perhaps tickled to death). I would only hope that I would never have turned away from Chirst teaching. I realize he said his load was light, not weighless, there are laws to abide by. He also said he came for those who acknowledged their need for a physician not those who thought they were healthy. Christ teachings 2000 years ago were refreshing and I find in the Bible his teaching is still refreshing today. I can see the difference between God's laws and man made teachings, I am a work in progress and need to grow in more maturity. I have spent 27 years studying the Bible, sad to say 19 years of that was Witness teaching but could see for a long time things were not right in Denmark. But I can discern as Paul said about those who can distinguish between right and wrong. Christ's teaching was simple, direct, never waivering, nerver changing and always glorified His Father, it led poeple to God not men,it led honest hearted people to search out more. I also acknowledge that in the past God-Given representation has been a part of His direction. Today, it is one of the things I have a real problem with, however the scriptures point to Christ not any man no matter how you slice the scriptures. As Romans says 10:8-11 says
8 In fact, it says,
“The message is very close at hand;
it is on your lips and in your heart.” [ d ]And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
I will err on the side of trusting in him, not men who have let me and countless millions if not billions down. I should have known better, the scriptures warned me not to put so much trust, really any trust in man. Again I apologize for any misunderstandings, I should rephrase my comment to say' I believe I was weak and led around by the nose as a blind person when I was apart of a man made org, that put more emphasis on org and men, then they did Christ. Thanks for the reply and I hope that I have not offended you, it is one of my many faults, WHO CAN CONTROL THE TONGUE?
ABR
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Qcmbr
Obviously I do think there is one true religion but not to get too caught up in semantics I suggest most disagreement for christians would be on what religion means. If it is the corpus of unadulterated revelation from God ( in other words God's revealed will) then we will all agree there is only one true religion however, where we all diverge rapidly is when we define religion as the authority to interpret, receive and administer God's will. The question every believer must ask is is it possible to do all three without some form of organisation. Since interpretation is by the Spirit - then partially yes but since no prophecy is for private interpretation then we get stuck for prophecy. If it is to receive then we put ourselves in the role of prophet (as described by Moses) and the problem of that is that then requires a preaching effort (spread the word) - the moment you get one convert your struggling with organisation. Finally there is the administration of that will - this is dualistic - some 'works' require no structure (charitable efforts for example) but then how do we do baptism or any of the sacraments without assuming authority? To reject structure is to reject the need for sacraments - possible but as I said before a risk. Either way you set yourself up as having correctly understood God's will and having rejected any Priesthood or organisation.
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Kaput
Obviously I do think there is one true religion but not to get too caught up in semantics I suggest most disagreement for christians would be on what religion means.
Skip the semantics then. Where's the one true religion?
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avidbiblereader
qcbmr,
I respect your viewpoints, I don't nor will I ever reject the priesthood, that is scriptural but organization is not scriptural, can't support it with one scripture. I do believe in laws and sacraments to follow but as they come from the Bible and an intelligent mind that is trained from HS, as far as baptism and the things of like. I will follow the example of the Ethopian enuch, I believe that Jah or Christ can do whatever is needed to find those who are his, as Christ said those who are mine will follow me and not one of them will be missing. I don't know where you are at in your quest for truth or how long you have been a witness but for 15 or so years I would have argued the same as you. But I must also follow what I know is right and cannot turn from what I have seen and heard. There are just too many points and visual evidence to continue with this org.
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Qcmbr
Avid - sorry I wasn't specifically referring to you in my post - I was using 'you' to mean 'one' a far less specific indication. Kaput - I'm not here to evangelise but I do believe every person has a drive to find the truth and have to answer that inner questioning about the why's. We all head in different directions and try and find somewhere to fit in and put down our roots of belief. If there is a God is up to Him to reveal His organisation if He has one but for Him to do that we'd need to be looking for it or at least willing to accept His will should He make it known. The dang problem is that in the old days we only had one ark to choose now you can get a new ark and philosophy every visit to WalMart its getting very difficult to identify anything remotely believable.