Present the truth as taught by the Master!

by Bill Parker 17 Replies latest jw friends

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  Bill Parker

  BJC:
  From reading your post it becomes obvious that you were not paying attention when you read mine. Try reading it again! "All scripture is inspired by God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be Holy.This is how the man who is dedicated to God becomes fully equipped and ready for any good work." My article's focus was the refuting of religious error. I used the Bible and did that. No one really has to be inspired today. The Bible writers were inspired. The Book itself is an inspired book. What is required is for one to sit down and "Ponder over these things be absorbed in them that your advancement may become manifest" 1 Timothy 4:15. I f 0ne has spent many years pondering over Jehovah's truth's feeding his mind daily on them then Jehovah's Spirit can recall all of things necessary for imparting those truths to others. John 14:26 Jehovah is the one who does the teaching. Not only in the first century but today as well."But you have not lost the anointing that He gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you, the anointing He gave teaches you "everything; you are anointed with truth, not with a lie" 1 John 2: 27 So you are quite wrong in your reasoning! So is the "Chieftain!" King David said: "The spirit of the LORD has spoken through me and His word is on my lips" 2 Samuel 23:1,2 It is no different today. Any faithful Christian today can claim the same as David did.When Jehovah "enlightens the eye's of the heart" one then can understand the Holy writings. Ephesians 1:18 Coupled with that one has to be "granted to understand the sacred secrets of the Kingdom of God"Matthew 13:11.It's true that interpretation of scripure belongs to God but He has always conveyed the correct interpretaion of scripture to His servants the Prophets. He has spoken via the medium of His Holy Spirit through trusted faithful individuals. Just as KIng David said.
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  SixofNine

  “ But I urge and entreat you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in perfect harmony and full agreement in what you say, and that there be no dissension’s or factions or divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your common understanding and your opinions and judgments.”

  Wow, whoever wrote that was almost as mentally imbalanced as Bill Parker!

  Does anyone else hear a thumping noise?
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  Bill Parker

  SixofNine:
  When I wrote the article I was aware that there were divisions among those first Century Christians. The Apostle Paul made that clear in 1Corinthians 11:16-18. His councel to them at that time was: :"But in what I instruct you next I do not commend you, because when you meet together,it is not for the better but for the worse.For in the first place,when you assemble as a congregation,I hear that there are cliques {divisions} and factions among you; and I in part believe it.For doubtless there have to be factions or parties among you in order that they who are genuine and of approved fitness may become evident and plainly recognized among you" ... In my discussion I was talking solely about those teachers who were chosen by Jehovah through Christ. Those one's who were taking the lead in preaching and teaching. Look in the congregations today. As in the fist century there are the same kind of factions and divisions going on among the witnesses. Trouble is up to now there is no one like Paul among them to give the needed councel that would discourage that sort of thing. Rather it is encouraged. You know what I am talking about if you sat there for any length of time. So do many others. They play one person against the other with some of their so called Christian practices. Some are exalted to heaven high places while others are put down so low {and they were there already in their own minds}. Then the superfine one's hand them a shovel so that they can dig down deeper. Teachers like Paul are desperately needed today to set matters straight. Do you think we will ever see them there? I have met a few of the people on this board personally. One individual I have in mind I would like to mention. You see we really do not know some of the people on this board personally. This person I mention who I have come to know is a really nice individual. Very kind and generous. Sometimes while I'm sitting talking to him the saddness that he is feeling becomes very evident. It is almost an overwhelming saddness. You cannot help but pick it up. He will not talk too much about it. So what I try to do is be as kind and friendly to him as I can. You see "I have been there I have done that" and because I have I now can have deep feeling for the others who have and are going through what I myself have gone through and am still going through. So if that makes me some kind of mentally deranged individual maybe we need a few more like that. Bill
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  Seeker4

  Why is it self-important Bible explainers are so long-winded? And seem to have serious trouble using paragraphs? Cloudy, confused writing usually reflects cloudy, confused thinking. And while you're certainly welcome to your ideas, it doesn't make them very valuable ideas.

  And what kind of God would have to "chastise" one of us for being wrong? Teachers who do that in schools are simply known as imcompetent. I'd expect more out of a god - even the one in the Bible - though it seems punishment is one of his favorite "teaching" tools.

  Sorry to be so negative about this, but it is tiring to try to understand the ravings of pretend Bible scholar ego-maniacs. Just get a bumper sticker or wear a sign saying: "Hey!! Look at ME! I can give you another nonsense explanation of the Bible! Just ask!"

  Please, take some time to study early Christianity. This statement: "In my discussion I was talking solely about those teachers who were chosen by Jehovah through Christ. Those one's who were taking the lead in preaching and teaching." Don't you understand that ALL "those one's" (sic) "taking the lead" then were claiming to be chosen by God and Christ?

  Who do you think the Judaizers and "superfine apostles" were that Paul ranted about? Early Christian leaders that he disagreed with, but who claimed divine direction. Among many who became known as gnostics there were individuals who were opposed to the whole developing split in the congregation between the individual members and those who were being appointed as overseers and "priests," as it were. All being anointed with holy spirit, as they claimed, they should all have had equal rights in teaching.

  It was all nonsense of course. In reality the 1st century was a huge power struggle to control Christianity, and it took a few hundred years to even come to a consensus about what writings were to be included in what we now term the Greek Scriptures. There were massive differences in Christian teachings for centuries. Still are of course, even based on those writings that eventually got accepted into the canon.

  When you write - "The Bible writers were inspired. The Book itself is an inspired book." - you are starting with a false premise to begin with. It's the old circular reasoning thing again. "The Bible is inspired. How do we know that? It says it is. How do we know that statement is true? Because the Bible is inspired." Repeat. Ad nauseum.

  S4
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  logical

  Isnt your time of "preaching" up yet bjc?
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  Bill Parker

  BJC:
  You asked: "How do we know the Bible writers were inspired." Fair question. You seem to believe that the "Chieftain is" So then why do you have so much trouble believing that the Bible is?" If we believe that Jehovah is who He say's He is, and that He will do exactly as He has promised to do; and if we believe that Jesus is really the Son of God and has really accomplished what He set out to do. Opened the way for us to receive foregiveness for ours sin's and be able to approach now Jehovah in humble heartfelt prayer to receive that foregiveness then of necessity we must believe the Book that answers all the questions that we can put forth regarding those things. Now if we really do not believe any of that then why are we sitting here on this board batting things back and forth that have to do with this Book? Particularly when some do not believe that the Book is not even inspired as is your belief. Many have pointed me to other Books written by various writers today that say this or that about a variety of scriptural subjects. Its funny people today will accept what is written in THOSE BOOKS as though everything they are told therein is carved in stone. Is it really though? Can the things they say be backed up by current events as the Bible can and is every day now? While I quote this next scripture at Ezekial 33:33 keep in mind all of the things Jesus foretold that would identify the period known as the last day's, and the sign of His coming. Matthew 24. Mark 13, Luke 21- "When this comes to pass-for behold it will come!-then shall they know,understand, and realize that a prophet has been among them" Everything that Jesus foretold for the first century christians came true. Everything that He foretold for the last days of our system has come true is coming true every day. He said: "if these days were not cut short no flesh would be saved, So we can from that statement expect things to get much worse. THey are every day now. So the fulfillment of all of the things Jesus uttered stamps Him as a true prophet of God because evrything He stated has come true is coming tue every day Fear is building around this world because of the threat now of nuclear and biological warefare. If that gets going full tilt there will be no one left alive on this planet. Focus your attention on the news of the day. Something very catastrophic is in the making right now. The BIble foretold it all. That stamps it in my mind as the inspired word of Jehovah God. Is everybody going to believe? Why the Bible even covered that point too. 2Peter 3:3' "To begin with, you must know and understand this, that scoffers {mockers} will come in the last days with scoffing, {people who}walk after their own fleshly desires.And say, where is the promise of His coming? For since the Forefathers fell asleep, all things have continued exactly as they did from the beginning of creation." Are those scoffers here today? I'll let you answer that for yourself.The bible even foretold the conduct and actions of people on the earth in our time period at 2 Timothy 3:1-5.Is more convincing evidence needed than that. You may need it! I do not! Bill
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  bjc2012

  Bill:

  BJC: You asked: "How do we know the Bible writers were inspired."

  Please check this quote again. I think you have me mixed up with someone else. These are not my words. I am a firm believer in the Divine Inspiration of God's Word. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

  Peace,

  bjc
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  Bill Parker

  BJC:
  Sorry BJC! I took a closer look at the post's. It was seeker4 that made that comment. These old eye's aint what they usta was. Bill