If You Believe Your Denomination Is...

[Taken]

Taken's core belief is sola scriptura, or a "Bible Alone" ...

It's a pretty Slick and Cunning method the Catholic Church uses ...

* Declare the Authority of written Knowledge in Scripture .... eh...Not Sufficient.
* Make up their own Wild Facts and proclaim those wild Facts as True!

Then when you Can Not give one Iota of Scriptural Verification for your Wild beliefs...

(Mary was Naturally Born without sin...?
Mary was risen Bodily to Heaven...?)
Verification ?

Ignore the questions and Try to beat down your challenger with deflections, accusations and derogatory remarks.

LOL you are so Transparent.
Verification for your hokey beliefs???

You got nothing but bully Tactics...
pitiful!

 

[BarneyFife]

Jesus did not intend there to be denominations in the first place:

That ship has sailed, my friend.

 

[mjrhealth]

Agree. How do you know where Jesus is working?

My sheep hear my voice, are you not listening.??

Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Joh 10:4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Joh 10:5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

But if you would rather follow after men, that is your doing.

 

[BarneyFife]

It is not too late for Christians to carry out God's will of one fold (Jn. 10:16) if they have the will to carry it out.

It will certainly happen.
Ephesians 4
11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the [e]edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

However, in the meantime, if there are indeed 40,000 differerent denominations as is commonly estimated:

Wouldn't it stand to reason that 1 of them is closer to teaching the truth than the other 39,999?

And if so, wouldn't there be some advantage in fellowship with that community, since we are commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together?

Am I being unreasonable or elitist here?

 

[historyb]

You are not hated, even if we disagree with you sometimes. There is no place for hate in Christ. You can have any stance you choose on masks, just don't force others to adhere to your views (what ever your view might be). You can believe any church is the correct church, there are plenty of non-catholics that believe the same thing.

What a laugh. Of course people here hate, evangelicalism is filled with it and it is part of humanity. I hate and I am not to proud to admit it even God hates. Further your responding to an old post not something new

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Jesus did not intend there to be denominations in the first place: "And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." (Jn. 10:16)

What I see from the parable of the sheep and goats is that there is a separation of the sheep, although they are all Jesus sheep, for Jesus said, there are sheep that are not of this fold. Jehovah’s loving-kindness is extended to all who diligently seek to know and to do his will. He extends his kindness to mankind who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 3:16) Jesus Christ is God’s provided way of life, but not all righteous Mankind who get life will become spirit creatures. Like Jesus said, there are other sheep which are not of the this fold(little flock). (John 10:16) It is the latter, or the ‘other sheep’, that, after the coming of Christ Jesus to the temple for judgment, he addresses in these words: ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ (Matt. 25:34)”
Matthew 25:33-40 shows that the sheep gets life for the good deeds toward Jesus Christ brothers. These brothers of Jesus are the elect, the ones anointed by Holy Spirit to be heirs with Jesus who get a resurrection like his, who when they are resurrected are given immortality and inherit incorruption as Jesus did when resurrected. They will be kings, priests and judges with Jesus in that Messianic kingdom ruling over the Earth. At the time of Jesus Christ second presence (coming) there's going to be a remnant of these elect, the ones anointed by Holy Spirit to be heirs with Jesus. This remnant is the anointed global church that Jesus is head of and has God's Holy Spirit. Those sheep who recognize this global congregation that Jesus is head of and who are Jesus brothers are the sheep who will be the meek who inherit the Earth.

 

[BarneyFife]

You are not being unreasonable or elitist. So, which denomination is closer to teaching the truth?

It is for each individual to determine for himself.

 

[Philip James]

It is for each individual to determine for himself.

Certainly, everyone has free will.
But we are called to union with Christ and one another in the community He established.

John makes it clear that abiding in His community is paramount..

They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.

So yes, each must choose for themselves..

Choose wisely!

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live

Peace be with you!

 

[Brakelite]

It is not too late for Christians to carry out God's will of one fold (Jn. 10:16) if they have the will to carry it out.

Jesus said...And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
He was speaking to the Pharisees, with the disciples present. He is speaking in present tense. He wasn't referring to a future where there would be different denominations. So at the time of speaking, who were these "other sheep"? And where were they that they had to be brought into the one fold? And was it up to the sheep to unite them all, or Jesus? So is the ecumenical movement Jesus doing, or the sheeps' doing?

 

[Brakelite]

Certainly, everyone has free will.
But we are called to union with Christ and one another in the community He established.

John makes it clear that abiding in His community is paramount..

They went out from us, but they were not really of our number; if they had been, they would have remained with us. Their desertion shows that none of them was of our number.

So yes, each must choose for themselves..

Choose wisely!

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live

Peace be with you!

If we all at union with Christ, then are we not already then in union with one another? The links that unite us may not be visible, yet surely they are there. The question is, are we in union with the true Christ or one of our own imagining? Are we in union with Christ, or have we interposed an imposter of our own making because of our own unbelief? Have we erected an idol because we believe Christ is our of reach, inaccessible, or too holy? Was it not your own Pope who said recently that a direct relationship with Christ was to be avoided at all costs?

 

[BarneyFife]

But we are called to union with Christ and one another in the community He established.

This usually means "If you ain't Catholic, you ain't right." I trust that's not what you mean.

 

[BarneyFife]

If we all at union with Christ, then are we not already then in union with one another?

This is the key to everything. The closer we draw nigh unto Christ, The closer we are to each other, by definitive logic. Somebody ain't close to Christ. Who is it? The answer? ALL OF US!!! No matter how close you are, you ain't close enough. Read the words of Paul in my signature. And let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.

 

[Brakelite]

The "other sheep" are those not a member of His fold and "there shall be one fold" (Jn. 10:16), as in "expressing the future tense." That was and is Jesus's desire for His sheep on Earth, and in Heaven which has yet to come.

Yet they are sheep. And they are His sheep. Where were they? Who were they?

 

[Nancy]

Ephesians 4:13
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

Perhaps this "measure" of the fullness of Christ is just that, a measure. Used here, this word can mean "a" measure, or "a limited portion of". Perhaps the fact that we all (at least some) believe He died for our sin, was buried and rose from the grave and that He was God with human form but, still retaining The Image of God The Father, and that He will return again could very well BE that "measure"?
Thoughts to ponder :)

 

[Brakelite]

This is the key to everything. The closer we draw nigh unto Christ, The closer we are to each other, by definitive logic. Somebody ain't close to Christ. Who is it? The answer? ALL OF US!!! No matter how close you are, you ain't close enough. Read the words of Paul in my signature. And let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.

I'm certainly becoming more mindful of how close we need to be in these current times. Everything else we trusted in, institutions, traditions, health care, governments, are falling apart at the seems and very rapidly there is an increasingly obvious void that needs to be filled. That void can only be filled by a correct understanding of who God really is, and we are going to have to trust in that God, His love, His grace, His power, like never before.

 

[BarneyFife]

The Barna Research Group estimates that only 1 in 20 people who identify as "Christian" actually believe the Bible is God's inspired word, etc., etc. This is the "invisible church." They will all come together when the Holy Spirit is poured out in latter rain power. The proclamation that "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold" is a prophecy of this event.

 

[Brakelite]

Ephesians 4:13
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:"

Perhaps this "measure" of the fullness of Christ is just that, a measure. Used here, this word can mean "a" measure, or "a limited portion of". Perhaps the fact that we all (at least some) believe He died for our sin, was buried and rose from the grave and that He was God with human form but, still retaining The Image of God The Father, and that He will return again could very well BE that "measure"?
Thoughts to ponder :)

The measure would be the fulness of Christ as the passage says wouldn't it? A perfect man in knowledge of Who Christ is, and bearing the very same character as Christ. I don't think we ought to minimize what God can accomplish in His people.

 

[Nancy]

The measure would be the fulness of Christ as the passage says wouldn't it? A perfect man in knowledge of Who Christ is, and bearing the very same character as Christ. I don't think we ought to minimize what God can accomplish in His people.

"To the full measure of the stature of Christ."
Not sure how I minimized anything??

 

[Brakelite]

The Barna Research Group estimates that only 1 in 20 people who identify as "Christian" actually believe the Bible is God's inspired word, etc., etc.

It's interesting that the leader of the largest established church in the world today believes those who do believe in the Bible as the inspired word of God, believe in a literal second coming and therefore believe in prophecy, and live their lives with that expectation, are considered "radicals". "Extremists". "Fundamentalists". And he says this in the same context of Islamic terrorists.

 

[Brakelite]

"To the full measure of the stature of Christ."
Not sure how I minimized anything??

Sorry, not meaning to implicate you personally. I was speaking to the church in general, who does tend to minimize what God is wanting to accomplish in His people. For example, the moment anyone suggests that God can, if we believe in faith, through His grace give us the power to obey His commandments, Christians come from all directions saying "No!! That's impossible! We will always be sinners. We can never overcome sin. In fact, the commandments are impossible to obey. You are a legalist! You follow the laws of Moses. Are you circumcised? Do you kill people who don't keep the Sabbath? blah blah." I have come to the sad conclusion that the vast majority of Christians today simply do not want to obey God. They'll take all He has to give, like heaven will be a cool place to live and all, and I sure as hell don't wanna go there, but holiness and obedience, God understands we are but dust right? He loves us right? Just as we are?