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What should we believe?: Difference between revisions
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Those inside the message expect that we are looking for followers (we're not) and those who have left are simply looking for guidance. | Those inside the message expect that we are looking for followers (we're not) and those who have left are simply looking for guidance. | ||
=Don't follow | ='''In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love'''= | ||
Any subject on which equally devout, equally humble, equally Bible-believing and Bible-studying Christians or churches reach different conclusions, must be considered secondary not primary. We must not insist on these as fundamentals but instead respect each other’s integrity and acknowledge the legitimacy of each other’s interpretations. The best guidance came from Rupert Meldenius at the beginning of the seventeenth century: ‘In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things love.’<Ref>John Stott, “But I Say to You …”: Christ the Controversialist (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 2013), 39.</ref> | |||
Charles Simeon was an evangelical minister at the beginning of the nineteenth century who was a firm champion of truth despite opposition which was fanatical at times. He lived in days when the Calvinist—Arminian controversy raged fiercely, but he consistently refused to take sides. He stated his position by saying that '''‘the truth is not in the middle, and not in one extreme, but in both extremes … Sometimes I am a high Calvinist, at other times a low Arminian, so that if extremes will please you, I am your man; only remember, it is not one extreme that we are to go to, but both extremes.’''' | |||
Charles Simeon warns us against choosing either one or other extreme. Instead, his advice is to hold on to both extremes, as long as they are equally biblical — even if our human minds cannot reconcile or systematize them. For biblical truth is often stated paradoxically. The attempt to resolve everything which looks like a contradiction in the Bible’s teaching is misguided because it is impossible. | |||
And so, when apparent opposites are encountered in the Bible, ''‘it is possible that the truly scriptural statement will be found, not in an exclusive adoption of either, nor yet in a confused mixture of both, but in the proper and seasonable application of them both.’''<ref>John Stott, “But I Say to You …”: Christ the Controversialist (Nottingham: Inter-Varsity Press, 2013), 39–40.</ref> | |||
=Don't follow us!!= | |||
We are not pointing to ourselves, to any man, or to any church. Paul said that we are to follow the teachings that he laid out in scripture (2 Tim 1:13). Peter said the same thing: | We are not pointing to ourselves, to any man, or to any church. Paul said that we are to follow the teachings that he laid out in scripture (2 Tim 1:13). Peter said the same thing: | ||
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:''Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Heb 13:7–9.</ref> | :''Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Heb 13:7–9.</ref> | ||
Paul is telling us that we are not to follow a single man but those leaders (plural) that provide a godly example of a Christian life in word and deed. And we are to judge their teachings based on scripture. | |||
=Believe what the church has always believed= | =Believe what the church has always believed= | ||
What has the church always believed? What is "[[Confessional Orthodoxy]]"? What are the core beliefs of the Christian faith? | |||
Think about the giants of the Christian faith over the past 500 years "of whom the world was not worthy". People like: | Think about the giants of the Christian faith over the past 500 years "of whom the world was not worthy". People like: | ||
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=Find out what the church has always believed= | =Find out what the church has always believed= | ||
To followers of William Branham, "theology" is a dirty word. Theology simply means “the study of God,” and doctrine means “teaching.” Since the main message of Scripture is the unfolding mystery of Christ, who reveals his Father and reconciles us to him, theology is a central concern of every believer. | To followers of William Branham, "theology" is a dirty word. But what is theology? According to Michael Horton: | ||
:''Theology simply means “the study of God,” and doctrine means “teaching.” Since the main message of Scripture is the unfolding mystery of Christ, who reveals his Father and reconciles us to him, theology is a central concern of every believer... | |||
:''Since God is the author of reality, it is his interpretation that we must pursue... | |||
:''The gospel is good news, not good instructions, good ideas, or good techniques. It announces the “new thing” that God has accomplished in history for us and for our salvation. As an effective communicator, God tells us what he is going to do, does it, and then tells us what he did. Doctrine summarizes these divine accomplishments. | |||
By questioning and testing our interpretation of God’s Word, we come to know what we believe and why we believe it, so that the grammar of faith becomes our own language of worship through which we interpret all of reality and live in the world. Theology is the concern of every believer because it is the grammar of the Christian faith. Learning God’s Word—including its doctrine—is a nonnegotiable responsibility of our new citizenship as Christians. The baptized are privileged and obligated to learn the language of Zion. | :''By questioning and testing our interpretation of God’s Word, we come to know what we believe and why we believe it, so that the grammar of faith becomes our own language of worship through which we interpret all of reality and live in the world. Theology is the concern of every believer because it is the grammar of the Christian faith. Learning God’s Word—including its doctrine—is a nonnegotiable responsibility of our new citizenship as Christians. The baptized are privileged and obligated to learn the language of Zion. | ||
Our English word "disciple", in fact, comes from the Latin noun discipulus, meaning “student.” Thus, Paul writes, | :''Our English word "disciple", in fact, comes from the Latin noun discipulus, meaning “student.” Thus, Paul writes, | ||
:''I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Ro 12:1–2)<ref>Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), pp. 13-24.</ref> | ::''I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Ro 12:1–2)<ref>Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), pp. 13-24.</ref> | ||
Do you know what the church has always believed? Don't you think it would be prudent to find out before you follow one person's view of scripture? | |||
=What church should we go to?= | =What church should we go to?= | ||
People in the message are used to following | People in the message are used to following William Branham but the person we need to follow is the Holy Spirit. We are constantly being asked "If Bro. Branham wasn't the fulfillment of Malachi 4:5, then who is?" Our response is always to ensure we have a proper understanding [[The Fulfillment of Malachi 4:5|of Malachi 4:5]]. | ||
So... if the message is not the way (and it definitely isn't based on our research), where should we go to church? According to what we were taught in the message, all churches outside the message (denominations) are weak, ineffectual and filled with people that are actually worshiping Satan. Is this true? Or could this simply be another false teaching by message ministers? | |||
The message actually checks almost every box for a denomination. And many of the churches preaching the William Branham's message check every box for a destructive cult. | |||
In Paul's day, there were churches that were legalistic like the message (the Galatian church being an example) and liberal churches where people were getting drunk in church (see 1 Corinthians 11:21). There were also lukewarm churches (Revelation 3:14-22) But there were also good churches (Ephesus) and good leaders (like Timothy and Titus). | |||
There is an old song that says: | There is an old song that says: | ||
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Jesus will never leave you. If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit has been promised to lead you. The job of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus real, and when he is doing that in a church, the result is revival. | Jesus will never leave you. If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit has been promised to lead you. The job of the Holy Spirit is to make Jesus real, and when he is doing that in a church, the result is revival. | ||
According to Tim Keller, a well-known pastor from New York City, when the Holy Spirit is actively leading a church, there are five things the church is characterized by, and it comes directly from Jesus being real: | |||
:1. The first is | :1. The first is a focus on '''worship'''. Church should be a place where you sense the presence of God... that people are there to meet God. The purpose of worship is not primarily teaching or evangelism or fellowship; it’s to commune with God. | ||
:2. Secondly, people are interested in and focused on a '''study of the Word of God.''' The truth shines in their lives because of this. | :2. Secondly, people are interested in and focused on a '''study of the Word of God.''' The truth shines in their lives because of this. | ||
:3. Thirdly, | :3. Thirdly, '''community'''. It's hard to get to know people in a large church so there should be a focus on meeting in small groups (this might not be necessary if the church is quite small). People’s barriers come down to sharing openly with other people because Jesus is real to them, and you no longer have to hide from people, so intimate fellowship and dynamic community and deep friendships develop. | ||
:4. Fourthly, there is '''aggressive outreach and evangelism''', and many people are converted. People who have no interest in religion at all find themselves attracted to the church and are converted. | :4. Fourthly, there is '''aggressive outreach and evangelism''', and many people are converted. People who have no interest in religion at all find themselves attracted to the church and are converted. | ||
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:5. Fifthly, there is a major '''impact on the society around''', turning this society more like the kingdom of God, that is, a society of justice and mercy. | :5. Fifthly, there is a major '''impact on the society around''', turning this society more like the kingdom of God, that is, a society of justice and mercy. | ||
These five things: worship, deep teaching of the Word, intimate | These five things: worship, deep teaching of the Word, an intimate community, aggressive evangelism, and compassionate social concern. When you find a church that’s strong on all of them, it’s a sign of the operation of the Spirit of God. | ||
The tendency is for most churches to have one of them only and to be very, very condescending toward anyone else who doesn’t have their one. You see, because if you’re a church with great, sound doctrine, but your worship isn’t very good, your fellowship isn’t very good, your social concern isn’t very good, they look at other churches, and the only thing they tend to look at is they say, “But do they have our sound doctrine?” They’ll reject you, even though in every other area that is strong, they’re weak. | The tendency is for most churches to have one of them only and to be very, very condescending toward anyone else who doesn’t have their one. You see, because if you’re a church with great, sound doctrine, but your worship isn’t very good, your fellowship isn’t very good, your social concern isn’t very good, they look at other churches, and the only thing they tend to look at is they say, “But do they have our sound doctrine?” They’ll reject you, even though in every other area that is strong, they’re weak. | ||
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A church that wants to be this kind of church is ruthless in making sure it is doing what God says in every one of those five areas, that it’s finding people with gifts in those areas and unleashing them to do the work, that it’s stimulating each one of those areas and they inter-stimulate one another. That’s the way it’s supposed to go.<ref>Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).</ref> | A church that wants to be this kind of church is ruthless in making sure it is doing what God says in every one of those five areas, that it’s finding people with gifts in those areas and unleashing them to do the work, that it’s stimulating each one of those areas and they inter-stimulate one another. That’s the way it’s supposed to go.<ref>Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).</ref> | ||
We found a church with all five of these characteristics. But it took us the better part of a year to do it. Is it worth the effort to find a good church? They are out there but you have to go looking. | |||
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