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Is it important what a Church teaches?
by Robert Kiser We can find out, if what the church teaches is important or by looking to the Bible for some answers. Gal 1:8-9 (NAS) 8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed. (1) Do you think Paul would consider it important what a prophet or anyone else taught? (verse 8&9) Deut 13:1-5 (NAS) 1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you. (2) What if the prophet can do miracles but he tells us of other God's should we listen to him? (verse 1-3) (3) Does God take the matter of this prophet lightly? (verse 5) (4)Something to think about. If the teachings about God or Jesus are not the same Jesus or God as the Bible tells us about, is this following after other god's? 2 Cor 11:3-15 (NAS) 3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. 5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles. 6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things. 7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? 8 I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to serve you; 9 and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia, they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds. (5) Was Paul concerned about teachings of Jesus or the gospel ? verse 3&4 (6) Can these false teachers appear as honest and religious people? verse 13-15 (7) Why was Paul afraid for the Corinthians? verse 3 (8) Why would Satan or his servants want to appear as servants of righteousness? 2 Pet 2:1 (NAS) But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (9) Does Peter think that false teachings are a serious matter? John 8:23-25 23 And He was saying to them, "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24 "I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins." 25 And so they were saying to Him, "Who are You?" Jesus said to them, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning? (10) Does Jesus sound like it might be important to believe correctly about him? Prov 14:12(NAS) 12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. (11) Is it wise to trust emotions or what may seem right? verse 12 (12) After reading these verses, have you reached a conclusion to whether or not it is important what a church teaches? 13) Why do you suppose Satan would want to introduce false prophets or false teachings about who God or Jesus is? (14) Do you believe that it is important to know what the Bible says concerning who God or Jesus is? (15) If the teachings of a church about whom, God or Jesus is are different than that of the Bible, should you attend and support that church? If you have difficulty in answering these questions please feel free to write and ask any question you might have. I would encourage you to study the Bible. If any answer that I or anybody else gives does not agree with scripture, it's WRONG. The Bible has proven itself time and time again. It is important to realize that if the Bible disagrees with what we believe, then it is us who are wrong not the Bible! For many more studies about the Christian faith check out the website below. ReasonableAnswers.org Robert Kiser is the author of a few free pdf books and the . Roberts books explains and defends the Christian Faith. His book also includes a section on Cults including Mormonism and Jehovah Witnesses. https://archive.org/details/@robert_kiser Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |