The questions are seasonal reruns played from broken promises of the past — whether from October A.D. 2020 or during the first century trial of Jesus Christ.
We learned that doctrine can be religious or political. Recently many ‘christians’ have confused these.
FALSE politics is treason, but FALSE religion is heresy.
What is true of false political promises is also true of false teaching about God and Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter and others sound the trumpet of warning against false teaching and heresy.
I preface our upcoming Christian conversation about doctrinewith a caveat caution about philosophy and its pitfalls to our denominations of belief. If we are to stand near to the Lord God, man must choose in this mortal life between fruit from various trees of doctrine.
Mr. Ed & Balaam’s Ass
But philosophers question if its a horse, of course..
My opening reference of course places our thoughts in the realm of fiction. Allow me to mention that a good philosopher opposed to God will quickly offer you the fruit of fiction as explanation for various Biblical phenomena. Their underlying philosophies have been reruns for centuries.
And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. – Numbers 22:27
My microchip of a philosopher’s mind is hardly sufficient to expound doctrine in depth, therefore I will defer to other more-learned men.
Philosophers must argue an issue into a mire behind the horse, a place into which I dare not lead any seeking a path back to eternal life. I’ll leave you to your own conclusions about the Scripture of Numbers 22; though philosophers may debate whether Balaam’s creature is a donkey, a horse, an ass, a mule or a burro.
(You may not want to compare creatures and contrast the jackass to the philosopher or compare an amoeba with mankind.) :)
Philosophy – the term defined
As with DOCTRINE, if we are to agree on anything let’s at least begin with a definition of Philosophy. – source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary
all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts..
pursuit of wisdom..
a system of philosophical concepts, : a theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought..
the most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group..
As I indicated, an inviting quagmire into which we dare not dwell too long.
Why today?
As timely as this fits into our new series on doctrine, I chose today due to a date of one philosopher from which we will study next.
In this 21st century after Jesus Christ we must not lose the overall witness of twenty-one centuries of the church in times of various challenges to the Truth of Christ Jesus.
To read the fascinating background of the twelfth century philosopher Peter Abelard whose writings we will study next, click here.
Back to arguing with Balaam
And the ass said unto Balaam,
Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee?
And he said, Nay.
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will privately bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. – 2 Peter 2:1 – Webster Bible
How is it that you can listen to false teachers for hours, yet will not READ your Bible even for minutes?
Do you believe the Bible? How will you know if your teacher is false?
Peter writes this warning to the church. Media of this 21st c. rapidly spreads many false teachings who now publicly proclaim ‘damnable heresies.’ You can find whatever you want to believe on the Internet, on TV, on the radio, and in many churches who seek followers of anything to support their false gospel and give to their false causes.
IF you do NOT hear the Name Jesus, IF Christ is never mentioned, IF you do NOT hear of the Cross and the Resurrection, IF only brief mention of scripture is used to make a point of what God is doing for YOU: beware.
Most modern Bibles soften the Greek for ‘heresy,’ but the meaning remains. Have you read this warning of Peter to the church? Do you even know what a heresy is?
Heresy – It’s an act of taking something from someone else, choosing a non-Biblical belief, dissensions arising from diversity of opinions and aims.
The One certainty of Truth is Christ Jesus. IF you want to follow Him and NOT some false teacher, try reading the Bible just a bit more (daily is best) and listen to those trying to teach you something about God a lot less. False teachers abound.
Do NOT follow the crowds of false teachers who steal the sheep of Jesus and rob the flocks of their salvation.
Jesus IS Lord. Have you heard your shepherd say that lately? Could you be following a liar and a thief? Check out every teaching in the Bible.
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