311 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
311 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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SPIRITUAL SWORDSMANSHIP
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or
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Defending Yourself against False Doctrines
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THE PROBLEM
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. It is obvious from Scripture that every Christian is expected to
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be able to fight back and defeat false teachings, no matter whether
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they are being proclaimed by an obvious cult, or by a brother who has
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fallen into error. Practically speaking, though, the average
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Christian often feels outmatched in verse-to-verse combat and looks
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for help from people he considers to be authorities.
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. There is a great deal of very good, helpful material available,
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but it usually has a problem or two that makes it difficult to use,
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especially if it is a situation that the believer has never been in
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before. This material will often give the reader tremendous insight,
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but ordinarily, requires him to research, memorize, study and practice
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it before he can use it effectively. It will also give him
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information about only ONE group or teaching, without giving him a
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general tool that can be used in all situations. The average
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Christian doesn't have the time or interest to pursue this avenue, or
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to become well informed about ALL the errant doctrines being put out.
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As a result, he becomes discouraged, and gives up on EVER successfully
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refuting false doctrine.
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. This writer is convinced that each and every Christian, no matter
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how long he has been a Christian or how knowledgeable he is about
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spiritual things has the means at hand to defeat any and all false
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teaching. All it requires is a knowledge of your weapon, how to use
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it, and what pitfalls to avoid.
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YOUR PRINCIPAL WEAPON
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. Nearly every person who is teaching false doctrine seeks to
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undermine the trustworthiness of the Bible. (A good sign the person
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IS teaching false doctrine!) After running into a wall of disbelief,
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you may be tempted to dispense with the Bible in favor of other
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material, in the hopes that you may convince him of the error of his
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way. DON'T, unless you are VERY familiar with the other material, and
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can use it WELL! Even then, your primary weapon should STILL be the
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Bible.
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. This may seem obvious, but it is e exactly at THIS point that
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many Christian "defenders of the Faith" get lost and confused. Much
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of the material available puts this Book, the Holy Bible, which is our
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real basis for power and authority, into an almost secondary position,
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and will rely upon other sources for most of their arguments.
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. If your friend - the one who is seeking to give you "another
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gospel" - distrusts the accuracy of the Bible, it makes NO difference
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in its being YOUR principal weapon. A sword remains a sword, even if
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the opponent doesn't think it is a reliable weapon. The Word of God
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remains the Word of God, "...living and active; sharper than any
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double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and
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spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
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heart" (Hebrews 4:12), even if your friend disbelieves it.
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. This is true even if your friend is a self-avowed atheist, or
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part of a non-Christian religion - although some of what follows won't
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apply - STICK TO THE BIBLE!!! No other material has a divine
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guarantee of total effectiveness that the Bible has! The other
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materials can be used, if you desire, to further establish the fallacy
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of your friends claims, but your most reliable weapon in fighting
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error is the Holy Bible. Even if he INSISTS upon disregarding the
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Bible, and going elsewhere to find truth, DON'T DO IT! If he gets
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upset, ask him what he is afraid of finding in the Bible.
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EFFECTIVE DOCTRINAL DUELING
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. Like the sword it compares itself to, the Bible can be used to
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either attack or defend. To carry the parallel even further, it takes
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a fair amount of practice and experience to use a sword - or the Bible
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- effectively on the offense. As you grow and mature in your Walk
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with the Lord Jesus, your ability to use His Word will grow with you.
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But many of those who are approached by these "false apostles" (and
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sometimes led astray by them) haven't had the time to become familiar,
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much less skilled, in using the Bible.
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. When a soldier is being trained to fight, he is usually taught
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how to defend himself LONG before he is taught how to attack. There
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is every reason to expect this to be appropriate for our spiritual
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battles, as well. When talking with a person from any organization
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(or teaching) that is false, but wants to present itself or himself as
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"Christian," sooner or later, there will be an attempt to use a
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passage from the Bible to support or defend a doctrine that may be in
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conflict with the Truth of Scripture.
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. When ANYONE - even someone who is honestly seeking to teach the
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True Word of God - uses the Bible to teach or illustrate a concept
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unfamiliar to you (particularly when it is in conflict with what you
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have been taught before!), STOP THE CONVERSATION RIGHT THERE!!! Get
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out a Bible, turn to he passage just used, and read it - out loud, if
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possible, and include the entire paragraph in which it is found. A
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teacher of Truth probably won't mind, and a false teacher may or may
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not - their response at this point won't tell you much. If they
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object, just inform them that you want to find out if their use of the
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passage agrees with the author's intention, and continue examining the
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section! Under NO circumstances should your discussion continue until
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you have checked the passage to see if your friend and the author
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agree. Do this in EACH INSTANCE! The friend may be A-OK in some
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cases just to get you to believe that he knows what he is talking
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about, but then divert into the "real" false teachings after having
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obtained your confidence.
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BASIC INTERPRETIVE THRUST
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. The easiest way to determine the AUTHOR'S intent in a passage is
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to ask a series of simple questions - WHO?, WHEN?, WHERE?, HOW?,
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WHAT?, WHY?, and even SO WHAT? (These are sometimes referred to as
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the "journalism" questions). In order to answer the questions, you
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will need to examine MORE than just the passage quoted, but will find
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the answers in the context of the entire Book. After doing that, see
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if either your interpretation or his interpretation, should they be
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different, is closest to agreement with the Bible. God NEVER
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contradicts himself! A good help would be to follow the cross-
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references that are often in the margins of the Bible.
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. A false teaching will ALWAYS differ from the original purpose of
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the author; so you can spot - and refute - false teachings quite
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easily and effectively by using this simple method. It may sound like
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more work than you'd like to go through, and may even seem to be rude,
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at times, but it is a workable means to keep from being fooled by
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false teachings and deceiving spirits. It may be much easier to
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simply believe what someone tells you, particularly if they sound
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authoritative and have a positive, glowing personality, but Satan and
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his demonic forces prey upon those who blindly follow - see II
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Corinthians 11:3,4,13-15.
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. The Bible commands each of us to TEST ALL THINGS and to TEST
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EVERYONE to make CERTAIN that their teaching is truthful, and with
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your eternal destiny at stake, you cannot afford to be lazy - CAN YOU?
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. "BUT THAT'S JUST YOUR INTERPRETATION." Should the interpretation
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you receive differ from the teacher - as they will if your friend is a
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false teacher - then the teacher may attempt to disregard your
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interpretation and dismiss it because it is a variation, based upon
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your "pre-suppositions." This allows him to retain his interpretation
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as an acceptable interpretation, even more correct option, which
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ignores the fact that HIS interpretation is based upon HIS pre-
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suppositions!
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. Essentially he is correct in his assertion that this is merely a
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matter of interpretation, and you can (and perhaps SHOULD) agree with
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him about this point - But point out the interpretative method that
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you used (the "journalism" questions) is designed to help you
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understand what the Author really meant by what he said. Then ask him
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what HIS interpretative method (the method HE used to determine the
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meaning of the passage) is or was, and what he is trying to determine
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by using that method.
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. Sometimes, he will insist that it is the same one you use - then
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ask to see the steps that he took to reach his conclusions. But,
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usually, the significance of the real difference in means and purpose
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of interpreting Scriptures won't sink in until it has been repeated
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several times, which means you should, at this point, invite him to
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continue in his efforts to show the Biblical basis of his teaching.
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Each and every time - even when it gets a bit tough to do - he uses
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the Bible, go through the exact same procedure, asking the questions
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and explaining your purpose.
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. Sooner or later (if his teaching is false) he will begin to
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realize that HIS method is to see in the passage what he WANTS to see
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(often because someone else told HIM that it was there!), and his sole
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purpose is to support the teaching. He has taken his belief to the
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text to be supported, rather than going to the text to learn what IT
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HAS to teach. Once that realization is made, it is usually a simple
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matter to go on and teach the Gospel message that the Bible really
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teaches.
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. There are a few "traps" you need to watch out for:
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1. THE RETRANSLATION TRAP
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. A false teaching or system that claims to be "Christian" often
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uses the EXACT same words you would hear being used in a true,
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Biblically sound Christian gathering. There is a subtle danger here.
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In nearly every case, these special words and phrases mean something
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different to the false teacher or follower than they do to you. They
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have been re-interpreted, usually without your friend even being aware
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of it. They now mean something very different and foreign to the
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meaning that you attach to them.
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. There are a couple of things you need to remember and do anytime
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you are dealing with someone that you suspect is teaching heresy.
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. First is to avoid using those special meaning words of
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Christianity that are so familiar to you, such as "saved","Born-
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Again","Savior","Son of God","Gospel" and many others. Try to use
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phrases that DEFINE these terms, or other words that means the same
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thing that are not used in the cliche' manner that these are.
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. Secondly, be certain that you both understand what each of you
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mean when these terms ARE used when you are speaking about spiritual
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matters of any kind. Make certain that you define what YOU mean when
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YOU say "Christ dies for my sins" or anything else in a spiritual
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sense. Ask HIM what "Jesus is THE Christ" REALLY means to him - get
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him to clearly and totally define it - or any other term you both may
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be using. This may take a bit of doing, but keep at it until you are
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positive that you both understand each other. If there is any
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complaint, just tell your friend that with eternity "hanging" on the
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very meaning of these terms, you are required to be absolutely certain
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that you both understand what the other means by what he says.
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2. THE "SKIPPING ROCKS" TRAP
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. One thing that often happens in a discussion on religion is that
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one or all parties involved will jump from one subject to another,
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never staying on any one point long enough to be thorough in
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investigating the Truth it may contain. One or all will keep jumping
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from the original Scripture under discussion to others, scattered
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throughout the Bible, intending to support or clarify what is thought
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to be taught in the first passage considered. Both are to be avoided.
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. Be polite, but refuse to budge from the original text until it
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has been COMPLETELY examined, using the questions we have noted
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before. Only AFTER that is done should you allow the discussion to
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proceed to other passages for confirmation or refutation, but keep
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referring back to the original text that is "being justified".
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. All the data you need to refute a misuse of Scripture can be
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found right in the immediate context - you don't need to go elsewhere
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to do that, and the impact of refuting a false interpretation from the
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passage, itself, is much greater than it is going to some other text.
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All you need is the immediate context, nothing more, except to VERIFY
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an interpretation!
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3. THE BIBLE BASH TRAP
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. This is very similar to the "skipping rocks" trap above, except
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it is a trap that YOU are much more likely to fall into than your
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"errant" friend might be. As soon as you hear a teaching that is
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obviously contrary to the Truth of Scripture, you may be tempted to
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begin immediately to quote other Bible passages to disprove it. At
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this point, your friend starts quoting passages just as
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enthusiastically, proving HIS point of view (and seemingly disproving
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yours).
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. Neither of you is really listening to the other - you're just
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"spouting" Scriptures with no REAL reference to one another. Nothing
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is accomplished, except that, perhaps, some heat is generated, but
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little LIGHT. Stick to the original passage - it will get and keep
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your friend's attention, as you are giving evidence that you are
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seriously listening to him. If you want to confirm the true
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interpretation, THEN and ONLY THEN, go on to other passages. But as
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before, all the material you really need has been provided by God to
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be at your fingertips, in the full context of the verses quoted -
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there is little need to go elsewhere.
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A PRACTICE RUN
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. One of the most common errors is to teach that something besides
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Faith, alone, is needed for salvation in many of its facets. Usually
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this takes the form of a faith PLUS some personal effort. (A "work"
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to be added to what God has TOTALLY provided in Christ Jesus)
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. The favorite passage to support this "works" theory is James
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2:14-26 - "..faith without works is dead.." - and therefore, some sort
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of personal "work", which is usually "gladly spelled out in detail" by
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your friend, is needed to REALLY get into God's favor. Although you
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could probably quote a good dozen verses to discredit that concept,
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for the time being, lets stick with the letter of James - particularly
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to the immediate context of James 2:14-26 - and ask an "expanded" form
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of the "journalism" questions we have mentioned already.
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. Get out your Bible, some paper and pen, and then answer the
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questions, looking at ALL of James, but ONLY JAMES! Ready? - Then
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start "rightly dividing the Word of Truth"!
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* Who is the AUTHOR? What can you tell about him from this
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Epistle?
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* Who are the original readers? What can you tell about them from
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this Epistle?
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* HOW does he use and define his KEY WORDS in the passage? (Words
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like Faith, Works and Dead)
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* HOW do his examples illustrate and clarify his meaning?
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* WHAT is he talking about? What is his primary subject, concept,
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teaching or whatever?
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* WHAT is he saying about what he is talking about? What is the
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point of the passage? What does he want YOU to know about his
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subject, concept or teaching?
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* WHY is he saying this? Is there an error that he seeks to
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correct? Maybe a new knowledge to be revealed? WHAT is his purpose?
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* WHY is he saying it to these particular people? What are they
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thinking or doing or believing or hearing or preaching that may have
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prompted this letter to be written.
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* SO WHAT? What response should you have? What response did the
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Author expect from his readers?
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* Is there ANY SUPPORT from the rest of the Bible for your
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conclusions?
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SOME HINTS
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. Looking carefully for the following will help to answer the
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questions and keep you honest to he text and context:
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* Watch noun and pronoun shifts - sometimes the author will include
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himself with the group that he is writing to or about, other times he
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may remain silent or separate. The difference is often very
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important. In addition, our example above didn't include a couple of
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questions - the WHEN and WHERE - as they would not have added much to
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the interpretation. However; in some cases, they are most important,
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and for this reason are outlined below:
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* WHEN was it written? What events took place just before, just
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after, or at the same time as this epistle?
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* WHEN does the action described take place? Past, present or
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future? Eternal or temporal?
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* WHERE was the Author when these words were first written? Why
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was he there?
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* WHERE were the original readers? Why were they there?
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GET READY FOR BATTLE
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. These basic questions, based on simple "journalism" questions of
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WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW, WHY AND SO WHAT, with little variation,
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are all that is needed to determine the original intent of any
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Biblical author through an examination of the text, in context. They
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will enable you to detect and refute false teaching EVERY TIME!
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. Your main responsibility, now, is to practice to make these
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questions automatic, so that you will always be ready to defend
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yourself when under attack by those who would lead you astray. Your
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own daily Bible study and reading would be a good place to start, or
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you could check out your pastor's text after you get home from church
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(Believe it, or not, he would probably appreciate it)! Enjoy your
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training, as you learn to be an expert "soldier" in Service of the
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King (Ephesians 6:10-18). KEEP PRACTICING!
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J. Steven Smith
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Computers for Christ
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