When I say "Ancient Teachings", I refer to the doctrines established during the early formation of the Church, sometimes by people who had actually heard Jesus speak. These doctrines form part of God's Word handed down to us along side Scripture; they don't necessarily repeat scripture but they do explain it and do not contradict it.
Trinity is one such doctrine. It is one of the ancient teachings, and it is totally derived from Scripture, and it does not contradict Scripture, and so it is Truth to be believed by Christians.
There definitely are Churches and teachers who speak differently , for example - about Trinity, saying that it is NOT a Truth but is made up by men. That isn't so, because Trinity has been handed down to us from the earliest Church. That is how you can tell whether it is true: It conforms with Scripture, and it conforms with the Ancient Teachings. This is one of the reasons WHY Jesus established the Church: To pass these teachings along to succeeding generations so that they wouldn't be lost.
You say that we ALL are able to hear the voice of the Lord. That's true; the problem is that we also are able to hear the voices of demonic spirits and false teachers - and they shout loudly. Some of them sound extremely reasonable, as did Satan when he spoke with Jesus in the Wilderness. But somewhere these demons or false teachers will say things which contradict Scripture and/or the ancient Teachings - and that is where you know they are false. Don't depend on your own skills at knowing when a spirit speaks truthfully and when not; your skills are deeply fallible, and Satan takes advantage of that!!
Depend instead on whether that spirit's sayings conform with Scripture and the Ancient Teachings. That is the only safe way. Because, yes, there are all kinds of men out there, and all kinds of spirits, speaking all kinds of things which they say are true, and they will fool you if they can. Stay safe with the tools Jesus left you exactly for that purpose.
And you will find that this does NOT quench the spirit, the Holy Spirit, as he will always agree with Scripture and the Ancient Teachings. But it definitely WILL quench false teachings and demonic spirits - which is your goal.
"For the Lord gives wisdom: out of his mouth come knowledge and understanding". John 10 and 16 also speak about the Lord's voice, or the voice of the Paraclete.
But we have to understand HOW the Lord has spoken his wisdom: Through Scripture, the Ancient Teachings, and the Holy Spirit. You must consult ALL THREE; consulting only one, or even only two, or using only one as your overall authority, leaves you open to listening to the wrong spirit, or to simply misunderstanding the Scripture or Teaching. Only if all three agree are you safe. If one disagrees, then you need to consider that you yourself just might not be understanding correctly, or that you might be listening to a demonic spirit rather than to the Lord.
Again, that is the precise reason the Lord gave us those THREE tools - to keep us safe in his Word and lessen the possibility that we will gradually drift away.
You need not leave; I certainly am not suggesting that you do that. You are posting politely and grounding them in Scripture, which is all I ever asked.
In faith, Dave
Viva Texas
[email protected],
[email protected]
Wise men still seek him.