My comment from a Facebook convo : I agree that theology in Christianity is a man-made paradigm which only got started some time in the 2nd century in Alexandria Egypt, but before that the Church and the teaching of the Apostles was in a more relational sense. Paul wrote in real terms which anyone could understand. He is not writing as a theologian. You can’t pick out which are the “theological parts” and which aren’t, as the paradigm was truth and life. So God is not into a theological paradigm but He is very much into truth. So much so that those who do not receive a love of the truth will be deceived (2 Thess. 2:10-11). The Christian who does not believe every truth of God’s Word will simply by default believe lies, there is no neutrality. Such is the spiritual conflict.
So, what’s the harm in believing things about God and the Christian life and faith which are not true? The first thing is that it robs God of glory, it dilutes personal faith by bringing confusion, and it opens the door to the father of liars to play around with you and mess you up – basically, it genders toward sin.
God and the truth of His Word are not two separate subjects. The Person of Jesus and His commands and teachings are not two separate things. The person who truly knows and loves Jesus also loves and obeys His truth (John 14:21, 23, 24).
You can never divorce the truth of God from God, and you can never divorce the truth a man believes from what kind of man he is, and that is due to him being made in the image of God. So man just cannot be neutral when it comes to truth, he will either believe the truth or he will believe lies. And due to the nature of his creation man cannot escape thinking about things and making moral or value judgments.
Like, someone says they don’t like “doctrine”, but they can’t escape the fact that they have their own “doctrine” anyway, unless they are a vegetable.
Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth. John 17:17
Truth is the means by which God sets people apart from a world of lies for Himself. There is no truth outside of the Word of God.
You can never divorce the truth a man believes from what kind of man he is.
Ian Vincent 
June 26, 2013 at 2:10 pm
Had a conversation similar to this with a younger brother named Nate yesterday. He’s been helping me with some of my work projects as of late.
I was explaining to him that those who persist in their attempts to justify “church” and all that includes are deceived and their deception is for one of two reasons- in ignorance or in willfulness. There is a season in ignorance as there was for each of us in church in which our Father still taught us many things. But the day that He revealed to us the truth- from that day we were accountable for how we responded to those truths and what we did with them. To see and then act in any way that contradicts or suppresses the truth is to act contrary to God and His will for men’s lives. It is synonymous with willfully sinning against Him. Usually such actions come with statements such as, “it’s really no big deal” and “I know, but” or “but it does so much good.” Such statements prove how little the respondents really care about what God says and how much He values the little things of life. Above all things we need a revelation of His perspective on things- we ought to encourage others to pray for this often.
I find myself very patient with those in ignorance or the younger set still learning to sort through these things. Through prayer they will eventually see the light as the Spirit informs them. I only ask that they continually be about seeking Him.
That said, I rarely find myself patient with religious professionals as they have a lifestyle of justifying themselves and practicing all manner of evil. These are those who claim to know the truth and therefore are all the more accountable. One might ask though, but to whom? If these are as educated as they claim, only one conclusion remains: they are the hirelings Jesus warned us of, propped up by their self made “ministries,” merchandizing themselves and making their own name known at the expense of Jesus Christ.
How do I know? In the 15 plus years I’ve been away from institutions, I’ve spoken to many people about the truths of the Bible and God’s opposition to the traditions of men. Despite these many people and conversations, not a single individual has ever taken the time nor found it necessary to prove my points contrary to New Testament Christianity- not one. Why is that? I think Ian’s title sums that up pretty well.
June 27, 2013 at 1:27 am
Yep that’s what it comes down to, either ignorance or willfulness.
Yeah, it can test one’s patience when you try to discuss the Scripture with a supposed leader of God’s people whose conscience has become seared insomuch that their dialogue is insincere. But our Lord Jesus faced the same kind of people. He didn’t waste His time with them, eh.
My post originated from a Facebook convo with a good brother, but some of the others who commented were coming from the angle that the Bible is somehow the cause of all that’s wrong in Christianity, and if people can just avoid the Bible there will be no more fighting or fruitless debates among Christians.
It is a blurring of two issues: yes, Christians do tend to get bogged down in fruitless debates, and, no, the Bible is not the problem. The Bible teaches against fruitless debates. It is by the authority of the Word by which we know that fruitless (non-Christ manifesting) debates are to be avoided, but sound teaching from the Scripture is to be encouraged, along with fruitful dialogue and discussion.
I observe that everywhere these days the authority of Scripture is being diminished. It is always a manifestation of the enthronement of self. But in every case of this it is man’s opinions which become the authority and usurp the authority of Scripture.
June 29, 2013 at 9:49 am
Too many people think that the truth of God is given by God for us to store away in our mental database as “knowledge” (that is a form of knowledge which puffs up. 1 Cor. 8:1) and many think that God reveals His truth to us as a formula for success and wealth in the world: but God doesn’t send truth to us for that reason, He sends it to sanctify us, to set us apart from sin and the world for Himself.
When God is sanctifying you He is setting you apart from everything which hinders communion with Him, and He does this by His truth: His word is truth. Lies are the problem and the truth in Jesus is the answer.
Everything in the Kingdom of God springs forth from personal communion with Jesus Christ in the Spirit.
If you approach the Bible on any other terms than this you will never really understand it.