"My preacher says" and "Our church teaches" are two statements I don't want to hear. So much confusion and division, and even grief, comes from following them.
Today I listened to two preachers on video with really bad messages. One smilingly proclaimed that there will be no Rapture and, furthermore, that Jesus will not return.
Another claimed that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah, except for the Gentiles, as the Jews do not need him. They have him already. A lady, bless her, quickly refuted the latter idea, citing the direct statement he made while talking to the woman at the well.
You can see how people trusting in men can become confused. Then there are those who follow church teachings as if they were an infallible guide. My father was one who did this. Not only did he believe many wrong ideas, but he missed the true joy of the Faith, of knowing you are saved once and for all.
Please don't think that this is just a diatribe about evil systems, like people who read a menu and tell you what they do not like. Rather it's about bypassing these troublesome practices and going directly to the Word.
This is not so difficult as some think. When we go directly to the Word we eliminate the pitfalls of men and systems. It is like taking a bridge over a treacherous swamp.
Augustine, from the four hundreds did this, and so did Luther. I believe they could have talked together and agreed on almost every point, though centuries separated them. The Bible brings people together, human agencies divide them.
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