The fact not all translations and interpretations of the Bible are correct, does not mean the Word itself is not infallible. It means man is fallible and he has failed to know God overall. The fact God’s Word will last forever, and is never wrong, is what should compel us to seek, not just the easiest to read translation, the most comfortable church to hear it taught, or the like, but the Word, in its truest form!
If you are not well acquainted with the Bible, but wondering if you should be, the greatest reason you should be interested has to be the simple fact there are so many people trying to tell you not to, or keep you from picking It up and knowing It for yourself! It’s easy to discount the Bible if you just want to look at a few things in the Word and come up with items you can get away with calling ridiculous, or believe are contradictions. The Bible is not a novel or made for entertainment writing. Thus, the reason to attempt to destroy or impede others access to the Bible lays solely in the fact It's the truth!
The reason so many people want to, and have tried to destroy the Bible in one form or another, is simply that the Bible is the real thing, and that truth comes when you decide you want to know if there is or isn’t a God who created us all. When people read the Word for themselves, they are compelled to know their Creator. They are able to see God as their guide in life, instead of the things of man. When you choose to pickup that one immediately tangible piece of evidence, at a time when you are truly seeking to know if God really exists, or at a time when your heart is aching to know if any individual can truly have a personal relationship with Him, you will find it's the answer to what you have been longing for!
All you have to do is start reading the Bible for yourself. Just leave all the wondering about doctrine behind you, and begin to read God’s Word for what is actually there in black and white. That is the first and most important thing to do. Doctrine is more personal than many people think, and it should be derived out of learning from God for yourself, not just listening to other people. This doesn’t mean God will never use people to help open your eyes, but that is what it is, a way of opening your eyes to something He has been trying to show you already!
This is why the path of salvation is by grace through faith, (Eph. 2:8-9) and we are told, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 The first thing all people need to be convinced of is the simple fact there is a True God Who loves them and wants to save their very existence. This God has created everything we see and know. That is not a reason why He doesn’t know or care about the small individual which is you, it's the reason He wishes to know you personally. One of the first truths you find by reading God’s Word from the very beginning of Genesis is that having a personal, everyday walk with each individual is the whole reason He created this universe in the first place. Information such as this is why the simple act of just reading the Bible will change your life!
About Doctrine
So, how do we look at doctrine? Well, Paul put it quite bluntly when he told Timothy, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." II Timothy 3:16-17 He didn't say this because he meant you should be able to take any part of Scripture and base a belief on the fact(s) that portion seems to support. Doing this is precisely what causes some to believe the Bible contradicts itself, and it's a mistake far too many people make. What Paul meant was that you have to have a grasp on the scripture as a whole in order to understand or begin to build doctrine you should feel comfortable solidifying in your life.
A most fundamental fact about doctrine is that people will never understand the truth of the Bible if they limit what they believe to some man-made creed. Far too many people put doctrines in their mind, then look for ways to support the points they like, while also looking for ways to reject anything they don’t care for. In truth, we should be putting the Word of God in our minds and then choosing if what we hear is correct or not on the basis of what we know the Bible says. In doing this, we may have many things we don't always feel we have a good grasp on, but we will guard ourselves from simply taking on beliefs which aren’t true.
There are those who will balk at the idea of ever saying anything against, or what they perceive as negative toward any "Christian" church; because, again, many see the church institution as more important than the individual's walk with God, and even His Word. This is very wrong, as the church, and going to church, will not save your soul. Only a personal walk with God can do that. Believers are also not supposed to just depend on an organization to reach other people. Believers are to strive to be prepared to give an answer as to why they do or do not believe in something, not just say, "Well, the church I go to doesn’t subscribe to that, or does this." (I Pet. 3:15) It’s important people, at the very least, have the opportunity to hear the truth. If an organization can help in that, it can be a good thing; but if it's teaching wrong things, it's dangerous, and needs correction. (Rev. 2-3) We should be defenders of God and His Word, not a man-made organization.
We should also keep in mind the fact Noah was right in building the ark and boarding it with his family, in spite of the fact the entire rest of the world believed he was crazy. People love to say things such as, "If..." some great number of people, "...believe in something, they can’t all be wrong!" The story of Noah begs to differ! This kind of thinking holds no merit, because if you join in on the basis a certain number of people believe something, and not because you really know it for yourself, all you're doing is increasing the number of people involved. This, in turn, increases the chance other people will make the same mistake for the same reason you did! It simply does not make any sense.
In spite of the fact many will turn from anyone who tries to make an argument against any part of their creed and/or another organization's doctrine, this ministry will spend time answering questions about, not just why we believe what we do, but also about things we believe are false doctrines and why they are wrong. We desire to be a source for this kind of growth in the life of the true believer. We want people to know the truth, and not just spend their lives believing what they believe without knowing the whys and even the why nots!
About Faith
The core of what every believer should be looking for is faith, which we are told comes by hearing the Word of God, (Rom. 10:17) but what is faith? Many people believe faith is blind belief, but that is not true. The simplest way to describe faith is to say, faith is a relationship with God! You won’t find faith by seeking other people and their ideas. This is true in no small part, because many other people are not truly looking for a relationship with a God who can show them what they were created to be. Instead, far too often people are looking for improvement of this existence in the here and now. It's the base of what religion is all about; and when people base their life’s choices on the teaching of religion instead of on their personal walk with God, they develop very bad habits which will destroy them.
If a religion or teaching does not provide improvement of this life, we often just reject it! However, we cannot afford to do this, because Noah was the only man on earth who found grace in the eyes of The Lord, before the flood; and because of this, he ended up spending decades building an ark and about a year riding on that ark. It will depend on what time you live in, and where you live, as to how comfortable the truth may be to your physical existence as it relates to being around other people. You may find yourself standing alone like Noah did, at least in the place where you are. If religious groups are the thing most people are into, and you can’t find one which truly teaches the truth, it will not be an improvement to your life - at least on a social level - to walk in the truth. This, however, does not mean you shouldn’t keep walking in the truth, and even seeking it deeper!
When it comes to your physical existence, you may experience sickness, and there may be a reason God chooses not to heal in your life or the life of a loved one. A person who believes improvement to this life is what walking with God is all about will turn from God under these conditions, or they will struggle greatly with the question, "What am I doing to deserve this?" If people feel they are in hardship of any kind, they will often turn from God; but Jesus made it clear, it is better to lose a foot, a hand, or eye, than to lose out on what God has eternally in store for you. (Matt. 18:8-9) We may not know if the thing we experience is because we have been sinful, maybe just not learned a truth we should as yet, or it may be part of God’s plan, or for reasons we just do not currently, or will never, understand in the hear and now. However, these are all reasons to continue seeking God, not turning from Him. If we have sinned, we should come to a place where we see that sin and repent of it. If we have not learned something vital to our walk, we need to seek God and His Word in order to keep learning and growing, which is simply part of what living for God is all about anyway. If there is a reason only God knows, we must trust in Him for the strength to endure. All this is why Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:..." Job 13:15
In serving God, there will be, at the very least, times we may not know, understand, or be completely knowledgeable of where in God’s plan we are or fit in. We may never understand or be able to see, at the time, how something causes growth in us we could not have obtained in another way. This is what having a relationship with God is about: learning and growing in the knowledge of God so we may be the people He created us to be. Only through a relationship with God can we make gains toward this true goal of life!
By reading God’s Word, what we do know are truths such as, God is "...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9 This leads us to understand, under whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we must trust in God and be content. (Phili. 4:11) We must see - if all people coming to repentance is God’s will, then it stands to reason God is not going to reach down at all times and kill an individual because they do not follow His plan. This is obvious by reading God’s Word, and it should be something we are thankful for because we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)
Even at the time of Noah, the whole point of the flood was not simply to kill everyone because they were sinful. That's why God had Noah build an ark to physically ride through a flood instead of simply wiping the world clean in a moment and leaving Noah, his family, the animals, and the plants untouched. God laid out a plan of salvation from physical destruction which any human could simply understand. People had become so sinful, God's righteousness demanded He end the suffering sin brings; but God proved His will is that none perish, by taking the opportunity to wipe the sin from the earth in a way anyone who would listen to His words could find, and utilize. As we walk in this sinful world, we make mistakes which affect our lives, and certainly we are buffeted by the sins of others in this world. However, "...all things work together for good..." - not for those who are living in this world for what it has to offer, even if that seems pretty good at times - but, "...to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28
When it comes to being directly persecuted for holding the truth above the things of men, Jesus instructed us to remember, the world hated Him before it hated those who believed and walk with and in Him. (John 15:18-21) Knowing, finding, and following the truth has nothing to do with what is comfortable in the here and now. It’s about making sure we are following, to the best of our ability, the instructions of God in our life and helping others do the same. This can only be done by knowing God for ourselves. The ultimate promise of a life lived directly with God is the opportunity to go to a place where we will always be with Him and there will never be hardship again. We do not want to miss out on it because of the here and now. Nothing is worth losing out on what God has for you, and when we see this, we can endure many things; but when we are looking at this life for what can be had here - which is often what religion seeks to give us - we cannot see anything clearly!
About Teaching
All good teaching is based in the simple idea that a personal relationship with God is what we are really after, in spite of what it may cost us. It's not just the prerogative of ministers to study and learn the truth of scripture, and for the laymen to follow whatever doctrine develops out of their study. It's the obligation of all people to find and know the truth for themselves. To be as Paul said, "...fully persuaded in his own mind." Romans 14:5
They are not the only things, but when looking at ministries and those in ministry for help, there are two things which greatly harm an individual’s ability to find the truth. First, one must be careful not to discount a ministry or individual belief just because it’s not part of some major movement or group. Second, we also need to resist the idea a ministry must teach all the same things as some other group we disagree with - especially a major movement - simply based on one or two points of their teaching which sound or even are similar, when we don't know why those specific points of doctrine are wrong. When believers hear a teaching they feel is wrong, they need to ask themselves why they believe it’s wrong? Is it because we know it's not what the Bible says, or is it because it simply doesn’t line up with what we have been told the truth is? This does not mean we should simply pickup any and all teaching and go with it, but we should seek to have enough knowledge to know the why or why not we should or should not go with it.
James 1:19-21 instructs us, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." This brings us back to the reason why the Bible should be something we study without fail. It's not an excuse to say, "I would read it but I just don’t understand it." People often go on to, someday, say things such as, "I'm looking for,..." or "I'm so glad I found a church which can open the Word to me!" This can be a good thing to find, but only if you know for yourself, and because of your own personal familiarity with all Scripture, that opening the Word to you is what they are doing and not just filling your head with doctrine which suits you, or them!
About The Jews
Another point which can easily be gained by going through the Bible for yourself, is the story line which tells just why and how we got a written Word from God in the first place. It tells us how God set a chosen nation among the nations of the world. God formed a nation because forming into nations is the way man established his basic way of life, and God wanted man to have no excuse for not understanding what He was doing. God did this for the purpose of demonstrating to us what a nation designed by God, and not man, would look like. However, in doing this, God still did not remove a free will from the people in His nation. Thus, what we get from this nation at different intervals in time is not always a perfectly functioning, under the law, Godly nation, living on the specific land God chose to place them. What we get is a demonstration of what a group of regular humans do even when given a specific set of guidelines by God Himself. What we also get is the Word of God written down, which gives us all the ability to read and study those laws for ourselves. We get the history of mankind leading up to and through this special nation’s establishment, as well as the history which shows God’s interaction with them and their interaction with the world. This is invaluable information for the one who seeks to personally walk with God, and that is exactly why God did it!
Romans 3:1-2 tells us God committed His Oracles (which is His Word) unto the nation of Israel. God has maintained the nation of Israel through all these centuries and through all their experiences, including attempts to totally annihilate them, such as: the genocide by which we measure all genocides, or what we call - the Holocaust. We also see in our world today, God has fulfilled His promise that He would someday bring the Jews back to their land and re-establish their nation.
Through it all, not only has God preserved them, but He has used them to preserve, protect, and maintained His true Word. The Jewish nation is a big reason why, in spite of all the attempts of man to eliminate or hide away God’s Word, it remains to this day; and most importantly there is a basis for looking at the Word in its purest form, which is not dictated by just one church or another. The Jews strict handling of God’s Word through the centuries has been both tradition as well as a lifestyle for the Jews as a nation!
About Biblical Perspective
This brings us back to something we touched on earlier, when talking about the excuses people will use for believing God’s Word is not pure. God did not choose a people just to protect His written Word among men, but to give a perspective. Because of sin, those who believe in God must be given a specific perspective which can take them outside man-made cultural views and attempted distortions, to find the path of God for their lives. This perspective cannot be given by the church, because the church is made up of people from all over the world who have many different cultural thought patterns. Churches often take on these cultural flavors, which is not at all times and in all ways a bad thing; but the Bible needing to be interpreted and understood by all people no matter where they may live, and even living in different time periods, must be given a specific vantage point we can all learn about and see the Bible’s words from. This is what God’s Word does, by creating a specific nation among the nations.
The whole world was not forced into, and even as non-Jewish believers in God, we were not commanded to create the physical culture the Jews were given as God’s chosen people. That would completely thwart God’s plan for our freewilled lives. What God did was include in His Word the instructions for how the Jews were to build their culture and perform their ceremony. Even during times when sin has kept or distorted the Jewish nation’s ability to preform all the physical ceremony of the Law, we can all still read the Word for ourselves. We do not just have some mystical writing which may or may not make sense to us, depending on our cultural and religious upbringing. If, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are not fooled into believing the New Testament is all which really matters, we can, by reading the whole Word for ourselves, immerse ourselves in the cultural ideas of how the Jewish people were to live. From this, we can form the perspective needed to truly understand what is being said about God’s plan, not just what seems to be true by viewing our current surrounding physical world and life. This is why I often tell people there is no way for them to understand the last part of the Bible if they have not read the first part!
About Religion
For Jews, the Law is truly theirs to live. They must decide what the interpretation of each letter of the Law must be. However, the Gentile has but the lessons of righteousness which the actions and representations of the Law teach. The Jew must know how to literally set up the temple, but the Gentile just needs to know the elements which the temple consists of for the lessons it brings and the nature of God it shows. This is part of the reason why the Bible, and even the Law itself, does not give us a detailed description of the Tabernacle of Witness. Instead, what we are told on through Exodus’ description is that the elements were to be built according to the pattern Moses had seen in the mount. This was intentional so only Moses and those given the charge over building the tabernacle would know how to build it. It was not meant for non-Jews, or even just any and every Jew who desired to build such a tabernacle, to do so. This is seen in the commandments given in the Torah, such as the one in Numbers about which families of the Levites should carry the tabernacle. We are told this had to be done in just the right way, and even if those given the charge of carrying the elements touched something they were not suppose to, they would die. (Num. 4)
God giving Israel a very ordered religious practice was not supposed to be the religious practice of the world. As the consecrated practice of The One True God, it was meant to be the only commanded religious practice in worship of God. If you have no other gods before God, if you do not make unto you any graven images, if you do not take the name of The Lord your God in vain, etc., (Ex. 20:1-17) then you cannot afford to have a temple to anyone or anything other than God. You also cannot have a true temple built unto God for specific religious practices if only the Jews are to construct His temple, and even they can only build it in the place where God tells them to.
God was not attempting to create more religious practice in the world. Man had already formulated that bad idea, and God had to confound our language to keep man from the total corruption religion can bring. (Gen. 11:1-9) Instead, God was setting a standard for religious practice unto Him, and at the same time, limiting much of that religious practice to a very few hands. In short, religious practice should not be the norm among those who claimed to serve God. Instead, a desire for the rules of righteousness, and a personal walk with Him should reign supreme in the hearts of the true believer!
About God’s House
Does this mean no place should exist where people of like precious faith can meet together for prayer and worship unto God? No, but it does mean our attitude toward any specific place should be this: whatever place we choose to sanctify unto The Lord needs to be treated with great respect! At the same time, it should also be approached with the recognition and understanding that no place we can build is the temple of God in the way the temple in Jerusalem was, and is to be. Nothing we can build holds any religious jurisdiction over that which the Jews are told by God Himself to build and administer. On top of all that, it's also a fact, nothing we build truly can or should attempt to hold jurisdiction over what others do or build. All over the world, buildings should be erected and consecrated to and for the service of the Gospel, where people of like precious faith can gather to worship God. However, in no place should something such as the Vatican exist, especially with the point and attitude it was built for. God’s only physical throne on this earth is on top of the Ark of the Covenant, and the Bible tells us God chose one specific place for that ark to properly rest. That place is the Holy of Holies, in the temple, which is to be on a specific mount in Jerusalem, surrounded by the nation of Israel! (I Kin. 8:22-54)
About Ministry
All these truths mean churches and ministries must limit themselves as an organization. Why? Because there is simply no way, nor is it correct according to the Bible, that men can judge men. (Rom. 14:1-13) As individual believers, we all have to make the choice of who we believe is truly helping us learn the truth by teaching the true word’s of God and who is not. We can only do this by listening to the voice of God in our own lives.
Even if an organization trains, teaches, and tests a person to prove they have the knowledge and information you would want a minister to have, it's outside the power of any organization - no matter how large they are, and often because of how large they are - to judge on a regular basis whether that person is continuing to walk in the paths of righteousness and teach the truth. On a daily basis it's up to each individual minister, just as it's up to each individual believer, to use and follow even the knowledge and wisdom they already have, no matter how good the original instilling of knowledge may have been.
This means denominations are not only a poor idea, but they are wholly unnecessary. God created a nation for the purpose of holding the Words we are all to live by. Thus, there is no reason to have established organizations of men who are the defenders of a doctrine. There is only need for individual believers seeking daily to further their personal knowledge of and relationship with God, and those gifts Christ gave among men in the form of spiritual gifts of ministry, (I Cor. 12:1-11) and the fivefold ministry. (Eph. 4:8-16)
If we can find others of like precious faith, that is a bonus which can and should be taken advantage of. (Heb. 10:24-25, Prov. 27:17) This, God willing, can be greatly assisted by those called into the fivefold ministry; because a true apostle can often develop and bring groups of believers together, especially in places where the Word has not been readily preached. A prophet of God can bring the revelation of God to a group, or people who need to hear specific words for their particular situation. A true evangelist can bring those who do not believe or have slipped away from the truth, to a place of true repentance. A true pastor can help protect, care, minister, and admonish the flock on a daily basis. A true teacher can open the Word of God to those seeking a deeper understanding.
God describes these ministries as "gifts" He gave among men, because they are helpful to an individual's personal walk with The Lord, not a replacement or excuse not to have one. Living Springs Institute is directed by a teacher out of the fivefold ministry, and what we teach is driven by a desire to provide the truth to whoever desires to hear, no matter where they my be!
We hope this writing has been a help to you in understanding the principles upon which this ministry is operated, and the dynamic we use to teach. Simply put, we want to be of assistance to you as you seek God in your life! We thank you for taking the time to review this information, and we thank you for your interest in Living Springs Institute!
Shalom!
