Do All Religions Lead To God?
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Even a child can read what the Scriptures say, but we are told to go beyond mere reading. Taking things too literally without context is the basis for many false doctrines.
So incorrect it's not funny. Matt 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Ah yes the proverbial "context" which translated means, what I want it to say.
Did Jesus give the apostles the authority not forgive sins or no?
It's no laughing matter, we need to know who GOD is.
What is GODS name, do you know?
Strange how you don't see that JESUS revels who HE realy is in Matthew 28:19.
HE was talking to HIS disciples who KNEW WHO HE WAS, how do I konw this?
How did they tell us to get baptized?
Yep IN JESUS name.
1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
How were you baptized?
Paul is addressing the error of those who were partaking of bread and wine as a meal. To do so, was to disrespect the real purpose of communion which is to honor Jesus and recognize His sacrificial death.
1 Cor 11:26-34
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home; that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come.
Thats just deciding to completely ignore what is clearly written. Why would Paul use the word body if all he meant was to recognize Jesus' sacrifice? He's saying if you don't discern(perceive or recognize) that what you're eating is Jesus' body then you eat and drink judgment in yourself.
Peter was chosen to present the keyS to the kingdom, and did so at Pentecost. After explaining that Jesus was the Messiah he told the believers what they must do. The additional keys Peter presented were, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Scripture reveals those who obeyed the life giving message became members of the body of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:4-42) The apostles did not forgive the sins they just obeyed God's instruction and God brought about what He had promised.
The same "keys" were then offered by Philip to, half-Jew, half-Gentile, Samaritans. Shortly afterward, Peter and John assisted them in receiving the Holy Ghost. (Acts 8:12-18) The Gentiles were the next to receive the "keys", and after receiving the Holy Ghost and being water baptized in the name of Jesus, they too were added to the body. (Acts 10:43-48, 11:13-18)
Man has no authority in and of himself to forgive sins. However, God uses those who have become born again believers themselves to tell others about Jesus and water baptize in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin. Conversely, a believer's refusal to water baptize other's hinders the forgiveness of sins.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are titles, not names. Whereas, the name consistently used in water baptism is the name above all names. And that name is Jesus. (Acts 2:4-41, 8:12-18, 10:43-48, 19:1-7, 22:16)
Jesus sacrificed His own body on the cross for the sins of all mankind. Communion is a memorial of that sacrificial event.
No, "prooftext" is used to say what one wants, such as the example of citing John 20:23 that you provided.
Rarely will anyone provide much context, but that is the best way to disprove prooftexts.
In this case, gotquestions.org provides a good answer IMO:
Only God can forgive sins, and Christ, being God, has the power to do so as well, but He never communicated any such power to His disciples, nor did they ever assume any such power to themselves. The key to understanding the meaning of John 20:23 lies in the previous two verses: “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” He sent them, as He is sending us, to bring the good news of the way to salvation and heaven to the whole world. Jesus was leaving the earth physically but promised God would be with them in the person of the Holy Spirit living in them. As they proclaimed the gospel, they could honestly tell people who believed in that message that their sins were forgiven, and they could honestly tell people that did not believe in the message that their sins were not forgiven and that they stand condemned in God’s eyes. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
Believers today have the very same mission given to us! We are obligated to share the gospel message, the way to heaven, to others in the world, and we go about that mission with the Holy Spirit living inside us, guiding us as we share His truth. We are obligated to tell people the only way to be forgiven is through faith. Jesus said in John 8:24, “If you do not believe that I am [God], you will indeed die in your sins.” This is the very core of the gospel message and the very heart of what we are to explain to the world. It was Jesus’ last command to His followers before He physically left the earth—carry forward the message of hope and save as many as will believe in Him.
Jesus preached a crucial message about forgiving our brothers, as God forgave us. We stand in grace, and He expects us to keep our hearts pure toward others, not holding grudges or harboring a spirit of unforgiveness, especially after He gave us such undeserved love and forgiveness at such a high personal cost to Himself! Jesus said those who have been forgiven much, love much (Luke 7:47). He expects us to forgive others 70 times 7 times (Matthew 18:22). We are also told that if we are praying but hold something against anyone, we are to forgive that person so our relationship with God is right and righteous! Colossians 3:13 says, “Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” We know we are His if we love our brothers and don’t hate them or have unforgiveness in our hearts (1 John 2:3-6; 3:14-19; 4:16-21).
Forgiveness is a key to showing we indeed have eternal life inside us, according to these passages. If we say we love God but hate our brother, we are liars and no truth is in us. So, our forgiveness of others is a major indicator of true fellowship with God. God looks at the heart and actions, not mere words. Jesus stated while on earth, “These people come near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” So, it’s important we have a living, genuine faith: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers” (1 John 3:14).
My comment:
To day it is estimated there are over 1.5 billion Catholics out of a world population of over 8 billion
And yet Christ calls HIS follower , "the little flock" I cannot understand almost 25% of the population as a little flock.
Plus reading Revelation, only 144,000 are mentioned.
The history of the Catholic's; pain, suffering and more pain, suffering and death,, I pass! and I will call no man Father!
The 144,000 in Rev. 7:4-8 represent the remnant of Jacob (cf. Rom. 9:27, Isa. 10:20-22, Jam. 1:1).
Every single time i hear "context" it means I don't like what scripture says. The words reveal the truth
Fascinating John 20:21-23
21 "Peace be with you", Jesus said to them again. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins they are forgiven. If you retain anyone's sins, they are retained".
Now in the name of patience I can tolerate a lot of foolishness but when the words literally say what I've claim they say, you need to show me how what I said was "out of context". Be very specific because there Jesus is talking so I have to choose to listen to him or to you. I'll be eagerly awaiting your reply
Words do reveal the truth. When taken in context, Paul's words reveal the problem. Whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and [e]blood of the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Conduct at the Lord’s Supper
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be [a]recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame [b]those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
Institution of the Lord’s Supper
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, [c]“Take, eat; this is My body which is [d]broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
Examine Yourself
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and [e]blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks [f]in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the [g]Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many [h]sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment.