***Jesus quite clearly states that He has left us His Church and the Holy Spirit. If the Gospel was complete in and of itself, there would not be these supplements, as it were.
Christ didn’t “leave” us the Holy Spirit. ***
At least you didn’t claim that Jesus didn’t leave us His Church. Now, as for the Holy Spirit... John 14:
16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate 8 to be with you always,
17
the Spirit of truth, 9 which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.
Acts 2:
38
Peter (said) to them, “Repent and be baptized, 7 every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.
I’ll call Jesus up and correct him for you.
***He left us His Church to gather in fellowship and worship His name. It is where we congregate together in worship and sustain one another in His fellowship. It is NOT a supplement.***
The Church is His Church, it is not the church of any man who wishes to create one. The only Church that was created by Jesus is the Catholic Church.
***It is a common theme of the Doctors and Fathers of the Church which have given the Faith to us all.
Not sure what you’re stating here, but if it’s that the “Doctors and Fathers” of the Church give us our faith you’re sadly mistaken. Our faith comes through the Holy Spirit working in us. It cannot be given by man, nor can we attain it ourselves. God through his Holy Spirit must work in us. ***
It’s an ‘and’. The Church presents the Faith to the world. The Holy Spirit enables each man to believe.
***Wait a minute. I thought that the Bible Believers (tm) teach that faith comes from God directly. Who said that the Protestant faith comes through the Gospel?
You’re trying to be cute.***
How do you know what I’m trying to be?
***What I was saying was that faith does not evolve through the Church but evolves through the Gospel, which acts on us by the Holy Spirit.***
I never said anything about evolution. Are you saying that until one hears the Gospel, one cannot have faith?
***The Church is a vehicle which assists our Christian life and helps sustain our belief.***
I take it that you are not Calvinist with that statement. It is easier to debate when knowing which of the various Protestant viewpoints you adhere to.
***But from the Holy Spirit acting within us to read the Gospel of our Lord, our coming to love and worship Him and accept Him as our Savior, and our interaction with other Christian through the fellowship of the Church, we sustain our faith and continue to walk with Him.***
So those who do not read the Gospel cannot be saved?
***The Gospel is the inerrant Word of God.***
Word of God? No. Jesus is the Word. The Gospels are the word. There is a difference.
Inerrant? Tell me then, what occurred on the Day of Resurrection, who was involved, in what order, and what did they see and experience?
***Whole and all we need outside of the fellowship the Church provides.***
Not just fellowship. The most important role of the Church is the teaching authority and the definition of the Faith.
***But, the Church is also man’s, and man is errant. We must always be alert to the chance that the Church itself errs from God’s Holy promise.***
The Catholic Church has God’s promise.
The only Church that was created by Jesus is the Catholic Church.
Sorry, but I disagree. Christ's Church is that body which faithfully follows His commandments, and God's plan as outlined in the bible. I do not believe that The Catholic Church fits that definition. Period, paragraph. We disagree on the Catholic Church having God's promise. Let's leave it at that and remain friends.