At that point, when the logical conclusion of the premise is unacceptable, it's time,I think, to reconsider the premise.
I have never accepted someone’s pronouncements about God on face value.
Isn't there a problem with that in light of St. Paul saying some are called to be teachers? Can you not err in your own Scriptural researches?
Further, at least some Scriptural research seems VERY recondite. Cynical Bear cites a non-Scriptural table of chronology as an argument to show that according to Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, a generation is the same as a lifespan, approximately 70 years. But those SAME DATA can be used to show that a generation is less than half that. So contradictions blossom everywhere. And when I point this out I am not given the key but told to go find out the answer for myself!
It is beyond me how every Christian is supposed to do it all himself.
The real answer is this. When asked what is needed to be saved the answer was: “believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved-and your house.” The rest of what we debate about does not change that simple gospel of Jesus which is after all “bottom line”. We all need to keep that in our minds at all times. All this other stuff is our feeble attempt to understand. It doesn’t affect our salvation if we but profess our belief that Jesus paid the total and complete price for our salvation and eternity with Him.
Not really. Paul also said to test everything and the best preachers/teachers I've heard have told their listeners to not just take their word for anything but to check with Scripture themselves to see if what they are saying lines up with it. They also tell them to do that with everybody.
There is Scriptural precedent for that.
Acts 17:11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Can you not err in your own Scriptural researches?
Of course. Since we are human, everybody is going to err in some point or another. Nobody is going to have perfect doctrine because as finite humans nobody has the capability to fully understand God.
An example of this would be in what the definition of a generation is. But that is not a matter critical to one's salvation. It's just a difference in interpretation. Issues of whether drinking or dancing are not critical to salvation either although I don't doubt some might disagree.
However, when it comes to the gospel itself and issues that are critical to salvation, then being wrong can have very serious consequences. That's when the appeal to Scripture is made.
1 John 4 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
There are criteria in Scripture which we are given by which we can ascertain whether teaching could be from God or definitely is not.
IMO, it would actually be easier to determine what teaching is not from God in that there would be blatant, obvious error present.
When there is no blatant, obvious error present, then it warrants further consideration.