Exactly my situation. As I've said before, when I first got saved and felt the need to start attending church again, I went BACK to the Catholic church since that was the church I was raised in. But the same thing happened to me. I saw the discrepancy between what was taught there and what is blatantly obvious from just a careful reading of Scripture that I had never read before.
I had no preconceived notions of what to expect out of Scripture. Well, except what the Catholic church taught me. But then I saw the conflict between what it taught and what Scripture said and that was enough for me.
You won’t know if you’re saved until your particular judgment which is exactly what both Scripture and the Church teach.
What a great way to approach Bible study.
Great post mm, and I agree, wmfights. That IS a great way to approach Bible study. Instead of letting God's Word flow naturally, and comparing Scripture with Scripture, too many people take their preconceived notions of what they were taught It says. They bring "church baggage" with them, and want it to say what THEY want it to say. When it does not, and seems to contradict itself, they simply throw those Scriptures out, instead of COMPARING the Scriptures to find the answer. The Bible does NOT contradict itself. But preconceived notions do.
There is a natural flow and a clear way to find our way through God's Word. We first need to find out WHERE we ARE in God's timeline. And WHO we are, and WHO we ARE NOT.
This also occurs with those who ultimately leave false religions and cults. Once they begin reading the scriptures themselves...and study what they are really saying...in time things just don't line up, and that's because God honors those who truly are 'seeking the truth', rather than hunting for what they want His word to say....Big Difference.
False doctrines along with overwhelming mountains of information are frequently used to divert the converts from the "simple truth' of the gosepl message, and the Centrality of Christ readily available in the Scriptures.
The average person is not going to take on checking or studying what they're taught....they simple accept what the instructors, teachers etc. are saying...perhaps with just a glimpse in the scriptures to see if what they are saying "is in there" (The Bible), and that suffices them.....or they ask others on that same journey to confirm FOR them. But they're generally not seeking the truth...and why they get caught in the cycle of constantly learning but never grasping the truth.