The bible never claims to be the center of Christianity. Rather, it says it is very useful for teaching, etc. The early church had no new testament, but a lot of people were saved.
Prayer and a relationship with Him through the spirit is most important. The bible is a nice teaching tool. One can be a Christian without ever seeing a bible. One can not be a Christian without a relationship with Him.
Mr D, you left out the “God breathed” part of the “useful for teaching” scripture...
“Prayer and a relationship with Him through the spirit is most important. The bible is a nice teaching tool. One can be a Christian without ever seeing a bible. One can not be a Christian without a relationship with Him.”
And that is exactly Andy’s point. He is our pastor and his comments have been taken out of context. His aim in this series was to encourage millennials who have stepped away from the church to find Christ again. For three hundreds years after the resurrection of Christ, the Church grew exponentially without the benefit of a compiled New Testament.
Jesus is the center of Christianity, but Jesus is only knowable via the Bible.
The reason the Bible canonization began in the second century was so that people could know who Jesus really is and what the Apostles who walked with him really taught about what he said and did.
People were saved because they knew who Jesus really was. But as the first and second generations passed away, syncretism and distortion began to enter in force, and Jesus became less than he really was.
How do you smash a system of thinking?....You can’t avoid it becuase in today’s world and in the faith it’s a battle for ‘the mind’...not the emotions...and our weapons are not carnal but mighty thru God to the puling down of “strongholds” and everything that sets itself up against God. You can’t evade the intellectual defense against the gospel message without using devine truth applied by the Holy Spirit...and that truth is found in the scriptures as the ultimate “authority”....
It’s written....that we bring down those fortresses and bring every thought captive to Christ... This is a battle for the mind. And any ministry that avoids the mind and all of the possible and real defenses that people have in the mind is going to live with ‘false conversions’ based on emotions and not truth.....Jesus himself saying “I am the truth”.....
Very well put. I agree.
One doesn’t have to ignore the teaching in the Bible—just follow it; but it is not and end to itself. Christ is.