Friend, if you are in such a category, please consider the following: There have been many religious leaders--men such as Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, Bahaullah, Zoroaster, Joseph Smith, Charles Taze Russell, etc., but Jesus of Nazareth stands uniquely apart from all of them. There are four basic reasons why this is so:
These four truths set Him infinitely above all other religious leaders.
Because of His unique credentials and ultimate authority, we must,
therefore, view the Word of God to be whatever He says. So, what did
Jesus say? Did Jesus believe scripture is final spiritual authority? YES!
This Is Why The Koran Is NOT Scripture Too
The KJB Is Not Final Spiritual Authority or The Only Bible As KJV Onlyites Say
By the way, Jesus also believed in a literal creation (Mk. 13:19), Adam and Eve (Mk. 10:6), Noah (Mt. 24:37,38), Jonah (Mt. 12:40) and all other details from the Old Testament. In brief, Jesus Christ endorsed the entire Old Testament and he also promised the New Testament to be inspired when He said the Holy Spirit would guide His disciples into all truth (Jn. 16:13), teach all things and bring all things to remembrance that Jesus taught (Jn. 14:26). This is important because of the following:
Peter, as one of Jesus' original Twelve apostles, was therefore directly guided into all truth (Jn. 16:13). He said that Paul's writings were Scripture (2 Pet. 3:16). In doing so, he indirectly endorsed approximately one-half of the New Testament which would be written by Paul. Paul, among other things, endorsed the gospel of Luke by quoting from it (1 Tim. 5:18 cf. Lk. 10:7). There are many overlapping truths stated in Matthew, Mark and Luke which are thereby likewise endorsed.
The gospel of Matthew was written by the Apostle Matthew who was directly guided into all truth. Also, the Apostle John wrote five New Testament books. Getting back to Paul, he wrote that Scripture, which included his own writings (according to Peter), as well as the rest of the New Testament and the Old Testament, is final spiritual authority (2 Tim. 3:16) and sufficient for everything the man of God needs (v. 17)!
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. (1 Cor 4:6)Hence, it is NOT the Bible AND the book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, etc. (as Latter Day Saints say) or the Bible AND Sacred Tradition (as Catholics say). It is not even the so-called church fathers with the Bible to support a doctrine, as David Bercot and many others have done. It is the Bible alone for spiritual authority and Christian doctrine.
Logically, we cannot have two divinely inspired truths in contradiction to each other. One or both would have to be wrong, but both can't be right. Since the Bible has already been established to be our standard of truth, then we can only conclude the Book of Mormon cannot be from the same source that produced the Holy Bible. The same can be said about the Koran, Apocrypha, etc. All other so-called holy books must therefore be rejected. There is no need to pray about the Book of Mormon, since it is impossible for it to be from the same source that produced the Bible.
The Koran must also be rejected as inspired for the same basic reason. It teaches that Jesus was just a prophet, no different than any prophet (Surah III, 84) which is refuted by Jn.3:16; Mt. 3:11; Jn. 14:6; 1 John 5:12; Rev. 17:14; etc. Also, The Koran teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross (Surah IV, 157, 158) which is refuted by Lk. 23:46 cf. Jam. 2:26, Phil. 2:8; etc.
Many Catholic so-called Sacred Tradition beliefs such as veneration of images, the Rosary, Purgatory, Mary being sinless and a mediator, infallibility of the Pope, sacraments for salvation, and others must likewise be rejected, because they are all renounced by the Bible. See Ex. 20:4,5; Mt. 6:6-8; 7:13,14; Rom. 3:23, 1 Tim. 2:5; Gal. 2:11-16; Titus 3:5; etc. In fact, if you claim to believe in the Bible then you must accept the Bible alone as authoritative and not tradition too, because that's what the Bible teaches (Mt. 15:3-9; Col. 2:8)!
We are to go directly to Jesus for ourselves (Jn. 6:37; Mt. 11:28) in sincere prayer (Rom. 10:13), as the repentant, dying thief did (Lk. 23:42,43). We must forsake our sins (Lk. 13:3; Acts 20:21), deny ourselves, take up our crosses daily and follow Jesus (Lk. 9:23). Remember, Jesus made a one-time, never-to-be-repeated, blood sacrifice for all sins (Heb. 10:10-14). To believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 17:20; Acts 16:31) means to trust on, cling to, and rely on Him for salvation, as the Greek shows. Dear reader, are you doing this?
The Magisterium of the Church, the Bishop of Rome. (CCC 85)85 "The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church ALONE. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ." This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter
In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unaware of in our day because of the false teaching of eternal security.
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. (John 12:48)
Learn about the ACID TEST question to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality as condemned by Jude 3,4. If the answer is YES, avoid it like the AIDS virus! To sit under this teaching influence could mean that your soul and the souls of your loved ones will be eternally damned as a result.
To support and promote such a ministry and teaching is to share in its wicked work (2 Jn. 9-11). This includes your financial donations! Flee from such a ministry or congregation and encourage others to do the same before it's eternally too late. Finally, be sure to avoid any teacher, ministry and/or congregation which doesn't view the Bible as absolute FINAL SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY in all spiritual issues (2 Tim. 3:16,17). No other book shares with the Bible its unique feature of being spiritual authority.
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