Focus today is upon how
much of the Bible a believer must accept; and there is more on the importance of
how we are first introduced to Christ. The “Yahoo! Answers” writer using the ID
“Mike M”(Level 1 with 101 points, a member since June 21, 2008) posted the
following:
Do you have to believe everything in
the Bible to get into heaven?
I know you have to believe in God, Jesus and the
Holy Spirit, but what does the Bible say about getting into heaven, when it's
talking about the Bible itself? Does one have to believe and like everything in
the Bible?
THE BATTLE AXE:
Unexceptional Beginnings (11/22/2012)—Many believers are misdirected for a great
while when first coming to Jesus, because they think that salvation is through a
social process where Christ is in a role of an estranged relative, a returning
family member, or even as a friend-of-a-friend. Others get caught up in
emotional and mental traps by pursuing argument, debate and intellectual
competitions. The full extent of spiritual process whereby the Holy Spirit
installs divine substance and benefit (e.g., confidence, faith, sacred
knowledge, repentance, trust, truth, and godly vision) is going forward silently
and unseen. When believers begin to arrive at maturity and greater perfection,
they often realize that GOD had been working within them all their lives and
long before they made any conscious decision to change their ways because of
sin, or seek new life by organized religion. Those who reject the church
because they fear losing their freedom as individuals, like those who deny the
Bible or insist they can take responsibility for their own inner development,
are like youngsters who spend long hours at practice shooting hoops or pitching
the baseball, and refuse to play in the context of a team or organized league.
They never really find out how great their mistake is until they find themselves
envying others with less skill who nonetheless have gained clear
benefit.
THE GOLDEN ARROW: And now,
brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are
sanctified. (Acts 20: 32, King James Version)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Before
the Fruit? (11/10/2012); Why “Mysterious” (11/11/2012); Attending Church?
(11/12/2012); A Holy Kiss? (11/13/2012); Does Everyone Go To Heaven?
(10/28/2012); Magick and Prayer? (10/29/2012); Why No Answer? (08/25/2012); To
Be or Not To Be? (08/26/2012)
Among other things, the Bible has special
importance for Christian believers because (1) answers to many of their most
frequent and necessary questions are found there; (2) commandments from GOD and
law to direct the behavior and conduct of believers in various relationships
(e.g., business partnership, courtship, friendship, governance, marriage,
parenting) are recorded there; (3) examples from the lives of earlier believers
are documented there to provide comfort, encouragement and instruction; and (4)
spirit substance is conveyed from the Scriptures that amplifies and nourishes
the imparted, indwelling spirit residing within the believer.
The value of the Bible is not the same for
believers and unbelievers. Just as two people may be given invitation to a
concert, and the one who accepts has a very different experience than the one
who declines, those who rightly respect the Bible as a way to communicate about,
to and with GOD have a very different spiritual awareness, and experience
salvation with a different consciousness of fulfillment and satisfaction. Those
in the “cheap seats” and “nosebleed” sections get to see the same presentation
as those in the sky-box and those having an “all-access pass”, yet, the richness
of their insights and memories will not be the same.
The Bible presents an “official” record of
divine events whereby GOD, who is entirely made-up of spirit, has been made
known and visible to created beings and living creatures in the realms of both
earth and heaven. In addition to the Gospel that proclaims the good news of
recovery for humankind from sin, the holy writings detail divine processes,
sacred purposes, and godly mechanisms that generate life. Included are birth,
covenant, death, family, forgiveness, judgment, priesthood, re-birth,
repentance, revelation, and sanctification.
There is far more to be said, correctly
applied, and spiritually apprehended. (For example, getting to heaven is more a
matter of what you are, not what you do. Mankind must be changed and
transformed, because the endowment of divinity from GOD that was given in
Creation has been corrupted and reduced by sin. Through the sacrificial death
of Jesus, atonement has been provided, and the Holy Spirit is sent to obedient
believers supplying them with a new infusion of divine nature. The same spirit
content that makes GOD who he is, must make believers who they are.) Even so, I
trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your
faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
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