There are scoffers who are leading people astray to just “do what feels good” — which is basically anarchy, giving demons a right to enter, control, and minimize sin.

The New Testament is particularly important for us, because we live in the new covenant, just like them. We can learn a lot from how they were led by the Holy Spirit and the proclamations they shared from the Holy Spirit, which are mostly still totally applicable today.

Thank God for the Bible and the Holy Spirit — Himself in us — Who gives us eyes to see, and Who is consistent over time!

We can trust His words to us and them. But if we throw out what He said to them, we’re on really shaky ground. Because we need to have a level of holiness so we’re only hearing the Holy Spirit’s one, “still, small voice.”

It’s important to know the written word of God and hear His voice today — and learn from what others are hearing, those are also obeying so they can be free.

A man was challenging the scoffers on Facebook a few hours ago, and included this link. I thought I’d share. This includes links to my other posts on this subject.

“Do what thou wilt” is Satanism, by the way. That’s where the anti-church, anti-Bible scoffers are leading many — to hell.

jeff

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From: Answers in Genesis

Why Should We Believe in the Inerrancy of Scripture?

Introduction

“You don’t really believe the Bible is true, do you?”

The shock expressed by those who discover someone who actually believes the Bible to be without error is often quite amusing. Inevitably, their next question takes us right back to Genesis. But what does the Christian mean by “without error,” and why are we so sure?

[…]

Jesus Believed in Verbal Inspiration

In John 10:34 Jesus quoted from Psalm 82:6 and based His teaching upon a phrase: “I said, ‘You are gods.’” In other words, Jesus proclaimed that the words of this psalm were the words of God. Similarly, in Matthew 22:31–32 He claimed the words of Exodus 3:6 were given to them by God. In Matthew 22:43–44 our Lord quoted from Psalm 110:1 and pointed out that David wrote these words “in the Spirit,” meaning he was actually writing the words of God.

Paul Believed in Verbal Inspiration

Paul based an argument upon the fact that a particular word in the Old Testament is singular and not plural. Writing to the Galatians, Paul claimed that in God’s promises to Abraham, “He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). Paul quoted from Genesis 12:7; 13:15; and 24:7. In each of these verses, our translators used the word “descendants,” but the Hebrew word is singular. The same word is translated “seed” in Genesis 22:18. Paul’s argument here is that God was not primarily referring to Israel as the offspring of Abraham, but to Christ.

What is significant is the way Paul drew attention to the fact that the Hebrew word in Genesis is singular. This demonstrates a belief in verbal inspiration because it mattered to Paul whether God used a singular or plural in these passages of the Old Testament. It is therefore not surprising Paul wrote that one of the advantages of being a Jew was the fact that “they have been entrusted with the very words of God” (Romans 3:2, NIV). Even many critics of the Bible agree that the Scriptures clearly teach a doctrine of verbal inerrancy.

Entire Article Here

Related:

The Early Church Fathers and Biblical Authority 100-400 A.D.: “All writers accepted the inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture as self-evident. … There was no temptation to restrict its range to favored passages of the Bible.”

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Jesus’ Statements

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Peter considered Paul’s writings Scripture; Paul considered his own writings to be the Word of God

Jesus’ statements in ‘Revelation’ support the apostles’ NT church life teaching and also present a balance to the trendy, lovey-dovey view of God. Jesus also added a strict warning to not be altered :: The Bible can be trusted!

The Gospels are New Covenant and Apply To Us Today — Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead the disciples into all truth and to REMIND them of what He taught them to do. Then they did it and we can too — unstoppable!

New Testament Canon Compiled by Origen at 250 A.D. — If one is simply asking when these books came to be regarded as Scripture, then we can say that happened at a very early time. But, if one is asking when we see these books, and only these books, occur in some sort of list…

10 Misconceptions About the NT Canon: #4: “Books Were Not Regarded as Scripture Until Around 200 AD”

For those who believe Jesus is a trendy, all-lovey-dovey God, and question the authority of the New Testament as applying today, saying we don’t have to meet together to worship under the authority of the 5-fold ministry according to Ephesians 4:11-16, etc., I write this article on ‘Revelation,’ in addition to the articles I just posted:

The Early Church Fathers and Biblical Authority 100-400 A.D.: “All writers accepted the inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture as self-evident. … There was no temptation to restrict its range to favored passages of the Bible.”

The Gospels are New Covenant and Apply To Us Today — Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead the disciples into all truth and to REMIND them of what He taught them to do. Then they did it and we can too — unstoppable!

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Jesus’ Statements

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Peter considered Paul’s writings Scripture; Paul considered his own writings to be the Word of God

New Testament Canon Compiled by Origen at 250 A.D. — If one is simply asking when these books came to be regarded as Scripture, then we can say that happened at a very early time. But, if one is asking when we see these books, and only these books, occur in some sort of list…

The Book of Revelation is hard to dispute for those who desire to disbelieve the credibility of the Bible, because Jesus declared a strict penalty to anyone who would add or remove any words from it.

I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, may God add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, may God take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book (Revelation 22:18,19).

And Jesus’ words to the seven churches validate much of what was taught in the New Testament letters.

Jesus is speaking to the leaders of the assemblies in these seven communities. Jesus supports the 5-fold ministry, Ephesians-4:11-16 theme by saying to the the assembly in Ephesus: “you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.” He doesn’t say: apostles aren’t legitimate anymore. He says: you correctly kept the false ones out.

Jesus warns against eating food sacrificed to idols, which the apostles (Acts 15) and Paul also warned about. Jesus warned against sexual immorality as being taboo for Christians, and said how strictly He was going to judge Jezebel if she didn’t repent for pushing this evil agenda.

And of course, one of the main, trendy, disinfo themes today is that God is only love. Many don’t want to hear Paul’s Romans-11:22 balance:

“See then the GOODNESS and SEVERITY of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, IF you continue in his goodness; OTHERWISE you also will be cut off” — which agrees with what Jesus really said in John 15, contrary to what K-LOVE says.

And Philippians 2:12-13:

 “So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, WORK OUT YOUR OWN SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING. For it is GOD who WORKS IN YOU both to will and to work, for his good pleasure..”

Regarding Jezebel, Jesus demonstrates His non-lovey-dovey, SEVERE side of His personality towards those who refuse to repent of leading others to seriously sin. Not only would she be judged in the next life, but here on Earth too! “I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.”

2:21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works. 23 I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.

Jesus says the church in Sardis actually had a reputation for being alive (unlike most churches today) but were spiritually dead. He didn’t then say: stop group meetings because they don’t work. Rather, he said: clean up your act, and get holy so your names won’t be removed from the Book of Life.

And a few verses later, he told the assembly in Laodicea to repent from being lukewarm, so they could also be dressed in white (like the overcomers in Sardis), otherwise He will vomit them out of His mouth. Doesn’t sound like the trendy, only-love Jesus taught across America today.

The assembly in Philadelphia actually had some Spiritual power, and kept Jesus word. Probably because they kept Jesus’ word they had spiritual power. Jesus then declares that He will preserve them from the hour of testing, and they will achieve their reward in heaven. Praise God!

It’s up to us. Either we live holy, and are spiritually blessed now and forever — as we bless Jesus, watching Him smile — or we willfully sin, like the Prodigal Son, leaving our First Love, breaking Jesus’ heart, refusing to accept and obey His clear words, to live in the Son — and the consequences will be dire. Some will even be judged this side of eternity, like Jezebel….

Much could be gleaned from Jesus’ actions predicted in the main body of Revelation, but for now, I will skip to the last two chapters:

Revelation 21

5 He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.” 6 He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Revelation 22

12 “Behold, I come quickly. My reward is with me, to repay to each man according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

14 Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood [who don’t worship in Spirit and in truth – editor].

What follows are the complete texts of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 in the reliable, Textus Receptus based, royalty free WEB text, with my highlighting emphasis.

Let’s obey and be free!

Life in the Son!

From: blueletterbible.org

Don Stewart :: Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word?

[…]

The New Testament is also considered to be inspired of God for the following reasons:

Divine Origin

All throughout Jesus’ ministry the divine origin of His words is stressed.

He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak (John 12:48,49).

In addition, Jesus said His words would never pass away.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away (Matthew 24:35).

That Jesus said His words would last forever hints at the idea they would be recorded.

The Promise Of Jesus

The main reason we believe that the New Testament has been inspired of God is the promise of Jesus. Before His death and resurrection Jesus made the following promises to His disciples.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (John 14:26). But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, He will testify of Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning (John 15:26,27).

However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (John 16:13).

We have, at least, two promises of Jesus contained in these verses:

1. The Holy Spirit would guide these hand-picked disciples into all truth. [For clarification, this applies to all born-again believers – editor]

2. They would be given the gift of total recall of the things He said and did. This would guarantee the truth of their preaching and teaching as well as anything they would eventually write about Jesus. [I agree with these overall principles in general; though, the wording here seems a bit strong. “Total recall” seems a bit unlike how this probably worked. We can say with certainty that the Holy Spirit accurately reminded the disciples of what Jesus said and did at the appropriate times, which He does to us about Bible teachings we’ve read too. And this, alone, would not “guarantee the truth of their preaching,” necessarily. Because they still had free will, and were not automatic robots. They still had to obey and choose to be led by the Holy Spirit, which we then see happen; though, there was a learning curve – editor.]

Entire Article Here

Related:

The Gospels are New Covenant and Apply To Us Today — Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead the disciples into all truth and to REMIND them of what He taught them to do. Then they did it and we can too — unstoppable!

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Peter considered Paul’s writings Scripture; Paul considered his own writings to be the Word of God

Jesus’ statements in ‘Revelation’ support the apostles’ NT church life teaching and also present a balance to the trendy, lovey-dovey view of God. Jesus also added a strict warning to not be altered :: The Bible can be trusted!

The Early Church Fathers and Biblical Authority 100-400 A.D.:“All writers accepted the inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture as self-evident. … There was no temptation to restrict its range to favored passages of the Bible.”

Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way | Who are the Children of God? — “There is therefore now *no condemnation* to those who are IN CHRIST Jesus, who don’t WALK according to the flesh, but ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.”

I just wrote and posted this as a comment on a friend’s Facebook page to demonstrate that Jesus’ teachings really are new covenant and do apply to us. Jesus taught new covenant principles while they were still under the law, which the Holy Spirit would remind the disciples of and help them understand. “You have heard that it was said, but I say…” applies to us!

– –

Unstoppable! Jesus sent the Holy Spirit in part to remind His disciples of what He said to do. They did it and we can too!

I’d like to share a concept regarding what Jesus said about being led by the Holy Spirit that I have never mentioned online, including on my ONEcanhappen blog. And this directly relates to this post on the reliability of the Bible, and whether we should do what the Bible says.

What Jesus says in John 14 also proves that He was speaking timeless, new covenant truths in the gospels, including the sermon on the mount, before the new covenant actually began: when Jesus died and the veil was rent, and the believers received the Holy Spirit during Pentecost.

I’ll capitalize some key points from this John 14 text:

16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for HE LIVES WITH YOU, AND WILL BE IN YOU.

18 I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU ORPHANS. I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. ONE WHO LOVES ME WILL BE LOVED BY MY FATHER, AND I WILL LOVE HIM, AND WILL REVEAL MYSELF TO HIM” [similar to what Jesus says in the next chapter, verse 11: “I have spoken these things to you, THAT MY JOY MAY REMAIN IN YOU, AND THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE MADE FULL”]. 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. 24 He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me.

25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you. 26 But THE COUNSELOR, THE HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in my name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, AND WILL *REMIND YOU OF ALL THAT I SAID* TO YOU.

Lots of cool stuff in here, including being loved by our Father if we keep His commandments, which are the greatest two.

My main point here, though, is: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and will REMIND YOU OF ALL I SAID to you.”

_________

[Added 3/28/23]

The disciples couldn’t understand Jesus’ teachings while on earth, because they didn’t have the Holy Spirit in them yet to help them understand. In the John 14 text above, Jesus said the Holy Spirit will be our “counselor” who “will teach you (us) all things,” which He further explains in John 16 that it’s better for the disciples that Jesus would go away, because the Holy Spirit will guide them (and us) into all truth.

⁶ But because I have told you these things, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment….

¹² “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. ¹³ However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.

John then experientially says  in 1 John 2:

²⁷ As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.

In Matthew 18, the great commission, after the crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples to teach people in all nations in the NEW COVENANT “all things that I commanded you” in the OLD COVENANT, because He Jesus taught new covenant principles that they would remember and more thoroughly understand in the new covenant, after they had the Holy Spirit in them to help them understand:

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

_________

So Jesus was teaching new covenant principles to the children of Israel and the disciples before they had the Holy Spirit in them to even be able to understand the concepts, which he said elsewhere too. But when the Holy Spirit would come, part of His leading them into all truth was to help them remember what Jesus taught while on Earth.

And much of this is what God made sure was carefully preserved, so we could read what was said by Jesus too.

And the Counselor, the Holy Spirit wants to help us understand what Jesus said too, so we can live it out too.

And then the rest of the New Testament, after the gospels, except for perhaps Revelation, is the disciples being led by the Holy Spirit to do the things Jesus taught them to do and more. Because Jesus didn’t teach them everything while on Earth. The Holy Spirit reminded them of what Jesus taught and then gave them further specific revelation of what to do and how to live, much of what also applies to us today.

Pretty cool, huh?

So this is a flat out endorsement of the Gospels being what Jesus wants us to do to, as the Holy Spirit will help us understand them to do even greater works than what Jesus did, what Jesus said followers of Him will do.

Will we be “Oh ye of little faith,” or we will gladly get into our yokes and do what Jesus did — together?!!!

ONE can happen — and we’ll be free — unstoppable!!!!!!!

We can do it together, by His grace : )

Related:

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Jesus’ Statements

Does the Bible Claim to Be God’s Inerrant Word? — Peter considered Paul’s writings Scripture; Paul considered his own writings to be the Word of God

Jesus’ statements in ‘Revelation’ support the apostles’ NT church life teaching and also present a balance to the trendy, lovey-dovey view of God. Jesus also added a strict warning to not be altered :: The Bible can be trusted!

The Early Church Fathers and Biblical Authority 100-400 A.D.:“All writers accepted the inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture as self-evident. … There was no temptation to restrict its range to favored passages of the Bible.”

Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way | Who are the Children of God? — “There is therefore now *no condemnation* to those who are IN CHRIST Jesus, who don’t WALK according to the flesh, but ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.”