There are so many different religions that it is hard to count them all. Denominations in the USA alone are difficult to keep up with. Someone says, hey, I’m a Baptist. And I say, so what? Beliefs vary widely from one Baptist Church to another. How is it, that there is only one Bible, yet so many different beliefs concerning the same book?
There really is a very simple answer to it. We add or take a way from the Book. How do we do this? We use our own logic to insert into the Bible. We use words like this:
THEREFORE, BECAUSE, NOW, etc. I’ll give you an example. This is a particular area of contention.
Matthew 16. In verse 13, Jesus asks His disciples “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” They responded by saying that some people thought Christ was John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets. “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (verses 15-18)
At first glance, it may appear that Jesus was referring to Peter as “the rock”, but we have to keep in mind that the New Testament was written in Greek, not English. This is one instance where the original wording reveals the true meaning of what is being said. The Greek word for Peter is petros, which means “a pebble” or a small stone. On the other hand, the Greek word that Jesus used for rock is petra, meaning “a massive rock” or bedrock. Now we can see that there is an obvious difference! Peter was correct when he stated that Jesus was “the Christ” and it was this profession of truth that the church would be founded upon: Jesus Christ “the chief cornerstone” (Matthew 21:42). Jesus was talking about building His church upon the solid bedrock, not a small pebble.http://www.wordoftruthradio.com/questions/47.html
Peter wrote that we are all living stones –
1 Peter 2:4-6
4 To Whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.
Perhaps, those that are not Catholics have no trouble with this. But many have changed the Word, to the point that it gives rise to every kind of false belief.
Countless sheeple think that God deliberately made the Bible difficult, even too mysterious for ordinary people to understand; and that we must help God out by adding our own logic and reasoning. That is the work of the devil, for it was he who first cast doubt on God’s Word in the Garden of Eden. The sheeple become very good at it. Human logic sounds so good, it must surely be right. And if we are wrong, God will understand because we had good intentions and we meant well. BUT:
God says, do not add to what I say!
Proverbs 30:5-6
5 Every Word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
6 Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
If you are having trouble understanding the Bible, there are a few questions to answer that might help:
- Are you truly born again? The Bible can only be understood with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and it is a letter from God in a language only true believers can know. John 10:27
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: - Do you have unconfessed sin? The Lord requires that before we approach Him, that we confess, otherwise fellowship is hindered.
- Have you humbly asked the Lord to reveal Himself to you before you even open your Bible?
- Do you honestly believe that your Bible is the Word of God, written down for you?
- Are you reading your Bible at the best time of the day, that is, the morning, as when Manna, the bread from heaven, fell and had to be gathered each day?
- Are you reading a Bible that has an evil spirit attached to it? ie: such as the NKJV, which has a “triptych” on its cover
The pure Word of God does not require any special, magical treatment to open up for us. It only requires our faith. Those that hate the Word, hate it because of how it makes them feel – and that’s why they desire to change it, because they do not want to change themselves. . .
The Vine Vigil 