<DIV>Posh, </DIV>
<DIV>be careful about deciding who is and is not on that narrow road. I said before what the teaching that tells us what makes us one of Christ's lambs and it is the belief that He died for us, He defeated death for us, He reigns on high for us. John 3: 16-17 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasing life, For God sent not his Son into the work to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. KJV</DIV>
<DIV>Nancy</DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>gcfl-discuss@gcfl.net</I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">>Siarlys,<BR>> <BR>>Jesus started one true Christian religion. So today there must be just <BR>>one body, or group, of true worshipers of God. (John 4:23, 24; <BR>>Ephesians 4:4, 5) The Bible teaches that only a few people are on the <BR>>narrow road to life.—Matthew 7:13, 14. <BR><BR>Dear Posh,<BR><BR>Jesus also said "Salvation is of the Jews" -- although I can't put my<BR>finger on the exact reference, and I don't believe it means all<BR>Christians need to become Jewish.<BR><BR>Jesus did not define an organization, or issue lengthy and detailed<BR>doctrine. He laid out some principles, explained them every way he could,<BR>told his disciples they really still didn't understand what he was trying<BR>to teach, and opened up a relation with God to all nations, rather than<BR>just one chosen people.<BR><BR>The early church did not have councils or bishops, and doctrine
was a<BR>matter for lively discussion. When it got codified by church councils in<BR>the 300s and 400s AD, a lot of nonsense was grafted on and made orthodox.<BR><BR>I know of no reliable, authoritative, Scriptural basis to identify any<BR>denomination, organization, or body of doctrine, as defining the "one<BR>true Christian religion." The Roman Catholic Church has always claimed to<BR>be it, by Apostolic Succession from Saint Peter. If that is true, can the<BR>Reformation, we must all submit to Rome again. If not, then who of the<BR>various theological voices, most of which have emerged since 1450 AD or<BR>so (the Pentecostal revival is only a century old) shall we recognize as<BR>true and demand that all shall bow to?<BR><BR>Go back to Wycliffe, and you will find that translating the Bible from<BR>Latin to English was undertaken so that every individual Christian could<BR>read it for themselves, and develop their own relationship with God,<BR>rather than take the authority of any
hierarchy for what it said or what<BR>it meant.<BR><BR>Perhaps some who call themselves Christians ARE in error. God will let us<BR>know in his own good time, but I can't tell you. We are both human.<BR><BR>I believe that Matthew 25:31 to the end of the chapter settles that God<BR>is pleased by those who follow what Jesus calls us to, whether they ever<BR>heard the name of Jesus or not. As to only a few being saved -- that goes<BR>back to Calvin's doctrine that an elect are predestined to be saved.<BR>Despite my Presbyterian upbrining, I prefer John Wesley's teaching of<BR>free grace for all. It is more consistent with what Jesus taught.<BR><BR>Siarlys<BR><BR><BR>________________________________________________________________<BR>The best thing to hit the Internet in years - Juno SpeedBand!<BR>Surf the Web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER!<BR>Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today!<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>GCFL-discuss mailing
list<BR>GCFL-discuss@gcfl.net<BR>http://gcfl.net/mailman/listinfo/gcfl-discuss</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><DIV>
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<DIV><FONT color=#c080ff size=4><EM>Nance<IMG src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys2/40.gif"></EM></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV>