I’ve had a few negative responses to my latest blog posts. Most people were kind and sincerely wanted to know what I believe and why. They came, not armed and ready for war, but in kindness and Christian love. What a blessing!
Some of the negativity was not because of a Biblical disagreement at all, but because they didn’t “feel” that what I wrote was true. They used phrases like, “My view is…” “I don’t believe that God would do that…” “I think…”
I wasn’t prepared to make someone “feel” a certain way. (How can I do that?) There are many things that I don’t really like in the Bible. I don’t like that the Bible says I’m a sinner. It makes me feel badly. (But it’s true!) I don’t like that some people will go to Hell. That makes me feel rather ill.(But it’s true!) I don’t like the parts in the Old Testament where God commands innocent children to be killed. I think that is unfair! (But He did it.) I don’t like a lot of things in the Bible, and I don’t yet understand a lot of it, but I do believe it all. God doesn’t rule this world according to feelings. He has ordained a plan for this Earth and He doesn’t care how mankind feels about that plan. Period. (Ephesians 1:11)
Regarding the historical aspect of this teaching, some people said that they didn’t care what Baptist leaders of old believed, because they considered the Bible for themselves. This statement worries me, because God uses “the foolishness of preaching” (1 Corinthains 1:21) to teach the world about Himself. It’s safe to say that if your beliefs do not line up with hundreds of years of orthodox (Bible) Christianity, then you hold the wrong positions. Some didn’t even know their church’s official position on the issues I presented. If you hate Calvinism (also known as the Doctrines of Grace), you should probably make sure your church’s Confession of Faith doesn’t say they are Calvinistic. You might be surprised that most Baptist Confessions of Faith were penned by Calvinists and contain explicit Calvinistic language; but because the “TULIP” acrostic is not in the confession itself, they believe it to be absent. Many Baptist churches use the New Hampshire Baptist Confession, 1833, which can be read HERE, but there are others. You can read an article by Dr. James Beller on the topic by clicking HERE. You can also read a critical review of New Hampshire Confession HERE. My experience in the last nine years is that many church members have never seen and, therefore, not studied their church’s Confession of Faith. If nothing else, I hope these posts have encouraged you in your own personal Bible study on the topic.
I appreciate the concern and questions, some coming from people I haven’t spoken to in years. It’s nice to hear from you. However, if you want to tell me that God “wouldn’t do it that way”, well, I have no answer for you. I can only ask, “What does the Bible say?”
With love,
valeriewritenow.com 
Even when we go to the same scripture, there are differences in interpretation. The best I can do is cite a scripture and explain the best I can what it means to me – not how I “feel” or “think” but how it applies to my life because I am seeking God. If I am seeking to please the world or fit into current events or explain how/why someone else believes, I’m not doing as I should. It is better – nobler – to follow the Berean example and seek God’s answer to “is it so?”
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I understand exactly what you mean! My husband is a pastor. In his study and preparation, he reads other Bible scholars’ commentaries (Baptist), most of whom are long dead, to see their thoughts. If he sees that he is in the minority to many different men of God on some passage, he knows his thoughts are incorrect. Not that there isn’t room to disagree, even with great men of old, but it’s not the norm. Usually, their comments allow him to see cross references that shed light on the issue. I definitely think everyone should read and STUDY the Bible for themselves, just as our Berean brethren did so long ago. God will most certainly guide His people by His Holy Spirit and Holy men of God.
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My husband has taught this very thing for years. Instead of saying, “I think…” or “I believe…” we should ask, “What does the Bible say?” It is incredible how many Christians believe what they believe only because that’s what they were taught. If they took the time to really study Scriptures for themselves, they might be surprised that many of their beliefs need to be reconsidered.
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Yes! We have noticed that same thing. I think some people view it as “dangerous” to ask questions and search things out in the Scripture, but NOT searching it out is the dangerous thing. Thanks for your comment!
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