Building Christians Up From The Foundation & Unto Perfection
Hebrews 6:1-3
Hebrews 6:1-3
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Skip To Questions And Objections List
There are often disagreements about any given theological topic. Often they are a result of a bad understanding of more foundational doctrines and like a house with a bad foundation the roof will not fit properly. This is why I encourage you to begin our Christianity 101 course from the beginning.
Even then there can still be disagreements. We have put this list here of FAQ and objections raised by others related to this study. Often there may be verses we will explain in greater detail since as humans we sometimes read things into the scriptures that are not there without even knowing it. This can normally clear up any confusion.
There are however some objections that are common to every topic. These objections will normally be the first ones you will find in any of our objection pages to quickly put them to rest.
Common Objections
1. This goes against orthodox Christianity and what the church has taught for centuries.
4. No one else believes this! In fact, the majority believe something totally different!
5. Such and such scripture says what you are saying is untrue.
Study Specific Objections
6. This is called modalism and is a heresy.
7. This means God does not exist as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time.
8. This means the Son is not divine, but a created being with both beginning and end.
9. This would require two Spirits in one body of Jesus.
11. If Jesus is the Father then why did He say no man knows the day of His return, even the son?
This goes against orthodox Christianity and what the church has taught for centuries.
First let me explain that this statement is incorrect in the first place. Since the beginning of the church there have been many things taught and often there have been opposing doctrines. To this day these same doctrines and oppositions still exist and we have come to the point of splitting into denominations rather than coming together to seek out the truth.
So when you make a statement like “This goes against what the church has always taught” you would have to make the claim that no one is a part of the church since we all have different beliefs in one thing or another. The church itself is made up of Christians and thus if any Christian teaches something then it is being taught by a part of the church.
This does not however mean all Christians are teaching what is true. There are false doctrines which have been believed for centuries along with the truth of scripture which has also been believed for centuries. So the church actually HAS taught this for centuries.
The argument that this goes against “orthodox” Christianity is another matter though. The term orthodox means: conforming to what is generally or traditionally accepted as right or true; established and approved.
Basically all that orthodox Christianity is would be a majority of Christians who hold the same view. Orthodox teachings are not always true either though since the majority can be (and often are) wrong. For example: The religious leaders in the time of Jesus would have been considered orthodox. Yet time and again Jesus showed their teaching to be incorrect.
Our test for what is or is not true should never come from majority opinion or the age of a teaching. If that was our test for anything else we would still be in the dark ages thinking that you could cure sickness by draining a person’s blood. Our test is scripture and scripture alone. Any teaching on what the scripture says is subject to the scriptures themselves.
So it doesn’t matter if it has been taught by people for centuries. If they were wrong then they were wrong. The word of God is always right though. And, we should know the word of God from the Bible itself rather than the commentary of someone else (even me) about the word. Teachers can guide you, but you must know that only the Bible itself is 100% correct 100% of the time.
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Aren’t you being prideful because you think you know better than the great theologians of the past?
No, not at all. Just because someone who is considered to be of high esteem says something different than a person of lower esteem it doesn’t mean the higher esteemed person is correct. This is not a matter of pride. It’s a matter of truth.
Jesus was also accused of being prideful since He acted and spoke as one with greater authority than others such as Moses. It wasn’t about pride though. It was about truth.
Why do I believe I understand the truth of these things? It’s not because I believe I am somehow greater than others. It is because I have read the Bible and come to a different understanding. An understanding that I believe is true based on the information given, not based on how highly I esteem myself to be.
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“Someone else (a link I would like to send or a well known teacher) can explain this subject and why the doctrine on this site is wrong better than I can. So please see…such and such”
There are many times I have been given links to other ministries which teach things against what I do. The funny thing about that is I often have already seen those articles and have included information on my own articles as to why they are incorrect.
So I find it both laughable and annoying when someone attempts to refute what I teach by showing me what someone else teaches which I have already proven to be incorrect.
The reason many people point to the teachings of others is because often they do not fully understand the subject well enough to defend it themselves. So they attempt to let others who “understand it better” do that for them.
What they do not realize however is that the reason they don’t have a full grasp on it is because the ones they point to as being great teachers do not have enough of a grasp on it either. Thus their students are left without understanding as well.
In fact, the same arguments the student would make are the very same ones their teacher will make. So if those arguments don’t hold water with the student then the teacher will also fail since they are saying the same thing. So do yourself a favor and don’t just pretend you aren’t smart enough to figure this out so you can simply ignore it while letting someone else who is “smarter” figure it out for you. Use your own brain.
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No one else believes this! In fact, the majority believe something totally different!
Since when has majority opinion been proof of something being true? Majority opinion is only an endorsement from many people who may themselves be incorrect. The objection that no well known, specific group, or intelligent person believes something was also used against Jesus. They said “Have any of the scribes or Pharisees believed on Him?!”
So denial of something because of this comes from peer pressure and not truth.
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Such and such scripture says what you are saying is untrue!
A common theme of never ending debate is when one person uses a scripture that may say one thing, but then another person uses a different scripture which seems to give a different view. Normally what we tend to do is keep quoting our supporting scriptures.
But this leads us only into frustration. Instead we need to lay down our arsenal and learn how to use it properly. The Bible will not contradict itself. So if we see two opposing views we need to ask ourselves how they work together.
Is it possible one of us is reading something into the scriptures that it doesn’t actually say? Is it possible that other foundational doctrines we believe are not true and thus force us to read other scriptures in a way to attempt to fit them in? I have often found that a misreading of scripture can cause this. A little lesson in how to understand what we read may be in order. For this kind of information please see unit 1:7 in this course.
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This is called modalism and is a heresy.
Modalism is the non-trinitarian or anti-trinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son, and Holy Spirit are three different modes or aspects of one God, rather than three distinct persons. Therefore there are no real differences among the three.
There is no reason to consider this a heresy. However, modalism also teaches that God does not exist simultaneously as all three modes. THIS is incorrect.
The scriptures DO tell us that there is ONE God. It NEVER says that there are THREE different people (with three different minds and wills) who get together as a “corporation” known as God. Now, it does speak of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. If we remove two of these three forms God manifests in, we still have ONE God. But if God is three different people then we end up with 3 Gods.
This doesn’t fit well with scripture. Either there is ONE God, or there are THREE Gods that make up this group. The problem is that there are many who would say that God is a title and not a name. So they have no problem identifying these 3 separate Gods as holding the same office. You still end up with three Gods though.
The Bible only ever says that there is one God. It is our own way of looking at the scriptures that may lead us to incorrectly assume it says otherwise. For example, the Bible shows Jesus speaking with the Father. So we may assume there are two different people here. But in reality you actually have Jesus, God wrapped in the flesh, talking with Himself who is the God in whom all exists.
Think of the ocean. Now, think of a drop of water from that ocean. Is it no longer water? Is the ocean no longer water? No, the drop and the ocean are the same thing in different places. The ocean is still there where it always was.
This is God. As Paul says, in Him we have our being. Yet inside of the Christian is also God. To deny this is to deny Jesus is God. So the drop of water is inside of the ocean of water. But they are one and the same.
This view is seen as heresy and not something that the church used to believe. But the Trinitarian view, which was eventually defined as three distinct, co-equal, co-eternal persons by the Athanasian Creed, probably dating from the late 5th or early 6th century, is a newer view opposed to the Modalism view that dates back even further than the 3rd century.
So even this accusation itself is a lie. In fact, it was the Catholic church that opposed Modalism. And, if you haven’t heard by now, the Catholic church is NOT a Christian denomination.
So to sum up my answer to this objection let me just say that the Bible NEVER actually says that there are 3 different Gods who make up one big God. God is not limited to either being in the flesh or out of the flesh at one time. And, this view may not be widely accepted, but as Paul said:
Acts 24:14
But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:
The majority are often wrong.
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This means God does not exist as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at the same time.
This is untrue. God does not operate only in one place at one time. God is all around us and is the one in which we move and breathe and have our being. Now, since God is here with me right now, does that mean He is not there with you?
Jesus Himself is God wrapped in human flesh. Does that mean God was no where else? Who was it that was holding the universe together? No, while God was in the flesh He was also in Heaven. There is no reason to believe this view means God is not able to be everywhere. So this is a false accusation.
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This means the Son is not divine, but a created being with both beginning and end.
This is wrong. Jesus is God eternal, always has been and always will be. But, the flesh that He wrapped Himself in DID have a beginning. The problem here is in not understanding that the body is only a shell of dust that surrounds the real you inside.
So the REAL Jesus wasn’t just the body. The real Jesus is God, who is spirit, whom wrapped Himself in flesh. Again, this means Jesus is eternal.
I also encourage you to go back to the study and read the section marked “Jesus As The Father, Son, And Holy Ghost.”
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This would require two Spirits in one body of Jesus.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. Yet, the Bible says that we have our own spirit. So this objection is one you are going to have to bring up against all Christians. Thankfully I have a study that may help you understand this: What Is a Born Again Christian.
I also encourage you to go back to the study and read the section marked “Jesus As The Father, Son, And Holy Ghost.”
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How could Jesus have been praying to the Father if He was the Father? And, the Father sent the Son and Holy Spirit into the world. Jesus also goes to the Father. So they must be individuals.
God in the flesh was praying to God in the spirit. That doesn’t mean there are two different Gods. It just means the flesh and Spirit were communicating.
How could Jesus go to be with the Father? He would shed the flesh and return to His throne! The flesh died on the cross and was raised up again. He then went to Heaven IN THE FLESH. The flesh with the Holy Spirit, the Everlasting Father stands “at the right hand” of the Father.
Now, if God fills Heaven and Earth, where is His right hand? The phrase is not indicating a location. It is indicating a position of authority. What the flesh of Jesus says is the words of the Father (the Spirit) that dwells in Him.
I also encourage you to go back to the study and read the section marked “Jesus As The Father, Son, And Holy Ghost.”
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If Jesus is the Father then why did He say no man knows the day of His return, even the son?
Who is the son? Is it not the body of Jesus? Now, the body was flesh but it was under the submission of the spirit. So, Jesus in the flesh did not know, but Jesus in the spirit did. And yes, Jesus was in both the flesh and spirit at the same time. But He knew how to divide between spirit and flesh.
In the same way consider that Jesus fell under the cross. Now, did He not have the power to overrule the flesh and pick it up? Of course He did, by the Spirit. But He didn’t because He chose to limit Himself in the flesh.
