What If You Disagree With What Is Taught Here

As I have taught and proclaimed the word of God over the years there have been many times that people have held different views than myself. This normally results in one of a few things happening.

1.) They ignore me and my message.

2.) They will argue with or without scripture (and normally when they do use scripture it isn’t used properly).

3.) They will falsely accuse me of all kinds of things.

But it is VERY rare that I meet someone who does what the Bible says to do. What does it say?

Verse 6 tells us that we should not simply ignore something and verse 1 tells us we should be humble about it considering that we can also be in error.

Please Do Not Ignore The Message

So if you do disagree with what is taught here please do not simply ignore my message. One of us may be wrong, but if we communicate as verse 6 says then whoever it is can be restored. You may think you are going to have to restore me. But in the end you may be the one who is restored (remember to consider yourself in meekness). In the same token it may be the other way around too.

Why is this so important? Because when the Bible speaks of having itching ears it is not only speaking of how people would only hear what they want to hear, but it is also saying people will ignore what they don’t believe, which again leads to hearing only what they want to hear.

So instead, please examine the teachings and words VERY closely. I have to tell you that one of the biggest reasons for disagreements is because people shut their listening skills off when they don’t believe something. Instead we need to be able to listen.

We also need to be able to think about questions and answer them rather than ignoring them. I can’t tell you the number of times I have had someone unleash round after round of questions or “proof” (all of them easily answered) without them being able to answer even the first question that may oppose their view.

This is a tactic used in debates where the object is to make one side look weak by pretending their view is too questionable. It is not a way to get to truth or even teach truth. You must be able to answer questions without resorting to lies, or making things up (such as taking poetic liberty to claim a certain scripture is metaphorical when no other scripture has given reason to believe such a thing). And yes, I have also seen people change the rules of sentence structure, and even redefine words to make something say what they want.

So again, please don’t ignore the message or the questions that may challenge what your already believe.

Please Do Not Take Me Out Of Context

Sarcasm, angry letters, name calling, and threats do not work the righteousness of God. False accusations are also something I have come to expect. Often assumptions are made because we are not able to take in the full picture. This is due to a lack of information, and an inability to gather that information.

In the same way people take the Bible out of context we can also take each other out of context. For example:

If you read this you may believe the Bible says we are justified by works.

Then if you read this without James 2:24 you may think the Bible says we are justified by faith and that works has no part in it. In fact, if you read both verses and don’t read anything else you may come to the conclusion that the Bible is speaking double talk.

But in each of these things you may have assumed from a lack of information you would have been wrong. When we read the Bible as a whole and in the context of the Bible as a whole we see that it does NOT say that it is by our works that we are justified (though you could give a verse that says very bluntly that it is). The Bible also does NOT say that works has no part in it (though again you could do the same thing).

BUT TO PUT IT IN CONTEXT you would have to read the following verse in another place:

Now you have the context that each of these examples was given in. Faith is belief plus action (works) which brings justification. It is not by works alone, nor is it by belief alone, but it is by belief which results in action. Without one or the other you have nothing.

So please be careful that you do not make assumptions without getting the full picture. Again, considering that we are also able to be wrong is helpful in keeping from condemning the guiltless.

To Sum This Up

So if you disagree with what is taught on this site please consider doing the following:

1.) Write your objections down.

2.) Read the study or group of studies again and see if your objections may have already been answered one by one. Cross them off your list as you find them.

3.) If some are left then make sure everything you believe about the subject takes the scriptures in context. That means make sure you are not making assumptions. Please read this page: How to understand the Bible to see how to do this.

4.) See if you can answer any questions this information may have brought up. Do so while looking at all sides of the coin and not injecting metaphors where the Bible does not tell you that there is a metaphor. See if the information fits properly with the rest of scripture.

5.) If you have gone through each step and still find there to be an error please contact us to let us know with information on how to correct the error (in other words provide scriptures and give your explanation).

On The Line Ministries is interested in the truth of the word of God and not in fighting to hold onto our own ideas if they are out of line. So we are willing to change our position IF we are not in line with the word of God.