How Important is Our Brain as a Christian?

[dwight92070]

Just as important as our heart! In fact, if our brain doesn't understand a particular scripture, then that truth will not remain in our heart. Satan will see to it that whatever misunderstood truth is in there will quickly be removed. Look at the Parable of the Sower. The first man HAD the word of the kingdom sown in his heart. (Matthew 13:19)There was ONLY one problem - he didn't UNDERSTAND it (also in that same verse), so HE COULD NOT EVEN GET SAVED! Because he DID NOT UNDERSTAND IT, " ... the evil (one) comes and snatches away WHAT HAS BEEN SOWN IN HIS HEART."

Apart from our brain, we cannot get saved -born again- we cannot grow, we cannot mature.
Look again at the fourth man in Matthew 13:23 - "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word AND UNDERSTANDS IT; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

After giving His disciples the parable of the sower, the tares among wheat, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the costly pearl, and the dragnet, Jesus has ONE MAJOR CONCERN - (Matthew 13:51) "Have you UNDERSTOOD all these things? Jesus knew (and now we know) that if they did not UNDERSTAND His parables, then they would receive ZERO benefits from hearing them.

This is why it is only just for God to save the mentally retarded, because they aren't equipped to understand much of anything, including the gospel. Babies, infants, toddlers, and young children would most likely be in that same category. They haven't reached the age of accountability, or as the Bible puts it: " ... your little ones who this day have no knowledge of good or evil ..." Deuteronomy 1:39

[dwight92070]

Here is what Steve Gregg said in an answer to a phone call:

It’s not that important to have correct doctrine, since we’re saved anyway. Besides, we’ll learn all of that when we get to heaven. Really? What did Jesus say about that? “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31 Continuing in Jesus’ words is the definition of a disciple. False beliefs compromise your freedom. There is great value in having right beliefs, although that is not what saves you. We’re not saved by having all the right doctrines. But if we are saved, it is good to pursue right doctrine because “the truth will make you free”- freedom is a thing of value. If you have a right relationship with God (which is not the same as having right doctrine), then you don’t want to be in bondage. You want to be free to serve Him, so it’s good to know as much of the truth as possible. We should be zealous for truth, and the kind of people who often participate in exploration, dialogues, and even debates over doctrine. We should be interested in discovering which belief among many options, within the Christian fold, is actually what the Bible teaches.
A lover of truth will want to explore issues about which maybe several opinions can exist among Christians. They realize they’ll be saved even if they don’t have the right view on a given subject that is not a salvation issue, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any interest in knowing the truth. If God has taken the pains to talk about a specific issue, He obviously wants us to learn about that issue, so we should pursue learning it.
If I say that it doesn’t really matter what I believe about Jesus because I’m still going to heaven, I am not thinking correctly or even Biblically. Jesus said, “Take My yoke upon you, and LEARN from Me…” Matthew 11:29 To become a disciple of Jesus, we must take His yoke upon us and LEARN. He will be guiding, directing, and teaching us. The years that we spent NOT being His disciple, were not years where we were absorbing (or learning) nothing. We were absorbing all kinds of ideas, attitudes, and beliefs, many of which were not right. Now there’s much to UNLEARN. We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We do that by walking with Him, under His yoke and His teaching. We should be zealous for learning, to examine everything carefully, and not be gullible. If we love God, we will want to have a passion to learn more about Him, and to have a true theological understanding. A passion for theological inquiry will be there, if you love the truth. If you don’t love the truth, you may not even be saved.
Knowing, trusting, and loving Jesus is the first priority, which transfers us out of the kingdom of darkness, into the Kingdom of God’s Son. However, once we are in His Kingdom, He expects us to learn things and grow. He’s not waiting for you to have 97% perfect doctrine before He’s happy with you. But if you love the truth, wouldn’t you want to learn as much of it as you can? If you’re not interested in the truth, in what sense are you a follower of Jesus? He said that He is the truth. We should be obsessed with Him.

I think it's safe to say that what Steve said here directly relates to using our brain.

[darinhouston]

And by what techniques are we to use our brain to distinguish between contrary ideas about such things?

[dwight92070]

And by what techniques are we to use our brain to distinguish between contrary ideas about such things?

A burning in the bosom, of course.

[dizerner]

Knowledge PUFFS up.

But love BUILDS up.


Too many Christians have no passion at all, they are just encyclopedias that think knowledge makes them holy.

[dwight92070]

Knowledge PUFFS up.

But love BUILDS up.


Too many Christians have no passion at all, they are just encyclopedias that think knowledge makes them holy.

Did you not consider anything that Steve Gregg said? Do you not see that he is advocating Biblical knowledge? Do you just dismiss his advice out of hand? Don't you see that if Steve did not have a great volume of Bible knowledge, that this Bible Forum would not even exist? Maybe you could start your own forum, inviting only those who claim they don't rely on their knowledge. Or would they be proud when they claim that they don't rely on their knowledge? I'll be the first to admit that I rely on my knowledge, both general knowledge and Bible knowledge. It's obvious as I said before that none of us could even function without relying on knowledge. I believe that all knowledge that I have is a gift from God and that will always be true.

Ignorance does not make a person holy. Again, knowledge could cause a person to become proud, but by God's grace, it doesn't have to. That's up to the person, whether they humble themselves or boast about their vast knowledge. The apostle Peter said to diligently add knowledge to your faith and moral excellence; then he continues and says to add self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love. So we need knowledge to mature and bear fruit. Jesus wanted his disciples to understand the parables - that means to have knowledge about them. God said, "Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge." Isaiah 5:13 and "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being my priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." Hosea 4:6
If you could not read, how would you be able to read the Bible? Would you add the knowledge of being able to read to your brain or not? If you are okay with that amount of knowledge, would you be okay with learning more than that? How much knowledge does it take before you cross the line into pride?

[Homer]

From David Bercot's "Dictionary of early Christian Beliefs":

"...to the early Christians, the heart of their faith consisted of an obedient love relationship with Christ, not the ability to articulate dogma."

"The early church concentrated chiefly on the nature of Christian living because the essential core of Christian belief (i.e. the "rule of faith") can be expressed quite briefly. The church believed that the Christian faith is a fairly simple one."

Lactantius wrote:

"The secrets of the Most High God, who created all things, cannot be attained by our own ability and perceptions. Otherwise, there would be no difference between God and man, if human thought could reach to the council and arrangements of that eternal majesty. (Ante-Nicene Fathers 7.9)

Sometimes we are in danger of making our discussions into a contest to be won, a kind of sport.

[dwight92070]

From David Bercot's "Dictionary of early Christian Beliefs":

"...to the early Christians, the heart of their faith consisted of an obedient love relationship with Christ, not the ability to articulate dogma."

"The early church concentrated chiefly on the nature of Christian living because the essential core of Christian belief (i.e. the "rule of faith") can be expressed quite briefly. The church believed that the Christian faith is a fairly simple one."

Lactantius wrote:

"The secrets of the Most High God, who created all things, cannot be attained by our own ability and perceptions. Otherwise, there would be no difference between God and man, if human thought could reach to the council and arrangements of that eternal majesty. (Ante-Nicene Fathers 7.9)

Sometimes we are in danger of making our discussions into a contest to be won, a kind of sport.

The implication here and in previous posts recently is that dogma is a bad thing - and according to the dictionary it can be. One meaning is: A point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative WITHOUT adequate grounds. But it also can have a positive meaning: something held as an established opinion or a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church.

Regarding the Bercot quotes above - what's the problem with both, an obedient love relationship with Christ AND the ability to articulate dogma? Is it better to place little importance on dogma? I think not. In fact, my previous scriptural references demand both.

Bercot's second quote: " ... the essential core of the Christian belief (i.e. the "rule of faith") can be expressed quite briefly...." That's true but is that all the knowledge of the Christian faith that we need to attain? No, we are commanded to grow in knowledge, "to press on to maturity" (Hebrews 6:1). Peter tells us to ADD KNOWLEDGE to your faith. So, as always, are we going to follow man's word, Bercot's, or God's word?

Let's look at Lactantius' quotes: "... our own ability and perceptions." Why does he assume that Christian's abilities and perceptions - are their own? The Bible says that every good gift comes from above. Mature believers humbly admit that any knowledge or ability that they "possess", actually comes from God. Just the fact that we have the Holy Spirit in us as believers, who teaches us, and reminds us of the words of Jesus, gives us precious knowledge that we should keep in our minds AND hearts.

" Sometimes we are in danger of making our discussions into a contest to be won, a kind of sport." If a Christian has fallen into pride, then that could be true. But a truly mature believer remains humble even if his knowledge is correct and someone elses is incorrect. He doesn't gloat because he has the truth, rather he desires that others can also have that truth, so that that truth can also make them free, as Jesus told us.

By the way, wisdom is like a sport to a man of understanding, and that is a good thing, not a bad thing. Proverbs 10:23 - "Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool, and (so is) wisdom to a man of understanding." Once again, do we listen the word of Lactantius, or do we listen to the word of God?

[Homer]

If the Gospel is not simple enough to be understood by those of a simple mind then God has not provided for the salvation of all mankind.

What is mandatory to know in order to be saved? We read in the scriptures of the conversion of thousands (Day of Pentecost) and then just one (the Ethiopian eunuch). There was no New Testament, and without doubt none of them would ever see one. What they needed to know was simple.

[dwight92070]

If the Gospel is not simple enough to be understood by those of a simple mind then God has not provided for the salvation of all mankind.

What is mandatory to know in order to be saved? We read in the scriptures of the conversion of thousands (Day of Pentecost) and then just one (the Ethiopian eunuch). There was no New Testament, and without doubt none of them would ever see one. What they needed to know was simple.

Nobody's denying that. I said I agreed with that, but that's just referring to salvation. We're talking about growing in knowledge AFTER salvation, to know the truth that will set us free. Jesus said that we'll continue in His word, if we are true disciples. That doesn't just mean that we'll keep "learning" about salvation over and over, and never go beyond that. Everything I've said has been backed up by the word but you don't seem to be listening.