So That Bible Answer Man Was Not Saved?!

I remembered when I became a born again Christian that I simply hungered for more teaching but soon listened to several Bible programs that had something fishy going on. Either they were all love and no preaching against sin, some of them were prosperity gospel preachers and some say that if I have a question then ask him. It is time to deal with reality that there are people who know the Scriptures but they are not saved. While saving knowledge is really necessary to be saved but possessing that knowledge alone does not save.

I thought of how persons who claim to be a "Bible Answer Man" are not saved. Sure it is possible to know a lot of what Scriptures have to say, quote Proverbs, talk about the different details of the Bible's stories, know where to find this and that in the Bible but they are not saved. Do you remember the Pharisees? The Pharisees knew a lot about the Old Testament Scripture. Today, we have Roman Catholic priests and pseudo-Christian cults who may have read the Bible cover to cover but they do not apply the saving knowledge of salvation. The Roman Catholic institution still says that the Bible is relevant but they try to insert their own tradition into the Bible even when it really contradicts their teachings. What is so sad is that these people can directly point to Bible chapter and verse but their doctrine of salvation is so screwed up.

I remembered certain Bible "answer men" who really were able to quote Scripture and verse but it turns out to be out of context. Issues like eternal security (which the Reformers called as the perseverance of the saints), assurance of salvation, salvation by faith alone and other crucial issues of salvation are being "disproved" by misquoting Scriptures. You may have Roman Catholic apologists and priests misquoting the Scriptures to justify their unbiblical practices like asking intercession from Mary (John 2:1-14), priestly celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) and the papacy (Matthew 16:16-18) to name some major errors in their syllabus. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (Manalo) have misused Isaiah 24:15, 43:5 to justify their existence. I can admire how they can easily point out to verses and text faster than the new converts but it does not make them right with their doctrine. "Easy Christianity" can go ahead and misuse and abuse Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 4:5 to justify the doctrine of the perpetually carnal barren Christian never mind other verses in the Bible shows that sanctification always succeeds salvation (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Instead of spending time reading conspiracy theories (and sad to say, some born again Christians are even conspiracy theorists) and allegations since we cannot be too sure of all of them and while some are proven to be true - it would be best to go for scholarly methods. It is important to actually invest time in exegetical studies of the Bible. If you know verses that are taken out of context then you should know how to take them into context. Reading the Bible daily and highlighting keywords, knowing the Greek, cultural context and writing styles would really help. Like for example, if the Roman Catholic apologist says, "See, God demanded celibacy in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35." then in taking it into context, one can point out the first nine verses and says, "But God said it is better to marry than to burn. That is why Catholic priestly scandals happen a lot." or "Have you not read 1 Timothy 3:1-17 and Leviticus 21:13 demands the priests to be married?" That way there is a more scholarly discussion than what most Christians fail to do today in the quest to debunk these so-called Bible answer men.