The Worst Things To Do When Debating Scripture

Welcome. Today we will be going over a few different mistakes we can make when discussing the scripture with others. When we are doing this, there is always a change that we can become emotional, egotistical, or confused. I hope that this will help to further out theological revelation as we discuss the scripture with logic, understanding, wisdom, and love.

Example:

• Bob: According to this verse, the Feast of Trumpets is not today.
• Mike: According to this verse, it is.
• Bob:" No, this verse says it is not today.

We will pretend that Bob is right; the Feast of Trumpets was not on the day he had that debate with Mike. But what did Bob fail to do? He failed to address Mike's interpretation of the verse he used. Here is what he should have done.

• Bob: According to this verse, the Feast of Trumpets is not today.
• Mike: According to this verse, it is.
• Bob: Actually in context, your verse says it is not today. Let's start at the beginning of the chapter....

That is the proper way to debate the scriptures. When we fail to address the other person's argument;

1. We fail to prove our own.
2. We look self-righteous.
3. We fail to see any mistakes in our argument or theirs because we do not see the reason behind them.

I'll admit that this happens to me a lot; when I see someone giving a false doctrine, especially if they are getting angry and making accusations, I will get angry and want to say a lot of different things. There is nothing wrong with being angry with false doctrines. But keep it under control.

Our emotions can cloud our judgment, and if we let it get to us we can not only make ourselves look bad but in making yourself look bad you will probably not convince anyone.

One of the best things about debating scripture is that not only can you convince others who are wrong that they are wrong, but sometimes you can be shown that you are wrong too, and the quicker that happens the better. Just like sin, when we are exposed to our wrongdoings all we have to do is ask for forgiveness and make things right. Correct your doctrines when you are exposed to the truth. If you are shown the truth and you do not accept it, then you are guilty of another sin.

And remember this; you are the believer. You are not God. Your word is not infallible. Even the disciples sinned in their lifetime. David, a man after God's heart, committed a sin when he had Uriah killed and took his wife. Moses, the one who lead the Israelites through the wilderness, sinned when he did not do exactly as God commanded when he did not show faithfulness to God when getting water from the rock.

Whenever you learn a doctrine, you gotta make sure it stands with the scriptures. My article on understanding the Bible shows a proper way to understand study the scripture. Even one misunderstood verse can create a lot of destruction. The Bible describes false teachers throughout the scriptures, and every time it ended in their downfall.

I hope to be doing an article specifically on the evils that false doctrines can bring. Here is an example of what one doctrine could do.

1. Bob preaches the prosperity gospel and preaches that the Bible says one day everyone will be rich. He uses verses in the Bible that were not about future prophecy and said that they were a future prophecy,
2. Mike believes it, but one day he stops believing in the prosperity gospel. But he still holds to the idea that the verses Bob used were a future prophecy and believes that they were not about money. He looks at other verses in the Bible and falsely connects it to those verses and says it is actually about condemning the rich, and that they will suffer.
3. John, a pastor, hears Mike's doctrine and agrees with it. In fact, he pinpoints an exact date for when this will happen and gets his congregation to prepare for it. The day passes and the rich are still rich. John is trying to make an excuse, and his congregation either believes him or some will fall away, either going towards truth or just spreading more lies.

We have to be careful when debating the scriptures. I hope that this has been informative. Peace and blessings and all praises to the Most High.