A person does not become a Christian by learning a lot about the Bible. The devil knows the Bible better than anyone and he will go to hell along with all the Bible scholars who thought they would gain heaven by their knowledge or their good works.
Ephesians 2:8-9
"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
Those who are born again, having been changed by Christ after having faith in Him, will do good works but they are not saved by the works, they are saved by Christ because of their faith in Him.
Many people who are highly educated in the Bible and have attended Bible schools and seminaries securing a degree to be able to be a hireling by church gatherings, will go to hell for their trust in their education and degrees.
Never at any time did God say we must get a formal education by the hand of human beings, He told us to trust in Christ, read His Word, and obey what it says after we are born again, to be able to become wise. This wisdom does not come from human institutions but from Christ Himself.
Ephesians 2:9
"Not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
Romans 12:1-21
"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. "
Nowhere in the Bible do we see a command to build a college to teach men for the ministry, what we do see is commands to seek the Holy Spirit for all wisdom.
John 16:13-14 "13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.…"
Next time someone says to you; "we need human teachers" just ask them if they believe the Holy Spirit is a better teacher than a man. Then ask them if they believe the Holy Spirit speaks to everyone who is born again. Then ask them if they believe the Holy Spirit comes to live in each believer with all His gifts and fruit.
Believe me, we have teachers every one of whom is fallible, yes we enjoy some of them, but we fully trust no one. Only Christ can be fully trusted to show us the truth.
Many preachers would tell us to never place our trust in Gold while intimidating us to trust in them instead of Christ. They live their lives acting as though we ought to trust in them first and then Christ. In other words, we are to interpret the Bible their way rather than interpreting the Bible the way God meant it to say.
God clearly said; "Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."
Jeremiah 17:5
"Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
Mark 7:13 "13Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”"
The modern church is so full of human traditions it is hardly recognizable when comparing it with the first Century church begun by Christ and the Apostles. The takeaway from this article is that we can listen to godly men while evaluating all they say by the Scriptures. Never place a man on equal footing with Christ, He is the only one we ought to elevate.
