Study

True Study of the scriptures Is…
I think history is very important and I enjoy reading some historical events when it is based on sound reasoning. In fact, the inspired word of God is our true and factual history book. It has been interesting and surprising to me that some men think they must go out to other men's writings to prove their personal applications of the inspired word of God.
The Lord taught in Isa. 1:18, "Let us reason together......” Notice He said "Let us", that is those of the faith. He didn't say go out and reason with certain other men to gain our support and to prove our doctrinal understandings. Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim. 2:15 to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Paul didn't say to study to prove ourselves to others, but study to shew ourselves approved unto God. Paul was referring to studying God's inspired word; not some man named Turtullian and his ideas or some other man's writing and beliefs.

If Paul was referring to other writings than the inspired word of God, then God's word is not a thorough furnisher and its own interpreter. Other men's writings would make God the author of confusion and we know this can't be true. Other men's writings do not always harmonize with God's revealed word. Mine may not either, so I ask all who read the things I have written to be as the Noble Bereaeans, and study the scriptures to see if these thing be so.

Scripture doesn't mention a man named Turtullian, but a man named Tertullus is mentioned in Acts 24:1, 2. This man Turtullus was an accuser and a prosecutor of Paul before Felix. Tertullian (155-230) denounced Christian doctrines he considered heretical, but later in life adopted views that themselves came to be regarded as heretical. He was the first great writer of Latin Christianity, thus sometimes known as the "Father of the Latin Church". Tertullian was a Romanized African. This man obviously, and according to history, was unstable in the word of God and certainly was not a true follower of Jesus in his day. Why would we even want to go search for a man of his unstable character to try to prove to God's people today their view on any doctrine of the true church?

I have noticed during my attempts in study with PB brethren during the last twenty years that there are some who have their own preconceived ideas of scriptural doctrine, and almost always go "out of the scriptures" for other men's ideas of doctrine, many of who were of worldly religions and not of the church of Jesus Christ, to try to gain support for their own positions. If not so serious, this type of an attempt to gain support would be laughable. But it is serious and reveals the weakness in man to lean on other men rather than the Holy Ghost for revelations in the scriptures. However, when a man doesn't believe he needs additional special spiritual revelation from heaven above in order to believe and understand the revealed word of God, he either leans on his own understanding for he doesn't know where else to go, so he goes out to other men's writings to gain their support for his doctrinal ideas. If the regenerated heart of Matthew 19:28 is not all that is needed to study and understand God's word, then there are lot's of preachers who are either not regenerated or they are using the wrong nature to study and understand God's word, because quite a few preachers have many different ideas and beliefs as to what certain scriptures teach.

The Apostle Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Rom. 8:14) Paul also said, "For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;" (1 Cor. 12:8) I conclude that many men of God need to pray for the Spirit of God to commune with their regenerated heart in order to gain knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in the word of God. Allen Cook 9/27/07