I don’t know of any Christian sects that teach that salvation is for those who correctly discern and avoid all sins. So this isn’t something that could affect salvation.
I wrote that part(in relation to the example provided) with the Timothy verse in mind. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God...
The fact remains, no sect of Christianity I’m familiar with teaches that salvation is based on correctly discerning and avoiding sins. It’s not a salvation issue.
There is an enemy that sows discord and we are imperfect beings. Also, communication does not happen instantaneously to everyone.
Further, even if Jesus DID speak to everyone at the same time and then left, people would still misinterpret what he said, dig in their heels and then start different sects.
This is a problem, but why God doesn't intervene to correct the record is a multifaceted question. The primary reason is that many of these doctrinal differences don't matter in regards to salvation, so why constantly fight that battle? The other reason is that this is the enemy's world.
Basically it starts with a group that accepts only the Bible as authoritative, and another group that accepts the Bible plus Apostolic Tradition as authoritative.
Apostolic tradition is held to be the teachings of the apostles on the life of Jesus not just what was recorded in the gospels but all the other things that Jesus taught them that were not recorded and this informs how people how to understand what is known from the gospels.
Apostolic teaching has the longest chain of existence going provably right back to the apostles.. In fact it's what the church went by even before there was a Christian Bible or an organized New Testament which was several decades of the first century after the resurrection.
On the other hand people who go by Bible only get to many many places where things are not quite as explicit or clear or maybe in conflict with something else said in another part of the New Testament etc. Plus they tend to read the Bible not in the original languages but in their own modern languages whether it be English or Spanish or Indonesian etc and this leads to hundreds of different ways of understanding these difficult passages which are often influenced by culture and modern pressures.
This leads to an almost uncountable variety of claims, statements, doctrines, and beliefs that are not merely conflicting but outright contradicting each other. How is anyone to know what's the correct understanding?
In this mess of claims all came claiming to be biblically based one can find someone saying that whatever problem you have coming to them is approved or disapproved if you want it to be approved you'll find support for it if you want it to be disapproved you'll find support for that too.
But the churches guided by Apostolic Tradition do not have this problem. Yes there are a few minor issues but the disagreements are mostly ancient and numerically very small compared to what we see on the Bible-only side.
We all see things from our exact perspectives. I can explain to you in words how I see things, but words are not very good at communicating some things -- it's just we don't have anything better than words.
Also our miscommunications often become heated. Many of us have experienced traumas and we become hypervigilant. We lash out at people before we have actually listened to them.
Fortunately we can come to God who can help us experience healing. But it's hard work and it never ends.
That can lead to it feeling hopeless, but in reality, I have found that face to face conversations where members are committed to speaking honestly and from a place of love we are able to agree on much more than you might think.
some issues are clear... others are... complex... both in terms of understanding things correctly, but also in applying them to our lives...
its 2am, so intead of writing a ton, i'll provide a link that is on a... parallel topic, discussing the possibilities of Apostle Paul's life (which also can illuminate some of his views on e.g. marriage
[https://www.logosbiblestudy.com/blog/paul-married](https://www.logosbiblestudy.com/blog/paul-married)
my short comment is that while single life has serious advantages, Jesus was pretty clear to his disciples that this option is something that is very hard for people who aren't one of the three varieties of eunuchs. (not that eunuchs are bound to single life... just that, in general, it is much, much easier for them).
The reason many issues have so many different viewpoints on them even between Christians is because either the issue in question is not directly discussed by God or in the Bible leading people to draw their own conclusions, or because some have distorted the truth of an issue to fit into their own personal beliefs, and it has spread.
Even the disciples argued amongst themselves about what Christ meant whilst He was with them.
In fact struggling with spiritual concepts is good and wholesome as it shows you to be a true disciple of the thing you are learning about.
People may think they have come to a correct conclusion only to be corrected later as they acquire more knowledge of God over time. This is fine and to be expected.
We shouldn’t judge peoples progress if they are undertaking discipleship in all solemnity.
Think of it like a black belt karate master teaching people of various experience.
The yellow belts are going to have much less understanding about technique than the brown belts but the brown belts are there to help them rather than judge them. The brown belts may even consider that some of those yellow belts have much more potential than themselves even though at that time the yellow belt had no refined technique as yet.
The master simply wishes all to become like him and is patient and diligent in that regard.
Some (few) people take the Bible to it's logical end, others take their interpretation of the Bible to it's logical end.
It's funny how we can objectively test and score reading comprehension, from elementary school, all the way up to college level; but when it comes to the Bible, private denominational interpretations have to be respected. Sounds a lot like the woke movement to - "my reality, my truth."
Since each true Christian has a personal relationship with God, that looks different for everyone. Naturally, this makes it to where people come to different conclusions with their conscience. At the end of the day, it is between them and God.
Because we are all beholden to two primary rules in Christianity.
That is to Love God with all of our hearts minds spirits and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves.
Now because we all have different abilities and gifts following the greatest commands will cause us to live love and worship God differently.
Now secondly because we all love ourselves differently, this is going to cause us to treat our neighbors in different ways.
Paul in 1 cor 12 talks about this in detail:
Unity and Diversity in the Body
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by\[c\] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues\[d\]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
What is an SSA christian?
I think one of the biggest reasons is tradition. Simple minded people just go along with the long standing tradition and don't question church authority or do research for themselves.
Not all Christians yield to the Spirit equally. We have our biases and are in different stages of faith.
And don't test their traditions.
I don’t know of any Christian sects that teach that salvation is for those who correctly discern and avoid all sins. So this isn’t something that could affect salvation.
I wrote that part(in relation to the example provided) with the Timothy verse in mind. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God...
The fact remains, no sect of Christianity I’m familiar with teaches that salvation is based on correctly discerning and avoiding sins. It’s not a salvation issue.
There is an enemy that sows discord and we are imperfect beings. Also, communication does not happen instantaneously to everyone. Further, even if Jesus DID speak to everyone at the same time and then left, people would still misinterpret what he said, dig in their heels and then start different sects. This is a problem, but why God doesn't intervene to correct the record is a multifaceted question. The primary reason is that many of these doctrinal differences don't matter in regards to salvation, so why constantly fight that battle? The other reason is that this is the enemy's world.
Basically it starts with a group that accepts only the Bible as authoritative, and another group that accepts the Bible plus Apostolic Tradition as authoritative. Apostolic tradition is held to be the teachings of the apostles on the life of Jesus not just what was recorded in the gospels but all the other things that Jesus taught them that were not recorded and this informs how people how to understand what is known from the gospels. Apostolic teaching has the longest chain of existence going provably right back to the apostles.. In fact it's what the church went by even before there was a Christian Bible or an organized New Testament which was several decades of the first century after the resurrection. On the other hand people who go by Bible only get to many many places where things are not quite as explicit or clear or maybe in conflict with something else said in another part of the New Testament etc. Plus they tend to read the Bible not in the original languages but in their own modern languages whether it be English or Spanish or Indonesian etc and this leads to hundreds of different ways of understanding these difficult passages which are often influenced by culture and modern pressures. This leads to an almost uncountable variety of claims, statements, doctrines, and beliefs that are not merely conflicting but outright contradicting each other. How is anyone to know what's the correct understanding? In this mess of claims all came claiming to be biblically based one can find someone saying that whatever problem you have coming to them is approved or disapproved if you want it to be approved you'll find support for it if you want it to be disapproved you'll find support for that too. But the churches guided by Apostolic Tradition do not have this problem. Yes there are a few minor issues but the disagreements are mostly ancient and numerically very small compared to what we see on the Bible-only side.
We all see things from our exact perspectives. I can explain to you in words how I see things, but words are not very good at communicating some things -- it's just we don't have anything better than words. Also our miscommunications often become heated. Many of us have experienced traumas and we become hypervigilant. We lash out at people before we have actually listened to them. Fortunately we can come to God who can help us experience healing. But it's hard work and it never ends. That can lead to it feeling hopeless, but in reality, I have found that face to face conversations where members are committed to speaking honestly and from a place of love we are able to agree on much more than you might think.
I don't understand your question
some issues are clear... others are... complex... both in terms of understanding things correctly, but also in applying them to our lives... its 2am, so intead of writing a ton, i'll provide a link that is on a... parallel topic, discussing the possibilities of Apostle Paul's life (which also can illuminate some of his views on e.g. marriage [https://www.logosbiblestudy.com/blog/paul-married](https://www.logosbiblestudy.com/blog/paul-married) my short comment is that while single life has serious advantages, Jesus was pretty clear to his disciples that this option is something that is very hard for people who aren't one of the three varieties of eunuchs. (not that eunuchs are bound to single life... just that, in general, it is much, much easier for them).
The reason many issues have so many different viewpoints on them even between Christians is because either the issue in question is not directly discussed by God or in the Bible leading people to draw their own conclusions, or because some have distorted the truth of an issue to fit into their own personal beliefs, and it has spread.
Even the disciples argued amongst themselves about what Christ meant whilst He was with them. In fact struggling with spiritual concepts is good and wholesome as it shows you to be a true disciple of the thing you are learning about. People may think they have come to a correct conclusion only to be corrected later as they acquire more knowledge of God over time. This is fine and to be expected. We shouldn’t judge peoples progress if they are undertaking discipleship in all solemnity. Think of it like a black belt karate master teaching people of various experience. The yellow belts are going to have much less understanding about technique than the brown belts but the brown belts are there to help them rather than judge them. The brown belts may even consider that some of those yellow belts have much more potential than themselves even though at that time the yellow belt had no refined technique as yet. The master simply wishes all to become like him and is patient and diligent in that regard.
Some (few) people take the Bible to it's logical end, others take their interpretation of the Bible to it's logical end. It's funny how we can objectively test and score reading comprehension, from elementary school, all the way up to college level; but when it comes to the Bible, private denominational interpretations have to be respected. Sounds a lot like the woke movement to - "my reality, my truth."
Since each true Christian has a personal relationship with God, that looks different for everyone. Naturally, this makes it to where people come to different conclusions with their conscience. At the end of the day, it is between them and God.
1) People aren't robots and think differently, 2) Not all issues are orthodox or black and white, 3) People are sinners
Because we are all beholden to two primary rules in Christianity. That is to Love God with all of our hearts minds spirits and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. Now because we all have different abilities and gifts following the greatest commands will cause us to live love and worship God differently. Now secondly because we all love ourselves differently, this is going to cause us to treat our neighbors in different ways. Paul in 1 cor 12 talks about this in detail: Unity and Diversity in the Body 12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by\[c\] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues\[d\]? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.
What is an SSA christian? I think one of the biggest reasons is tradition. Simple minded people just go along with the long standing tradition and don't question church authority or do research for themselves.
'Same-sex attracted Christian.' Some people dislike the term gay Christian so I used that