IMO, God's Scriptures are God's.... and therefore true.
That Scripture contains Law and Gospel. Both are true.
The Law has two primary roles (one in justification and one in sanctification - both in the narrow sense).
The first use (for justification) is to condemn, crush, defeat us.... to drive us to our knees..... to force us to realize we are deprived, deplorable SINNERS who deserve nothing but death and hell. "NOTHING in my hands I bring" (except SIN!). If one reads the Law and thinks, "Holy _______ am I in a LOT of trouble!!!" then the Law has done it's work.
The second us (for sanctification) is to guide us, to show us the will of God, to show us what will bless our lives on earth and those of others, to be a "light" for our walk on Earth. Such cannot justifiy us.... we cannot do this perfectly.... but the issue here is not justification but santifiction. It is good for me to love others exactly as and to the same extent that God in Christ loved me when He died for me..... it is good that I am morally perfect as God in Heaven is morally perfect..... and the Law calls me to grow in such. "Not that I've already attained it," Paul writes, "But I press on to make it my own."
And yes, Scripture also teaches Doctrine. I think what God says in His Scripture is very likely true since it's God saying it (and I suspect NONE knows about the things of God better than God does - certainly not some denomination or me!). Yes, I think what we say about God and the things of God should reflect what God says. One individual person, parish or denomination CAN say "There are flying purple people eaters on Mars" but IMO they can't say "God says that" or even that it's true (simply because self says it)... now if they bring back a flying purple people eater that they captured on Mars - that would likely be sufficient support but usually we don't have that sort of thing for Christian Dogma. I don't think an individual denomination can rebuke another (say the LDS) for making stuff up if the rebuker has done exactly the same thing.
Thank you.
Pax Christi
- Josiah
