June 1, 2011 – Numbers 16

I haven't read the whole chapter yet, I've just gotten through the first three verses, but doesn't this sound like what a nondenominational group would say to the Catholic Church. You have a group that is tired of following the rules set down by one that has authority. " Enough from you the whole community all of them are Holy the Lord is in their midst why then should you set yourselves over the Lord congregation " 16:3. This sounds very similar to the understanding that I don't need an authority to tell me what to believe. I have the Lord, the Holy Spirit, to guide me in any type of interpretation or belief that I need to be saved. The whole idea of a religion and rules set down by someone is such a restriction on my ability to fully practice my faith and have a relationship with Christ that I cannot be a part of any religion. I only need my relationship with Christ and that is it. So let's read on and see what happens to those who feel they have Lord in their midst and don't need an authority to guide them.

So the Earth swallowed them whole into the nether world and those that were with them and were consumed by fire from heaven. I just find it's so incredibly hard to understand why people believe they don't need some authority to guide them in their religion. It is complete arrogance that allows a person to understand that they can understand thousands of years of Scripture and theological understanding on their own and rely on their own interpretations and relationship with Christ for their salvation. Throughout the Scriptures God sends leaders to guide the people. It makes no sense that when Christ left he would not have established some authority on Earth to continue his message. To believe that you do not need an authority or religion or guidance is not biblical. And to say that you could have relationship with Christ without some guidance on who Christ was or what he taught or understanding of the Scriptures is just foolish. You cannot have a relationship with someone if you do not know who they are and you cannot know Christ on a personal level issue don't fully understand what Christ taught. And if you're relationship of Christ is based on the of Christ you believe taught something and that teaching is contradictory to someone else's teaching on what Christ taught, then you don't know Christ because he is Truth and cannot contradict himself. Without Truth, and absolute truth, you cannot have Christ or any real understanding of Christ, and without understanding and knowledge of Christ you cannot have a relationship with him.