To me, this answer to this question is obvious. No, sunday school is not wrong. Recently, though, I came across a minister who was mad at churches that had sunday school, because... and these are the exact words... "it is unbiblical". I'm not going to tell you what denomination he was, because I don't believe all people under a single denomination have the EXACT same views. For example, another minister told me that baptisms didn't represent repentance of sins. It represents Jesus raising from the dead. Umm... I'm no biblical expert, here... but I believe John the Baptist was baptizing people in repentance of their sins. HE didn't know Jesus was going to die and raise back to life. If anyone has ever heard of these 2 beliefs of currently believes them, could you please explain to me what I'm missing? Thank you.
The man was correct there is no such thing as Sunday school in the bible as there are no instructions for many of denominational programs such as missionaries. As every believer is a citizen of heaven and is in a foreign land. However here is what the bible says about religious things not mentioned in scripture.
Romans 10:17 �So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 14:23 �And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
God has everything included in his word that he wants for all to do that will honor Him and we are told when a person is born again He or she is already made complete for every good work. All we do is rightly divide God's word so we won't be ashamed. 2nd Timothy 2:15
Colossians 2:10 �And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Also the word of God is complete for complete instruction in righteousness to please God.
2 Timothy 3:16 �All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 �That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
dear jf, he is right in the sense that it was not taught as part of the church in the bible.. but
it is also not wrong unless there is a woman to be teaching it and he feels that the bible is against that..
as for me as long as its not in the main congregation a woman teaching the men.. then im not against a woman teaching women and children ,youth in sunday school.
some folks may..
as for the baptism, some believe that it is a symbol of your faith.. and that as you are laid down in the water that represents JESUS being laid down, as in his death.. and then the washing of your sins and as you are coming up it represents JESUS s resurection.. ..
then again some believe that it is a part of ones salvation ,rather youre not saved till you are baptized as well..
as for me i think its a very important thing to do as soon as possible after you accept JESUS as your personal SAVIOR and are saved. notice i say after you are saved.. that is my belief..
Cattle and TomLane: I can understand that it isn't mentioned in the Bible... that part I get. But to think we shouldn't have it simply because it doesn't exist in the Bible seems wrong to me. That's kind of like saying that... since soup kitchens weren't in the Bible that they shouldn't exist. The Bible, as far as I know, doesn't give a play by play explanation of how we should conduct our gatherings. Sunday school is an excellent tool used to help spread God's Word to other believers.
"as for me i think its a very important thing to do as soon as possible after you accept JESUS as your personal SAVIOR and are saved. notice i say after you are saved.. that is my belief.. "
I agree. I just couldn't believe he denied the symbolism of repentance. He DENIED it. That is what blew my mind.
Garrett, here is something for you to think about. God has stated he has given believers all the instruction necessary to be pleasing and honoring to the Lord.
2 Timothy 3:16 �All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 �That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Please notice God has given us complete instructions that will throughly, that means completely furinish the man of God to do all good works. How much plainer can it get then that?
Is the serverant wiser then the Master that he has to go by his own beliefs instead of God the creater of everything?
If you stop and think about not believing God and thinking you can improve upon what he has given us to live by faith then we are in reality calling God a liar and the truth is not in us. I included myself so I have to be careful what I believe and walk in. If I can't prove it by scripture then I don't do it.
1 John 2:4 �He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
God has also made it very plain that if we go ouside his word and do our own thing because of what we want to believe, God says that is sin.
Romans 10:17 �So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 14:23 �And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Thats is something to think about Garrett. We wouldn't have so much confusion in religion if believers would not fellowship with the unsaved and choose what they want to believe. People think that is faith. God I believe has made it clear, we are to walk in his instructions only. Then a believer will have a supernatural walk instead of walking in man's philosphies.
2 Corinthians 6:14 �Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
Colossians 2:7 �Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 �Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
TomLane: I see your point, but I think we are on two different pages. I'm not sure about sunday school classes YOU have been in, but the Bible is ALWAYS what is taught from in my sunday school classes. It is sound doctrine, therefore, since is comes from the word of God. Think of it as a bible study with someone guiding it along. Who better to help teach the word of God to people trying to seek Him than someone who has studied it before. That is what Sunday School is used for... not teaching human doctrine. It is all scriptural.
Garrett, you stated, "TomLane: I see your point, but I think we are on two different pages. I'm not sure about sunday school classes YOU have been in, but the Bible is ALWAYS what is taught from in my sunday school classes. It is sound doctrine, therefore, since is comes from the word of God. Think of it as a bible study with someone guiding it along. Who better to help teach the word of God to people trying to seek Him than someone who has studied it before. That is what Sunday School is used for... not teaching human doctrine. It is all scriptural."
Not to split hairs with you Garrett but sound doctrine only comes from the word. Sunday school was added by man's doctrine. Don't get me wrong its good to study the word together. What is wrong with Sunday school it separates children from their parents in worship. That is not a good thing.
In regards to going to Sunday School myself, I have never done that because I have never belonged to a denomination as God's word says sects and denominations are heresy. If they all taught the same things from God's word there wouldn't be any divisions between believers and they wouldn't be fellowshipping with the unsaved thus resulting in being unequally yoked.
2 Corinthians 6:14 �Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
1 Corinthians 1:10 �Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
It seems just about every believer thinks the denomination or sect they are worshiping in is the only one of few places that God is in. The trouble with this is that the moment we are all born again, made a new creation in Christ, the Lord adds us to his church {Acts 2:47} that is his body. All believers are living stones that build up a spiritual house {1 Peter 2:5} that is the only thing Christ has given us from his word for us to be in for fellowship and worship. Nothing more, when we go beyond God's word that is adding to His word and calling God an liar for if we believed Him we wouldn't be doing what we think will make us better organized.
Romans 15:6 �That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 16:17 ��Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 �For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple
Sunday school is a responsibility of parents and not a place to conveniently dispose of children during a service. This is just a further demonstration of the spirit of division.
Garrett, each and everyone of us is going to have all that we have done in our bodies, tried by fire. The gold that is left will be our service to Christ that is according to His word only, nothing less and nothing more. Anything we do religious that is outside of God's word will be burned up.
Isaiah 55:11 �So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Romans 10:17 �So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
I hope that might get you to thinking more the way God sees things. That is my hope for you.
God I believe has made it clear, we are to walk in his instructions only. Then a believer will have a supernatural walk instead of walking in man's philosphies.
mine here
i may be wrong but isnt what youre doing here now the same as someone who is teaching sunday school? youre putting your own intrepretation of the word of GOD and teaching others ? you say its wrong for them to teach that in sunday school but yet you are doing the same thing here far as im concerned..
ya see youre using mans philosphies ,your own .. if not youd just be using only scriptures straight out the bible..
you have to be careful when you make statements that someone is sinning for teaching the word of GOD.
"i may be wrong but isnt what youre doing here now the same as someone who is teaching sunday school? youre putting your own intrepretation of the word of GOD and teaching others ? you say its wrong for them to teach that in sunday school but yet you are doing the same thing here far as im concerned..
ya see youre using mans philosphies ,your own .. if not youd just be using only scriptures straight out the bible..
you have to be careful when you make statements that someone is sinning for teaching the word of GOD."
Thanks Cattle. You put it perfectly. Tom... here is two examples... straight from the New Testament...
Acts 2:14-47
(Peter teaching to a crowd... aka UNBELIEVERS)
(He uses scripture... AND his views of what the scripture means)
You may be asking yourself... "Wasn't Peter a direct disciple of Jesus, though? THAT gives him the right to do so."
Ok then. Let's look at Paul. HE KILLED CHRISTIANS!!! This is a man as far away from Christ as possible. Guess what happened when God called him. He taught others. The Christian killer became the author of every book between Acts and Hebrews! How is this any different than God appointing someone who is studied in the Word to teach Sunday School?
You say not to be yoked with unbelievers. I'm not sure you understand how Jesus used this term. Let me explain. A yoke is a tool used to control an animal. Farmers used them for cattle, etc. Jesus called us to take HIS yoke upon us. He wants US to follow HIS orders.
This is how YOU put it:
"If they all taught the same things from God's word there wouldn't be any divisions between believers and they wouldn't be fellowshipping with the unsaved thus resulting in being unequally yoked."
You then went on to quote 2 Corinthians 6:14. You are understanding this wrong. To be yoked with an unbeliever is to follow the farmer who has yoked them... That means don't learn from their ways, but from God's way. Take HIS yoke. (see Matthew 11:25-30)
Next... Jesus himself had fellowship with unbelievers. Tax collectors, Pharisees, sinners... Are you saying Jesus is a heretic? Fellowship with unbelievers isn't wrong... but encouraged. What we have to be careful about is falling into their ways. We are to stay strong in OUR teachings from GOD so that we don't revert back to THEIR own ways. How else do you expect to reach unbelievers? Spend time with them... After all, we all know that the most important commandment is to love your neighbor. Jesus even went so far as to say, "Love your enemy".
I will have to say, though, that I agree, in part, with your statement regarding denominations. We shouldn't be so split up. I don't think this is what God wants and I don't think it is what Jesus wanted. We all need to believe the Word of God. Sadly, though, denominations exist. So, the question becomes... "What do we do about it?" Honestly... there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. It has gotten to the point where people are so wrapped up in whose denomination is right, that many have forgotten that we all serve the Lord. I am in no way saying MY denomination is the only right one. It's not. I don't completely agree with all of the fine print. I will tell you, though, that I don't "follow" my denomination. I TEACH in it. I teach God's Word in it. I am using the "denomination" to teach others what God wants them to know. Then, hopefully, they will see this, too. When I talk to people, I don't pay attention to denomination. I just listen. I go back to the Word. I think about what it says versus what he/she said. That is how I live out my faith. A faith not grounded in the world... but in God.
I hope this is enlightening for you. I want to thank you, as odd as it may seem, for testing me. It is refreshing. If you have any more questions, just let me know, brother.
dear jf, i think we have different denominations because we have different intrepretations as to what some things mean in the bible.. its not so much that the people dont believe the word of GOD but that they each understand it differently on some points..
