I see many hours of study, much thought, tremendous emotional energy, and a WHOLE LOTTA TIME is spent by several people on this site debating, discussing, arguing, trying to explain and convince each other to "switch teams" ( and does this ever happen?). My questions on this are : Why? What is the importance? Must one take a side (stance?)
Do these things affect my salvation, my relationship and walk with God? My witness and testimony in and to the world around me? Would God have any of us use up so much time with these? HMMMM! Should I spend as much time as I do doing just exactly what I'm doing now?....But That's another post sometime. Please send me to school on this. Let's make it High school Sophomore grade (Today's Sophomore) on the terms, concepts, and no fighting on this schoolyard.
You bet the Truth is important and that it affects your salvation. Do you want God’s Truth, or some religion’s truth? I want only God’s Truth. If you are not in God’s Truth, then you are in a man’s truth. Acts 5:29, "We ought to obey God rather than men". How do you think you can deal with sin in your life if you do not have the power and wisdom of the Truth? The relationship with Jesus is by His Word, it is a deep and personal relationship. Do you want a deep and personal relationship with the spirit of Calvin? Do you not know that false doctrines are from demons? 1 Timothy 4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
People teaching falseness are actually doing the work of the devil. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 Those who oppose him he must gently
instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil,
who has taken them captive to do his will.
Deuteronomy 4:2; 5:32, Proverbs 30:5-6 and Revelation 22:18-19 warn against adding to or detracting from Scripture.
We are exhorted to check out teaching against Scripture (Isaiah 8:20; Acts 17:11.)
Jesus says that tradition keeps man from God’s truth:
Matthew 15:6-9 Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are but rules taught by men.’”
Did you hear that? You
NULLIFY the word of God when we believe and obey in manmade commands.
The knowledge of God through Jesus Christ gives peace.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 2 Peter 1:2.
Here are many scriptures to support debating.
Acts 9:29
He talked and
debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.
Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into
sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
Acts 18:28
For he
vigorously refuted the Jews in
public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Acts 19:8-9 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months,
arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate: they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them.
2 Corinthians 3:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to
persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope that it is plain to your conscience.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Galatians 1:10
Paul opposes Peter. See Galatians 2:11-21
Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Philippians 1:7-8 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or
defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:3-4 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may
command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith.
1 Timothy 4:6 If you
point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
2 Timothy 2:25-26 Those who oppose him he must gently
instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
2 Timothy 4:2-4 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season;
correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
Titus 1:9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can
encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Jude 3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to
contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
Acts 4:20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.
I cannot help speak about what I know about Jesus. So, why are you even in a debate group if you do not know why one should spend so much time speaking the Truth?
:laugh: 
