The thing about you and I is that we both suffer from confirmation biases on this issue, and will thus both downplay scripture that problematizes our claims.
You’re ducking the issue with this denominational and/or bias cloak, and you are definitely confusing me with someone else:
My confirmation came when I received the Holy Spirit in ’92 alone in my apartment while I wasn’t even attending any church, and before I had any bias…so I have no denominational loyalty or bias of any kind, except a bias to the God who confirmed me with his Spirit and birthed be through the scripture while I was alone. And the commission God gave me that night upon his confirmation of me, sent me to a group of friends who did belong to a denomination, who did have very strong bias, as their parents were very high up in the leadership of that denomination. In fact, I didn't find a church for myself until 5 months later and after I had read the bible, esp the NT and the Pentateuch.
After 5 months, I attempted to be baptized and met with a Baptist pastor during lunch on a work day. He said he would agree to baptize me then and there, but only if I agreed to come back on Sunday and be baptized again in front of the congregation. I was thunderstruck and stated I didn’t care if the whole world was witness to my baptism, but that I didn’t see a reason to be baptized twice in a week. I disagreed because I had no bias other than the scripture, to the point that I walked out and left without being baptized at all, and went back to work.
When I arrived back at work, a Christian woman (who knew I was going to be baptized) asked me how it went. After I explained what happened, she said, “I know a pastor who will baptize you today.” So I asked her to arrange it after work. After talking with him and explaining my testimony and what I interpret the scripture as saying, we determined we were 95% on the same page. And he’s been my pastor ever since, even though we still do not see eye to eye on everything.
And that church, the very one I have been attending for 19 years, is an inter-denominational church. I have no loyalty other than to the scripture. I have NOT rejected denominations, rather the biases of those denominations have rejected me, even though I can go to any denominational service and feel at home to worship God, whether it be a protestant service or a Catholic service.
I was born to God through the testimony of the bible. I am rejected by many denominations because my loyalty is to the scripture and not to their man made rules. And even though I am willing to be tolerant with man made rules, I will not allow them to turn scriptural commands (e.g. baptism) into a promotion that honors the number of converts a denomination has gained, which is what the Baptist preacher was doing by his insistence that I be rebaptized in front of the congregation, he wanted to bring glory to the works of his church. But that’s what man made rules do – they honor the works of man and denominations instead of the grace of God. I belong to an interdenominational church because I myself was born to God alone in my apartment, apart from denominational influence and apart from biases.
Any attempt to do accuse me of a bias only allows me to trump it with my testimony, and that testimony is perfect and without flaw because it is not a recanting of my actions but rather is my eyewitness account to what God did. And that is why this accusation of yours, that I am blinded to scripture by a bias, is so easily trumped by my testimony of God.
My testimony was discounted at first by those to whom I was sent, because their denominational bias stated you had to be baptized before you could receive the Holy Spirit, and since I wasn’t baptized at the time I claimed that I received the Holy Spirit, they didn’t believe it. But their objection was refuted by the example of Acts 10:44-48 which shows some converts receiving the Holy Spirit before they were baptized.
Others have made other objections that were just as easily refuted. No one has ever been able to find a single issue with my testimony, and I have been vindicated of every attempt to ascribe a motive or bias to it. So, you can take issue with me for my obvious sins, but you will not be able to accuse me of having loyalties to a bias before scripture, because my testimony was a product of the testimony within scripture and is what gave me my respect and loyalty to those same scriptures. And my loyalty to those scriptures has been evident to everyone on this board. And that loyalty led me, even from the beginning, to testify contrary to the beliefs of the woman I loved and contrary to the beliefs of the families of my closest friends…I was newly born Christian without a church, but I was willing to stand before their church's leadership and preach the truth to them, risking all bonds of friendship and turning the world that I knew upside down. And although painful, I did so in love and with an eye towards something of greater worth than this world. And I did so unwillingly at first– at first I ducked my commission and attempted not to make any further contact with them (much like Moses or Jonah, who attempted to duck commissions they saw as unpleasant), but within a week I would answer their phone calls and spill the beans.
So, I have proven I am more than trustworthy and willing to dissolve any bonds for the sake of truth; therefore, any attempt to ascribe to me a bias against scripture is futile:
Isa 54:17 “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.
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