The "Light Doctrine"
There is a doctrine spreading the church derived from a thought that people well only be judged by what they know of the Gospel. The generally consensus, as I see it, is that God will not judge people by the parts of the Bible that they do not have full understandings of.
On the surface, the thought of the Bible supporting a Light Doctrine does entice. I'm sure many of us would like to believe that our loved ones, who probably don't see all the Truths we do, will not be accountable for their fallible doctrines and teachings. None of us want to see anyone not make Heaven their home.
I've heard people bring forth the thought of the Light Doctrine on a few different occasions, even if they did not bring it up by name. I recall watching a video of a baptismal service on Facebook sometime ago where the pastors of a congregation baptized the converts "in the name of the Lord Jesus". While I was in agreement with their proper application of the name of Jesus during water baptism, I was a little tossed off at how the pastor's wife spoke to the congregation after (or perhaps before). Basically she said that baptizing in Jesus' name was "what they saw to be true," but that those that baptized in the titles were not necessarily wrong because they had not yet been enlightened. She also said that some of the best services they (as in her family, who were once a traveling musical ministry) were in were in churches where they baptized in the titles. If memory serves me correctly, she differentiated the two methods of baptism as "titles" and "Jesus' name". If could be wrong.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that this doctrine, like many fallible teachings cluttering our churches, is contradicting. At what point does the Light Doctrine end? If a child molester dies without knowing Jesus or the Word, does he die saved and therefore go the Heaven because he know not what the Bible taught? Many adhering to the Light Doctrine would be quick to condemn such a person to hell for never turning from their wickedness of harming small children.
Have any of you ever come across this?
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I am Apostolic I believe in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism.
I believe in water baptism by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
I believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
I believe in living a holiness lifestyle, inwardly and outwardly, without which no man shall see the Lord.
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