I have been pondering this witness for some time and after discussing this with the TL, I hopefully embark upon it as the smoldering embers of incorrect doctrines taught as commandments of men is as big of a problem as Vatican Inquisitions in taxing the Faith of the Christian.
All thought is bias. I reveal my bias in my Christian training of being a "German Lutheran" or as they are known in America, the Missouri Synod Evangelical Lutheran.
Without bias and sound judgment, the greatest human after Jesus the Christ was Martin Luther, the Israelite Germani who rose up and freed Christ's flock from the chains of the Vatican.
After Christ and Luther, the third greatest human is the American George Washington who chosen by God, nurtured God's replanted Israelite exiles in Joseph to fulfill the Biblical blessings on Manasseh by Jacob and Moses in this peculiar people known as Americans.
The German Lutheran, except for Luther not recording the "Thou shalt not make graven images" and recording two covet commandments instead to take it's place, as I suspect he was for keeping the cross of Christ about the Church, is one of pure Christian teaching, in being Evangelical, Pentecostal, Holy Ghost fluent and Christ oriented in the coming Kingdom of God in all it's doctrines and creeds.
It is the Law which guides in discipline and it Grace which saves in Christ Jesus alone.
Having sinned and know my imperfections, I do not desire a teaching which has me having to do all sorts of other things to be saved. "He that believeth, and is Baptised, shall be saved", is enough for any human to handle in believing Jesus is thee only Son of God and only through Him as Creator in His paying for your sins in His laying down His Life and taking it up again, and washed and regenerated in that blood, one is transformed from a human soul to a child of God.
That is why when I see bias in small scale as one must be dunked in water and not sprinkled or one must not drink wine at Communion and only grape juice or one requires witnesses in the teaching of Christ, that grave situations take place in religion becoming a wall against people being saved.
I quoted the Baptism verse, but Abraham to King David were never Baptised and yet in Faith they were saved as they believed in Jesus Promise that He would come and redeem them in the future.
Baptism is a washing from sins and a regeneration in Spirit. God seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and Truth. He does not seek offerings of expensive things, but to HARKEN AND OBEY HIM.
This witness may not seem a great deal as most will not have ever dealt with it, but it is a facet that does exist in Christian dogma. Paul and the early disciples did speak of those who witnessed Christ after He arose, speaking to those they were trying to convert. The problem is though witnesses as in sheep Abraham provided to a gentile or the shoe of Boaz to a cousin for Ruth and her Mother in Law's property are outward signs like circumcision, as a periphery as in thee most important of days in Keeping the Sabbath apart as in Saturday literally as a sign one is a child of God.
It is the inner sign of the heart though in Faith which is the one which is of consequence. One circumcises the heart and not the penis alone.
Romans 9:30, 31, 32, 33 explains a great deal
What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The reality in witnesses can be distilled down to Matthew 7:2
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
People who have problems with alcohol do not want it around in Communion. People who have problems with a great deal of sin need to be drown in water almost to feel clean instead of sprinkled. People who have problems with believing God at His Word need to have witnesses or to poke their fingers in the holes in Jesus body like Thomas.
Think of it this way, in someone who lives their entire life needing witnesses or needing proof and not just Faith in Christ as Christ sent the Apostles out on their Commission, that they appear before Christ's Judgment Throne in not having accepted Christ's message alone, but an expanded Paulite recording in Corinthians in his attempt to convert unbelievers by stating there were witnesses to Christ arising, as this group would not believe in Faith of the words of Paul alone, and this person is before Christ and Christ plays back the life story of this person, and the person relies on a group of people who say they attended Church and other Christian things............
Jesus then says, "I was not enough that you needed witnesses?"
What happens when Jesus brings forward a thousand people who remember the day you punched them, flipped them off, leered at their spouse, and a host of other Commandment shatterings.
What happens when in the balance this person has 6 people saying you are a Christian and a thousand people say you were not acting Christian when you were being an ass?
Do you understand in that how relying on witnesses that the same witnesses will be used against you.
Think of the relying on not dancing, because that founder of that religion got aroused rubbing up on other people to their basis of salvation, when a Muslim covering women in a pile of wool is just as justified, as both exclude Christ as the only Key to Salvation.
Muslims teach Jesus is a great Prophet, but you need Muhammed and allah to find Paradise, and the non dancer Christian needs non dancing and Jesus as a thing on the side for the bias they have.
None of that says that not doing things that cause you temptation should be stopped, but it is the reality that one requires Christ for their personal Salvation every time, and one founds Salvation on Christ, and does not found religions on problems with sex, alcohol or need for witnesses, because of personal doubts.
The Gospel or Good News is about what Jesus taught. His Gospel was not about Jesus, but a Gospel which will shock most people in His Gospel from the Father was the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
That Gospel is one of Christ as head as Savior of the redeemed who prove they Love God by keeping His Commandments, repenting when they fail and trusting in Jesus as their only Door to being saved to be in one Spiritual Family with God by the Holy Ghost uniting all in Faith.
In I Peter 4:18, the Word is the reality in And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?, so I do not want any more obstacles for me or anyone else to be saved. Jesus made the Way as simple as possible as satan makes it as difficult as possible.
A very long while ago in my walk of Faith, being saved, I like most Christians doubted salvation for the sins I had committed, but on that Sunday in Bible study the Holy Ghost led me to a verse in First John,
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. I John 3:20
That is ther reality in all of this, in a Christian heart is always finding a way like Luther to refine and become more perfect in Christ, but the sinner thinks their heart is perfect like Cain and they are doing God a favor for acknowleding Him.
People must always be careful in their bias, that nothing gets in the way for their salvation as Faith in Christ is thee only Way as He is the only Truth for thee only Life which He gives. It is worse when someone teaching their own bias interferes with others walks in Faith in keeping them from Christ, hindering them or assisting the devil to break the bond with Christ.
My dad was adept as quoting Scripture to get his way in "honor thy father", but never seeing about provoking children to anger to discourage them. He was the perfect example of Karl Marx writings of the people in power using religion to keep people in line.
My Mom was likewise someone of Marx example in she relied on religion to suffer through her ordeals, which makes people victims.
It was a great lesson in hell for me, and in God's Love, Jesus carried me through to the Wisdom of God by the Holy Ghost, after years of misery and trials with hours of reading the Bible and praying to understand.
I heard recently a wonderful quote by George Washington which was, "The British people are free to walk between the walls they build".
Jesus came as Liberator to free every person from the dogma of satan, in releasing all who believe to build their Faith upon the Chief Corner Stone of Him. Jesus did not come building walls of "in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men", but Jesus came with a Responsible Liberty that you just try daily to follow God's Commandments and trust in the blood of Christ paying for sin, as you grow in the Holy Spirit Comfort and Guidance to be more like Christ.
People who build walls, build themselves religious prisons whose end is hell. Witnesses are part of a teaching to appeal to those who can not like Thomas rely on Faith of the Word. They are not Jesus though as He is His Own Witness.
Thomas was allowed to doubt, but it was those empowered or blessed Jesus said, who believed without seeing in only hearing. Thomas was not allowed nor did he found a religion where people had to poke their fingers in Jesus wounds before they could believe.
The Gospel is about Faith and Righteousness is accounted for believing God in what God says.
Do you really want to rely on witnesses for you at the Judgment?
My plan is to not face Judgment in being recorded in the Book of Life where Christ is my only Advocate.
agtG 229
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Revelation 20:12
