Jon Thompson

Eighteen years ago I became convinced that the Bible is the Word of God and that it's the final authority on matters of doctrine and understanding God and His dealings with men.

I began reading the Bible from Genesis believing it was the Word of God. I read with an open mind to learn what He wanted from me. I decided to accept what God caused His prophets to write in the Scriptures and use His instructions as the standard by which to judge all doctrine and beliefs.

After six months of independent reading I decided to attend church to learn from and associate with more mature believers. I found a Bible-based New Testament church.

The first few weeks at the church went well. The messages they taught came from the Scriptures. But as I met with the pastor and elders, I found that they didn't accept the words as they were written in the Scriptures, instead, they interpreted meanings that didn't seem to agree with the text.

I questioned them as well as my own understandings. They said my confusion was because I was a new believer and that I would grow to a better understanding as I kept coming to church. The written Scriptures seemed clear. I went to the pastoral staff with questions such as:

The Scriptures say to keep Passover forever, why don't you keep it?
God says that pigs and shellfish are abominations and shouldn't be eaten, why does the church have an annual “pig roast” and feast on meat forbidden by God?
The seventh day was set apart as the Sabbath at creation, why do we meet on Sunday instead of Saturday? When and why did it change? Can you show me in Scripture where we are told to change the day we set apart?
Why is it clear that followers of God were commanded to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in the Old Testament, and again in Revelation, but you don't?
The Prophets say keep the judgments, statutes, and commandments of God, so does Jesus, but you say we don't have to keep them anymore, why?

The answers they gave me didn't line up with Scriptures. I decided to give priority to the written Word of God over what the church people told me. I follow the written Scriptures, understanding that the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah, are the foundation of all Scripture. I measure all writings and teachings by them.

“Behold, the days are coming, says YHWH,
when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
. . . I will put My law in their minds,
and write it on their hearts;
and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Jeremiah 31:31,33b