Some who claim so stridently to be true disciples based on their obedience to every jot and tittle and even tittes that aren’t there have missed this…I don’t even have any other commentary on this point, just these words from Jesus,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35
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Those people will of course claim that by “correcting” your error and saving your soul, because a Christian must follow every jot and tittle perfectly without misunderstanding or be damned to hell’s eternity, they are showing you love. This “love” apparently allows them to be harsh, condemning, back biting ogres who treat others to whom they disagree, with the utmost disdain.
What ever happened to the entire 14th chapter of Romans, which tells us how to deal with those we disagree?
Amen to that Bruce…people will say Romans 14 is only for disputable matters that Paul mentions (holy days and what kind of meat one can eat) and that now that we have the NT, there are not really disputable matters like those. The theory is, if we all just read the same Bible we will pretty much all come to the same conclusions. That proves not to be the case in reality.
I am not sure if “back biting ogres” is sufficient, but I know what you are talking about. Having been condemned to hell multiple times for having different opinions from the official ones, I have wondered if that is love, what does hate look like?
I think that some people consider the two verses you quote as being too simple. Some people still want to make Christianity a faith full of rules and very complicated. It is really a pretty simple faith.