It seems to me that many Christians make the mistake of looking in the Bible to see if it says something they want it to say instead of looking in the Bible to find out the many things that it says.
For example:
Matthew 3:16-17
16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. |
Some people are looking for the Bible to make statements about the Trinity, they see these verses, and say it is talking about the Trinity.
People that let the verses speak for themselves say it is talking about how God in heaven is sending the Holy Spirit to Jesus, the Son of God.
The verses do not say Jesus is the Spirit, the verses say the Spirit came down from the heavens and touched down upon Jesus.
The verses do not say Jesus is God, the verses say that the voice from heaven, implied to be God, said that Jesus was His son and He was pleased with Jesus.
The verses do not say the Spirit is God, the verses say that the Spirit of God came down from the heavens, followed by a voice from heaven, which is implied to be God's voice.
If we are not handling the Word of God with an emphasis on the actual words written in the Bible, then we are mishandling God's Word, which leads directly to heresy.