Originally Published: 2014/11/02
There are a great many people in the world that lay claim to the title, “Christian”, yet know little or nothing about The Bible. They know what they know about Jesus, about God, about His promises and requirements from listening to someone else. Some of those teaching preach solid, biblical lessons – some preach lessons designed to comfort their audience. They pick and choose passages from The Holy Word, taking them out of context and making them mean what they want them to mean to promote their own views of life, Jesus, and God.
This is not new. It was going on in the first century church. Paul cautioned several of the first churches not to be mislead by those preaching a bastardized theology mixing The Way with The Law. Those acknowledged that Jesus was the son of God, and that salvation came through Him: but they also wanted to adhere to parts of the Mosaic law. They wanted an integrated theology that clung to the sacrifices and festivals of the old law yet claimed Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. To many of the day: Jews by birth, raised in the Jewish traditions, this version of the gospel of Jesus felt familiar, comfortable, acceptable. But it was wrong.
Modern Theology
Today there are many who will preach God as Creator and Jesus as Lord, but they preach from an edited Bible. They want to remove or ignore certain admonitions and add permissions to tailor God’s Word to the lifestyle they desire to promote. This is the work of Satan.
The enemy has been among us since the time of Adam and Eve. Satan, formerly Lucifer, and his following of malcontents inhabited the Earth since long before mankind came to be. Satan enticed Eve then Adam into sinning, and has been busy doing the same with all humanity throughout humanity’s existence.
Satan does not subvert God’s work by refuting it, but by misguiding God’s people. A small twist of the truth here, a tweak there: small things that compound. Soon there is just enough truth to sound right, but so much lie that God will not honor it. God does not honor any theology but His own.
The Bible tells us that this has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen. It describes the time of judgment when mankind comes before Jesus. Those who openly rejected Him will not be surprised by their fate, but:
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
Matthew 7:20-23 New King James Version (NKJV)
Nor will Jesus accept the excuse of, “But I was mislead, you can’t blame me. You can’t condemn me because of what they told me.”
How can we, as individual people, know if we are hearing truth or fabrication? We are told time and time again in God’s Word that we are to seek the truth, seek knowledge, seek God. We do that by reading The Bible for ourselves. Read what it says, lay aside preconceived notions and look to see what The Book says. As we learn, more will be revealed. When you find you are being misled, step away from that source and follow the path of truth.
Do not allow yourself to accept bastardized theology. Do not seek guidance from those who mislead you. Be wary of popular trends and churches that seek to appeal to the masses:
Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
James 4:4 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because[a] narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
Do not lean wholly on the understanding of another, seek the truth for yourself. Read The Bible, study God’s Word and seek the narrow path. Seek life.
All over the world, nearly every denomination is quibbling about “interpretation,” “discernment,” and “clarification” of issues the bible is firm and clear on. No issue concerning the morality of any act changed after Christ, only the method whereby the faithful received restoration for their broken relationship with God.
As someone who believes in the priesthood of the believer (that the only intercessor between ourselves and God is Jesus Christ), I do not accept “enlightened” interpretations of “what the Bible really means” that directly contradict what it says- every time- without exemption.
Without a clear definition of sin, the church has no moral standing whereby it can minister to the lost, or its own congregations.
In today’s world, there are few who acknowledge evil. You are someone special, someone who discerns. “Seek out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
I hope and pray that the time until NPC flies under the flag of a denomination that has the same disposition on these issues as its members is brief. Sin loves idleness.
Also, side note to that post…certainly miss seeing and talking with you and Marie. I am getting a dog as soon as the house is cleaned up, and I will make sure and let you all direct me to a companion who needs me most.
Thanks for the affirmation, Chris!