Over the last three years I have
heard some very disturbing statements made by those who either already are or
are planning on entering the ministry and will be placed in positions of
authority within God’s Church. I agree that we are all on a journey in our walk
with the Lord, but I would like to challenge us all to be a little more cautious
with the words we choose to use. While we laugh and shake our heads at some of
these, statements like the following are very destructive and can easily lead
someone into believing a false gospel. This is also a good reminder to us all
that, regardless of an individual’s educational background or position of
authority, we should always go back to what God’s Word says.
1. Revelation is Not Meant to Teach Us About the End…
Honestly, I am not even sure
where to begin. The individual who made this statement continued by saying that
Revelation is meant only to give us hope. While God’s Word does give us hope,
it also gives us an order of real life accounts. This is akin to saying that
the Bible is not meant to teach us about Jesus or that the Old Testament was
not meant to teach us about the history of Israel. This thought stems from the
idea that we cannot know for sure how exactly the events of the end times will
unfold. I agree that we will not fully
know everything that will come about, but we can know the order of events accurately. [Click here to read my full response written in a previous blog.]
2. The Angel in Revelation Preaches a Different Gospel…
Doesn’t this sound a little
heretical? Yeah, I thought so too. Especially since the book of Galatians
begins by stating in 1:8 that “…even if we or an angel from heaven should
preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be
accursed.” The individual who said this was attempting to use Revelation 14:6
as his justification, but this is a very skewed interpretation of the passage
given the fact that the context is all about Jesus Christ. Also, part of the
angel’s proclamation in verse seven was an exhortation to worship the Creator
of the universe [i.e. Jesus (Col. 1:15-17)].
3. All You Need to Do is Believe in Abraham…
The exact quote was, “I am so
glad to know that as long as people are believing in Abraham they are saved.”
To give some context, many
missionaries take years to learn the native language. They then take another
year of teaching the Bible to the people before they even arrive at the name of
Jesus which is presented in the New Testament. Therefore, it is an emotional
challenge when someone dies in the middle of this process before the missionary
reached Christ. So, what happens to the individual who, as far as anyone could
tell, was believing the message but died before they could hear about Christ?
This is a very hard discussion
but, rather than jumping to emotions and speculation, let’s first go back to
what we know from God’s Word. First,
we know that no one can be saved
apart from believing in the person of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Second, we know that all believers have been baptized
into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Thus, if you do not
have the Holy Spirit then you are not part of the Church and are not sealed by
Him (Eph. 13-14). Finally, we know
that three thousand Jewish people believed the Old Testament [way more than just
Abraham] and they were not saved (Acts 2:37-41) because they asked Peter what
they should do to be saved which implies that they were not.
I do not mean to sound cold, but we
cannot have assurance in that
individual’s eternal destination in this scenario. Thus, we shouldn’t assume
that they are saved even if they were believing everything being taught up
until the day they died. Faithful attendance to a Bible study does not get
someone into Heaven. Believing in Adam, Noah, Abraham, even the twelve tribes
and apostles will not change a person’s eternal dwelling place. The only hope
that anybody has is to believe in the risen Son of God (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
Thankfully, it’s not for us to know who is and who isn’t saved. Will we see
that person in Heaven because “God knew his heart?” Maybe. But, again, we should
always go back to what we know from
Scripture and what we know is that
there is only one Name by which we can be saved and that’s Jesus (Acts 4:12). So,
if someone is dying and you have the opportunity, even if you’re only to
Abraham in the chronological Bible lessons, why take the chance? Go ahead and tell
them about Jesus while there’s still time.
4. You Do Not Need the Old Testament…
A pastor of a very large church
in the United States has reiterated this idea repeatedly to his congregation
over the past year. He also believes that the Old Testament is full of holes
and contradictions and that you do not need to believe in a literal reading of
God’s Word. Honestly, there is too much I could say in response to this episode
of false teaching. Both the Old and New Testaments are perfect and without
error.
The major fact that this pastor
has forgotten is that the New Testament writers were preaching the Old
Testament. Yes, there was some additional information given, but the epistles
are meant to instruct the people on the examples of the Old Testament and the
fulfillment it has in Christ. Also, since the Church did not begin until
Pentecost (Acts 2), the entire Gospel account [Matthew, Mark, Luke, John] is
technically placed within the Old Testament.
5. God Will Never Be Displeased with You…
If this is true, where then is
the need for repentance (Acts 2:38)? Confession (1 John 1:9)? Yes, God will
never love or value you more than He does because His desire for you is
infinite, but that does not mean that He is always pleased with us. Does God
take pleasure in our sin? James 4:6 is talking to believers and says that God
opposes the proud. 1 Peter 3:7 says that our sin can hinder our prayers.
Ephesians 4:30 states that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. While we cannot
influence our position in Christ, I would argue that we can very much hinder
our fellowship with Him.
6. Jesus Came to His Other People in the Americas…
This is actually Mormonism, not
Christianity. Jesus did not come to America after His resurrection nor does He
have another people. Israel is His chosen nation and the Church is His chosen
body.
7. Michael the Archangel Placed Jesus Into Mary…
This is an interesting one since
Michael the archangel is not mentioned anywhere near the birth of Christ. The
text says that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary (Luke 1:35) which implies no
action taken or even needed by the angelic beings. Again, it’s very dangerous
to add to Scripture what is not expressly stated. [Click here to read my full response in a previous blog.]
8. Fearing God Just Means Respecting Him…
This is a very common belief in
the Church today. Many will add that “fearing God” just means to be in awe of Him
but, sadly, this misses the point. Respect and awe are good things and we
should definitely have that disposition and reverence to God. After all, it is
God we are talking about. The problem is that these two attitudes do not go far
enough and, due to our culture of love and comfort, we have created an
imbalanced view of God in our minds.
When God killed Ananias and
Sapphira it says that great fear came over the whole Church (Acts 5:5, 11). I
have a feeling that this fear of God was more than just a casual, “I really
respect You, God.” More than likely these believers were terrified. Yes, they
loved God and He loved them, but it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the living God (Heb. 10:31). Or what about the parable of the Talents in
Matthew 25 where one of the servants says he knew the Master was a “hard man”
and was “afraid” of Him? Think about the churches of Revelation. God spoke some
pretty harsh words in order to straighten them out. Yes, God is love but we
should be careful not to elevate one attribute above the others when His Word
also talks about His justice, wrath and anger.
9. God Will Judge You for Seeking Him Too Much…
Honestly, I am not sure where
this statement even comes from apart from the lies of the enemy. God’s Word is
emphatic that His people are to seek Him with all of their hearts (Jer. 29:13).
Jesus Himself says that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Therefore, I am not
quite sure how it’s even possible to seek God too much since He requires our
all.
10. Bibliolatry…
This is the newest scary
statement that I have added to my collection and it is wreaking havoc on the Church
at large. It is a lie the enemy is using to get Christians out of their Bibles
and into the world. It comes in under the guise of thinking we can learn more
about God and His truth from other outside sources. It presents the individual
with a false sense of justification for not seeking to know and love God with
everything we have and are. It is the lie of Bibliolatry and the evidence of
its reality is the existence of this post. The fact is that the mass majority
of Christians today do not know God’s Word. Why? Because Satan has tricked us,
and we have fallen prey to his schemes. The belief in Bibliolatry has led to
Biblical illiteracy.
Google defines Bibliolatry as: an
excessive adherence to the literal interpretation of the Bible. Is it
even possible to have an "excessive" adherence to the literal
interpretation of the Bible? If one were to have an "excessive"
adherence to the literal interpretation of the Bible they would be the godliest
and most loving individual, confronting sin rightly, managing their time
wisely, having a heavenly mindset and loving people! They would not be
misinterpreting or misapplying Scripture because they would have
"excessively" applied themselves to the study of God's Word. In other
words, it's impossible to adhere to God's Word too much.
This is not addressing the motive
of some who believe that their knowledge of the Bible will gain them entrance
into Heaven rather than faith in the work of Christ. This is worship of self as
you trust in your own efforts and knowledge and the worship of anything other
than God is idolatry – not Bibliolatry. Bibliolatry is not addressing motive [i.e. why are you studying God’s Word] but simply the action [i.e. you are studying God’s
Word].
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