Learn to Discern

Learn to Discern: What Is Biblical Christianity?

2 Comments / February 13, 2017 March 4, 2017

We really cannot learn to discern before we have a biblical definition of Christianity. There are so many warped, perverted, and bizarre religions out there taking on the name of Christ that it is almost unimaginable. But which is the true religion? As believers, we know that the Bible teaches that there is only one way for us to be reconciled to God (John 14:6). And we know that the Bible–from Genesis to Revelation–tells us the beautiful story of God’s redemption of man and that it gives us all we need to live a righteous and godly life (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So what does God’s Word have to say about believers? How does Christ define a true Christian?

Please, please keep in mind as you read the essay below that these are the things true Christians desire. They will never be perfected on this side of heaven, but growth will take place and be evident in believers as we mature in Christ. As John MacArthur says–it is about direction and not perfection.

This essay is in direct opposition to much of the popular religion called “Christianity” today. I am well aware of that. But, as usual, while I hate to make people upset or angry, I am loyal to the Word of God, first and foremost. And this is what the Word of God teaches about Christianity.

This post is written by my brother, Pastor Dean. I will write a bit more about him after the essay, for those that are interested. Now here is his guest post–

TRUE CHRISTIANITY

Who is a Christian? A quick Google search will tell us that the leading world religion is Christianity, numbering 2.1 billion people. Since the world population is 7.5 billion, almost one in three is classified as a Christian. But I am reminded of the words of Jesus who said many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord . . . and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:22-23). The important point here is that self-classification is not the determining factor in answering the question who is a Christian? So perhaps we should ask who is a true Christian? Or rather, who does Christ classify as a Christian? That is the determining factor. Jesus said two things in the above quotation about false professors: (1) I never knew you; and (2) you work iniquity. No ungodly person unacquainted with the new birth will ever enter heaven. But let us consider positively what defines, according to Christ, a true christian.

(1) A TRUE CHRISTIAN HEARS THE WORD OF CHRIST – Jesus said: Everyone that is of the truth hears my voice (John 18:37); My sheep hear my voice (John 10:27); He that is of God, hears God’s words (John 8:47). This is the most basic attribute of a true Christian. He receives, believes, trusts, obeys, and delights in God’s Word, namely the Scriptures (Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119; Matt. 7:24-27; John 8:31-32; 17:8; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Thess. 2:13; James 1:21). This is called faith. The person who is apathetic, defiant, or careless toward Scripture is not a Christian according to Christ.

(2) A TRUE CHRISTIAN BELIEVES IN CHRIST – Jesus said: This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent (John 6:29); He that believes on me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life (John 6:47-48). In view of the context of these verses, to believe on Christ is to believe at least two things about Christ. First, it is to believe that he is the Son of God, sent from the Father, and second, that he is the one who laid down his life, as the spotless Lamb of God, as an atonement for our sins. A Christian is one who has trusted in Christ alone for the forgiveness of his sins. He has been justified (declared righteous) by grace, through faith in the blood of Christ. He has been reconciled to God and, as a result, is at peace with God (Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:10-26; 5:1; Col. 1:20-23). Anyone who has not called upon the Lord for the forgiveness of his sins, through the blood of Christ, is not a Christian.

(3) A TRUE CHRISTIAN FOLLOWS CHRIST – Jesus said: My sheep hear my voice . . . and they follow me (John 10:27). In another place he said: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it (Matt. 16:24-25). Jesus said these words immediately after rebuking Peter for denying that he (i.e. Christ) must suffer and die. It is as if Jesus said, Not only must I go to the cross, but so must you. These words of Jesus are not a call to asceticism or martyrdom, but rather a call to regeneration. In order to live, you must die –to yourself, to sin, to your own desires. This saying of Jesus is closely related to Paul’s words in Gal. 2:20: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. You cannot be a Christian without dying to yourself. When we were born again, we died with Christ and arose with Christ (Rom. 6:2-4), therefore we are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of God (Rom. 6:22). We now live to please God in everything we do, say, and think. A Christian does not do this perfectly, but it is his desire. The person who is fundamentally living for himself, following his own dreams, pursuing his own pleasure is not a Christian, according to Christ.

(4) A TRUE CHRISTIAN HAS THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST – Jesus said: I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you (Jn. 14:16-17). Paul wrote: Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Rom. 8:9). A true Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit and where the Holy Spirit dwells there will be evidences. The Spirit produces holiness in the life. By holiness I do not mean merely morality. Many unbelievers are at some level moral. Holiness is an inward delight in God, his Word, his will, his plan, and his people. This holiness can further be described as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Gal. 5:22-23). Of course a true Christian is by no means perfect in regard to these qualities and in fact he daily struggles with sin in his own heart. But where this holy character is fundamentally lacking we can be certain the Holy Spirit is not present. Such a person, according to Christ, is not a Christian.

(5) A TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVES THE BODY OF CHRIST – Jesus said: By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another (Jn. 13:35). Jesus was not merely speaking of a general love for people. He was referring to love within the body of Christ. A defining mark of a Christian is love for fellow-believers. John wrote: We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren (1 Jn. 3:14). A true Christian serves the church of Jesus Christ. He bears the burdens of fellow-believers. He attends upon the preaching of the Word and the Christ-ordained ordinances in the context of the local church. A person who does not delight in God’s people and forsakes the gathering of the saints, is not a Christian by Biblical standards.

(6) A TRUE CHRISTIAN PERSEVERES IN CHRIST – Jesus said: If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed (John 8:31). There are many who seem to follow Christ for a time. This was true in Christ’s day (John 2:23-25; 6:66), it was true in the Apostle John’s experience (1 John 2:19), and it is true today. There are many who ostensibly receive the Word with much joy, but then wither at the first sign of persecution, or become, over time, utterly choked out by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13:18-22). Such are not true Christians. They make take the name, but they are not classified as Christians by Christ. A true Christian perseveres through trials, difficulties, failures, temptations, and struggles. He may fall down a thousand times, but by the grace of God, he keeps following Christ.

Jesus said that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven we must enter by the narrow gate and walk by the narrow way (Matt. 7:13-14). We are told that we must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Jesus said that many will seek to enter the kingdom but will not be able (Luke 13:24). These are sobering words. Yet his promises are as sure as they have ever been. He has given us everything we need in his Word for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3-4). Let us be prayerful, humble, diligent, trembling, faithful, believing, obedient, life-long students of the Word of God, for this is the means by which God keeps his children (Proverbs 2:1-22). This is how we look to Christ.

Finally, a Christian is one who loves Christ. We love him because we know that whatever good is in us is the result of his work. If left to myself, I would be lost. But Jesus saved me. This is a true Christian.

Dean Good is pastor of a congregation in Ohio, where he lives with his wife and teen-aged daughter. I have known Pastor Dean his whole life, being his older sister (by just 17 months!) Aside from a few rough junior high years, he has been one of my best friends for my whole life. But the thing that sets Pastor Dean aside from almost anyone I know is his love for the Word of God. Even as a boy, he demonstrated a love and loyalty to the Word that was remarkable. Since that time, his knowledge and love have only grown greater. He is not perfect–he would be the first to tell you so–but he is very dedicated to the preaching of the Word. I am so thankful for his willingness to help with this series. If you would like to listen to any of his sermons you can find them here.

You can find all the Learn to Discern posts here on this page.

Learn to Discern: Introduction

21 Comments / February 6, 2017 February 8, 2017

I have found myself wondering recently what my grandmother would think of the church if she would be here now. She died twenty-six years ago–two weeks before my first daughter was born. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, I don’t think we truly realize how much things in the mainstream church have changed in those years. But what if she could come back for just a day? How clear would the changes be to her?

I guess it is rather like when we haven’t seen a child for a few years. To those who are living with the child, the changes are so subtle and imperceptible that they are hardly noticed. But to someone who hasn’t been with the child, the changes are radical.

I believe that this is exactly what is happening now. The changes to the church have been profound and inconceivable and yet so many of us don’t see.

Why is this?

I believe it is for primarily four reasons–

1. We don’t know the Word of God. There is serious biblical illiteracy in America today. This is from Al Mohler’s post on the subject—

Researchers George Gallup and Jim Castelli put the problem squarely: “Americans revere the Bible–but, by and large, they don’t read it. And because they don’t read it, they have become a nation of biblical illiterates.” How bad is it? Researchers tell us that it’s worse than most could imagine.

Fewer than half of all adults can name the four gospels. Many Christians cannot identify more than two or three of the disciples. According to data from the Barna Research Group, 60 percent of Americans can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. “No wonder people break the Ten Commandments all the time. They don’t know what they are,” said George Barna, president of the firm. The bottom line? “Increasingly, America is biblically illiterate.

How can we discern if we don’t have any idea what we are comparing the false doctrine to?

2. We don’t care. What I mean by not caring is not a blatant and hostile disregard for the truth, but rather a distracted, apathetic disinterest towards truth. We are busy with other–seemingly more important–things. Things like jobs, education, the arts, sports, church, family, health and fitness, hobbies, vacations. These are all good things, but when we allow them to consume all of our passion, time, and enthusiasm then we are left too drained and exhausted to be concerned with God’s Word and what it says.

(How do we fix this? There is an easy solution! Time spent in God’s Word, diligently studying it, eliminates apathy towards the truth.)

3. We have been brainwashed to believe that truth is not absolute. Even those of us who call ourselves Christians will fall for this if we aren’t careful. I have heard Christians say things like this:

“That book was such a comfort to me, how could it possibly be wrong?” and “This book really helped me understand who God is”–even though the books in question were blatantly and clearly against what scripture teaches.

“How can you argue against so-and-so’s experience?” regarding someone’s account that was in direct opposition to the Word of God.

We have allowed truth to be defined by our subjective experiences instead of by the Word of God.

4. And, finally, we are afraid. I get this one. I truly do. It is no fun at all being the one who gets mocked because you point out that yet another book or movie or band is not biblical. And now it seems like there are far more that are not biblical than those that are. I agree that it is far easier to be ignorant of what’s going on in the church.

But are these excuses good enough? Will they stand up when we stand in front of our Holy God and give an account of our lives? Or will we one day deeply regret just how how deceived we were and, in being deceived, how we aided in the deception of other souls–both lost and saved–as well?

Sadly, the choice to discern can come with some heartache (see #3 below) and it will cost us in ways that hurt. And so we have to decide if we want to follow God or if we want to be popular; If we want to follow God or if we want to have our ears tickled; If we want to follow our perfect God or if we are going to follow imperfect man.

I have a great passion for the truth that was passed on to me by my father. He instilled this love for truth in the hearts of both my brother (Pastor Dean) and myself and, in many ways, the ministries that we both have are his legacy.

It is my hope that Growing 4 Life has helped you grow in your knowledge of the Word and in your love for truth. For this is why I write. It is with this in mind that I am going to start a series called “Learn to Discern”. What I hope to do through this series is to give you a broader understanding of what exactly is going on in the church (and the world) today, comparing it all to what scripture says.

So what is discernment? We hear this word, but perhaps you aren’t quite sure what it is. We find this definition on an excellent post titled Defining Discernment over at Grace to You–

In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.

And so it is my hope that this series will help you learn to run any new philosophies, trends, and methods through the grid of scripture. It is my hope that your loyalty to God and His Word will grow through this series and your loyalty to fallible man–whether they be preachers, authors, musicians, or friends– will be subjected to the Word of God, first and foremost.

The first two posts in this series will be written by my brother (Pastor Dean), who will first give us a definition of biblical Christianity according to the Word of God and, second, an overview of how this definition has been warped and twisted and perverted in what we call “Christianity” today. After those two posts, I will break it down by writing on topics that will {hopefully} give you greater insight. It is my hope and prayer that this series will be simple and understandable.

There are a few things to keep in mind as we begin this series–

1. We are all called to discern. Sometimes I will hear someone say something like this–“I don’t see that stuff. You just have the gift of discernment.” There might be some truth to that, but I would actually say that all of us–by diligently studying the Word and training our minds to compare all we hear and see with what the Word says–can (and should) become effective discerners. It reminds me a bit of evangelism–not having the gift of evangelism doesn’t mean we never have to do it. It may be a little easier for those who are gifted but it is something we all are called to do. The same principle applies to discernment (Hebrews 5:14; Philippians 1:9-11).

2. The only thing that matters is the Word of God. It matters not what I think at all. If you read this blog often, you will already know this but let me say it again– my opinion matters ZERO. Zilch. Not. At. All. I don’t want you to rely on me for truth. Or on Pastor Dean. Or even on your own pastor. While we are certainly able to learn and grow from the teachings of other men and women, our job is to search out what the scriptures say for ourselves, running everything anybody says through the grid of the Word of God (Acts 17:11). As believers, we must hold to the inspiration, inerrancy, and sufficiency of scripture. Each topic in this series will be studied in light of the Word as it has been traditionally interpreted since it was first written (2 Thessalonians 2:14-15).

3. Discernment is not popular. As you learn and your eyes are opened, you may be excited to share what you are learning. Please be aware that many people will roll their eyes, change the subject, call you things like harsh, unloving, or hyper-critical, and/or talk about you behind your back. Some will even grow angry with you. Walls will go up between you and friends whom you love. Just as trying to swim upstream feels impossible, so, too, does going against the flow of the mainstream church. Most people are very comfortable swimming downstream and the fact that you are swimming in the opposite direction–no matter if it is based clearly on scripture or not–makes most Christians extremely uncomfortable. Prepare yourself for this and make sure you are always loving, kind, and gentle as God gives you opportunity to discuss the things you are learning. And always remember that it is the Holy Spirit who opens eyes. Remembering this helps us to stay calm and to back away without rancor when someone just can’t see. None of this is worth a heated argument. It just isn’t. Walk away and pray. That’s the best thing we can do.

4. We can never judge someone’s relationship with God. As I give you examples of men and women who may have fallen for some of these false doctrines and philosophies, the inevitable, panicked questions will be —Do they know what they are doing? Does that mean they aren’t saved? I can tell you up front and right now that I don’t know. There is really no way to know if they have been deceived or if they are purposely deceiving. Only God knows the heart of a man (Jeremiah 20:12). My goal is to show how these philosophies have infiltrated the ministries of those in mainstream Christianity, as well as even many of those that are associated with conservative Christianity. I am not judging hearts, motives, or eternal destinies. Please keep this in mind.

5. What you do with this information is up to you. Some of you will be uninterested and ignore the series. Some of you will read it and grab hold of it and determine to not read or listen to anything by anyone who you know has compromised. And others of you will try to walk the fine line of sorting through the good and the bad as you continue to do the Bible Studies or listen to the sermons of those who are teaching false doctrines. I cannot tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I do. When I become aware that someone is teaching false doctrine, I eliminate them from having any input into my life. This has been my practice for a very long time. I do not have enough confidence in myself to believe that I would be incapable of being deceived. I never want to knowingly subject myself to anything that doesn’t agree with scripture. Just as I would never eat a brownie or a bowl of soup that contained even 1% poison, so I choose not to knowingly ingest anything into my mind that contains 1% poison.

It is my hope and prayer that this series will be a great blessing to those of you that really want to understand what is going on. And may I humbly ask you to pray for me as I work on this series? I feel the weight of such an important series in this current day and age. I don’t want to lead anyone astray but desire only to lift high God and His Word, while exposing the evil darkness that is cloaking itself as “wonderful” and “good” in the church today.

If you are still here and reading after this unusually long post, I thank you. Have a great day!

(p.s. This series will be presented on most Mondays over the course of the next few months, as my schedule allows. Thursdays will be reserved for normal Growing4Life posts.)