False Teachers

If I Shout Louder Than You, Does That Mean I’m Right?

3 Comments / June 24, 2020

Friday night we sat down to watch a very forgettable movie. It was based on a true story but it was disjointed, hard to follow, and, if I’m honest, pretty boring.

But sometime during that couple of hours, one of the main characters was having an argument with someone. As they loudly bickered, he finally stopped and said something very profound: “If I shout louder than you, does that mean I’m right?”

Don’t you feel like that’s what is going on? The people who are shouting the loudest are demanding they are right. They are ripping down statues and destroying property and demanding name changes and all others sorts of nonsense, in their quest to be acknowledged as “RIGHT”.

But they aren’t right.

It doesn’t matter how loud someone screams or how much ruckus they make or what kind of tantrum they throw. These things are irrelevant to what is right.

Interestingly enough, if we’d just stop and think for a moment and do our own research, we’d see that those who are shouting the loudest are, as a rule, against what is right.

Of course, we first have to know what is right. This can only happen through our knowledge of God’s Word. There is no other way.

Once we have a good handle on what the Word teaches, we then can discern if the latest, greatest movement or trend is a godly one. If it’s a right one or a wrong one.

But most people get stuck at the first thing. They don’t know what is right, nor do most care.

Do YOU care about what is right?

If you do, then you have a responsibility to dig in and see what’s really going on beneath the obvious before you choose where to stand on any issue–whether it be current events, a popular Christian author or speaker, or the latest trend.

Look past all that the media is spewing forth; look past the “Christian noise” (the deafening insistence of the many who are deceived and following the world); look past what you always thought was true. And then ask yourself “What is really right here, according to scripture?”

Over the weekend, one of my daughters told me of a conversation she had recently. The woman she was talking to told her the advice her father gave her when she was a girl: If everyone is going one way, you probably want to go the other. At the very least you need to investigate what’s going on before following the crowd.

What great advice. So few parents are teaching their kids this important principle. I, too, was taught that if it’s popular, it’s probably not right. If we understand this basic principle of the world, it will make discerning what’s right a whole lot easier.

Of course, what makes this so much more troublesome for us is our desire to be liked by others. We want to fit in, join the group, follow the crowd. To stand out is difficult and often painful.

Are you willing to pay this price? This is a question I have asked myself often. If we can honestly answer yes, then God will open our eyes to the truth and give us strength to bear up under the name-calling, antagonism, and loneliness. It’s not fun but it is so worth it.

I don’t know all that much about this world. But I do know the One who knows everything. And I choose to stand quietly with Him in the midst of all this noise, taking opportunities to defend what is right as He provides them. In the midst of all the compromise, in the midst of all the chaos, I don’t need to shout the loudest because God will fight for me. I don’t need to shout the loudest because I know how this ends.

 

 

Real Christianity

4 Comments / September 24, 2019

I was talking with someone recently and they were mentioning to me how most Christians seem to believe that the most important character trait any believer should have is that they are a “nice person”. While being nice is a good thing, being a Christian is so much more than just this. But, I, too, have found that “niceness” seems to trump telling the truth, forsaking the world, and even sharing the Gospel.

There is a real clash of philosophies going on currently. What makes it especially tragic is that this clash is taking place between two groups of people who would call themselves Christians.

One is right and one is wrong. We need to look in the Bible and study it to find out which is which.

It is only through the study of the Word that we can finally understand that Cultural Christianity is not Real Christianity. When someone calls himself a Christian, we must comprehend that there are two very different definitions for this word.

This became so clear to me as I prepared to speak on this topic last weekend for the women of a small Baptist Church. I thought I’d like to share some of what I learned here today.

What is Real Christianity? And how is it different than Cultural Christianity? Let’s take a look–

First, Christianity is based on the Bible alone. God’s Word is the authority for our faith, and this authority is derived from the fact that God has complete authority and He tells us that the Bible is His Word. (see I Thess 2:13; Romans 13:1; Matthew 28:18)

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Here we find a faith that is based on experiences, feelings, and emotions. We hear things like “God told me” or “God wants me to be happy”. The Bible quickly shrank in importance and influence as the focus of this false religion turned towards these things.

Second, Christianity is a rational, logical faith. It makes sense. It is based on a rational understanding of scripture. While there are some things that are mysteries to us, these things are not irrational. We are called to use our minds (and not shut them off) when we are saved. (see I Corinthians 2:16; Ephesians 4:22-23; 2 Timothy 1:7)

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Where we find a religion that is based on mysticism. Doctrine, Theology, and Bible Study are discouraged, as the focus turns towards the subjective and the sensual. It doesn’t have to make sense. Holy living and separation from the world is scoffed at and deemed unnecessary while special messages, visions, and impressions become the litmus test of true faith. A rational understanding of sin and repentance and salvation is irrelevant in a religion that makes experience the only thing that matters.

Third, Man is a sinner. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves right with God or to earn eternal life. (See Romans 3:10-12; Isaiah 64:6)

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Which teaches that man is basically good. The only thing he really needs Jesus for is to fix his problems. How often have you heard a CCM song or blogger talk about how beautiful and worthy you are? That is one of the easiest red flags to spot in cultural Christianity.

Fourth, Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone. There is no other way to God (John 14:6), it is not of works (Romans 3:27-28), and it must be understood and acknowledged by the person (John 3:16).

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Where we will find a variety of heresies regarding this. First, we will see many religions accepted as “Christian” that require works. Religions such as Catholicism, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses are clearly false, since they require works in addition to Jesus’s finished work on the cross. We will also find the heresy of Universalism, which says that all men are saved, whether or not they know Jesus personally. The author of The Shack has publicly acknowledged that this is what he believes and yet his books are still labeled “Christian”. That’s because it is a cultural Christian book but certainly not a biblical one.

Fifth, Christianity is God-Centered. Our choices, decisions, and life direction should all be based on what will most please God. We desire to submit to His will in all things. We are willing to sacrifice our own desires in order to live a godly life. (See Romans 12:1 and Galatians 2:20)

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Here we find a self-centered religion filled with mantras like “Follow your dreams” and “Find your purpose”. It is in this kind of Christianity, people rationalize their sin because they are their first priority. God is to bend to their wishes and desires and they call on him to do their bidding like one would call on a fairy godmother or magic genie.

Sixth, Christ calls us to live a holy and pure life. (I Peter 1:13-16). We strive to live a godly life filled with the fruit of the Spirit (Romans 12:9-12; Galatians 5:22-26), decrease sin in our lives (Romans 6:12-14), and to separate from the world (James 4:4 and I John 2:15).

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Where we find that relevance is all that matters. Separation from the world and holy living are viewed as negative and legalistic, while the “be like the world to win the world” is the only form of evangelism. (Which is obviously not working, by the way. Because this method is not found in scripture. Anywhere.)

Seventh, Christianity is about the cross. Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross for our sin and his resurrection and victory over death is the message of Christianity. It is what happened at the cross that makes us right with God and gives us the promise of eternal life. (see Romans 5:10, I Corinthians 5:18-19)

As opposed to Cultural Christianity: Where we find a false religion that is centered on finding personal purpose, understanding my worth, or making the world a better place.

 

And so you can so obviously see that, when we actually sit down and open our Bibles and do a comparison, these two religions–although going by the same name–are nothing alike. In fact, they are polar opposites.

One centers on God. The other centers on man.

One has a high view of God and a low view of man. The other has a low view of God and a high view of man.

They are two separate religions. Two separate and utterly different religions.

So don’t be fooled.

I encourage you to keep these differences in mind as you talk with fellow believers, evaluate materials for your home or church, bring in special speakers, choose what books to read, what pastor to listen to, or what radio station to turn on.

Be diligent, be steadfast, be cautious.

 

Test all things; hold fast what is good.

I Thessalonians 5:21

 

Sometimes Chairs Break

8 Comments / August 19, 2019

The other night I was sitting with a friend on a porch swing that has been in our backyard for many years. In my arms I held my youngest grandson in my lap and I was leaning him down in front of me and then pulling him back up to make him laugh. We were having a grand old time when, quite suddenly and without any warning at all, the swing pulled away from its anchor and we landed on the ground.

Other than a jolt to my back, we were all okay. I was so very thankful that, in God’s Providence, the swing had crashed when my grandson was up and not down. It could have ended much worse.

I rubbed my back a bit and my friend and I went on with our evening, but there was lesson in what happened and it did not elude me for very long.

Swings break. Chairs break. Things we have trusted to hold us sometimes don’t hold us. They may break quite suddenly, like what happened to me on Saturday night. Or they may slowly start to erode away in the elements until one day you realize the chair is no long trustworthy.

This same thing can happen with people. Leaders. Singers. Authors. Preachers. Pastors. Churches.

Just because they have been trustworthy for a million years does not mean that they are incapable of slipping or changing direction. We need to understand that just because someone has had a wonderful ministry for many years does not automatically keep them immune from making a bad decision or falling away completely.

I have especially noticed undying, passionate loyalty among certain camps within evangelicalism. There is a seriously unhealthy idolization of these men and women that breeds a serious lack of discernment.

Currently, the joining of the true teachers with the false teachers is taking place in all circles and camps. I can’t think of one that has not been compromised in this way.

While I have been watching this kind of thing happening in overdrive over the past few years from most corners of modern day evangelicalism, it’s now also happening with teachers I’ve trusted for many years to stand firm to the end.

What is going on? And why are they doing this? There is just no possible way to answer these questions.

However..

Just like we need to realize that sometimes we need to stop trusting the chair that holds us, so, too, we need to understand that men we have trusted for years are capable of leading us down a wrong road. When someone makes a really bad choice to partner with a false teacher or to say something that isn’t biblical or to promote a new age author, this should raise red flags– no matter who they are. It should lead us to be just a bit more cautious and a lot more watchful. Is this a one-time bad decision or is this a direction they are going? Only time will tell. But if we close our eyes to it, we are making ourselves so very vulnerable.

The fall I took when that swing dropped was a hard one and it could have been so much worse. It could have been avoided had we realized the swing was in need of repair. Sometimes we can’t see things coming and we are caught off-guard. But sometimes we can. If God opens our eyes to an inconsistency or false teaching or a bad choice by someone we have trusted, then we must be willing to face that fact bravely and without rationalizing it away.

Does this mean you never use the chair again? Not necessarily. Some chairs must be cast aside because they are beyond repair. But sometimes chairs can be fixed. Occasionally, someone will recognize their error and return to truth. This doesn’t happen often but it does happen. One bad choice or one partnership with darkness does not make a heretic. We don’t want to be head hunters.

The main point of this post is to challenge you to only be perfectly loyal to God and His Word. No man or woman deserves our loyalty to the point where we rationalize unwise and even sinful choices. No human deserves this kind of loyalty. (If they are truly following Jesus Christ, they don’t even want this kind of loyalty). I’ve said this often but I see this as a really big problem as we navigate this confusing time of compromise and wrong choices made by people we have trusted for so many years.

I am growing less and less enamored with anyone that has a platform. I see a huge level of joining together with false teachers across the board. Ecumenism is worming its way into all areas of evangelicalism. I can’t think of one that has not been affected.

So if you don’t take anything else away from this post, I beg you to remember this–

Sometimes chairs break. We trust them but sometimes they break.

This is a very important thing to keep in mind as we navigate the strange synthesis of those who have a history of adhering to biblical doctrine joining with those that clearly don’t.

Just in case you think I am a little over-the-top, I remind you of these important verses–

I Timothy 6:3-5 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the [a]doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 [b]useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. [c]From such withdraw yourself.

Please Note: We are to withdraw from false teachers–not invite them to conferences.

 

Ephesians 5:11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather [c]expose them.

Please Note: We are to expose false doctrines–not pretend like they don’t exist.

 

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Please Note: We are to turn away from those that pretend to be godly but don’t do things according to God’s Word–not join with them at conferences.

 

Romans 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 

Please Note: We are to avoid them–not quote them in our books.

 

Look, let me say one more time–I am not judging motives or hearts. But I think if we are going to be honest, we have to say there is something wrong here. Men and women who have taught that it is not right to join with false teachers are turning around and doing what they have preached against. It doesn’t Make. Any. Sense.

Get frustrated with me. Or call me negative. Or cancel your subscription to Growing4Life. None of those things changes the facts. Chairs are breaking and eroding all over the place and the only people that get ridiculed and bullied are the ones who actually acknowledge that it is happening and venture to ask a couple of questions.

There is no way to know who is making an innocent mistake and who knows exactly what they are doing and we can’t even begin to guess. But we should acknowledge that, for whatever reason, it is happening.

So stay in the Word and give your loyalty to God alone. Don’t rationalize away a bad choice. Acknowledge it and stay watchful. God is faithful and will keep us on the narrow path, if we but trust in Him alone to lead us.

 

The Common Denominators

4 Comments / February 25, 2019

What are the commonalities that all false religions share? If we understand these things, it will help us to easily determine if anyone’s religion is true or false–even those that would use the vernacular of scripture (God, Christ, etc.) It is important to remember that using the name of Jesus does not give any religion a free pass. Oftentimes–in fact, most times–they are not talking about the Jesus of the Bible.

My husband is currently teaching a series on world religions in our Sunday School class at church. He gives the history and then shows us how they differ from what the Bible teaches. Personally, I am finding it extremely helpful. I never really knew what these religions believe or how far off they were from scripture.

Today he talked about Jehovah’s Witnesses and something really struck me.  Let me give a bit of background first: The founder of the J.W. religion, Charles Taze Russell, just decided–as an 18 year old–that he didn’t care for what the Bible said and so he decided to just make up a religion of his own. Using verses out of context and twisting them all round, he came up with what would become one of the main cults of this current age, impacting at least 255 different countries across the world.

One of the things he didn’t like from the Bible was its teaching that men who rejected Christ would go to hell. And so he just changed it. In his religion there is no hell.

And this is what struck me: All false religions create a god of their own making and to their own taste.

As I thought on this further, I realized that they have more than that in common. Let’s take a look at four of these commonalities–

First, and foremost, they rely on works. A false religion always, always, always teaches that one must do something in order to attain heaven. Oh, some will say that it’s grace plus works (such as Catholicism and Mormonism) but there are always works involved. Whether it’s the meditation of the Buddhist or the idol worship of the Hindu or the five daily prayers of the Muslim or the praying to Mary or the Saints of the Catholics or the required door-to-door witnessing of the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses (just to mention a very few of the many, required works of these false religions)–all false religions require works. One cannot possibly be saved without them.

In contrast, consider the wonderful news of scripture! Ephesians 2:8-9 could not make it any clearer–

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

It is through faith in Christ alone that we are saved by God’s grace alone. No works. Nothing we can do. It is a free gift. Christianity is the only true religion and we can know this because it is the only religion where God reaches down and saves us of His own accord.

Prideful man can hardly fathom that he is so sinful that there is nothing he can do to reach God. And so he strives and works and wrongly thinks he’s looking pretty good in God’s eyes–when all he would have to do is simply repent and accept God’s gift.

Secondly, false religions turn to human wisdom and create a God of their own making. Instead of turning to the reliable Word of God, they turn to their own thoughts, visions, dreams, and minds to create and develop their own religion. Search the roots of any false religion anywhere and you will find a man who one day decided that he knew more about God than anyone else. A prideful man who thought he knew the truth.

This is one of the main reasons I just love the Word of God. Our faith is based on the Word, not on any man. The Bible was written by many men as the Holy Spirit directed them (2 Peter 1:21). And yet, even with so many different human authors, by God’s miraculous plan, this one book, upon its completion, was consistent and cohesive in every way. A never-changing guide for believers throughout all the ages. We can rest confidently on its truths and doctrines. God has given us His truth within its pages. He is King of the universe and it is our duty to obey. It is outright rebellion to determine that we don’t like this doctrine or that one. We are simply his subjects. All people are–whether they want to admit it or not.

Of course, in a culture obsessed with independence, most people are not going to bow to anyone–even God. No one is going to tell them what they can and cannot do or where they can and cannot go. And, so along with the outright rebellion of the world, we also have those who claim to be Christians changing and twisting long-held doctrines of the scripture. It’s under the umbrella of “evangelicalism” that we now hear of major doctrines being changed to cater to “felt needs”. Perhaps these changes are also being made to cater to the evil world we live in rather than bear the brunt of their hatred, should we disagree.

Thirdly, false religions always by-pass, minimize, or ignore the cross. The Bible teaches us that our salvation come through the sacrifice of  Jesus Christ on the cross. There is no salvation without His sacrifice. There is no other way for us to be reconciled to God (I Timothy 2:5). But false religions make very little of the cross. Some bypass it completely and change who Jesus was. They say He was a prophet or a wise teacher. Others will give lip service to the cross but the thrust of the religion is in works. Jesus isn’t enough. When you want to see if a religion is false, look at the place of the cross.

This is one of the ways we can know that the current false religion that goes by the name of “Christianity” is a false religion. They have completely minimized the cross and the Word of God (more on that below) in favor of mystical experiences. It is based on feelings instead of facts; on personal experiences instead of actual reality; on relativity instead of absolute truth.

Fourthly, false religions always by-pass, twist, or minimize the Bible. Since the inception of biblical Christianity (the book of Acts is the beginning) the focus of this true religion has been on the Word of God. As mentioned above, we will find all we need for life there (2 Timothy 3:16). The Word is living and powerful and a discerner of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). It is there we read about God’s plan for man’s salvation (John 3:16). Without it, we are powerless creatures vulnerable to any direction a false religious leader may take us.

This is why you will find that all false religions either bypass the Bible altogether (such as Buddhism and Hinduism), override its doctrines by providing sacred documents of their own (such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses), or minimize scripture by teaching its followers that they cannot and should not read the scriptures for themselves (such as Catholics and Amish).

This last one is so critical. This is because, while a false religion that looks fairly close to Christianity can still fool us on the first three for a little while, this fourth one becomes clear immediately. Whenever the focus is taken off of the Word or the Word is taken out of context to meet some speaker or author’s agenda, our “antenna” should immediately go up. This is usually the first area of compromise.

We have seen this in the mainstream church over the past several years. Does the Bible really teach ______________? We don’t like that so let’s remove it. We need a new “interpretation” for a more advanced culture so let’s change _________________.  Pulling verses out of context, we hear the false message that God wants you to be healthy and rich.

Over and over we are seeing this. So if you want to know if someone is caught up in a false religion (even if it is called “Christianity”) look here first. What is the place of the Word in their lives? What is its place in their church? In the books they are reading? I can almost guarantee you that its place will be minimal–if it has any place at all.

I hope that this post will help you be able to spot a false religion more easily. It really is pretty easy to discern if we look at these four things. What is not easy at all is reconciling ourselves to the truth that people we love may be caught up in these false religions. That’s the hard part.

Know and study the Word as you stand for Christ and a true biblical faith. Don’t ignore or back down, but lovingly show others how their false religion doesn’t line up with scripture as God gives opportunities. This is how we plant seeds of truth.

While most of those seeds will fall on hard hearts, a few of them will grow. We may not realize it until we reach heaven–but a few of those tenderly planted seeds will grow.

 

 

When God Doesn’t Say Yes

14 Comments / February 4, 2019

Do you think God is playing favorites when He heals some people and not others? Do you believe that you are somehow inferior spiritually if His answer to you isn’t yes?

While you might say confidently that you don’t believe that, I am afraid that sometimes we lean towards believing like this without really thinking about it. We feel forgotten and neglected and we think that somehow we did something wrong to bring on special punishment from God.

But this just isn’t true. While we do sometimes reap the consequences of sinful choices, not all bad things that happen to us or those we love have to do with our sin or lack of faith. And when God gives an answer to prayer that we don’t like it doesn’t mean He is mad at us. How can I be sure of this? Because the Bible tells me so.

If we take a walk through scripture, we pretty quickly see that many godly men and women were afflicted by many sore trials and tribulations. We all are familiar with Job, who went through terrible afflictions for reasons unknown to him at the time. We read of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel, who suffered with infertility and then died during the birth of her second son. We know about Ruth, who lost her husband and traveled with her mother-in-law to a foreign land, leaving behind everything she has ever known.

We read of Daniel and his friends, who were uprooted from their lives and taken on a pagan King’s order to live in his court. There they experienced many temptations and trials. God did not remove the trials, but walked through the trials with them.

We read of Jeremiah, who was God’s special prophet to the people of Israel and yet they hated him. They hated him so much they sought to attack him (Jeremiah 18:18) and put him to death (Jeremiah 26:24). He was speaking for God and was persecuted unmercifully.

As we move to the New Testament, we find countless more examples of godly people who endured terrible trials.  All of Jesus’s disciples except John were martyred for their faith. John himself was exiled to the island of Patmos, to live out the rest of his days far from his beloved home and family. Paul suffered many great things before finally being martyred by the evil Roman emperor Nero. (Read more about the apostles here).

I’ve only mentioned a few from scripture. There is not enough room here to mention every person in the Bible who suffered miserable trials and violent deaths. So why did God allow so much heartache and pain in the lives of those who were sincerely seeking to follow Him? Was He angry at them? Did He want to punish them? Or did He have other reasons?

The answer, of course, is yes, there are other reasons and no, God isn’t mad at us. I believe this biblical answer is two-fold–

First, God is God and will do as He pleases for His glory and His purposes. We grow proud and insist that we must understand the “why”.  If we can’t see how it is all working together then we assume it must all be pointless and cruel.

But Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us that God’s ways are higher than our ways–

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Deuteronomy 29:29 also puts us back into our place as loyal subject and servant to the Great and Almighty King of the Universe–

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

God is God. We are His to do with as He chooses for His own purposes. We can submit or we can rebel. But it doesn’t change the fact that He is the King of all Creation. And He uses many things to accomplish His purposes, including disease, death, and tragedy.

Second, if we are saved, this world is not our home. As believers we recognize that we are simply pilgrims in a foreign land. We are weary travelers that have much to look forward to. Our best life isn’t now but is still to come! Hebrews 11:13-16 reminds us of this so beautifully–

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off  were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Notice the first sentence of these verses: These all died in faith. Every one of them died, just as every one of us will, as well. We are born to die. It is life in this fallen world. But those of us who have faith, have a very different future ahead of us. For we have defeated death! (I Corinthians 15:55-57) And we desire a better, heavenly country.

When we turn our focus to our eternal perspective, it changes how we view temporal trials. Oh, it doesn’t take the hurt away but it is a comfort. Our trials are temporary and serve a greater purpose–one that we cannot always see or understand. And we realize that the entirety of our life here on earth–all of the joy, the pain, the pleasure, the sorrow–is but a moment in our eternity.

From studying the scriptures we recognize that trials are a part of life. All lives. And that a godly person is not released from them simply because they follow Christ. But we also can see in His Word that God hasn’t left us without hope. He walks with us through the trial, giving us abundant grace and bountiful mercy.

Sometimes we ask for the storm to calm or the trial to cease but God chooses to say no. This doesn’t mean He has deserted us or is angry with us. Instead, we can confidently know that He has a higher purpose and we can be assured that He will walk with us every step of the way.

So why do some people still insist that when God tells you NO you must be a weak Christian?

Nothing in scripture would indicate this anywhere. So we have to assume they are getting this vain philosophy from the teachings of man.

And, actually, we don’t have to dig very long before finding it. A quick google search revealed several sites run by familiar names and ministries that insist that it is God’s will to physically heal all sick Christians, while deplorably mangling God’s Word in their attempts to back up their premise. This is a blatant falsehood that is slithering its way even into the evangelical church. It is most disturbing because it is NOT TRUE!

We know from God’s Word that we will have trials, we know from His Word that we will get sick and die, we know that we will be persecuted–sometimes unto death. We live in a fallen world. Evil abounds. And all of us, at one time or another, will feel the sting of pain and death. It cannot be avoided–no matter how much a false teacher promises that it can.

I just want to conclude by encouraging you to stay in the Word. There are so many false teachers out there and if we listen to them we can grow quickly discouraged. Is it not incredibly disillusioning to believe that we will be healed if we have enough faith–and then not experience healing? How many seedling faiths has Satan destroyed by this devilish movement?

Know the Word. Know the Word. Know the Word.

By doing so, we can quickly identify that healing is not always granted. We understand immediately that Christians aren’t promised to be free of trials. (In fact, if anything, they are promised extra trials and persecution for following Jesus. John 15:20). And it’s only through knowing the Word that we can recognize if what is being said to us is twisted, out of context, and inconsistent with the rest of scripture. It truly is our only protection.

And so what does scripture have to say about my initial questions? Is God playing favorites when He heals some and not others? We know without a shadow of a doubt that the answer is NO. And are you spiritually inferior if God says NO to your prayer for healing or relief from a trial? And, of course, we can answer that with a rousing NO, as well.

We can rest assured that God deeply loves us and holds us in His hand–no matter how He chooses to answer our prayers. I will end with these very encouraging verses from Psalm 37:3-4–

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

When God Opens Our Eyes

4 Comments / January 28, 2019

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going to Florida with a couple of my dear friends. It was planned before I knew I was headed back to work and, at first, I stewed a bit. Could I really afford to give up five days to vacation in Florida? And then I realized that God was well aware of what my situation would be and perhaps He thought I needed a bit of down-time before jumping from one busy season to the next. I decided to just enjoy it.

Before I left I realized my favorite shampoo was running low. Thankfully, I thought of it while I was at the grocery store and I hurriedly grabbed a bottle from the shelf while shopping a day or two before. I took it home and squeezed a bunch of it into an emptied travel shampoo bottle to tuck into my carry-on. The bottle still had a little water in it from trying to rinse out the previous shampoo so I wasn’t sure if that would mess up the shampoo or not. I wasn’t too worried.

The first morning, as I began to wash my hair in the shower a bunch of water came out of the bottle. Oops. As I took the rather gloppy shampoo and rubbed it a bit in my hands it didn’t feel quite right. As I rubbed it through my hair it was even more weird. Would a little water make that much difference?? I didn’t think so. But, of course, I was using unfamiliar water, as well. Maybe it was harder…or softer…or just different than what I was used to. My hair was notoriously flat and lifeless that day and every day of that vacation because of this weird shampoo experience.

It wasn’t until the final day that it FINALLY hit me!

Like a lightening bolt, it hit me.

As I rubbed that lifeless, watery formula through my hair for the last day, my eyes were suddenly opened. This wasn’t shampoo at all. It was conditioner.

How could I have been so stupid not to realize it before? I still couldn’t confirm it but the more I thought about it the more certain I was that this must be the problem.

When I got home, I pulled the “shampoo” bottle from the shower. Sure enough. The company that manufactures it uses the exact same bottle for shampoo and for conditioner and I had carelessly pulled one from the shelf, never checking to make sure it was actually shampoo.

Now besides feeling really stupid, I felt…well…enlightened.

I finally had solved the puzzle.

And that was a good thing.

And–you know by now–I can’t let such a good analogy pass me by without talking about it here. Even if it does let the whole world know my rather embarrassing story.

Because I think this happens to us. We are listening to our favorite preachers. Reading the books of our favorite authors. Following our favorite celebrity speakers on social media. Perhaps we are in the habit of doing a favorite activity that we’ve never thought about being wrong before. But then something doesn’t seem right. Red flags are raised but we can’t quite put our finger on it. And then God opens our eyes. Through His Word, through a concerned fellow believer, or any other number of ways and, suddenly, we realize and we connect the dots.

What we do at that point is critical. If I had continued to use that conditioner even though my eyes were opened to the truth of the situation, you would have wondered about my intellectual capacity (you may already be wondering that, anyway, given my admission above!) Of course–like anyone else would–I stopped using conditioner and started using shampoo.

And, yet, do we respond this same way when it comes to spiritual things? Do we stop listening, reading, following the wrong things and very intentionally fill our minds with the right things? Do we stop doing something that we know is wrong even though we love to do it? Do we then replace these things with things that are true, righteous, and good, as we evaluate them according to God’s Word? It’s easy to make excuses. There are plenty of ways to rationalize why we can continue to follow someone or continue on in an activity that we know is unpleasing to the Lord.

Now, of course, I would never rationalize using conditioner for the rest of my life.

But we all know why. Conditioner made my hair lifeless and dull. I never use it. Ever. And so the consequences of using conditioner were not pleasant for me.

So no big deal to switch. My life is much more pleasant using shampoo than using conditioner.

And there is probably the real difference. What some of these false and/or compromising teachers teach makes our lives seemingly more happy. What they bring us is attractive to us, if we are living only in the temporal and not considering the eternal. They offer us popularity; pleasing philosophies; encouraging, uplifting (and extremely self-centered) messages. They allow us to have our cake and eat it, too. No turning from the world, no self-denial, no concern for turning from sin. These things matter not as long as we are happy.

And our entertainment and activities make our lives more fun. We look less weird and we are more popular if we just watch, wear, and do what everyone else does.

It is incredibly hard to turn away from teachers and activities that would seem to make our lives more pleasant and enjoyable. It truly is.

But, of course, the question to ourselves should never be: “Is this too hard for me?”

But should always be: “Is this the right thing for me to do?”

We sometimes get a little mixed up about which question to ask. Especially in this self-obsessed world.

And so I encourage you to follow through. If the Lord has been opening your eyes, submit yourself to the pain, acknowledge the hurt, and then turn away and move on. It will be a very real hurt if you choose to turn away from someone you have trusted to teach you the truth. It will be a real hardship to give up an activity that has bonded you to people you love to be with. Yes, it will be a very painful process. But, in the long run, you will be so thankful you did. Just like pouring alcohol on a wound stings dreadfully when it provides a necessary cleansing, so, too, does ridding ourselves of false teachers and ungodly activities.

But when God opens our eyes, He has given us an amazing opportunity. We need to grab hold of it and take it!

 

 

 

The Perfect Climate

12 Comments / January 3, 2019

It’s been an interesting last ten or twenty years. To say the least. I have watched as false teachers have deceived thousands of people claiming to be Christians–maybe even millions–with hardly even a word from the true church. As more and more leaders, authors, and pastors compromise, they draw more and more away from biblical Christianity.

Just as mold grows in the perfect climate of damp darkness, so, too, does apostate religion. Why are so many Christians deceived? Why are so many who claim Christ falling away into a self-centered religion that is nothing like what Christ taught? Why are they not holding to God’s Word?

We true believers stand by shaking our heads in bewilderment but if we stop and think for just a moment, it makes so much sense. There are six things that have slowly evolved over time that have made every man, woman, and child who would claim to be a Christian susceptible to false religion. These things have changed so slowly that we may not even have thought about them. The changes have been taking place for 100 years or more but took on warp speed in certain decades. Like this one.

These six things create the perfect climate for false religion to grow. They pose as grave dangers not only for the church at large but for each and every one of us. While there is not a whole lot we can do to change the situation as a whole, we can work to eliminate these things from our own lives and from the lives of our children. We can also be used by God to make other Christians aware of these dangers so that they aren’t deceived.

1. Biblical Illiteracy  This is the first one in both order and importance. Even those who would consider themselves “good” Christians rarely open their Bibles. Many–probably most–who call themselves a Christian are satisfied by a devotional that barely contains the Word of God or they neglect time in the Word completely. Even many preachers have left the solid expositing of the Word in favor of entertaining stories. We have become so ill-equipped. How can we see if we aren’t using our lamp? (Psalm 119:105) How can we fight if we aren’t using our sword? (Ephesians 6:17) How can we examine if something is true or false, if we do not know what is true? (Acts 17:11)

How important it is that we are not among these neglectful and powerless Christians. As you may already know, my main goal here at Growing4Life is to get you in the Word, comparing every single thing by the Word. It is literally our only anchor. If you aren’t in the Word on a regular basis you will be deceived and tossed about.

2. Self-Idolatry Not far behind biblical illiteracy in importance is self-idolatry. Now before you skim over this part thinking it hasn’t affected you, may I challenge you for a moment? God has been opening my eyes to show me that even we believers who really desire to please Him have fallen for this one. At least I have. In many ways, without even realizing it, we have become obsessed with ourselves. We are driven and motivated by our selfish desires and this shows up in a myriad of ways: We read the scriptures looking for personal application and if it’s not there, we quickly grow bored. We love to be comfortable and we hate–and even refuse–to step outside our “comfort zones”. We grow discouraged if we don’t receive praise and gratitude for a job well done or if someone else receives the credit for something we did. We are focused on fulfilling our dreams and finding our purposes. We are preoccupied with how we look, how much money we can make, who likes us, and what people think of us. In fact, it is our love for self that often keeps us from speaking the truth in the midst of all this false religion. We try to avoid pain at all costs. We try to avoid persecution at all costs. And then we call ourselves holy for staying silent. It is so mixed up.

The thing is this: Love of self is the complete opposite of the way of the cross. There is no amalgamation between the two. There are only two religions and they are polar opposites.

One is centered on self: What I can do to earn eternal life or to be close to God; God will help me fulfill my dreams; My feelings and experiences are the determiners of truth; The popularity and praise of people determines the validity of my ministry.

And the other one is centered on God: I recognize that I can do nothing to earn eternal life and rely wholly on God’s grace; I replace my purpose and dreams for God’s plans and purposes; I look to God’s Word for objective truth instead of relying on subjective feelings and experiences; And I am more concerned with God’s glory than with mine.

In fact, true religion is a lifetime of learning to crucify self so that Jesus Christ may be glorified. We, in essence, give up our lives for Christ. Paul puts it like this in Galatians 2:20–

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

3. Celebrity Infatuations We have become greatly enamored with men and women. If we aren’t careful, we start equating them with God and His Word. While I would never judge motives or the heart of any teacher, I am amazed at how many over the past ten years or so have left biblical truth and waded into compromise without nary a word from the Christian community. I have been greatly disheartened to watch their followers follow them right off the proverbial cliff. This is only possible because people have chosen to follow man instead of God. We must be sure that our final word is God’s Word and not man’s (or woman’s).

We are all susceptible to this. It is painful to realize that the person who helped you grow or was a tremendous support to you during a difficult time of spiritual growth can no longer be trusted. I get it. I’ve been there. The easiest thing to do is to close your eyes and forge ahead. But if we are to stay on the straight and narrow we must be Bereans and compare all things said and done–even the things by the teachers and authors we dearly love and are quite attached to–to scripture.

4. Bullying I find it rather ironic, that in an age that is so conscious of bullying, it is going on at a record rate towards anyone who would stand for biblical truth. Both outside the church and within its doors, anyone who would speak the truth in love about these matters of false religion and false teachers is called names, scorned, and mocked. They are marginalized and they are persecuted. It is a very interesting and extremely effective way for false religion to grow. Mock and scorn anyone who dissents. Don’t allow for any differing opinions–even if they are solidly based on the Word of God.

5. Speak Only the Positive Even many well-meaning Christians have fallen prey to this thinking that we can only speak positive words. But, of course, any study of scripture will soon reveal that sometimes we must speak the negative. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, James, and Jude, and countless others in scripture, spoke both positive encouraging words as well as negative, rebuking words. As believers, we must be carefully balanced. Many times, Philippians 4:8 is used as the defense for speaking only the good–

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

But we must take note that what is true and what is just are not always positive. Sometimes we must think on the negative. Sometimes we must speak the negative. And we are not sinning by doing so.

I could go into the history of positive thinking if I had time today, but, suffice it to say, it is a doctrine of man and not of God. How duped we are if we believe that to speak negative words is sinful. Nothing could be further from the truth.

6. We Compare Ourselves to Ourselves Because things are so messed up, we end up looking pretty good even if we are living a nominal Christian life. We take a look around at the world and even at the church and we can be tempted to think that we do not look so bad. We become complacent and maybe even a bit proud in our faith. This kind of attitude is a bane to our spiritual health. Thinking we stand, we set ourselves up to fall (I Corinthians 10:12). We must compare ourselves to God’s Word. Only there will we see the truth. We have to stop looking around at others and thinking we are pretty good, lest we be deceived.

I have no delusions that this post will make even a dent in what’s going on in religion today. It is way too far gone. My only hope is that it will draw the attention of even a few believers so that we can protect ourselves and make sure they aren’t happening to us personally. I also hope that it will give you, my readers, the big picture and help you understand why false religion is flourishing today in a way it never has before.

God bless you as you seek to live for Christ in this confusing time. He will protect and keep us. The remnant of true believers will continue their march to victory! Of that we can be sure!

 

 

 

Is There More Than One Way to Interpret Scripture?

5 Comments / December 10, 2018

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me this question: How do I respond to those who say we can interpret scripture however we want? She had been talking with someone and they had claimed that there are many interpretations to scripture and people just interpret the Bible however they want to make it fit with their viewpoint. While the second half of that sentence is true (people try to make the Bible say whatever they want), it is the first part of this sentence that I want to examine today: Is there more than one interpretation?

This is a great battle in Christendom today because almost all false Gospels rely on the answer to this question being yes. If we desire to stick to the traditional view of the Word, we will often have to deal with people saying to us: Well, that’s your interpretation.

So let’s take a look at this so that, hopefully, we will be a little more prepared the next time someone makes a statement like this.

If you write a letter to someone, does it have one meaning? Or are there several?

When you were in high school or college, did your teacher claim that there was more than one interpretation of the Iliad and the Odyssey? Or Shakespeare? To any other literary source?

They did not. Because there isn’t.

While there may be principles and applications that we can find under the surface of any written work, there is never a completely different meaning.

But for some reason, people use an argument they would never use for any other written work. If we remember that the Holy Bible is God’s very word, inspired and inerrant, then we can understand their need to have more than one interpretation. For this is how a rebellious man can do a work-around and still call himself a Christian.

And we can see—as we have seen in the past few years—that the Bible can be twisted to mean anything anyone wants if we disregard the normal approaches to understanding written documents.

2 Timothy 2:15 counsels us to correctly handle the Word of Truth. This then would lead us to the understanding that there is a right and a wrong way to interpret scripture.

John MacArthur puts it this way in regards to scripture interpretation: “You can be right and I can be wrong or I can be right and you can be wrong or we can both be wrong. But we can’t both be right.”

Exactly.

We have a grave responsibility to use proper hermeneutics to figure out what each passage’s proper interpretation is. (Hermeneutics is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible.)

I am almost finished with Roy Zuck’s Basic Bible Interpretation (one of the resources I will recommend below) and he says this:

“Interpreting the Bible is one of the most important issues facing Christians today. It lies behind what we believe, how we live, how we get on together, and what we have to offer the world.”

Interpreting the Bible correctly is key.

So how can we be sure that we interpret the Bible correctly? What are the steps? First, there are some qualifications for us:

  1. We must be regenerated. We read in I Corinthians 2:14 that the natural man cannot understand the things of God. So in order to interpret and study scripture correctly, we must be saved. Not only does God open our spiritual eyes upon our salvation but it is also at this time that we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. He is our Helper in all things, including scripture interpretation (John 14:26).
  2. We must be humble. If we come to the scriptures with a proud heart we will severely limit our capability in understanding God’s Word (Proverbs 16:5). A proud heart leads to an unwillingness to surrender our will to the Father’s. Instead, we find ourselves looking for scripture to promote our ideas and our agendas. This has led to many a wrong interpretation.
  3. We must be reverent and sober-minded. If we have a lackadaisical and careless attitude towards the Holy Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15) we will have the same attitude in interpreting it.
  4. We must be willing to obey all that we read. Ahhh. So now we get to the heart of the matter. We must be willing to obey. If we take a look at almost any twisting of God’s Word or false system that uses Bible verses, what do we see? We will always see obedience to only part of God’s Word. Usually, the parts that elevate, bless, or otherwise make their lives easier. The parts that are hard, that are negative, or that require one to look and be different than the world are soundly ignored. Scripture can only be interpreted correctly if we are willing to obey it in full. (Psalm 119:1-16)
  5. We must approach the scriptures with sound judgment and reason. We must seek to be objective rather than subjective. We must try, as best we can, to come without prejudice or preconceived notions.
  6. We must pray. We must ask the Lord to give us insight and lead us to the correct understanding of what we are studying. We must recognize that, in and of ourselves, we are helpless and hopeless. We need His help and guidance for all things.

Now that we know how we should personally approach the scripture, let’s take a brief look at the best way to interpret the scripture—

  1. It should be interpreted literally. This means that it should be interpreted in its most natural form. If you pick up a letter from a friend, you are not looking for hidden meanings or allegories. You are reading it and taking it for what it means.
  2. It should be interpreted in context. This means we take some time to study the entire passage, we determine the author and who they were writing to, we find out why they were writing to that group or individual. We must study the verses surrounding the favorite verse. We must find out all we can about the context of the passage. It is only after studying these things and understanding the context that we can then look for principles to apply to our own lives.
  3. It should be interpreted with regard to its historical understanding. In the recent years, we have so many “new interpretations”. Tossing tradition and rules out the window has led to a completely different kind of Christianity. But Paul makes it clear that we should pay attention to what has been historically taught when he writes this in 2 Thessalonians 2:15: Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

Dividing God’s Word rightly takes work. I believe whole-heartedly that much of the error and heresy we see in the church today is due in great part to people not being willing to learn the Word for themselves. I find myself talking to more and more people who want to base their interpretation of scripture on how they feel (I just can’t believe in a God who…) or on what they have been taught by a teacher (But my teacher says…)

Whenever these two things become our guidelines we are in grave danger. Feelings have their place, after all they were created by God. They are not evil. And teachers can be most helpful to us. They can make us think and they can open our eyes. But we must, in a mature and objective manner, take responsibility for our own learning of the scriptures. We must leave milk behind us and feed on meat, always growing in our knowledge of the Word (Hebrews 5:13).

I hope that this has been helpful. There is so much that could be said regarding this subject and I feel like I have been woefully inadequate in what I have written here–like I barely scratched the surface. I will add some resource links below for those of you who would like to study this subject in a deeper way.

 

HELPFUL RESOURCES:

Principles of Interpretation by Pastor Dean Good

Got Questions: What is Biblical Hermeneutics?

Basic Bible Interpretation by Roy B. Zuck

 

 

Don’t Be Just Another Fan

7 Comments / December 6, 2018

If you are on Facebook, you may have noticed that I have been sharing the posts of others less and less on the Growing4Life Facebook page. Why is this? Do I think I am the only one who is right? By all means NO. I don’t think this at all. And I am truly grateful for those who have the courage to stand up for the truth. I am just so hesitant to promote others because, in this strange new world, I never know where someone will end up and I don’t want to be responsible for promoting someone that leads another astray.

I have been thinking more of this because of what I have observed in the recent days: We not only have false teachers who gain huge followings of undiscerning people, we also have teachers who are teaching the truth in the wrong way who have gained huge followings. They are snide, prideful, and rude. They are careless and make jokes about things they shouldn’t. They are not sober-minded nor are they handling the Word with the care and awe with which it deserves. They write about certain false teachers, but leave others free to do their own thing. If a teacher is backed by a favored denomination or favored for some other reason, blatant evidence is ignored and we hear…nothing.

Does that mean we shouldn’t read and learn from them? No, of course not. But I want to remind you of how careful we must be when we follow anyone. We should never be an undiscerning fan and simply imbibe what someone says (and, yes, this applies to Growing4Life and what I write here, as well). I can’t stress how important this is. We must take responsibility for our own beliefs about God, His Word, and what is going on in the world around us.

Of course, most of us don’t want to do this because this means work. And we don’t have the time or the will or the desire to do the work necessary. We are tired, busy, or lazy.

Hopefully there are a few of you out there who care enough to do the work to study. And it is for those few that I offer the following tips to get started in discerning on your own rather than simply ingesting anything a favorite author or blogger has to say.

1. Read, study, and memorize your Bible. I know I say this all the time but that is because it is the most crucial component to being a godly Christian with proper discernment in this alarming church culture.

2. Do not assume that just because something or someone is labeled “Christian” they actually are. It is almost unbelievable how much self-worship has been cloaked as “Christian”. This should be the first test: What does this person teach about self? Are they promoting the way of the cross or the way of self-realization and self-glory?

3. Don’t follow a favored author or blogger without discernment. Pay attention to what they are posting. This doesn’t mean you stop following them at every small disagreement. We will never agree fully with everyone. But we must not only watch for accuracy in their posts, but also for attitudes and character. The key is that we don’t want to ever let down our guard as we choose authors, teachers, and bloggers to follow–even those who specialize in “discernment”.

4. Don’t let charisma trick you into believing someone. I could write a whole post on this and maybe someday I will. If you put two teachers side by side and the first is teaching truth in a rather dry and matter-of-fact way and the second is taking one Bible verse and then expounding on it falsely but with charisma and excitement, most Christians will choose the second. Certain people have what is appropriately called magnetism and we are drawn to them. It explains why so many false teachers have been wildly successful. It is critical that we don’t let this be our determination of who we follow. Charisma is utterly and completely irrelevant to truth.

5. Read and study the works of old preachers and pastors who wrote before the chaos that is the church today. We tend to be people who are obsessed with the “latest and greatest”. And we have probably been trained that way by Apple and Microsoft over these past twenty years. But I have found that, when it comes to spiritual material, the latest is rarely the greatest. Some of the best works were written over a hundred years ago and they are free from the politically correct garbage and the self-worshiping and self-exalting filth that clutters almost every modern-day offering. I recommend you start with J.C. Ryle and Charles Spurgeon. They are both not only generally solid, but they are easy to read, easily found online for free, and their books are often only .99 on Kindle.

6. Determine to only be loyal to God’s Word. While some people are fickle and easily move on to the next church, teacher, or author, many of us are super loyal. We find someone we trust and we never think about it again. I am so incredibly saddened to say that the days for this are over. I have seen many trusted pastors, authors, and bloggers start to go a wrong direction. It is subtle and almost imperceptible at first. While I don’t want to encourage an attitude of mistrust or constant skepticism, I do recommend a healthy dose of discernment for anyone we choose to follow. Only the Bible deserves our loyalty in full.

7. Pray. Ask the Lord to help you in this treacherous time. Ask for courage and strength and abundant wisdom. I have never seen such a time where truth is mixed with error in such a subtle way. I have never seen a time where Satan’s lies of self-exaltation, self-gratification, and self-glory have been so subtly cloaked and taught as “Christianity”. I have never seen a time when those who call themselves Christians are swallowing the lies and being deceived by the thousands. And I have never seen a time when those who would teach biblical truth would be so ostracized, persecuted, and outcast.

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You know, I understand why people want to just ignore all of this and remain in ignorance. Some days I wish for that, too. But as believers who have the opportunity and responsibility to impact our children, grandchildren, fellow believers, co-workers, and all others around us, for the cause of Christ we cannot afford to make the choice to put our heads in the sand.

Yes, it can be unpleasant and distressing. But we must be sure we are following and teaching a biblical faith in order to make a difference for Christ. We must keep our eyes and hearts focused on God and His Word. For only from this source will we receive the pure and unadulterated truth. Don’t blindly follow any human. Don’t be just another fan.

 

My Way or His Way?

4 Comments / November 15, 2018

In 1969 a song was written by Paul Anka that was made popular by a crooner named Frank Sinatra. The song has a thoughtful and appealing tune and is called “My Way”.  The final stanza of the song does a good job of summing up the song–

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way
Yes, it was my way

It’s pretty clear that this song is an anti-Christian song since the entire song is like a theme for humanism. The author did things his way and didn’t answer to any supreme being or any human being. Of course, the author will answer to God one day, if he hasn’t already. So why am I talking about a 50 year old song?

I’ll tell you why.

Because I have seen more and more people who claim to be Christians live by this mantra:

I did it my way.

I’ll do it my way.

And then, eventually, in our obsession with our dreams, our purposes, and our goals, we end up believing that…

God exists to help me do it my way.

We are concerned only about our way.

The thing is…

Biblical Christianity teaches the opposite–

• Instead of being obsessed with our own plans and dreams, we are to submit to God’s plans. (Rom 14:8)

• Instead of being driven by our selfish desires, we are to deny ourselves. (Luke 9:23)

• Instead of thinking only of ourselves and our purpose and desires, we are to think of others. (Phil 2:3)

It’s easy to point a finger at others and shake our heads in sadness or disgust. See how selfishly they are living? Isn’t that a shame? But, while we may not ascribe to self-centered living in theory, how often do we live it without realizing it?

I am amazed, even though I have been walking with the Lord all these years, at how often I am driven by my own selfish desires and will. And disgusted at how often I find myself obsessing about myself and my happenings. Can you relate? Or am I alone on this one?

I think one of the greatest challenges of walking with the Lord is this:

Living for Him instead of for me.

And, in this current church culture, we aren’t even given this challenge, are we? We are told that we can live for ourselves and expect God to swoop in and be our personal genie to help us fulfill our big dreams and realize our insanely important purposes.

But God cares far more about our holiness than our happiness. (Romans 5:3-5)

And it’s not about us. Our lives are just a teeny-tiny point on the map of the universe and the timeline of history; both of which are utterly and absolutely under the sovereignty of God. (Isaiah 46:10)

God is choosing to use us for His glory and His purposes at this time. His glory. His purposes. (Ephesians 2:10)

I guess Paul sums it up best for all of us in Galatians 2:20–

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

This, as true believers, is our aspiration. We are to die to self and live for God. It is a message that isn’t heard very much anymore. You won’t hear it from most pulpits or read it in the Christian best-sellers. In a culture obsessed with only positive messages, this is a message that isn’t very popular.

Everyone wants to live life their way and they want a God who will bless them as they do things their way. And even those of us who truly desire to live for Christ can be swayed a bit by this wrong thinking about God.

And so I hope that today you will take some time to reflect on how you are living for yourself instead of for God. And while you do that, I’ll be doing the same. Just because I can write things like this, doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with the same things you do. It’s one thing to write. It’s another thing to live.

So let’s strive to live for God together, always turning to His Word for guidance and direction. And, in a world full of people obsessed with doing things “my way”,  let’s do things His way.

 

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