Proceed with Caution
2
This is a reminder/warning to those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. The Bible is the infallible Word of God. It is our ultimate source of truth. It is good to read books and listen to audio by Christians, but BE CAUTIOUS. Remember, they are a sinner, just like you, therefore their understanding may not be correct.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NKJV)
For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.
Also, there are men who appear to be righteous, and of God, but are in fact - not.
II Corinthians 11:12-15 (NIV)
12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Anything written or said outside of the Bible should be handled with caution. Some people even try to twist what is written in the Bible for their own purposes or ideas. When you listen and/or read, use discernment. Compare what is said to what is written in scripture. If everything they say seems to line-up with what the Bible says, that's great, but do not be followers of men... be followers of Christ. The reason I say this is because we are all capable of getting off the path, and if we follow someone too closely, and their teaching somehow becomes corrupt, we might just become corrupt right along with them. Always take a mental stance that the Bible is the constant, unchanging source of truth. I love Dr. Ravi Zacharias, and he has yet to say anything that I disagree with. However, I must remember that he is not the Christ. Yes, even if he somehow became corrupt (which I don't think for a moment that he will), the things he has spoken, that are true, remain true. But, where the warning comes in is if he were to start teaching things that weren't true, and I was sold on the idea that "Ravi Zacharias is truth", then I am putting myself at risk.
On the other hand, let us be careful not to completely discredit those God uses, just because we don't agree with EVERYTHING that they say. It is important to listen, and then separate what is right and what is wrong. You'll find that you will not agree with everything that every pastor or teacher says. We must first ask ourselves, "Does the good outweigh the bad?" If so, then we can mentally decide (if we choose) to keep learning from that teacher or preacher. But, there is one more thing we must do before we decide to keep learning from the individual. We must analyze the "bad".
How bad is it? Has the person stated that we must lift our hands in the air when we worship? If so, and you disagree, that is a matter of opinion and/or personal preference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Bible does not give us a specific description of how to conduct a church worship service. It does not say, "Sing hymns, not contemporary Christian music." or vise versa. So, if you disagree with the person on that issue, that's fine, but be careful not to go around telling everyone that everything that person says is wrong because you disagree on the one topic.
Has the person stated that all we have to do is love our neighbor and do good things and we will be accepted by God, and go to heaven when we die? This is a doctrinal error and not a matter of opinion or personal preference. This is a matter of truth and should not be taken lightly. When something like this happens, we have to pray and consider if this person is truly being led by the Holy Spirit to preach or teach. Even if they said 99 other things and they were all correct, this one statement still holds much concern and we need to be wary of the one that said it.
Don't live a life of paranoia, always doubting everything that is said because "there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:12). Remember that God used sinful men all throughout scripture. Study God's Word, grow in your relationship with Him, and He will give you discernment and help reveal who is speaking in truth and who is not. Life may throw us curveballs sometimes, and righteous men may fall. This warning is written to help you prepare your heart and mind for those moments.
Final note - This is a quote from myself and something I remind myself of constantly:
When others around us fail, it's encouraging to know that Jesus never did.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NKJV)
For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.
Also, there are men who appear to be righteous, and of God, but are in fact - not.
II Corinthians 11:12-15 (NIV)
12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Anything written or said outside of the Bible should be handled with caution. Some people even try to twist what is written in the Bible for their own purposes or ideas. When you listen and/or read, use discernment. Compare what is said to what is written in scripture. If everything they say seems to line-up with what the Bible says, that's great, but do not be followers of men... be followers of Christ. The reason I say this is because we are all capable of getting off the path, and if we follow someone too closely, and their teaching somehow becomes corrupt, we might just become corrupt right along with them. Always take a mental stance that the Bible is the constant, unchanging source of truth. I love Dr. Ravi Zacharias, and he has yet to say anything that I disagree with. However, I must remember that he is not the Christ. Yes, even if he somehow became corrupt (which I don't think for a moment that he will), the things he has spoken, that are true, remain true. But, where the warning comes in is if he were to start teaching things that weren't true, and I was sold on the idea that "Ravi Zacharias is truth", then I am putting myself at risk.
On the other hand, let us be careful not to completely discredit those God uses, just because we don't agree with EVERYTHING that they say. It is important to listen, and then separate what is right and what is wrong. You'll find that you will not agree with everything that every pastor or teacher says. We must first ask ourselves, "Does the good outweigh the bad?" If so, then we can mentally decide (if we choose) to keep learning from that teacher or preacher. But, there is one more thing we must do before we decide to keep learning from the individual. We must analyze the "bad".
How bad is it? Has the person stated that we must lift our hands in the air when we worship? If so, and you disagree, that is a matter of opinion and/or personal preference. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Bible does not give us a specific description of how to conduct a church worship service. It does not say, "Sing hymns, not contemporary Christian music." or vise versa. So, if you disagree with the person on that issue, that's fine, but be careful not to go around telling everyone that everything that person says is wrong because you disagree on the one topic.
Has the person stated that all we have to do is love our neighbor and do good things and we will be accepted by God, and go to heaven when we die? This is a doctrinal error and not a matter of opinion or personal preference. This is a matter of truth and should not be taken lightly. When something like this happens, we have to pray and consider if this person is truly being led by the Holy Spirit to preach or teach. Even if they said 99 other things and they were all correct, this one statement still holds much concern and we need to be wary of the one that said it.
Don't live a life of paranoia, always doubting everything that is said because "there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:12). Remember that God used sinful men all throughout scripture. Study God's Word, grow in your relationship with Him, and He will give you discernment and help reveal who is speaking in truth and who is not. Life may throw us curveballs sometimes, and righteous men may fall. This warning is written to help you prepare your heart and mind for those moments.
Final note - This is a quote from myself and something I remind myself of constantly:
When others around us fail, it's encouraging to know that Jesus never did.
About the author
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So true, and this totally applies to the Shack that you were talking about in your last post. BTW, I LOVE your header, Dean - it's so cool! Did you design it?
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes, I did. It actually took me a lot more time to decide on a name for my blog than it did designing the header.
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