September 10, 2008
How
To Tell
While
on a website I was checking out the beliefs of a particular group who call
themselves Christians but promote one man as “the only true sensible
evangelist today” and considers its’ programming “the only religious
program which heightens people’s religious awareness by studying the truths in
the Bible”.
This
made me think of the following:
Years
ago I was camping by a lake and at night it looked almost mirror smooth. You
could even see the reflection of the individual grasses and the seed head of
some of the shore plants. If a person had a picture of the scene they would be
hard pressed to know which was the real landscape and which was the reflection
off of the lake. It really was quite beautiful.
You'll
note though that I said "almost mirror smooth". A close examination
showed insects hatching and fish breaking the water. There were tiny ripples
from the wind. In places there were the wakes of ducks. The closer I looked, the
less exact the reflection was.
It
can be that way with churches. They claim to be Christian, they claim to be
biblically sound. They look like church buildings and they use churchy words.
But do they stand up to close scrutiny?
Many
cannot. Some will have false prophets and teachers.
But
there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false
teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even
denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on
themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth
into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they
have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their
destruction has not been sleeping.
2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV
Some
will teach lies that others want to hear.
In
the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead,
and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the
Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and
encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come
when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth
and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure
hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your
ministry.
2 Timothy 4:1-5 NIV
How
can you tell the difference? After all there are areas of the Bible where godly
men and women can quite legitimately disagree on.
Here
are a few questions to ask:
·
Is
the bible the inerrant Word of God? If they say no there's no need to go
further. Look for a different church.
·
Is
there any way to salvation apart from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?
If they say yes there's no need to go further. Look for a different church.
·
Can
we earn our salvation by our works? If they say yes, look for a different
church.
·
Was
Jesus Christ born of a virgin? Did He live a sinless life?
·
Did
He die on the cross for our sins? Was He resurrected from the dead?
·
Did
He ascend to heaven to be at the right hand of God?
·
Is
He coming again?
A
no answer to any of these is the sign of a church to avoid. If they start to
give you some story about the crucifixion and resurrection being
"analogy" it's definitely time to flee.
·
Do
they accept the trinity as truth? Notice I didn't say can they explain the
trinity because in some ways it will always be a mystery. If they don't believe
in the trinity, keep looking.
This
isn't an exhaustive checklist by any means, but it will help you find a true
church.
There
are many good Christian churches out there. Find one that's solid and you feel
comfortable in and support them wholeheartedly.
The only way to know
they’re teaching the Bible is for you to read and know it. Don’t let someone
tell you what the Bible says. Be diligent and find out for yourself. Don’t be
afraid to ask questions of your pastor, elders and leaders. Find out for
yourself what they believe.
Until
next time, rejoice that God's truth has been revealed to us and that we can know
Him.
Darrel
Mason