Truth or Consequences

 

“The teaching of a false prophet cannot withstand scrutiny under the divine light of Scripture.” John MacArthur

 
It’s a case that’s scandalized Kenya and has thrown a global spotlight on the too often deadly consequences of bogus religious teaching. Please don’t think it’s just the 3^rd world. It seems nearly every year there are sincere people following a false teacher that can result in deadly consequences.
  This time the preacher was prominent Kenyan ­televangelist, Ezekiel Odero, who described himself as “God’s chosen one.” Last April authorities arrested Odero along with another prominent pastor, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, after finding more than 100 dead or starving people on Mackenzie’s property. Mackenzie, the founder of Good News International Ministries, had asked his followers to fast until they died and met Jesus. Prosecutors linked the two charlatans as business associates who led their followers in some cases even fatally astray.
  More than 85% of Kenya’s population is “Christian.” Ministers, like Odero in a country where poverty is widespread, prey on the desire for health and wealth. Those in dire poverty are easily victimized by charlatans promising “God’s relief.”
  2 Timothy 4:3-4 warns us, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” While most false teaching doesn’t have such dire consequences, it’s still spiritually deadly. How can we protect ourselves from it?
  We must test everything by the standard of Scripture. False teachers like to use phrasing “God told me.” Or “I have a word from the Lord.” They use this as a cover because if God is saying something, how can you question it? But you can question it and are encouraged to in the Bible. God’s Word is always the yardstick. At Grace, we believe in Sola Scriptura. That simply means the Bible is the only infallible source of authority for our faith and practice.
  In the book of Acts the “the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). The Bereans were being taught by the Apostle Paul himself, yet they didn’t take what even an apostle taught at face value. They examined the Scriptures to see if what he said was accurate and true.
  That should be done with whatever is taught that claims to be God’s message. Every sermon, lecture or a claim of divine knowledge must be measured by what the Bible says to determine if it’s true.
  Don’t be intimidated by someone’s celebrity status or the size of their platform. In social media there’s something known as “social proof.” It’s the idea that if many people like it, it validates the person or what they’re saying. That doesn’t work for biblical truth. Just because the one saying it has a large following, it doesn’t mean that what they’re saying is true.
  Sometimes the bigger the platform gets the less people want to tell the truth because they’re worried about losing fans or financial support. As a result, they may be tempted to say what they believe their followers want to hear so they’ll keep coming back. The size of the following is not a validation that the message is true. It often only means that the message is popular. Popularity and truth rarely go hand in hand.
  Study God’s Word personally and be a part of a community of believers committed to faithfully studying God’s Word. The most important words when dealing with any teaching is to ask, “What does the Bible say?” When we read a book, even from a trustworthy source, we must ask that question. When we listen to a sermon or someone teaching a group, we need to do that. Even when we read books, blogs, tweets and other things, it’s the question we must ask. And when we do this, when we’re committed with the help of the Holy Spirit to seek to understand the Scriptures to the best of our ability, and when we hold all teaching—even good teaching—up to the light of God’s Word, there’s no place for false teaching to hide.
  There is safety too in a community of committed believers. All of us have preconceptions and prejudices. Partnering and studying with those who love God and His Word help protect all of us.
  Half-truth is one of Satan’s most dangerous weapons. A tragic example is – Does God want us to be moral and “good” people? Does He want us to obey the Ten Commandments and other commandments in Scripture? Yes! But will that gain us God’s forgiveness and entry into heaven? No, it’s not what the Bible teaches. It’s a half truth. We’re to seek to live as good people and obey God’s Word because we’ve been forgiven and committed our lives to Christ but not to gain points with God or entry into heaven. We do it because we’re His children not to become His children.  
  As Martin Luther said, “The most damnable and pernicious heresy that has ever plagued the mind of man was the idea that somehow he could make himself good enough to deserve to live with an all-holy God.” Just this half-truth has led many to believe that if they’re relatively good, attend church, have been baptized, do nice things or give away lots of money, etc., then they’re on their way to heaven. But it’s not what the Bible teaches. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
  If we could be “good” enough for heaven, would God have sacrificed His Son Jesus on the cross to pay our sin debt? Yet Satan loves half-truths. Tragically, many will go into a Christless eternity because they believed that lie and didn’t check God’s Word for themselves. There’s only one yardstick for spiritual truth – God’s Word. Please use the right measure of truth, not just what someone says is the “truth” because believing a lie could kill you. Be like those Bereans. Check it out for yourself!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Conspiracy Theories

“People love conspiracy theories.”  Neil Armstrong

Just recently a Reddit user posted an unsubstantiated theory that the furniture company, Wayfair is involved in child sex trafficking, suggesting certain products on its website may actually be representing children for sale. The conspiracy theory went viral.

  The user posted a screengrab of Wayfair’s website showing armoires that cost five figures with human names for the products, which led them to speculate that the pricey cabinets were, in fact, people for sale. But there was no truth to the accusation. The products in question are industrial grade cabinets accurately priced. Still Wayfair temporarily removed the products from their site to rename them and provide more in-depth descriptions and photos that accurately depict them, clarifying the price point.

  Horribly, Adolph Hitler was right, ““If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” I wonder how much time and money Wayfair has had to spend to kill that lie. But Wayfair is not alone. Most companies and leaders know what it is to be slandered and lies about them to be accepted without question. 

  With the easy access to social media and the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current crisis is ripe for conspiracy theories. Roughly one-third of Americans believe that the COVID-19 outbreak was intentionally planned by people in power. 71% say they’ve heard at least “a little” about a conspiracy theory that the coronavirus outbreak was intentionally planned by powerful people, including 19% who say they have heard “a lot” about this. Most conspiracy theories share a common premise: A powerful group of elite individuals are withholding or distorting the truth. Only the elites know the truth and everyone else believes a lie.

  It hasn’t helped that the virus is new and medical responses are continually changing and developing. As a result, there have been contradictory approaches and information (and misinformation). Then, it originated in a repressive country without any freedom of information or freedom of the press. It’s a recipe ripe for paranoia and wild speculation.

  Yet, the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Ephesians 4:25 commands us, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21 admonishes us to “test everything; hold fast what is good.”

  So, do I believe that there are conspiracies or plots? It’s possible BUT I don’t know and neither do you. We don’t have proof, nor are most of us in a place where we’ll ever be able to confirm a conspiracy. And if it is actually taking place, what will we be able to do about it other than build a cabin in the north woods and hide out for the remainder of our days?

  What is unequivocally true is that Christians are to be people of truth, who live in truth, think on truth, and share the truth! Too often the people of truth are the most susceptible to being consumed by conspiracy theories. As the people of truth, we seem to easily slip into a bottomless rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. Yet, it hurts us and it hinders what God has called us to do – share His truth. Sharing unsubstantiated rumors undermine our message of absolute truth that determines one’s eternal destiny.

  Isn’t it also possible that many sincere people who may differ in their worldview from us are being slandered? Scripture teaches that slander is a serious sin and that God hates slander (Prov. 6:16, 19). James calls it demonic behavior (James 3:15-16). Engaging in slander is scandalous.

  Yet, many Christians share hearsay. You can hardly glance at social media without seeing a Christian (often a pastor or Christian leader) posting claims that they can’t possibly know to be true. They’re not Washington insiders or international authorities. They’re merely spreading what they learned from what is too often not a credible source.

  We must remember that our Enemy is the “father of lies” (Jn 8:44). Soon after Satan entered the Garden (Genesis 3), he spread the first conspiracy theory, convincing Eve that the most powerful of “conspirators”—the Creator God was secretly trying to keep the first humans from having their eyes opened in a way that would make them “like God, knowing good and evil.” Eve became the first in a long line to believe powerful forces were secretly conspiring and withholding secret information.

  Instead of thinking about what we’re unsure of, Scripture commands us: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). There are serious consequences when we ruminate on conspiracy theories instead of what we know is true.

  We soak our souls in fear. COVID-19 is a serious virus. When we focus on what’s rumor and can’t substantiate those claims, we increase our own anxiety and that of those who listen to us. One of the most repeated commands in Scripture is that we are not to live in fear (2 Tim. 1:7).

  We open ourselves up to anger and rage. When we feel helpless and that we have little control, we easily succumb to a very dangerous emotion – rage. Fear can quickly morph into anger because it provides an object: they are to blame, they caused this, they deserve retribution. There is nearly always some target that we can use as a scapegoat.

  We drown in doubt. The darkest day this world has ever known was when our Lord was crucified. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. But for those three days His disciples were drowning in doubt. Like that first Easter God confronts our fears with His presence. God is “with us” (Ps. 23:4). He has “called you by name” (Isa. 43:1), and nothing can separate us from our Heavenly Father and His great love for us” (Rom. 8:35-39).

  We hurt our witness. The gospel already seems too wonderful to be true. That God loved us and sacrificed His Son to pay for our sin, that salvation is a free gift and we can be forgiven by accepting God’s gift of salvation. It’s unbelievable! When we spread theories we can’t substantiate, it hurts our gospel witness. Not only that, but we’re distracted. We become “conspiracy theory evangelists” when God has called us to share His message of hope and forgiveness.

  This world is terrified and has great difficulty with truth, yet we’re called to be God’s people of truth. During this season of isolation, fear, and uncertainty, let’s determine to be intentional about leaning into God, His truth, and engaging others. It’s a real remedy for hurting hearts. Our world needs God’s truth. Let’s determine to share that!

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.