Quote
"The temptation to modify the teachings of Christ with the hope
that larger numbers may 'accept' Him
is cruelly strong in this day of speed, size, noise and crowds. But
if we know what is good for us, we'll
resist it with every power at our command."
AW Tozer: Born: 21 April 1897, Died: 12 May 1963
Scriptural Reference:
"For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto myths"
2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will
recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from
thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad
tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a
bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear
good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their
fruit you will recognize them"
Matthew 7:15-20 15
"1 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. 2 Many will follow their depraved
conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their
greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories"
2 Peter 2:1-3
"25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped
and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.
Amen."
Romans 1:25
Reflection:
The trend towards a popular church is nothing new. AW Tozer reflected
on this during his life time. The concept of making the service feel
contemporary and accepting at the cost of limiting the depth of the
gospel may be compared to a shallow pool where everyone will be welcomed
but nobody will be challenged. Such modifications to the Gospel message
continues even today as many Ministers aim at not upsetting people with
the truth. Some may hope that the truth will come to them in some flimsy
spritual way while others blatantly deny any of the foundational truths
as stated in the Bible so as to justify their own agendas.
In the book f Timothy we find the only reference in the Bible to 'itching
ears'. Paul is writing to Timothy and warning him against those who
will seek out teachers, ministers or priests who will only say what
they want to hear. Those things that affirm their inner desires and
physical needs instead of the meatier matters of salvation and living
a holy life. There is an understanding here that it is the listener
who will openly seek out false teachings who are in error here. There
will always be false teachers as long as there are those who want to
be able to pick and choose what they listen to.
We as Christians are admonished to look out for these false teachers
in Matthew 7:15-20 15. As mentioned there will always be false teachers,
like peddlars of questionable snake oils, looking for anyone who will
listen to them and follow their teaching. Our challenge is to be aware
of our inner desires and constantly keep check on them. It can become
too easy to venture into teachings that appear to be sound and Bible
based and yet through slight variations they deseve and lead people
slowly astray from the truth. An example of this I observed in a Uniting
Church where each Easter Dawn service the Minister would proclaim that
Christ is risen. Yet at other times and even when asked directly if
the grave was empty or full he stated that nobody comes back from the
grave and of course Christs body was still in the grave. At one level
someone would be fooled into believing that the doctrine in the Church
was sound and Bible based. As long as they accepted this and didn't
delve deeper they would slowly fall into a sense of complacency and
obsorbe the false teaching in small doses, never knowing thwey are moving
away from the truth.
A story that highlights this is that of the student and the turtle.
Three students in rural China wanted to modernise a small village. After
multiple failures where every time the though progress was achieved
the villagers would fall back into traditional ways. They asked an elder
why this was. The elder told them to put a turtle into boiling water,
which they did. The elder asked what happened and the students replied
that the turtle jumped out of the water. The elder then asked them to
put the turtle in cold water and to slowly raise the temperarture, which
the students did. The elder then asked what happened. The students replied
that the turtle just sat there as the temperature became hotter until
the animal wasd cooked. The elder smiled as he had expressed the way
suttle small changes can achieve more impact then larger noticable changes.
People are like turtles, if they face a sudden change they rebel. If
they slowly adjust to many small incrimented changes they adapt until
they can't rebel.
In 2 Peter 2:1-3 we read that those who do choose to follow false teachers
will do as much damage to themselves as to those who stand firm on the
Gospel truth. The teachers will, as it explains, create fabricated stories.
How often in our Post Cjristian world heard there are ever growing new
interpretations of wht the Bible really means. Even our English language
is constantly undergoing revision with the meaning of words changing
dramatically. At one time the word Gay meant lighthearted, while today
it is politiced and represents the LBGTQ community. Such fabrications
are meant to continue to feed the selfish desires of the listoners.
Finally or in summation we read in Romans 1:25 a sort of summing up
of the situation then as it still is today. They, both the false teachers
and those who follow them, exchanged truth for lies. They chose to serve
created things instead of the actual creator of all things. For some
they will read this and surmise it refers to idols and rituals. For
me I would deem this to also include anything that can be created and
followed in place of God. Such as philosophies, wealth, sexual desires,
life style choices and a mirriad of other man made creations that take
up the place within each of us that should be reserved for God alone.
So in closing we are called to cpontinue to search the Bible, rely
on the Bible and follow only the Bible and to stay away from any doctrine
or techings that in any way would diminish the Gospel message with a
human created surrogate god and truth.
Prayer:
Lord, Jesus the Christ.
I am not strong,
Lend me your strength.
I am not wise,
Teacg me your wisdom.
I am not clean,
Cleanse my intentions.
I am sadly incomplete,
Make me whole your Grace.
I pray these things in your loving name.
Amen