If you believe it’s important to follow the Bible, wouldn’t you want to “test all things” by God’s Word? Shouldn't you be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who kept "examining the scriptures daily to see if these things are so?" Shouldn’t you at least see which ideas have more scriptural support than others? In light of that important idea, below are some questions for you:
In the Bible, which are there
more of?
...Bible verses about feeling God's presence (so you can know He's real), or Bible verses about knowing, teaching and following correct doctrine? (This is a trick question; there are no verses about feeling, experiencing or “being intoxicated” by God’s presence. Also, capitalizing the letter “p” in presence comes from the New Age movement.)
...Bible verses that tell us
to have a "personal, intimate and emotional encounter with God," or
Bible verses that tell us we can know God through His Word and Sacraments?
(This is a trick question-there are no verses telling us that we’re
supposed to have a personal, intimate and emotional encounter with God.)
...Bible verses about how you need to follow along with the vision of your pastor, or Bible verses about the pastor being a servant and shepherd? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling you to “follow the vision” of your “vision-casting pastor;” that idea comes from the business world.)
...Bible verses telling the church to conform to the pagan culture (in order to "win over" that culture), or Bible verses describing the church as separate and distinct from culture? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling the church to conform to the pagan culture. The word “church” comes from the word “ekklesia” which means “gathering” or “called out ones.”)
...Bible verses that describe the church as a place for entertainment-style "worship" (so that lots of people will enjoy going there), or as a place where the Bible (and sound doctrine about Christ) is proclaimed, confessed and taught? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling the church to attract non-believers with flashy and/or emotional music, stagecraft, sermons full of entertaining stories/jokes, etc.)
...Bible verses that teach pastors about effective leadership skills that allow them to direct and manage a large staff (and thus make a huge salary), or Bible verses that say no believer should follow worldly philosophies and pastors should not get rich from preaching? (This is a trick question; there are no verses that describe pastors as businessman CEOs that follow leadership practices borrowed from pagans who want to get rich.)
...Bible verses that describe the Holy Spirit as wanting to get more and more attention (because He's been so neglected), or Bible verses that say He is always pointing us to Christ? (This is a trick question; the real Holy Spirit of the Bible is always leading people to repentance and faith in Christ, He never sends people on bizarre wild goose chases.)
...Bible verses where the Holy Spirit wants to make us act drunk and out of control, or Bible verses where the Holy Spirit wants to lead us to repentance and faith in Christ? (This is a trick question; there are no verses saying that the Holy Spirit wants to make us act drunk and out of control.)
...Bible verses that command us to muster up intense fervor to show how serious we are about serving God (so that He will finally give us something more: more power, more miracles, more success, more influence...), or Bible verses that tell us to simply believe in the forgiveness of our sins through Christ? (This is a trick question; there are no verses telling us to muster up intense fervor so we can show God how serious we are. You can relax now!)
...Bible verses about a great end times revival that features new and better Apostles who will do great healings, signs and wonders, or Bible verses that tell us about an end times falling away, full of false teachers doing great healings, signs and wonders in the name of Jesus? (This is a trick question; there are no Bible verses that tell us to expect a great end-times revival that features new and better Apostles. All of the Bible verses are warning us about a great falling away with false teachers leading many astray by doing miraculous signs and wonders in the name of Jesus.)
...Bible verses that tell us to go to meetings and conferences in order to "get the anointing," or Bible verses that tell us we already have all that we need in Christ? (This is a trick question-there are no verses that tell Christians to go somewhere in order to "get the anointing." You can stop throwing away money on travel expenses and conference tickets now!)
...Bible verses that instruct Christians to "speak things into existence?"... never mind, that's so idiotic that we can just go to the next question (this is not an article about witchcraft and sorcery)...
...Bible verses that instruct Christians to "speak things into existence?"... never mind, that's so idiotic that we can just go to the next question (this is not an article about witchcraft and sorcery)...
...Bible verses that tell churches to unify regardless of doctrine (so that God can finally "show up"), or Bible verses that tell us to hold fast to correct doctrine? (This is a trick question-there are no Bible verses where God promises to "show up" once we all give up our doctrine and unite for the sake of being unified.)
...Bible verses that tell us it's "all about a relationship, not a religion," or Bible verses that tell us to repent, be baptized and become members of Christ's body-The Church? (This is a trick question-there are no verses that specifically tell us to "have a personal relationship with Jesus," instead, the Bible points to the establishment of the Church and it's specific doctrine. Christianity is, by definition, a religion. You can stop being ashamed of that now. It is the only true religion-and it offers us the only true Good News! And, yes, we can certainly claim to have a relationship with Jesus, but this article is about what the Bible actually says. Perhaps this video will help: Jesus Is My Friend)
Love this article, thank you!
ReplyDeletein summary, its a great blog, only few notes...
ReplyDelete- on fifth paragraph i am quite disagree, in my opinion people may worship Him in whichever way is suitable (as long as its not against His way), reference is probably on one of the time when Paul said something about once you accepted Christ you are free from all sin although it wont be an excuse for anyone to commit a new sin...sorry i forgot the precise sentence nor the exact verse...
- on seventh paragraph, i also disagree. In my opinion being closer to Holy Spirit it isnt because He is neglected in somehow, it just how love works. Once you fall in love, dont you want to be always closer and closer? getting more intimate (dont view this as something sexually tho)?... i still remember well when i once fall to a certain girl, to be honest even spending 24 hr with her wouldnt be enough (oh we never had sex btw). Its like the more i knew her, the more i wanted to always be near her... oh well pretty much hard to explain this so im just gonna summarize it, being closed to someone doesnt always meant because they crave for attention... sometimes it can be something as simple as "being in love"...i dont need to show you why we should love our beloved God, dont i?
- on eight paragraph, i disagree, are you trying to be misleading? or you just really hate our charismatic brothers and sister that much? :D ... there are no verses on the Bible about Holy Spirit wants us to "act" drunk, but... i am sure you know this, there are more then one occasion in the Bible when Holy Spirit fill a believer they would act on something like that... i.e Saul when he is about to be anointed? theres so many more...
- tenth paragraph... you are correct, with a note that it doesnt leave the option to be closed. Or do you think our Lord favours Paul more then you and me?..
- Last paragraph... tell me, which bible verses says that Jesus came to this earth to establish a religion? or is it beside those you "throw stone" at, you yourself have a few of "unbiblical doctrine" that only followed "tradition"?... another question, "Love the Lord your God", if lets say u didnt put any doctrine to it, and just read it as it is, you dont feel that the Lord wants to be closer to His subjects? really?...
to be honest man, i know you dislike the charismatic or the pentacostal type of christianity, but to be honest man dont let yourself to be consumed by hatred. Try to remember well to always love your brothers and sister, and reflect over and over before you threw any stone at 'em.
oh and i almost forgot, at the paragraph before the last one, i got a question for you how do you seperate those that have the "correct doctrine" or not? so church on different "background" may not be united, even when you put "what would Jesus want for His disciple to do" ?...
Dear, I am me,
DeleteThank you for reading my blog, I hope that you read it a LOT more. Most importantly, I hope you actually read the Bible, which is God's Word. PLEASE read all the Bible verses I have on the page called "Shocking Crazy Things!!" and the article "Don't Get Fooled Again!"
I know you didn't intend to do this, but your comments are an amazing demonstration of everything that is wrong with the Charismatic Movement. My article made very specific claims about false teachings that are not based on the Bible. If anyone wanted to prove me wrong they would have to actually quote the Bible, since that's the whole point. You never quoted the Bible. Did you think about that as you were writing to me? What you did was make assertions. (It looks like English isn't your first language so I hope I am being clear enough). An assertion is an idea that requires proof in order to be true. A Christian assertion (or idea) MUST be clearly found in the Bible, otherwise it's just an idea that comes from man. Doctrine is just another word for teaching.
You seemed to say that you don't believe that correct doctrine can be known for sure. But you wrote your comments to correct me on the points you disagreed with. By doing this, you have proven that you do believe in a certain teaching (or doctrine). Not every idea can be true, only the ideas that are found in God's Word. If a pastor teaches something that sounds really good or exciting, or if he uses interesting stories to make his point, that doesn't mean he is teaching what is true. You have been taught by false teachers. I'm sure they are very convincing false teachers, that's why you and many other people believe them. Everything you said to me was based on your feelings, or something you heard somebody else say. You talk about loving God, but how can you love Him while you ignore what He has said in His Word?
His Word tells us: "do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."
His Word says: "Hold fast (retain) the pattern of sound words (doctrine) which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you."
His Word says: "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter."
His Word says: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."
These are just a few of the verses that tell us to follow correct teaching. Loving God means learning who He really is as He has revealed Himself in His Word; not the pretend version of Him that reminds us of our girlfriend.
I'm sure you've had very emotional experiences, but emotions don't tell us what is true-only the Bible can be trusted to tell us what is true. The Holy Spirit only works through God's Word; He doesn't speak to each person with a different message for each person. God loved us so much that He gave us His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, then He gave us His un-changing Word, so that we wouldn't be confused by the teachings of men and our emotions. I hope that at some point you will start to see the errors and contradictions in what you believe.