The Teachings That Have Failed Us

I'm going to speak candidly and frankly today because sometimes you just have to. 

I've have observed much and experienced much in churches and the religion of Christianity in my short lifetime. I have sat under a lot of very good teaching. But I have also heard teachings that are so twisted, I can't believe they are labeled Christian. I have walked away worse off than when I walked in.

I have come to realize something. The devil fights hard to get the church narrative. If he can taint our teaching, he can control our thinking. And if he can control our thinking, he can pull us far, far away from true relationship and intimacy with God, disarming us and neutralizing the threat we really are to him. He's so brazen about his efforts, he has no problem inserting his teachings even right into our Sunday services!

I believe many church classrooms/sermons/doctrines (entire "Christian" organizations actually) have been sabotaged by demonic thoughts and teachings, without us even being fully aware of it. (Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ) They may use partial truth so we will believe the rest of it that's a lie. But isn't that how the devil works? He is the master of deception.

Here are some of the LIES:

1) Because you are a sinner you must feel perpetually guilty, never worthy of anything good. Nothing. Yes, God "loves" you, but He's really just waiting for you to get your act together so you're worthy of His attention. Forgiveness isn't free, ya know. You've got to earn your way to Him and into heaven. THIS IS A LIE.

2) Be afraid. Be afraid of God. Whether they teach it directly or not, that's the feeling you end up getting when you live the first lie stated above. Since you're never going to live up to what God expects, you're too afraid to come close because He must be continuously angry at you. It's equal to not wanting to get near a parent for fear of punishment, whether you did something wrong or not. THIS IS A LIE. (Now, this is different from the fear of the Lord which has to do with a healthy reverence and respect for God which leads to life. See Proverbs 2:5) 

3) The devil. Two teachings have gone out. If the devil can't get you believing one, he'll try for the other.

a) The devil isn't real. He's a figurative concept. It's all in your head. (He tries hard to gaslight us!)

b) The devil is real but you must be very afraid of him because he is scary and strong. It's basically, ok, if you're going to believe he exists than he wants you fearful and believing he is more powerful than even God himself so you don't resist him with any sort of power or authority. And we probably don't have much confidence in God coming through anyway because, remember, He is mad at you, after all. THESE ARE LIES.

With twisted words and the absence of God's heart and Spirit behind the message, this is what many people walk away with. It's no wonder then that so many people have come to hate church, resist God, and have looked to other things in the world to find truth and love and acceptance. This must sicken God's heart to no end!

These are just a handful of lies that people are taught. We haven't even touched on the doctrine that mixes the world's philosophies with God's truth. They mix the two together, creating a poisonous combination that people willing drink because it sounds so close to the truth and it gives them what their "itching ears" want to hear.

(2 Timothy 4:3). LIES.

Here's the thing. TRUTH will always set you free to love God and come closer to Him. TRUTH will show you who you are in the light of God's mercy and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You are forgiven and accepted through the blood that Jesus shed for you. And God is stronger than the devil. There is absolutely no competition there. 

We must read the Bible for ourselves, friends. (Read it in a reliable translation and one you can understand. It can be in book form or easily viewed online.) We must crack it open and understand what it says with the help of the Holy Spirit. We must ask God to help us discern when we are hearing the truth and when we are hearing just partial truth (which is really just a lie). 

Know the truth. Know what truth is. Ask God to give you discernment and wisdom that can only come from His Spirit. And run far away from anything less.

***

My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/pro.2.1-6.NLT

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/1ti.4.1-2.NLT

I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom: Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.4.1-4.NLT

How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭8‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.8.8-9.NLT

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. 

For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority. 

These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings. 

These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.

These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.2.12-22.NLT