“Maybe they are saved. Someone shared the Gospel with them. Someone gave them a Bible.”
We have a hard time, when someone passes, accepting the reality of hell. We don’t rejoice that they are there, but some go beyond Scripture and cannot allow their minds to accept the truth. So they will seek some way to ease their minds from facing the reality of that one’s eternal state.
I read something earlier and shared it. In part it read,
“But beware: the more truth one receives and rejects, the greater the condemnation. There are degrees of punishment in hell, and the hottest places are reserved for those who trample the Son of God underfoot. Let every hearer take heed—not merely to fear the wrath to come, but to flee to the only refuge: the true Christ of Scripture. Repent while there is still time to repent.” ~ Crystal Rose Wilson
It went on to say,
“Hebrews chapter 10 adds another passage to these. It says, ‘Of how much greater punishment shall the one be thought worthy who has trodden underfoot the Son of God and counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing?’ In other words, if you hear the Gospel and reject it, you have a greater judgment than one who didn’t hear it. There will be greater and lesser degrees of punishment in hell. And so the record is kept of every person’s life so that the judgment and the punishment can fit the iniquity.” ~ John MacArthur
A dear sister in Christ at church once shared of taking the Gospel to someone in their final moments. She did not try to super-spiritualize the story, nor did she pretend that there was an outcome of her own imagination. She cared desperately for that lost soul, and she gave them one more opportunity to hear the Gospel. They gave no indication that they responded. She then shared something I hadn’t heard someone be so honest in saying after such a moment: she said that she understood that upon them hearing the Gospel, it would either result in their salvation by God’s grace or it would stand against them in judgment because they heard the truth.
We’re far too often just not that honest.
“Faith is not a product of our own making; it is a gift of God to be received by grace alone.” ~ John MacArthur
I recently heard someone try to comfort themselves by saying that they had shared the Gospel with someone (though it was a very watered-down version of the Gospel) and that they were confident it meant that person had to have been saved at some point thereafter because “God’s Word doesn’t come back to Him void.” Oh friend, that is a gross perversion of what that means, and if it were so, then every person who has ever heard the Gospel must be in heaven. We know that is not true. We must stop lying to ourselves and to one another.
“The Gospel produces fruit, but it is God alone who makes it effectual.” ~ Martin Luther
While some who hear the Gospel will die in their sin and will face the just wrath of God—and will be judged far greater for having heard the Gospel and rejected it—this must not silence us! We must not cease proclaiming the Gospel with sincere love for each one, even though the results may not be what we desire. And we must stop lying to ourselves: no, not every person we share the Gospel with will be saved. But we must not alter the truth of the message to make it acceptable to man so we get the results we want, leading many into false conversions, who will still stand in judgment hearing, “I never knew you.” The results are up to God. That should give us confidence! We are commanded to tell them; God is responsible for the results.
“Duty is ours; results are God’s.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Friend, proclaim the Gospel and leave the results to God.
Slaves to false doctrines do not break free by their own free will; they must hear the truth, and it takes the sovereign work of God in them to destroy their beloved delusion. They are convinced of a lie. The enemy sold them a counterfeit that promised all they desired and God—so they took it. They sing with passion and boast much of their faith, the power of their faith, and the power of their words. Their lives are not marked by genuine humility but by false humility. They are convinced that if they just keep claiming, keep decreeing, and keep declaring, they will have what they desire—and that they must continue to do so. Why? Because others’ salvation, they believe, depends on their testimony, their faith, their breakthrough. At any point, if they begin to think critically or biblically, they snatch themselves away from such thoughts, convinced those are doubts sown by the enemy.
At this point, tears sting my eyes. I hate these lies! To many, such words sound offensive. How could I use a word like hate? (Insert their rebuke of me here.) But do you not hate evil? How can you love the truth if you do not also hate that which is evil and leading many blissfully to hell?
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Many live as slaves to some of the most blasphemous, heretical, cruel, and evil doctrines—doctrines they believe set them apart as the most loving, as those who know God better, because they claim to hear Him speak all the time. They believe themselves to be more anointed, to have authority like Jesus, so that whatever He did they can do. They prove themselves bankrupt of the truth, lovers of lies, blissfully deceived. It is a counterfeit faith that promises all their sinful hearts desire—and then adds it to the Gospel.
“Nothing is more perilous to our salvation than a distorted and perverted worship of God.” ~ John Calvin
My words, nor your words, have any power to change their minds or their hearts. Sharing Scripture with them is like talking to a delusional person. They smile. They agree. They listen. They check in and out. They pity you, as if something is wrong with you. They are there, but they are not listening. They work with different definitions. They are deceived.
What then? We must not forsake praying for them. And while it may be offensive to them, we must share the Gospel with them. How dare someone share the Gospel with them? Do we not know who they are—how anointed, how powerful, how special?
But the true believer is never offended at hearing the Gospel again. We need it every day.
“The Gospel is meant to be medicine for the sick, not a show for the curious, nor a cloak for the proud.” ~ J.C. Ryle
They are stubborn in their beliefs. They are unwilling to have their hearts or minds changed. Their will is set hard against the truth. They could not possibly be wrong. They are convinced they are special, that they hear God speak to them personally, and therefore the problem must be with you.
It is by grace alone that they will come out of false doctrine and into the truth. Some are regenerate, and God will bring them out. Many, however, are false converts. They have a jesus, a gospel, and a spirit—but it is a different jesus, another gospel, and another spirit.
“It is not by our free will or strength that we come to Christ, but by the grace and working of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Martin Luther
It is God alone who works by means of His Word faithfully exposited and the Gospel rightly proclaimed to take out hearts of stone and change the will of man to delight in the truth. Many love a Jesus, but they do not love the Jesus of the Bible.
“The Scripture is the only rule of the knowledge of God, and of the obedience which he requires of us.” ~ John Owen
Your friends and neighbors caught up in these evil doctrines make them appear attractive. They seem so happy and promise all you desire. But they are deceived. When they get sick and when they battle the same health issues we all face, they speak their native tongue: they lie, but they call it faith. They claim their healing, their breakthrough, their miracle. That is not faith! That is the opposite of faith in a sovereign God. They demand what they desire and do it in God’s name. This is not a faith to be admired but to be rejected.
You are drawn to what they offer because they promise all your sinful heart desires—and heaven too. But they are deceived, and they are deceiving many.
This burns in my chest. These doctrines are a slow and deadly poison. They have captivated the hearts of massive numbers of professing Christians. And when these suffer, as we all do, they will not let go of their delusion. They will claim their healing, their breakthrough, their miracle—until the last. That is not faith! Faith trusts the sovereign will of God, even when His will is that we suffer.
“The truth is not popular, but it is the truth. We must preach it whether men like it or not.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
If they were to read what I just wrote, they would rebuke me and these words. They have no power to do so, but fear compels them to silence anything that challenges their desires. They do not have faith; they have superstition and religious mysticism. They have counterfeit beliefs. They are deceived.
Please, find a church that preaches expositionally. You don’t need what they are selling. It is a cruel and evil counterfeit.
Scripture calls those who teach these evil doctrines “springs without water.” They promise you power and authority. They make you feel special. But they bring God low, exalt man, and burden you with egregious lies and bankrupt doctrines. When you suffer, as we all do, you are left with a false faith that places the entire burden on you.
I once believed many of these lies. I know the wrestling between reality and delusion. I know the words spoken over the suffering that are cruel, but called love. But I also know the grace of God—powerful to bring His own out and into a love for the truth. I also know the sovereignty of God in suffering, and that what He does in us is far greater than any sinful desire promised by liars and deceivers.
“We never truly glory in Him until we have utterly discarded our own glory.” ~John Calvin
I wasn’t a victim of bad theology; I believed it, taught it, and was convinced of those lies. I know the pride and delusion. It is evil. I have repented of all my former false beliefs. I pray you will too.
“A doctrinally sound church will guard the truth and help believers grow in knowledge of God.” ~ R. C. Sproul
“Doctrinal integrity is not optional; it is the very foundation of a healthy church.” ~ John MacArthur
You realized that the preaching you were sitting under wasn’t just a little off— it was false, even dangerous. You took the right steps before realizing that you needed to find a doctrinally sound church.
You weren’t filled with excitement. You were unsure of who to trust and you really didn’t know how to even trust yourself. You’re the one who got yourself into bad theology in the first place. God graciously opened your eyes to the falsehood and began showing you the truth.
It was hard. It was painful. It cost you, well, everything. Your reputation. Your pride. Relationships. Ministry positions. While it didn’t feel good, it was worth it. You know that’s true even though it still doesn’t feel like it.
Sanctification is a lot more painful than you ever knew it to be when you were chasing those emotional highs and getting your temporal fix.
Now, you don’t trust your emotions but you also don’t want to become emotionless. You are learning what to look for in a doctrinally sound church. You had no idea how much bad theology has swallowed up so many churches. You continue searching. You’re learning that most of those Statements of Faith on church websites are pretty much worthless. You listen to some of the sermons to try to discern if that church is sound. You’re struggling because you still haven’t worked out so many of your own false beliefs and corrected them Biblically.
It’s overwhelming. It’s incredibly lonely. It’s painful. You wrestle with remembering how good you once thought it was and how happy you were and how hard it is now and it feels like going back would be so much easier, but you can’t do that, and truly, as much as it hurts you don’t want to.
You didn’t want to leave. You imagined when you sat with the leaders and shared your concerns that they’d be receptive and they’d want to reform their beliefs according to Scripture. You still didn’t realize how bad the teaching actually was or that they never meant it when they said they were open to Biblical correction.
You tried to tell the leaders; they talked down to you and tried to make you feel like you were crazy. You showed them Scripture and tried to reason with them, feeling very inadequate for the task because you were still so ignorant yourself and didn’t really know how to explain what you were learning and why their beliefs are dangerous but you knew they were. By the time you left speaking with them, you began to question yourself.
Oh, how you wish that unlearning bad theology and learning the truth could happen as quickly as it was when the delusion fell away. Why is it so painful? Why is it so hard to find a doctrinally sound church? When will you stop crying? When will you be able to cry again? Why are you so emotional? Why are you so numb?
Coming out of bad theology is NOT easy. The lie we desire is that it will be easy, but that’s what got us in trouble in the first place.
The process is hard and painful but it is worth it. It does get better! The first few years are often the most painful. Please, don’t give up!
The more you learn the truth, the more you realize how much you have yet to learn and the more you learn, the more you desire to know the truth. What you are gaining is FAR greater than anything you lost. Before, when you were tested and tried your emotional experiences failed you. They would come and go, but now you are building on a sure foundation. Now, lies are being torn down and that’s painful. It’s a real loss. But you are also being built up in the truth. That does not come and go! In time, when tested, it will stand firm.
The process is hard. It is lonely. It is painful. But keep studying your Bible. Keep learning how to study your Bible. Keep looking for a doctrinally sound church. Don’t give up! The same God who brought you out of bad theology is leading you in the truth and He will lead you to a doctrinally sound church!
What to Look for in a Doctrinally Sound Church (Mark Dever & John MacArthur)
Mark Dever (Nine Marks of a Healthy Church): Expositional Preaching – Scripture is faithfully explained verse by verse. Biblical Theology – Teaching is rooted in the whole counsel of God. Biblical Understanding of the Gospel – Christ-centered, salvation by grace alone. Biblical Church Membership – Members are committed to the church’s doctrine and life together. Biblical Discipline – The church lovingly restores and corrects members in sin. Biblical Leadership – Elders and deacons lead faithfully according to Scripture. Biblical Worship – Worship glorifies God, is rooted in Scripture, and focuses on Christ. Biblical Stewardship – Resources are managed according to God’s principles. Biblical Discipleship – Members are equipped to grow in godliness and truth.
John MacArthur (Characteristics of a True Church): Commitment to Sound Doctrine – The church protects and proclaims God’s truth. Biblical Teaching and Exposition – Pastors faithfully expound Scripture, refuting error. Christ-Centered Confession – The church exalts Christ and proclaims His work. Guarding Against False Doctrine – Leaders identify and reject deviations from Scripture. Spiritual Maturity and Discernment – Members grow in knowledge, unity, and stability through sound teaching.
“Any gospel that looks within man for good is not the gospel of God’s grace; it is another gospel.” ~ R. C. Sproul
If your gospel is that God is looking within you to find something good, useful, or beneficial to Him and He is calling you to Himself in order to bring out of you the potential within then you have another gospel. (Galatians 1:6-9)
God is not looking within us and seeking something useful to Him because He needs us (Acts 17:24-25). Consider the implication. When we believe that God needs me or sees something in us worth saving, we are elevating ourselves and bringing God low.
Who wouldn’t think this way? We are sinners (Romans 3:23). We have a high view of ourselves (Romans 12:3). Of course, God needs me, right? Of course, there’s something within me worth saving, right? I’m not totally depraved; I’m just a little messed up but me plus God can make me fulfill what I was always meant to be. I just need a little fixin’ up.
This is not the Gospel! But we may miss it. Gospel language is used but either in addition to or subtraction from some of the correct components of the Gospel. When this happens it becomes another gospel.
A gospel presentation that has some of the right components may sound like the Gospel. Some may let it slide when important components are missing or when other components are added. They don’t realize the danger. This is not acceptable.
At any point we add to or take away from the Gospel, we have another gospel. Scripture is clear concerning the man who proclaims another Gospel: let him be anathema (Galatians 1:8-9). It’s a matter we must consider of utmost importance.
The truth is, God is self-sufficient (Psalm 50:9-12; Acts 17:24-25). God does not need us.
If your gospel fails to deal with sin and does not use words like judgment, wrath, hell, or the holiness of God, then you have another gospel (John 16:8; Romans 1:18; Matthew 10:28; 1 Peter 1:15-16). If your gospel presents a different problem than Scripture by addition or subtraction, you have another gospel.
If your gospel presents your problem as not realizing your full potential and sin is hindering what is great within you from being manifest, you have another gospel (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-12). If your gospel presents your problem as your lack of realizing what you were made to be and needing to repent of the sin of not realizing your potential, you have another gospel.
The Gospel begins with God. The Gospel does not begin with man or something in us worth saving (Romans 3:9-28).
God is not just longing for us and desperate for us to see how wonderful we really are. That is NOT good news! Consider that. If God needs us and the problem is we just don’t realize our potential and God is trying to bring out our full potential, then we have a fundamental misunderstanding of just how sinful we are and who God is (Ephesians 2:1-3).
When we hear the Gospel we do not look within and see anything worth saving (Romans 7:18). We cry out against our hearts (Psalm 51:10). When we come to understand the holiness of God as presented in the Gospel, we do NOT know how we could possibly be saved (Isaiah 6:1-7). We see how evil we are—how depraved. We do not want what is within to be brought out (Matthew 7:20-23).
The Gospel calls us to come and die (Luke 9:23; Galatians 2:20). When we hear the Gospel, we want that old man to die (Romans 6:6)! When we hear the Gospel we are not encouraged to be a better version of ourselves or think that we are something worth saving and God needs us. No!
We understand that we are not worth saving and we don’t know how we can be saved and we fear the just wrath of God that we deserve (Romans 3:19; Hebrews 10:31). Then, at this point, comes the Good News of how we may be saved. Then, we rejoice when we hear who Jesus is and what He has done for wretched sinners like us (Romans 5:1-11)!
God has never saved anyone who was good and just needed to realize their full potential (Luke 5:32). God saves hell deserving sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Any gospel that adds to or takes away from that is a false gospel (Galatians 1:6-9).
God is not saving us from our sins so that we can be a better version of ourselves. As flattering as that is to our sinful nature, it is horrible news! We do NOT want to be a better version of our depraved selves (Romans 7:18; Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18). We must come and die. We must hear the Gospel that leaves us asking, “How can I be saved”? But we must be careful that we have a right understanding also of what we are being saved from (Romans 5:9).
We may agree that we are sinners, but if we define sin as something external that is hindering our potential, we make ourselves victims of sin and not those who are guilty before a holy, righteous, and just God for our sins against Him (Romans 3:19-20; James 2:10)!
We have sinned (Romans 3:23). We have sinned against God (Psalm 51:4). We have sinned against holiness (Isaiah 6:5). We have no good thing to offer God that He may look upon and determine that He needs us so we are worth saving (Romans 7:18). Our sin is so grievous and heinous before God that we deserve an eternity in hell (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15). The punishment is not too severe. It is just (Romans 6:23)!
God cannot be unjust (Deuteronomy 32:4)! Do we realize how sinful we are? Perhaps not! Perhaps this is because we do not know Who we have sinned against and we can’t imagine ourselves as bad as we truly are (Exodus 34:6-7). We are a lot worse than we think ourselves to be (Romans 3:10-12)! God is much holier than we realize (Isaiah 6:3)!
It is not that you are a sinner, and you just need to realize how great you are. We stand justly condemned before a perfect, holy, righteous Judge (Hebrews 9:27). There is nothing in and of ourselves worth saving. We deserve the full undiluted wrath of God (Romans 1:18).
Scripture says that we are dead in our sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1). It says that the intentions of men’s hearts were evil only (Genesis 6:5). It says that the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9). Scripture testifies to the goodness and the greatness and the power and the holiness and the majesty of God. It reveals that God is self-sufficient in need of nothing and no one outside of Himself. God does not need me or you!
Any gospel that begins with men and presents God as looking within man seeing something worth saving is a distorted view of the gospel and of who God is and who we are.
Scripture says that there are none good, no, not one (Romans 3:10). God saves us for His own glory (Ephesians 1:5-6; Isaiah 43:7).
The true Gospel is offensive to those who think themselves better than they are and God far less Holy than He is (1 Corinthians 1:18; John 3:19-20)!
Once we understand the Gospel, it is very humbling and no man can stand before God thinking that there was something about himself that God saw within him that was worth saving.
The Law reveals our depraved, wicked, and wrath-deserving condition. Any gospel that points to the cross apart from dealing correctly with the holiness of God and the depravity of man, is a blasphemous gospel.
Any gospel that is man-centered is a blasphemous gospel that denies the Penal Substitutionary Atonement of Christ on behalf of wicked sinners (Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
It is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone as revealed in Scripture alone that any man is saved. The true Gospel leaves no room for boasting (1 Corinthians 1:22-31).
The true Gospel starts with God’s holiness (Isaiah 6:3), not man’s perceived potential or inherent value (Romans 3:10-12).
“We are to study, pray, and obey; God gives no secret knowledge to absolve our diligence.” ~ Richard Baxter
God has gifted Biblically qualified elders to proclaim His Word, but they do not have a special anointing that gives them access to secret knowledge withheld from you or me. They do not have new knowledge hidden from the church over the last two thousand years. God has gifted them to teach faithfully. He has not called them to bring new knowledge that would require us to trust whatever they say based on phrases like, “God told me” or “God gave me this word for us today.”
That God has been so gracious to gift the church with Biblically qualified elders who can teach and who are faithful to study and exposit His Word does not allow you or me to be lazy students of Scripture, nor can we leave discernment solely to others.
There are many false teachers as well. How can we know the difference? We must learn to study our Bible—faithfully, according to what the text says and means—so that we may rightly apply it to our lives. When anyone introduces a doctrine contrary to the text, we must be able to discern truth from lies, and even more so, truth from “almost truth.”
Friend, in a healthy church, there are Christians who have studied more and know more about the text than we do. If they are faithfully handling God’s Word, and it is evident in their life that they are being changed by it, we can learn from them.
But today, we don’t just learn from those in our local church. We now have access to many others who faithfully exposit God’s Word. Among them are wolves and false teachers. Again, we must be discerning—not by feelings or impressions. That is not discernment. We must be Biblically discerning.
When others are more knowledgeable of the text, we must be careful not to view them as having some “super-anointing.” Consider this: if God had given them a super-anointing with secret knowledge, how could we be held responsible for being deceived? If His Word is the sufficient and objective standard to which we are all held, then how could He hold us accountable if He had granted them secret knowledge? They don’t have it, though some love to convince the naive and gullible that they do.
We are responsible for studying our Bible so that we may not be deceived by others. We don’t get to be lazy, nor can we lay our responsibility on those who are faithful to study and exercise Biblical discernment. We can learn from them, but we cannot transfer our responsibility to them.
Open your Bible and study. If you feel like you will never grasp the text, and others seem to be talking past you, that is okay for a short time. But if, years or decades later, you remain at the same pace, could the problem not be them—but you? Have you decided you can’t understand, so you don’t try? Do you trust God to fulfill His promise to help you understand the text? If so, be faithful. He is faithful. Study! There will be a reward for your diligence. Keep studying. We cannot grow apart from the Word. You’d be surprised how many of those who seem to know the Word so well feel very inadequate themselves. The difference is they keep studying and do not allow doubts about their own ability to hinder them from obeying God.
“The Christian is not above the law, but walks within it as one redeemed to honor God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
The Christian thinks himself not above the law nor a victim when he is made to face consequences even for past sinful choices. That we are justified before God and being sanctified, does not lead the Christian to think that now whatever he has done prior to salvation that he can no longer be made to face the consequences. No!
Now, he understands more than ever that what he did was sinful before God and that he must face the consequences of his sinful (even criminal) acts. Now, he faces those consequences as it pleases the Lord. He submits to the law he once resisted and despised. He reveals the work of God in him by how he submits to the law and not as one in rebellion against it.
He does not pridefully act as though because he is a Christian that he is somehow above the law. No! He understands that he is not a victim of those enforcing the law, but he is guilty, and must still face the consequences of his crimes. He does not use his conversion as an excuse to evade consequences for his crimes.
Tragically, many who profess to be Christians behave with such pride that it brings reproach on the name of Christ. Though we have been justified in Christ, that does not mean we are no longer responsible for facing the consequences of criminal acts.
Sadly, some false teachers promise that if you accept Jesus in your heart that you can claim your crimes are removed. That’s a lie! While we may find Grace in the justice system, we are not guaranteed that as a result of new life in Christ.
We are not above the law—if anything, we have more reason to honor it: to glorify God and to well represent Christ. Many claim to have respect for the law and those who uphold it until they are made to submit to it.
Friend, when the Apostles wrote that we must obey the governing authorities, it was done so while under the rule of corrupt leaders. We obey such as it glorifies God unless the law leads us to disobey God and then we obey God—yet even then, we do so peacefully and to the glory of God.
“You cannot make anyone a Christian by your prayers or tears; only the Spirit can awaken faith.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“The duty of parents is to teach the Word and pray, leaving the conversion of the heart to God.” ~ Richard Baxter
“Parents may sow, but God alone gives the increase.” ~ Matthew Henry
We are not promised that our children will be saved. We cannot “claim them to the Lord”. God is not giving new revelation by which He promises that your children will be saved.
A heart that cannot accept the reality that we are commanded to raise them up in the truth and trust God with the results, will find comfort in false—even heretical—doctrines that promise what their hearts desire.
The mind is not informed by truth so that the heart delights in what pleases God and the will sanctified to the glory of God. No! The heart desires that God must promise what it wants and cannot accept the will of God if it is contrary to ones own desire. It corrupts God’s Word to promise what it desires.
Every Christian parent wants their child to be saved. Not every Christian parent trusts God with the results. Not every Christian parent goes to God’s Word seeking truth but rather seeking ‘a word’ that can be twisted to promise what they desire. Prayer becomes a means to claim what they desire. It’s not faith! It does not honor God. It perverts His Word, abuses prayer to become a means of claiming what one desires and commanding God to do what they desire. It turns one’s own ‘good works’ and ‘faithfulness’ into a means to manipulate God to do what they desire because of what they’ve done for Him.
It is painful for a Christian parent to see their adult children walk away from God. Either we trust God and we pray sincerely and passionately on behalf of our children according to the will of God, or we show ourselves enemies of God when He does not do what we believe He must do because He can.
Do we really love God or do we love Him so long as He does what we believe He must do?
Friend, if you think you can ‘claim anyone to faith’, you are deceived. You are not God! You do not have that kind of authority over someone else. If that were so, why would you not just claim everyone to faith in Christ? God ALONE is Sovereign over salvation. Either we trust Him and we find comfort in that so that our prayers are not futile or we don’t trust Him and we think we must take authority from God and do it ourselves.
Pray for your children no matter their age. God is still sovereign!
“True religion is the sense of the heart’s dependence on God, and the vigorous exercise of holy affections in the pursuit of His glory.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
Ladies, while we are not called by God to the pulpit, we are called to study our Bibles and to be discerning.
Sadly, many women have been deceived by their own hearts and led into disobedience to God by cowardly and Biblically ignorant men who have encouraged them to be pastors. In response to that error, another extreme has emerged. Some men—while seeking to “take back the pulpit”—behave like Pharisees. They would rather their wives get together to drink wine than to study God’s Word. They forbid them from gathering with other women to study God’s Word, pre-approve their reading material, and instruct them that they may only hear Scripture taught to them from their husband or pastor.
Like the very error they seek to oppose, they imitate it. They do not faithfully exposit God’s Word but read into the text their ideas and answers to real problems in the church. They become like what they hate. They use Biblical language but they pervert the meaning. They seek to answer real problems but they do not get their answers from a proper exegesis of the text. They study other materials that offer them power and give a pragmatic answer.
These men, on each extreme, are disobeying God, and misleading many women, their households, their churches and bringing reproach on the name of Christ.
Scripture makes it plain that women are NOT called to preach, no matter how strongly she feels “led” to do so. However, Scripture in no way forbids women to study our Bibles, to gather with other women to study together or only be allowed to read pre-approved material from one’s husband.
We are living among extremes. One seems to be a response to another and both are unbiblical and dangerous.
While no woman is ever Biblically qualified or called to be a pastor, we are not forbidden from faithful study of God’s Word or gathering with other women to study God’s Word. No passage of Scripture—rightly exposited—teaches or instructs this.
Men who love and care about the women in their churches and in their home and in their lives do not impose on them rules foreign to Scripture. Likewise, they do not abandon their responsibilities or encourage women to disobey God by doing what men should be.
And ladies, even if men abandon their responsibility in the pulpit this still does not give us the freedom to disobey God and step into the pulpit. We are not preachers! And that does not diminish the beauty of who God created us to be or our God-given roles that glorify Him.
The church needs men who will go into the Word of God and submit to what it says and means, leading the church and their households accordingly. The church has long been led by weak and cowardly men, who have abandoned their roles and responsibilities, encouraged women to disobey God and have so feminized the church that we now have a new problem. We have men who are taking back the pulpit but are doing so as goes beyond Scripture.
The church needs women who once again see the beauty in who God has created us to be for His glory and to honor Him in it. We do not need to be men or to assume the God-given role of men to be of value. We need to be women. And we need to submit to the Word of God according to its proper exegesis. We need other women who know their Bible, so that we may encourage one another in the truth of what it means to be a woman who loves God and honors Him.
The church must be careful of extremes. Only God’s Word—rightly exposited—will keep us from extremes and walking in the truth.
“God does not need our tongues to slay the wickedness of men; He needs our hearts to yield to His Word.” ~ Richard Baxter
We abuse Scriptures of threatening and warning when we violently thrust them into the heart of a man, rather than faithfully proclaim them and trust the Holy Spirit to work in his heart.
Restrain our hearts before we foolishly unleash our tongues to speak with unbridled passion, using God’s Word to inflict wounds for our own honor. Oh, what a sinful heart beats wild within.
The heart rests not until it finds satisfaction in justice. Wait upon the Lord—the saint wrestles against this wicked heart. Wait! Wait upon the Lord! That wicked traitor fights hard but oh what grace of God to the saint that he may overcome his own sinful heart. The truth can be a weapon wielded violently against another or it can be a weapon to destroy the wicked desire within.
“A lie is never harmless; the smallest error is the seed of death for the soul and dishonor to God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“False doctrine creeps in subtly and may look like truth, but it robs God of His glory and enslaves men to delusion.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
Tackling error isn’t always as challenging as we think, but other times once you begin digging to expose error you find heresy hidden beneath and the threat is greater than you realized. It has so woven itself and entangled itself in every other area of doctrine that even what appears sound has been corrupted.
False doctrine gets as close to the truth as possible and holds many of the same theological tenants as Historical Christianity. It seeks to have its roots in the past though when we look more closely we can see where those before us recognized the evil and slayed these giants in their own age.
Lazy men have fell asleep during the battle and have ignored the warnings of those in our age warning that these giants have arisen once again—they are not new. They are the same old heresies just repackaged.
They take root in Genesis and develop their theology through the end of Revelation. They seek to rob God of His glory on every page and in every age.
Men boast of their courage, their faith, their humility, while they allow false doctrines to enter in without correction, rebuke or tearing down lies that threaten the sheep.
Not all false doctrines are built off isolated verses; many begin in Genesis and aim to rob God of His glory from the beginning to the end. Their theology runs counter to God, deifying man and demoting God.
It is no lazy man’s work to exhaust the pages of Scripture and test one’s own beloved beliefs. Those who care about the truth cannot be lazy but diligent to study the Word, be changed by it and test all things according to what the text says and means.
Leaving Beyond - Grounded In Scripture 