At first glance, this may seem inspirational—but it also exposes us. We love to think of ourselves as greater than we are.
I often think of 2020 and the good that came out of that year. Many of God’s people, who had believed false doctrines, began to see their bankruptcy. Beliefs were tested. Men were tested. Much was proven false. But where faithful men stood solidly upon Biblical truth and conviction, they displayed courage and did not waver. Many in the pulpit capitulated to the culture, hiding behind powerless and empty messages that offered no real hope, no assurance, and no true peace.
That year was hard for many. While there was loss, suffering, and hardship, there was also the grace of God in revealing truth from error and demonstrating the absolute dependability of His unchanging Word.
Testing Reveals True Faith
Many sit every week hearing weak, man-centered, felt-need, superficial messages. When their faith and beliefs are tested—and they will be—they may think they will stand, but many will fall. Yet God graciously allows His own to experience the loss of much they previously believed that was not true and to see the few faithful who stand firmly upon His Word. He will bring them out into the truth.
As J. C. Ryle wrote:
“The test of true faith is not in words, but in trial. Many who speak boldly will fail when their faith is tested; only those rooted in the Word will stand.”
Many talk about their faith and the power of their words, thinking they possess some inherent strength. When tested, many fail. 2020 exposed numerous false teachers, prophets, and apostles. That many still follow them is further proof that Scripture is true. Many are deceived, but God will bring His own to the truth.
Courage Rooted in the Word
Courage is not some mystical force that spontaneously appears. It is the result of sitting under the faithful exposition of God’s Word. It is the result of a pastor who studies, submits, and faithfully communicates Scripture. Courage flows from Biblical conviction; it is humbling, not man-exalting. It demonstrates that God’s Word is true, trustworthy, and unchanging. It glorifies God, not man.
R. C. Sproul reminds us:
“True courage is the fruit of obedience to God’s Word, not the applause of men.”
Many have spoken of John MacArthur’s courage over his 56 years of faithful ministry. What they see is the fruit of a life submitted to Scripture. Many claim to love God’s Word, but when they enter the pulpit, they neither fear nor tremble. They preach shallow messages with no sustaining power and leave many in despair when tested.
Seek Faithfulness, Not Trendiness
Do not look for a church that is trendy, relevant, or claims God speaks a new message just for you. Seek a church where the pastor submits to the authority of Scripture and faithfully exposits the Word of God. Find a church with a plurality of Biblically qualified elders. Find a Biblical church.
As John Owen wrote:
“It is not the novelty of a message, but its fidelity to the Word, that nourishes the soul and produces steadfastness in the believer.”
Many women work outside the home. Some enjoy it; others do not. I am not writing to tap into your emotions and tell you how great you are, nor to encourage you to look within yourself to see how powerful you are. That does not help you—it can actually hurt you and your home.
I am not writing to say that if you do not work outside the home, then you are oppressed (the lies of the world), or that if you stay home and do not work outside the home, then you are a better wife and mother (the lies of many legalists).
Priorities in Marriage and Motherhood
Ladies, while it is generally preferable for mothers to be home with their children, if you work outside the home and are married with children, remember this: your first priority is your home. Work as necessary outside your home and do your job to the glory of God, but do not neglect your husband and children.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 reminds us:
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.”
Yet Colossians 3:23-24 adds the eternal perspective:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Learning from God’s Word
You will get older and one day look back and see where you made mistakes. We all do. It is a waste of time to dwell in regret. Instead, focus on doing your best now and learning from God’s Word who you are and how to honor Him in the roles He has given you.
John Owen wrote:
“Our work and obedience are to be measured by the authority of God’s Word, not the applause of men or the approval of the world.”
The World’s Lies About Women
The world works diligently to appeal to our sinful nature and lead us away from who God says we are. Men in rebellion to God may masquerade as women. Women dissatisfied with God’s design may seek roles that are not theirs to assume. Beauty is distorted.
Ladies, the world tells us we are women, and then gives us the definition of men. They tell us we are worthless, powerless, and useless unless we take on the roles and identities of men. They hate women. They hate God.
Proverbs 31:30 reminds us:
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
True Beauty Comes from God
We do not need the world boosting our ego, telling us we do not need a man, that we can do anything a man can do and better, or using language that sets the hearts of women against men—and against God. Scripture humbles us and restores the beauty that the Fall has marred.
The more we learn who God is and who He created us to be, the more we reflect Christ—and the more the world will hate us for it (John 15:18-19).
J. C. Ryle wrote:
“True godliness in a woman is never a pursuit of fame, power, or worldly independence. It is the reflection of Christ in her home, family, and character.”
Growing in Grace and Truth
You do not have to adopt the extreme “Trad-wife” model of womanhood. Avoid extremes; be Biblical. Grow in grace and knowledge of the truth. As the Holy Spirit works in us, He changes our hearts and minds, which is then demonstrated outwardly in godly conduct.
We do not restore beauty by political means, worldly trends, or outward performance. We restore it by learning the truth of who God is and who He says we are. As we grow in grace, the Spirit restores the beauty of a godly woman.
Titus 2:3-5 instructs:
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
Warnings against shallow, man-centered preaching in the pulpit are the result of courageous men faithfully expositing the Word of God, demonstrating that what Christ has commanded them to preach to His bride is sufficient, powerful, and effective. It is also the responsibility of every Christian to test what they hear against sound doctrine and hold fast to that which is good.
As J. C. Ryle once said:
“No one can preach the Word aright without a deep reverence for the authority of Scripture.”
The Faithful Expositor and the Temptation to Misinterpret
What about men who do study, who do pray, who are consistently devoted to the faithful exposition of the text? What about when these faithful expositors begin to “miss the point” or add more to the meaning than what the original author intended?
Even faithful expositors must be careful not to allow what they feel, what they fear, or what is in their heart to cause them to add more to the text than it says or means.
As John Piper reminds us:
“God’s Word is the measure of all ministry; we must not allow our hearts to become the standard.”
Faithful expositors care about what the text says and means. Since they are not like wolves who intentionally pervert the text, does that mean they may not be tempted to allow their heart to drive the meaning?
Wrestling with the Heart
I couldn’t help it—what a great segue into acknowledging that even faithful expositors may wrestle with their own hearts in bringing meaning to the text that it does not “exactly” mean. But we do as well. We are all tempted by external factors, especially when a text is emotionally important to us, to manipulate it so that it bends to our desires.
It is not always sinful desires that lead us to allow our hearts to drive the meaning. Even otherwise good desires—such as the salvation of loved ones—can have this effect. If we do not truly trust the sovereignty of God in salvation, our attempts to influence outcomes not only hinder our prayers as we seek to manipulate God, but our love for family and others can cause our hearts to override the text. Instead of allowing the text to give us comfort and assurance in who God is, we risk twisting it in our evangelistic efforts toward loved ones and the lost.
These temptations are not exclusive to false teachers or false converts. We all wrestle with our hearts, striving to be conformed to what God’s Word says and resisting the urge to pervert the text to satisfy our sinful desires.
We must submit our hearts and minds to the text—not only to understand what it means, but also to examine ourselves in light of it, as well as consider our motives when sharing it with others. Not passive-aggressively. Not to assuage our own fears. Not to do the work of the Holy Spirit for Him. But in love, proclaim the truth and trust God with the results.
As Charles Spurgeon said:
“Preach the Word; it alone is the sword of the Spirit. Let not your own feelings dictate its edge.”
Mishandling the Text Through Sinful Motivations
The text can be correctly shared, yet our motivations may still be sinful. The text can be proclaimed correctly, but at any point we add our own bias, fears, or desires, we are guilty of mishandling it.
While there are obvious wolves in many pulpits who intentionally pervert the text, there are also faithful expositors who may, at times, be tempted to add to or take away from the meaning, as their heart—not the text—drives the point.
Remember your own hearts temptations to do the same.
True Faithful Exposition
A faithful expositor does not only go into the text to bring out its meaning; his own heart and mind are changed by the truth in the text. When he preaches, he does so as pleases the Lord—not to assuage his fears, please his hearers, or affirm his desires. He does not add out of fear that someone needs “a little more.” He does not take away out of fear that someone may be angry. He preaches the Word and leaves the results to God.
As R. C. Sproul wrote:
“The preacher’s responsibility is to deliver the Word of God faithfully. God is responsible for the fruit.”
The Heart Cannot Be Separated from the Text
Pray that pastors take their fears, desires, and temptations to God in prayer and never to the pulpit.
May saints pray for pastors and the wrestlings they have with their own hearts that we know nothing about. A church ought to pray for its pastor as one prays for their own soul.
Pray recognizing our responsibility to test what we are taught against Scripture—be a good Berean—and at the same time testing our own motives when approaching the text.
While there are many wolves in pulpits, there remain many faithful expositors of the Word of God. Pray for them and their families.
The wickedness of the wicked neither sleeps nor slumbers. Even upon their beds they scheme vile things, the very desires of their sinful hearts. They dream not of noble pursuits but of pleasures they deny themselves only for fear of the consequences. If God’s common grace were withdrawn, and this dreamer of wickedness were free to act without restraint, he would quickly see that the man he once thought “good” was only ever restrained by grace undeserved.
“For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.” ~ Proverbs 4:16
Even the wicked benefit from God’s good graces, though they never see fit to give Him praise.
“The greatest misery of the wicked in another world will be that they shall remember that they had once the gospel preached to them, and had the offers of eternal life made to them, and that they refused them.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
The Rest of the Righteous
The saint, however, does not rest his head upon the pillow of sinful desire, but upon the sovereignty of God. His heart delights in the law of the Lord. His meditations and desires are sanctified, and are being sanctified, by the gracious work of God within him. He recognizes grace both in his life and in the world and rejoices. No longer does he hate such grace as his once-rebellious heart did, but now he delights in it, finding peace and comfort in that same grace unmerited.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” ~ Psalm 1:1-2
“The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Exhortation to the Saints
Dear saint, remember God. Delight yourself in Him.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” ~ Psalm 37:4
“When God gives any man true delight in Himself, He gives that which will more truly satisfy than all the pleasures of sin.” ~ John Owen
Cowardly men enter the pulpit weekly, preaching powerless messages that sound evangelistic and loving and often have impressive results. Yet the evidence of power is measured by how many respond or by “experiences” and “manifestations.” Many pulpits are aflame with counterfeit power, and many churches are filled with false converts.
“I would rather be a faithful man in the pulpit and see few saved than a popular man and see many perish.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“True preaching is always a manifestation of Christ, not of man; it convicts and converts, not entertains.” ~ John Owen
False Knowledge, False Christ
Men stand in the pulpit without trembling. They neither know God as they claim, nor do they preach Christ as He commands. They preach a Holy Spirit but not the Holy Spirit. They preach a gospel but not the Gospel. They preach a Christ but not Christ.
If asked to explain even the fundamentals of the faith, they stumble. If they attempt to explain the Trinity, they often lapse into Modalism. If they attempt to explain the Hypostatic Union, they drift into heresy.
“If the preacher cannot give an account of the truth, let him never again stand in the pulpit.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
“Our ministry is to declare the whole counsel of God faithfully, whether men are pleased or offended.” ~ John MacArthur
Shallow Exegesis and Misapplied Texts
They have not been taught the Word and do not know how to exegete Scripture. They know terminology but have never wrestled with a text to behold the glory of Christ. Their beliefs about who God have not come from a correct handling of Scripture or from men who have taught them and handled the text accurately, but from false teachers and Biblically illiterate and unqualified men. Their teaching is shallow because they have never learned or been trained in the proper handling of Scripture. They are defensive when they feel challenged by someone who asks about why their teaching doesn’t align with Scripture.
They may affirm correct fundamentals and have a passable Statement of Faith, but when pressed to explain it, they falter.
“A preacher who cannot explain the Scripture to the simplest heart has no right to preach at all.” ~ Martin Luther
“The duty of ministers is to handle the Word of God diligently, accurately, and without distortion.” ~ R.C. Sproul
The Powerless Gospel
They may present a basic Gospel that leads to some true conversions. Yet, these conversions occur in spite of their preaching, not because of their fidelity to Scripture. In time, the sheep will starve under such shallow messages.
The focus in these churches is not Christ or the Gospel, but the byproducts of faith: experiences, manifestations, and numbers. Real growth is stunted, the people are Biblically illiterate, and the sheep are starving.
The Gospel is not just for the lost but for the saints. The pulpit that fails to exposit Scripture fails to see how Scripture continually points to Christ and the Gospel, whereby the saint is encouraged to live godly in Christ Jesus and the lost are called to repentance and faith.
“We must preach Christ crucified, not a Christ who merely improves lives.” – Charles Spurgeon
“The Word rightly preached will either save or condemn; nothing else.” – John Calvin
Superficial Experiences vs True Transformation
Many will grow up in church yet never truly grow in Christ. They will have experiences but never encounter true regeneration and sanctification. Isolated verses are twisted to meet felt needs, while the true Gospel is neglected.
They may evangelize inoffensively, creating false converts. They invite others to church, offering a gospel tailored to human desire—powerless to save.
“Better one soul broken under the truth than a thousand entertained by lies.” – Jonathan Edwards
“Regeneration is God’s work, wrought by His Spirit through faithful preaching of His Word.” – John Owen
Scripture Twisted to Suit Desire
Every verse becomes personalized, every promise a demand on God. Christ is preached, but not known. True peace in Christ is absent. People seek experiences rather than Him, believing Scripture and the Gospel insufficient.
“When men twist the Word to please the ears of men, Christ is crucified anew in their hearts.” – Charles Spurgeon
“Let Scripture speak for itself; let it not be shaped by human appetite.” – John MacArthur
Responsibility of the Flock
We are accountable not only for our own hearts but for what we sit under. We either desire truth or desire comfort disguised as truth. We must test what is taught, not by feelings, experiences, or growth, but by Scripture itself.
“Test all things, hold fast that which is good, and avoid men-pleasing preachers.” – John Calvin
“The Berean example shows that Scripture, not sensation, must judge all teaching.” – R.C. Sproul
Psalm 46:10 is far more beautiful than it is often understood.
Many isolate this verse, quoting it only in part:
“Be still, and know that I am God….” — Psalm 46:10a ESV
Misuse of “Be Still”
The correct understanding of the words “Be still” is often ignored or given a new meaning. Add the next few words—“and know that I am God”—and this verse is reduced to being about our comfort, some mystical peaceful experience, or separating ourselves from all distractions to enter mindless meditation seeking an encounter.
The Context: A Psalm About God
This entire Psalm is about God. Verse 10 isn’t about emptying our minds and seeking peace through dangerous meditative practices, nor is it about trying to find a way to empty our minds to feel better.
It is about the sovereignty of God.
A Command To The Nations
That beautiful verse isn’t about bringing God low so that He “gets us” or just wants us to feel better. That verse is a command to those in opposition to God! It commands: “Cease striving!” It explains why: “and know that I am God.”
“Know” demonstrates that these are to ENGAGE their minds, not empty them! It is a command that should strike fear in those in rebellion to God and bring comfort to the children of God.
God is Sovereign!
In the context of the entire Psalm, we see the sovereignty of God over nature and nations. We need not fear what is happening around us as if God doesn’t see or know. When we understand the truth of this verse, it does bring real comfort and real peace—but it is a comfort based on the truth that God is sovereign over all things. God WILL be exalted among the nations, and He WILL be exalted in the earth. Whether men continue in rebellion or lay down their weapons, God WILL be glorified!
Witnesses on God’s Sovereignty
“Psalm 46 doesn’t simply say, ‘Be still and feel peaceful.’ It says, ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ That is a statement of sovereignty, of judgment, and of divine exaltation among the nations. We do not find peace in ourselves, but in knowing Him.” ~ Joel Beeke
“The sovereignty of God is not merely an abstract doctrine to discuss, but a thunderclap from heaven that brings the nations to their knees.” ~ R. C. Sproul
“This verse is not a gentle suggestion. It is a command. It says, ‘Stop fighting.’ Cease your striving. It is a rebuke to the nations raging against God. And it is a call to God’s people to stand in awe of Him.” ~ James Montgomery Boice
“God calls the hostile nations to acknowledge His sovereignty and to cease their opposition. This is a warning, not a devotional prompt.” ~ John MacArthur
“The peace of God is never divorced from His power; His comfort rests on His sovereignty, not our feelings.” ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Misunderstood Promises in Psalm 46:5
Also, an often misunderstood or misapplied verse in this passage is in verse 5. Where we read “her” isn’t for us to erase and write our name in there. “Her” refers to the city of God mentioned in verse 4 (context matters). That verse is not promising that whatever we feel led to do can be stamped with God’s guarantee. We do not get to blame God for our bad decisions or foolish pursuits, no matter how much we baptize them in Biblical language and make promises on His behalf.
The Beauty of Proper Hermeneutics
This chapter is beautiful, and its intended meaning is beautiful. Let us be careful not to miss what is truly there by applying bad hermeneutical practices, whereby we read into the passage what the author never meant and overlook what is genuinely present.
While it is true that we may find comfort in the certainty that God is with us and that He is working all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose, we must be careful not to adopt unbiblical practices (e.g., narcigesis). It is possible that we may read a passage of Scripture, miss the author’s intended meaning entirely, read ourselves into it, and actually be stating something that is true about us and about God. However, that does not mean we honored God in the handling of that passage; it means we have learned unbiblical practices in how to interpret Scripture.
This passage is not man-centered; it is God-centered, which is where we find true and lasting comfort.
“God’s Word teaches us the reality of His presence, not a means to manipulate outcomes or secure personal desires.” ~ John Piper
The Psalm Itself
“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains shake into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its lofty pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
👉 God is in the midst of her; she will not be shaken;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations roar, the kingdoms shake;
He gives His voice, the earth melts.
Yahweh of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Come, behold the works of Yahweh,
Who has appointed desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts up the spear;
He burns the chariots with fire.
👉 “Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
Yahweh of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.” — Psalm 46 LSB
“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).
Leaving Beyond - Grounded In Scripture 