Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Heresies in the church - Part 7


So, what now?
In this, our last next post in this series we will look at what we can do about the WOF teaching.
The Word-Faith teaching is a spiritual deception which has become a cancer of a very extreme pervasive nature that has infiltrated the church to its very core. In order for us to deal with it, we need to take action. How can we take action?
First and foremost, do not support any of these ministries financially. This is where you may have to make some tough decisions. Don't watch any of their TV programs and encourage and warn others to do the same. Do not buy their books or audio tapes. If your local Christian bookstore carries their material let them know in love that you will no longer buy from or visit their stores if they continue to carry this material.
Second, take a stand for Scriptural truth and in this way you will also take a stand for Jesus! It is completely Scriptural to oppose false teaching. Do not let people try to convince you that we need to seek unity more than doctrinal purity! Real unity cannot come when false doctrines are taught or supported. If doctrinal purity is not of any importance and unity is more important, then let's quit calling other religions false and accept the cults into our fold. What about the Jehovah's Witnesses who love their Jesus (even though to them he is the archangel Michael, the first and greatest created being)? What about the Mormons, and the Unitarians, etc.? Throw away the creeds and sound doctrine. Ignore the stern warnings of the Apostle Paul to beware of false teachers and false doctrine that spreads like AIDS. Simply "love Jesus" (whoever that Jesus might be to us)? NO! We will not abandon truth. When Jesus tells us to "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits" (Mat. 7:15-16) We must obey! The Word-Faith teachers are using the same fruit that the devil deceived our ancient mother Eve with. It is still as deadly and still as evil in God's sight as it was then. We must actively oppose the Word-Faith teachers and their movement and reject it as non-Christian! Will YOU stand for Christ?
Third, we need to teach our people and study solid doctrine! We once again need to bring back the teaching of theology in our churches so that the common Christian man can be armed against error. This cancer of WOF doctrine and its pervasiveness would not have come about if more Christians knew what the Bible has to say about the nature of man, the nature of God, the doctrine of the trinity, etc. Study the great foundational doctrines of our faith so that we won't be deceived by these false teachers who are mere religious charlatans. Doctrine is not just for theologians. Words like propitiation, sanctification, justification, trinity, incarnation, predestination, redemption, etc. are not just useless theological words but are the very foundations of the faith.
If you allow these doctrines to flourish in your church, especially if you are a spiritual leader at your church, you have become an accomplice in this heresy! If this is not an important issue to you, then I suppose truth is not important to you!
However, we need to make a concerted effort against this cancer in the church!
The question is: What do we do if we find ourselves in a church that supports the WOF teachers?
Read part 6 of the series here.
Part 8 can be read here.
Just thinking...

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