Since the beginning of time, man has always had those who were willing to tell them what they want to hear rather than tell the truth (Gen. 3:4). Now, before we get upset with those rascals that tell such lies, remember this, no one has the ability to make you believe a lie. As much as we might be angered with what the serpent said to Eve, it was Eve who listened and accepted the false words.

Sadly religious leaders are not immune to doing the same thing as the serpent. There are far too many examples in the Bible of religious teachers telling lies and many more who were willing to listen. So this begs the question, are those you are listening to, that are teachers of the Bible, actually teaching you the truth? Do not be quick to respond with a yes, based upon the following:

He wouldn’t lie to me!

You are deceiving yourself if you think a religious person will not teach you false doctrine. I am not saying all teachers of the Bible lie. If that were truth then I would be wasting my time writing this article. It would seem odd for me to teach you the truth, yet saying it’s a lie. The truth is, many have lie, are lying, and will continue to do so. There are many false prophets in the world (I Jn. 4:1). Keep in mind that you may be lied to unintentionally. After all, most teachers that are teaching error are only uttering the very things they have been taught. When that happens, the blind are leading the blind (Matt. 15:14).

He uses the Bible!

It’s one thing to use the Bible, it’s another matter altogether to use it properly. Peter spoke of those who twist the scriptures to their own destruction (II Pet. 3:16).  It was our Lord who would tell those leaders that taught God’s word, “Have you not read…” (Matt. 12:3). Did this mean they didn’t know any scripture? No. It means they didn’t study carefully, or they didn’t handle it properly as we are commanded to (II Tim. 2:15). So, don’t let your guard down and just assume you are being taught the truth based upon the fact the teacher uses the Bible.

He is such a nice person!

Too often people think with their heart and not with their head. There is a reason why Solomon stated, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear foolish flattery.” (Eccl. 7:5). Sadly, people fall prey to praise and will turn a blind eye when the individual who has been so nice to them is accused of teaching false doctrine. Such people are so “loving” and “kind” until someone calls their hand, then they can become the most unloving person one has ever met.

He is such an excellent speaker!

Like the points we have already given, people have a tendency to let down their guard when they put so much stock in how something is taught, rather than on what is taught. The apostle Paul was very much aware of this kind of behavior. He told the brethren at Corinth that he made it a point to not to preach with persuasive words of human wisdom (I Cor. 2:4). It isn’t about the presentation. The focus ought to be on the message, since it contains the power unto salvation (Rom. 1:16).

It is easily to succumb to being a man-follower. After all, if you put your trust in man, you can simply rest your hopes on him and don’t concern yourself with having to spiritually discern. There is little effort required to let someone do the thinking for you.  May we think for ourselves and demand what we need!

Chuck

If you go up to any religious person that belongs to a denomination, and ask them who started the church they belong to, chances are they will say, “The Lord, of course!” The problem is, other than the church that Jesus purchased with His own blood (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28), all other religious sects were started by somebody or body of people. You can google the follow information to verify it, but her is a short list of religious groups when they started and who started them.

The Baptist church – started in 1607 by John Smyth.

The church of England – started in 1534 by Henry VIII.

The Jehovah Witnesses – started in 1874 by Charles Russell.

The Lutheran church – started in 1530 by Martin Luther.

The Mennonite church – started in 1525 by a group of folks.

The Methodist church – started in 1729 by John Wesley.

The Christian Science – started in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy.

The Christian church – started in 1859 by a group of folks.

The Free-will Baptist – started 1780 by Benjamin Randall.

The Assembly of God – started in 1914 by Roger Williams.

The Presbyterian church – started in 1535 by John Calvin.

The Holiness church – started in 1907 by Howard Hoople.

The Mormon church – started in 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.

The Nazarene church – started in 1895 by P.F. Bresee.

The Church of God – started in 1880 by D.S. Warner.

The Pentecostal Holiness – started in 1898 by a group.

The Plymouth brethren – started in 1829 by a group.

The Salvation Army – started in 1865 by William Booth.

The Seventh-Day Adventist – started in 1846 by Ellen G. White.

The Unitarians – started in 16^th Century, by Faustus, Scoinus.

The Quakers – started in 16:50 by George Fox.

(Chart information copied).

The church you read about in the Bible was not a denomination, if wasn’t in part – it was complete. It was prophesied about by Isaiah (Isa. 2:2-3). This was fulfilled when Jesus Christ came and died on the cross. Prior to His death, the kingdom to come, was proclaimed  (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 6:10; etc.).

After Christ died and resurrected, the church/kingdom was now present (Acts 2:47; Col. 1:13). This church belongs to Christ of which He is the only head (Eph. 1:22-23). This makes sense since not only is He the builder, but He has all the authority (Matt. 28:18). It is wrong on so many levels to have religious groups claiming to be Christ’s church, when they have been started by some man built upon doctrines from man. Whereas the Lord’s church abides solely in His doctrine (II Jn. 9). Logic tells you, if all those religious sects belong to Christ then they were all started by Christ and teach the same things. But we know that’s not the case.

Chuck

When I study with my religious friends they are quick to respond to the first article by saying, “Well, the church of Christ was started by Alexander Campbell.” Just who is this man? Alexander Campbell was from Ireland. He was born in 1788 and died in 1866. His father, Thomas, was a Presbyterian minister. Alexander rebelled against much of the Presbyterian doctrine.

Alexander wasn’t the only one to object to many denominational doctrines and encourage people to get back to the scriptures. But there is no question that Alexander Campbell was a prominent figure of what is often referred to as the restoration movement.  Encouraging people to cast off the shackles of denominationalism wasn’t a bad thing. However, he is not to be credited with starting the church of Christ.

I personal left a denomination back in the 1970’s. When I started preaching and telling people to get back to the scriptures, I wasn’t starting the church of Christ either. Jesus did that back in 33 AD when He died (read first article). It would be like finding a recipe for homemade bread. If I make it, would that mean I invented bread? Of course not.

Any person today that belongs to a religious sect that was founded upon some man, can teach himself or herself out of it. When they do, they are not establishing anything new. The truth was given by Christ so that all can know (Jn. 8:32). This is why there were faithful Christians belonging to Christ’s church before Alexander Campbell came along. As a matter of fact, even though this man taught many things that were correct, he still clung to some doctrines that were not Biblically correct. This only teaches us again the important lesson that we are to follow no man but Christ Jesus.

Remember, you can claim that Christ is the builder and founder of your religious sect, but that is not true if it was founded upon a man or any man-made teachings. There were churches in Biblical times who were amiss but didn’t think they were (Read- Rev. 2-30). Let’s study the show ourselves approved.

Chuck

It is not uncommon to hear someone blame someone else for their sinful behavior. A child blames the parents for way they were raised. An employee blames the company for the way they were treated. The same thing can be heard by a child of God wanting to blame the church for the way they were treated. What does God’s word say about this? Can others be made to sin?

Consider Jesus’ sermon on the mount. “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea,” (Matt. 18:6). At first glance, one might get the impression that the parent, company or even a church should be blamed when they cause others to do wrong. However, a close examination will indicate that this is not what the Lord meant at all.

When you read the first five verses of Matthew 18, you will see that our Lord was talking about His children that are faithful. He then proceeded to talk about causing His children to sin. This means that the child is right to fault the parents if they taught the wrong things. Or a company that encouraged corruption. Or a church that taught its members to transgress the commands of God.

This is a narrow teaching though. In these scenarios, sinful behavior was being actively encouraged. If the behavior is not being taught or enforced, the individual is clearly still accountable. Let’s focus more specifically with a local church for the rest of this article.

If a member of the church felt like one member was running the show or that they were not getting enough attention, are they right to leave the church and start attending a religious group in error? Of course not. If the church they were attending encouraged them to leave and follow a church that was erring, then the words of Jesus would apply. These are different scenarios though, and it is vital to see this.

Here is an illustration: A man comes home from work and tells his wife their marriage is over. She begins to cry and asks why? He says that he found out that a guy at work does not love her and much as he does. The wife is confused. Why are you leaving me just because someone else does not love me as much?

The behavior in the illustration is irrational, but people use similar logic to justify leaving the Lord and faithful churches all the time. They say that people “here’ do not love the Lord like they do, so they are leaving. If they leave and start attending a place that practices error, they have left the Lord. Casting blame to justify sinful behavior does not excuse it in the eyes of the Lord.

There are things we can say with certainty. We are to be members of the church that belongs to Christ and is the pillar and ground of truth (I Tim. 3:15). Thus, you will not find faithful churches encouraging the members to sin by drinking alcohol (I Pet. 4:3), promoting the social gospel (I Cor. 11:22) or teaching that church funds can be used for anything they want (I Tim. 5:16). The list goes on and on.

The next time you hear anyone blaming the church for their sinful behavior, be quick to inform them that the church NEVER causes someone to sin unless that church promotes sin! In all my years of preaching and talking with Christians who have fallen away, I have never witnessed anyone doing sinful things that the church actually encouraged them to do! I have heard various accusations and been told that the person in sin was okay spiritually, but these claims do not fit with the word of God. Let’s make sure we never put words in the mouth of our Lord.

Chuck  

Every possible answer to the question in this title is secondary to the fact that we have FAITH. You need it to become a Christian, and you cannot remain faithful without it (Heb. 11:6). The confidence we have in our hope of heaven is based upon faith, and this faith is developed by feeding on the word of God (Rom. 10:17).

Here is an interesting question – what things should not be used to justify your love of being a Christian? For example, who would say they love being a Christian because of the hardships they face? Saints know that they became children of God to be able to face and endure problems that arise, not so all problems would immediately go away (Phil. 4:13). This is why we pray, worship, love, forgive, weep and rejoice. Our faith is to be living (I Pet. 1:3). This means our faith should be active because a faith without demonstration is a dead faith (James 2:26).

Those who walk by faith have a firm foundation. Because their foundation is sure and steadfast, they find a peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:4-7). This enables one to resist the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6:16). Victory is the only way we will get to spend eternity with all the faithful at the end of time. This brings up an important point – Christians are not alone! Christians find joy in striving with others to walk by faith and not by sight (II Cor. 5:7).

Now we understand completely why God’s people are eager to assemble for Bible study whenever the opportunity arises. Because faith is the key to true joy for the Christian, having their faith increased magnifies all the things that they love about being part of God’s family. Those who lack faith find it very difficult to come up with good reasons why they love being a Christian. Weakening a Christian’s faith results in a weaker Christian. Removing their faith destroys the Christian.

Like disciples asked of Jesus, let’s all make sure we see the importance of doing everything we can to increase our faith (Luke 17:5). Our salvation depends upon it.

Chuck