Segmented Biblical Attention (Mark #8)

There is no book like the Bible.

Variation and diversities are not marks of error. But herein lies a potentially serious problem. The temptation of groups of serious conviction is to move ever further from the central pale of reason that C.S. Lewis calls "mere Christianity." Because of their emphasis, they begin declaring that "love is everything," or "history is all-important." They take some important but not critical emphasis of Scripture and move it to the exalted position of an imperative doctrine. They move their test of fellowship away from the person of Jesus Christ to some lesser point. Such a group may have started well, but, for want of proper attention to the whole counsel of God, they drift away from vital Christianity into a misplaced emphasis.

It is easy to see how a religious group can move from the true to the false by small steps of defection from the teaching of Holy Scripture. Too often, however, this special emphasis becomes the critical all-important point. When a theological eccentricity moves to the very center of the attention of a group of Christians, that group, often without sensing it, becomes eccentric and potentially heretical.

This "outward bound" direction must always be avoided by the biblical Christian. When a group develops a theological or doctrinal interpretation that touches only minimally on the proper biblical emphasis and lives for the most part outside of that circle, it becomes a cult.

By this we mean that, from a starting point of Scripture, it has moved away from the teaching of the Word of God so that its central emphasis has become a set of human philosophies, ideas, or revelations that can no longer be justified by the teaching of the Word of God. Its attention to an interesting portion of Scripture has been carried to the point where it has isolated this passage of the Word of God from the corrective modifications found in other portions of the Word. Its segmented biblical attention has cut it off from the body of divine truth.

Virtually every cult in existence today has followed the unwise course of segmented biblical attention out beyond the pale of reason into the production of a destructive heresy.

(Read Acts 19:1-6) The disciples of John the Baptist continued faithfully in their conviction of the truth of the message of this humble forerunner of Jesus Christ.

But herein was their problem. They were so taken with the preaching of John that they neglected his major emphasis: namely, that One was coming after him, who would guide them into all truth. They therefore missed the opportunity to hear the Word of Christ. They missed the chance to believe in Him and become true Christians, sharing in the gift of the Holy Spirit given to the Church on the day of Pentecost. Their own testimony was that they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit.

These people did not come to the place where they shared the life of God that comes to every person who is made a new creature in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul's question to these disciples, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" was a most appropriate way of asking whether they had become true Christians.

Realizing that they were not indeed believers, the Apostle Paul said unto them "that they should believe on Him who would come after him" [after John the Baptist, that is]; they should receive Jesus Christ. The happy conclusion of this story is they did indeed believe on Jesus Christ, were baptized in His name and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We may rejoice that Paul was given of God the opportunity to bring to these sincere seekers after truth the final revelation of God in Jesus Christ. It is highly probable that they would otherwise have formed a religious group around the preaching of John the Baptist which, however sincere, would have prevented people from hearing the message of salvation by the grace of God made possible though Christ alone. Their sincere attention to a segmented, non-final revelation would have therefore been a most damnable thing. Their religious belief and practice would have been merely a cult rather than real and vital Christianity.

The lesson for all of us is very clear. While we may be fascinated with the words of one of the personalities of Scripture and with the emphasis of a given book of the Bible, we must not fail to pay attention to the message of the entire Word of God.

The Bible declares about itself that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is therefore of great importance that the doctrine by which a Christian orients his faith and his life come from all Scripture. He must remember that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, was given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and is vital in its entirety to his understanding of the faith.

He remembers also that Revelation is "progressive!" God presented truth in a cumulative fashion, moving from the basic theistic concepts of the Old Testament to the final revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ. Christ brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:10); and His doctrine was explained to us by His apostles who wrote the letters of the New Testament.

We must also never forget that the proper interpretation of the Bible must be based on text, context, and greater context. The biblical interpreter must ask "What does this verse mean? In what setting is it given to us? How does it relate to the whole Bible?"

The major deficiency of the cults of our time is that they have neglected to base their faith on the Bible as a whole. One group denies the immortality of the soul because of a statement about death in Ecclesiastes 9:5. They ignore the fact that the final light on the subject of immortality was given to us by Jesus Christ. Paul explains that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8).

Some find a verse in the Bible about God having given to some prophet a vision. They use this as the scriptural base for a notion that all sound religion is therefore conducted on the basis of God revealing Himself in visions and dreams. Such a notion can cause a person to drift away from the Word of God into a spiritual opium den of his own making. Another leader may greatly encourage Christians by his emphasis on a relaxed and positive mental attitude. While this message may be of value, if taken as ultimate truth, it can cause a naive person finally to deny physical reality. No mental attitude can take away the fact of death or deliver us from the necessity of living in the midst of physical dimensions.

The mature Christian will make none of these mistakes. He will avoid the dread pitfalls of spiritual lunacy that come from going off the deep end on the basis of any one verse from the Bible.

It is a grave temptation for any group to find a verse in the Bible about holiness, the kingdom, law, grace, works, faith, or something else and use it for a substitute for the whole counsel of God. Even zealous Christians have frequently fallen into the trap of segmented biblical interpretation, thereby creating a cultic influence in their system of doctrine.

Christian maturity will save us from all of this.

(from Know The Marks of Cults - The 12 basic errors of false religion by Dave Breese)

Paradise Forever - A No-Brainer!

Heaven (Choice #2)

Have you ever met a person who did not want to go to heaven? Heaven was designed to be the ultimate experience. Some portray heaven as a place filled with plump little cherubs, floating on clouds, playing harps. The Bible tells us that heaven is a place which will allow us to experience our fullest potential and accomplish possibilities that we never realized on earth. This life which we have been given on earth is merely preparation for eternity, either in hell or in heaven. Which place are you preparing for?

Heaven, like hell, is an actual place. The fact of heaven is supported by Jesus, who frequently referred to it as the residence of God. "Our Father who art in heaven ... " (Matthew 6:9, NASB). Paul also spoke of being caught up into heaven, which he referred to as paradise (2 Corinthians 12:1-4), and stated that heaven was a far better place than earth. "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home [in heaven] with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).

A Wonderful Place

There are many wonderful aspects of living forever in heaven. When we get there, we will be given perfect bodies. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who ... will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21). Heaven will also be a place of rest from earthly problems (2 Corinthians 4:17; Revelations 14:13), and there will be "no more tears" there (Revelation 21:4). When we get to heaven, we will also enjoy increased knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:8-10) and holiness (Revelation 21:27). In heaven we will be gloriously fulfilled by serving and worshipping the Lord (Revelation 19:1; 22:3).

I believe in heaven because God promised it to all those who place their trust in Him. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus also tells us that He is looking forward to seeing us in heaven. "In my Father's house are many rooms...I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

Make A Decision!

It's hard to believe there are only two eternal destinations, heaven and hell. That view may make God seem unfair, but remember, Jesus was literally crucified to give you this choice. He decided in favour of heaven when He hung on the cross as your Saviour.

Jesus desires that none of us should perish. "The Lord...is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). He gave His life in our place as payment for our sin, that God might receive us into heaven.

Satan, on the other hand, has decided against heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14). The Bible tells us that Satan's desire is that we do perish. He intends to harm us, deceive us, and discourage us from following God (John 17:15; Revelations 12:9).

Heaven or hell..it's up to you. You must now make the final decision for yourself. Today I urge you to consider God's love for you. He wants you to spend a joyful eternity in heaven with Him. Say "yes" to heaven today. Say "yes" to Jesus Christ.

"This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death...Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19).

If you have made your decision between heaven and hell, you can pray something like this.
Dear Jesus, I know that I deserve hell, but You have offered me heaven as a gift of Your love. I have decided to place my trust in You right now. I want to be certain that by Your power I will be with You in heaven one day. Amen.
(by Daniel Southern, President, American Tract Society)

If you have made the decision to trust Christ, please e-mail us or visit http://www.emmanuelbarrie.org/.

The Claim of Special Powers from God

Toxic Faith Characteristic #1- continued

The claim of special powers from God is another way for a person to feel valued regardless of whether they have anything to do with God. This claim is often used to manipulate people into believing the gifted one is a great person of God. One of the scariest scriptures for these toxic ministers is found in Matthew 7:21-23:

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven...Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?" And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practiced lawlessness!"

No more notorious abuse takes place than in the area of faith healing. At times God rips through the normal bonds of the universe and heals people miraculously. On some occasions He uses people to facilitate that process, and on other occasions He does not. The problem comes when some people use teachings about God's healing power to manipulate and exploit believers.

A perfect example is the faith healer from California who claimed to know people's afflictions, their names, where they lived, and other personal tidbits that only a miracle worker would know. Once he had established his credibility through such feats of knowledge, he would claim to heal the people of what he knew was wrong with them. The religious addicts who followed him loved to watch his magic and believed that it was all real. He deceived his devoted followers into believing God revealed the needed information to him. In fact, supplied with a tiny hearing device and radio receiver, he got the information from his wife, who had gathered it before the "performances." Confronted about the practice, he admitted that it had been part of the family tradition passed down from his minister father.

Not only did he mislead loyal and would-be followers into believing that he was hearing God, but he deceived them into believing he healed those people with the power of Jesus. The power of modern technology was portrayed as the power of the Saviour of the world. He used this supposed special power to prove he enjoyed a favoured position with God.

This man's exploitation of the terminally ill, the sick, and the afflicted, and his ability to reportedly laugh about the exploitation of their finances, are unconscionable. Few things are more cruel than exploiting an individual's search for hope. To these persons God may well say, "I never knew you."

Sadly, the addicts who follow them may never know God either.