Apples of Gold

I had an interesting experience while on vacation in Florida several years ago. A Spanish speaking family was obviously distressed in Walmart and they were having difficulty communicating with anyone in order to get their needs met. I only took a couple of years of Spanish in high school, and had been on one missions trip to Mexico City many years prior, but I was willing to attempt to communicate with them.

Those of you who took a language in high school, and then traveled somewhere where they actually speak it, realize that I was woefully ill-equipped. Thankfully, many Spanish words are similar enough to their English counterparts that I was able to piece together the communication and the gestures and help them locate their desired items. 

Understanding each other, especially those from the younger generation, who incidentally have a pretty extensive, unusual vocabulary, can present a rather formidable challenge!

Taking the time to comprehend what is written in the Bible is of outmost importance. Nehemiah understood this concept:

They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. Nehemiah 8:7

It is rather sad that in our church culture there are so many people attempting to teach the Word of God without actually understanding the Word of God.  

Proper biblical interpretation is a serious skill that many are lacking. Scriptures are taken out of context and turned into unbiblical doctrines and dogmas. 

Just last week a church in our community had a guest speaker who instructed a teenager to eat a page that had been ripped out of the Book of Proverbs. Yep, you read that right, not read it, memorize it, obey it; but EAT IT! 

I did not hear of a mass exodus after these shenanigans. In fact, the reports were that the audience was enthralled and enthusiastically encouraging the fiasco.

I am unashamedly, and gratefully, a Biblical Pentecostal believer and this type of behavior fills me with righteous indignation. Shady stunts such as this cause many to doubt the authenticity of the true spiritual gifts functioning in our healthy churches. 

We need to have a firm grasp on the principles of God’s Word, the character of God, and just plain reality in order to avoid being sucked in to this type of muck.

Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

The church generally has been conditioned to wink at the fanatical teachings assaulting the body of Christ; swallowing the nonsensical theory that exposing false teachers would be a form of forbidden, unloving, judgment. This was not the philosophy of the Apostle Paul:

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. Galatians 1:6-10

It is pretty difficult to look carefully at Paul’s rebuff and conclude that allowing people to be swept up and imprisoned by the influence of those who misuse the Scripture is merely a misdemeanor. 

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality, And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed, 2 Peter 2:1-3

For far too many, an exciting story, usually unverifiable, is all it takes to bring a cheer and a frightening, unquestioning acceptance of every word that is spoken. The best way to detect error is to know the truth, and know it well. 

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

May God give us grace and discernment as we navigate the challenging spiritual landscape surrounding us. May we do our part to study precisely and not check our brains at the door, or mistake intention for accuracy.