Have you ever wondered, in this day of deception, how one can possibly know which ministries can be trusted and which churches are falling into apostasy? There are danger signals to help us spot a developing problem.
First of all, are we looking to a man and his ministry as being infallible? If we are, then we may be disappointed. We must look only to Jesus, and never cease to check a ministry's views against what Jesus taught. Many ministries and denominations began as godly works but, because of erroneous goals or methods, later became anything but godly.
The last book of the Bible ends with the admonition that if anyone adds or takes away anything from it, his name will be erased from the Book of Life (Rev.22:18-19). But many churches claiming to be Christian do this!
Many groups and cults publish their own Bible so that they can alter some verses to support their false doctrines. Usually changes are made to deny that Jesus is the Son of God in spite of the fact that the mark of the true Christian church is the belief in a triune God of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unless one is well grounded in Christian doctrine they may be easily confused and deceived.
Many churches preach and teach half truths, not erroneous in themselves, but incomplete. Some churches do not teach that one must be spiritually reborn in order to understand spiritual things. Jesus states clearly, "Except a man be born again he cannot SEE the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Until he is reborn spiritually, he cannot see into the spirit world. It is not possible to belong to the family of God unless one has been born into it!
Any group which fails to teach that Jesus' blood was shed for the sins of the people is in error: "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb.9:22). Some churches have removed all reference to blood, but the words "blood of Jesus" are essential to Christian doctrine because of their power to set people free from sin and Satanic powers.
Cults originate when someone finds one Bible verse which, by itself, would support a far-out teaching. The devil quoted scripture out of context to Jesus to try to get Him off track, and he still quotes to you and me today. To understand a verse we must read the verses before and after it, then look for other verses to support it.
It is time to look with honest eyes at the ministries with which we have become familiar. Then let us ask God to help us decide which ones are following after the truth as outlined in the Bible.
Since Satan is called "an accuser of our brothers" (Rev.12:10), let us not waste time condemning one another. Rather let us fight the only fight in which we are asked to engage, "the good fight of faith" (I Tim.6:12). It is our own faith for which we must contend! Believe me, that is a full-time job. Rather than judging others, let us do as Jesus recommended to first take the plank out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to remove the speck from our brother's eye (Luke 6:41).It is not for us to make hasty judgments about other ministries as it is dangerous to judge the Lord's anointed. When King Saul had become mentally unstable and violent, David said, "Who can lay a hand on the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?" (I Sam.26:9)
You and I have neither the wisdom nor the authority to do other than to be sure we follow Jesus, not blindly following a human shepherd who is prone to error!
© 1999, Doreen Palmer