I've been engaged in a discussion with a dear Christian brother in South Africa, which led me to think about some of the the 'doctrines' or premises that most Christians unconsciously adopt even though these may not actually stand up to scrutiny against Scripture. Here are a few:
1) If a preacher can draw the crowds, then he's 'anointed'. Really? That's in the Bible?? Because that implies that those who can't draw the crowds aren't. Logically, that would mean that "No crowds = no anointing". Whether we like it or not, isn't that what we're actually saying? Which would then mean that the prophet Jeremiah was utterly 'un-anointed' and a failure, since those he preached to blatantly refused to obey God. Perhaps, we need to study the Word, and examine this pet theory.
2) If a church is growing greatly in numbers, God is blessing that ministry (or something to that effect). This time, we even have a Scripture passage to support this premise! In Acts 5:34 - 39, we read of how Gamaliel advised the Jewish council and elders not to stop the apostles preaching the gospel lest they find themselves opposing God. He stated that if this was a movement of men, it would come to naught, and cited two examples of such movements which came to naught, one of whom was Judas of Galilee, better know to Israelis as Judas Maccabeas. Hey presto! Suddenly, counsel given by an unbeliever (no evidence that Gamaliel was a follower of Christ - yet) to other unbelievers about being cautious not to oppose God becomes "increase in numbers and in ministry is proof of God's hand and blessing". How on earth do we make that jump? By that logic, Islam is blessed by God, since it is the fastest growing religion on the planet. Or, how about atheism/agnosticism? Are we seeing the silliness of even thinking this??
3) Those who serve God should have the best. Hmm, really? Best of what? What is the best? Usually, we've decided it means the best house, the best car(s), the best dog, the best salary, the best clothes, the best jewellery ad infinitum. Newsflash - who said those things are 'the best'?? Jesus said that a man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions - since we appear to be talking 'material' best. By that logic, then Paul and the other apostles clearly missed God's best, unless you count the shipwrecks and hardships and beatings with rods and the 39 lashes five times as 'the best'. Interesting how the definition of 'best' is exactly the same as that of the unbelieving world?!!
That's all I can think of right now. Sleep beckons. More in the next instalment.
1) If a preacher can draw the crowds, then he's 'anointed'. Really? That's in the Bible?? Because that implies that those who can't draw the crowds aren't. Logically, that would mean that "No crowds = no anointing". Whether we like it or not, isn't that what we're actually saying? Which would then mean that the prophet Jeremiah was utterly 'un-anointed' and a failure, since those he preached to blatantly refused to obey God. Perhaps, we need to study the Word, and examine this pet theory.
2) If a church is growing greatly in numbers, God is blessing that ministry (or something to that effect). This time, we even have a Scripture passage to support this premise! In Acts 5:34 - 39, we read of how Gamaliel advised the Jewish council and elders not to stop the apostles preaching the gospel lest they find themselves opposing God. He stated that if this was a movement of men, it would come to naught, and cited two examples of such movements which came to naught, one of whom was Judas of Galilee, better know to Israelis as Judas Maccabeas. Hey presto! Suddenly, counsel given by an unbeliever (no evidence that Gamaliel was a follower of Christ - yet) to other unbelievers about being cautious not to oppose God becomes "increase in numbers and in ministry is proof of God's hand and blessing". How on earth do we make that jump? By that logic, Islam is blessed by God, since it is the fastest growing religion on the planet. Or, how about atheism/agnosticism? Are we seeing the silliness of even thinking this??
3) Those who serve God should have the best. Hmm, really? Best of what? What is the best? Usually, we've decided it means the best house, the best car(s), the best dog, the best salary, the best clothes, the best jewellery ad infinitum. Newsflash - who said those things are 'the best'?? Jesus said that a man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions - since we appear to be talking 'material' best. By that logic, then Paul and the other apostles clearly missed God's best, unless you count the shipwrecks and hardships and beatings with rods and the 39 lashes five times as 'the best'. Interesting how the definition of 'best' is exactly the same as that of the unbelieving world?!!
That's all I can think of right now. Sleep beckons. More in the next instalment.
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