One of the difficult parts of being a Christian in the modern world is dealing with the concept that God’s Word is antiquated and irrelevant in today’s culture. There is a belief among non-believers and even some who claim to be believers that humanity has moved on and that there are certain truths that are not aligned with the letters of Paul and the other disciples. Among the various theological matters that are facing the body of Christ, one of the most concerning is the desire to attempt to morph doctrinal teachings into what the world considers right. In an effort to make Christianity more palatable for the world many in the church have even gone so far as to say that certain teachings in the Bible should be ignored because those who wrote it were backwards and that people today “know better.”
In matters such as leadership in the church and even the sanctity of marriage, many people are of the belief that the people who wrote the Bible were misogynistic or old fashioned and that we should take their teachings as a guideline and not as the unerring Word of God. They say that man has evolved to a point where we understand that things such as marriage, sexuality, and even gender rolls as prescribed by the teachings of Paul and other disciples are simply old fashioned and should be ignored. The belief that we have moved pass the requirements for these teachings is not something that is solely being done by the atheist but even by many in the church today. In a desire to bring people into the flock, many churches today refuse to acknowledge basic teachings of the Bible in an effort to make Christianity’s demands on its followers easier to handle. Unfortunately easier means completely ignoring certain tenants and commands given to us by God.
Your word, O LORD, is eternal, it stands firm – Psalm 119:89
There’s a certain truth that every Christian must understand when it comes to dealing with apostasy and with heretical teachings. God does not evolve. The wisdom of the world might change throughout times but as Paul said the wisdom of the world is foolishness.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness” – 1 Corinthians 3:19
The belief that we have somehow move past certain commands and that they are no longer necessary is not aligned with the concept of God being all knowing and outside space and time. God is all things at all times and he knew what human beings would be like since the beginning of time and throughout the remainder of our future.
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. – Hebrews 4:13
The concept that the law of Moses and the commands handed down by Jesus and Paul are somehow irrelevant is heretical, pure and simple. The Bible, the unerring and timeless Word of God from the Old Testament to the Book of Revelations is as relevant today as it was when it was written by those who are inspired by God himself. Every person who claims to be a Christian must ask themselves a question if they believe that homosexual marriage is OK, women as pastors is OK or premarital sex is OK. Is this belief the wisdom of the world replacing God’s Word in an effort to justify their own sins instead of repenting for them?
Just because Jesus came to earth and died on the cross in an effort to make us right with God and to serve as a substitutive sacrifice for us does not make the commands given to us in the Bible moot. It is not breaking these laws that prevents us from obtaining salvation, but they are still sin and must be acknowledged as such. The problem with trying to justify our actions and our sins by changing doctrine is that it is a barrier to coming to God with repentant faith which is essential for obtaining salvation. If you cannot accept that your lifestyle or your actions are sinful, you are incapable of begging God for forgiveness for those sins. Changing scripture or ignoring certain passages doesn’t make it somehow OK. To be a true Christ follower we must accept the Bible as truth whether the happy and sunshine parts or whether the difficult ones. The two most important commandments set down to us by Christ Himself is to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors, but this does not negate the rest of what God expects of us. When we sin God expects and demands that we come to him and repent. To do otherwise reflects and impure relationship with your Heavenly Father and that should be concerning to anyone.
The watering down of Christianity is not something that should be taken laying down, but it should also not monopolize your time or your efforts. Jesus and Paul both warned about false teachers and false prophets so the fact that this is a problem should not be surprising.
God’s Spirit specifically tells us that in later days there will be men who abandon the true faith and allow themselves to be spiritually seduced by teachings of the devil, teachings given by men who are lying hypocrites, whose consciences are as dead as seared flesh. – 1 Timothy 4:1-2
This warning is just one example of how the Bible is timeless. It warns us of the false teachings that we would be facing and have fought against since the beginning of the Church. Though the belief that the Bible is somehow fallible is a cancer that is spreading throughout the body of Christ, have no doubt that God will cut it out.
At the end of the day as long as you study the Word yourself, no person will be able to lead you astray because you will have the text to prove them wrong. Maintain your faith, love God, and love your neighbor. If you do these things you are safe and you are in the arms of God.
