Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Do You Recognize the Bible?

Do you recognize the Bible? Can you recognize false teaching? Many pastors, teachers and authors, even in mainstream evangelical churches, aren't preaching the truth.

What are they preaching? The answer is simple: Human ideas. Human philosophy. Human reasoning.

How do I know this is not the Truth?

One young woman asked me that very question a few years ago. She and a co-worker had stopped by our house and after a time of visiting, they sought truth about the Word of God. She asked me point blank how I knew when a sermon was not based on Truth.

My answer: Say you're hearing someone preach John 3:16 and they talk about God's love and how much he loved humanity......then they veer off and talk about I Corinthians 13 and use that to define how WE should love, but they never establish a context for either passage of Scripture but simply tie them together all in the name of love. Oh, we ought to love! Are you loving? Are you loving the way 1 Corinthians 13 says to love?

Sounds so good, right?

Not so fast.

It's as though they decided to preach on love and looked up verses with the word love in them, then built a "sermon" which really isn't a sermon at all. If preaching isn't expository, it's not preaching at all, it's a talk or lecture. Expository means we take God's Word in context, without human speculation. The Bible is not a dictionary or an encyclopedia, it is a narrative.

Now let's say you're hearing a true expositor preach John 3:16.....the first thing they do after reading the entire passage (and inviting you to follow along in your own Bible), is to establish context. They ask pertinent questions....why say things this way? Why say "begotten Son?" Who is Jesus talking to? (He's talking to Nicodemus.) Why is he talking to him? (Nicodemus came to him at night and approached him.) Jesus knew his heart's condition......he told him no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. Nicodemus was confused.....and Jesus wondered at him not knowing this, seeing he was a teacher of the Jews. Jesus goes on to explain some theology and hits a highlight as he helps Nicodemus understand by giving the example of Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21) - and explains that, in the same way, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.....that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.....then he says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes on him will not perish but have everlasting life..."  and verse 17 cannot be left out...."For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved."

So, this very short, not-at-all complete summary shows the huge difference between man's ideas and God's intent. John 3 is all about God's great, unspeakable gift of eternal life.....it is not about what we should or should not do when we are loving others.

Now, this is not to say that we are not to love others.......it's simply that this is not what John 3 is teaching. This is not what John 3:16 is about.

And that is one example of how to tell if your pastor is preaching the Truth or preaching human ideas.

Stick to the Word.
It is enough without some human's ideas.
Take everything you are taught, no matter who is teaching it, and filter it through the Scriptures. If it does not measure up, it's not preaching and it's not accurate teaching. Get away from that sort of teaching/preaching.

If you want human ideas, tune into the news or read a book.

Do you recognize the Bible? Can you listen to a sermon and tell whether the preacher is sticking to the Word or going off on human ideas?

I really, really miss my husband's preaching. He is a true expositor...and true expositors, we have learned, are very rare, indeed.

Read your Bible.
Make observations of what you read.
Interpret what it says according to the passage context.
Pray.
Find out more about Bible study here at thepriscillaprinciple.com.

~Tricia

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

More on Fitz. At First Baptist.

I recently wrote a blog post about something that happened to me at First Baptist Church in Laurel, MD. If interested, you can read that post here.

I want to follow up and say this:

Please, for the safety of your children and even your own privacy, be aware that no one there seems to think it's bad that Fitz is not uncomfortable being alone in a ladies room with a woman he does not know.

I was called out over this. I was told I "treated him like trash" and am "hurting the church" by speaking out about this.

Every single decent man in my life has said they would be embarrassed to find they had walked in on a woman in a ladies room. Every single decent man in my life has said they would very quickly leave the room if they walked in on a woman....that it would make them uncomfortable and they would feel terrible.

Did you catch that?

They would leave.....very quickly.....
They would be uncomfortable....
They would feel terrible.....

Not Fitz. He was not a bit uncomfortable.
He didn't feel terrible.
He felt victimized, telling others I "treated him like trash."

He stayed.

I left.

I left while a man stayed in the ladies room.
Doesn't that seem odd and not quite right to you?

He expressed ZERO embarrassment.
He had ZERO discomfort.

He literally stood there, smirking at me.
I had to walk within six inches of him in order to get out....he was blocking the door....he would not move....he stood there smirking.
And, apparently, "I'm hurting the church" to speak up about this.
Nah, the church doesn't need my help; they are hurting themselves just fine.
A "church" that further victimizes a victim while touting the Gospel has missed the Gospel message altogether.

Is he going to walk in on you .......or your daughter...... next?

~Tricia