Cults, Spirits, and . . . You

When you're sitting in Church, Youth Group, or in a convesation with another "Christian," do you check all that is said against what God says in His Word (the Bible)?

 

Today's post from the website Lies Young Women Believe (LYWB) addresses this issue head on.

 

So many of us are eclectic when it comes to spiritual Truth.  Definition moment here: Eclectic, means "selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles."

 

Pretty much like going to one of those all you can eat buffets.  You have so many choices!  We cruise through the nicely laid out entrees, side dishes and desserts:  "I'll have a little bit of this, cause it looks SO good; and a scoop of that, but NOT that, ew yucky..."

 

Many of us approach our beliefs and doctrinal Truth this way too.  And, it  is very dangerous.  The problem with this approach is we choose what feels good to us, seems right to us and we rely on our own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5-7 warns us against doing this very thing (which will be REALLY familiar to those of you in Youth Group on Friday or Sunday):

Proverbs 3:5-7 (New American Standard Bible)

    ⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding.
    ⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight.
    ⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes;
         Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

If you don't know what you believe, or why you beleive it, you are easy prey to false doctrines, cults and worse, falling away from living the Christian life alltogether.

 

Use the Truth of God's Word to shed light on your path.  Read on...

 

Posted today on: http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=633

 

Cults, Spirits, and . . . You

Faith posted by Paula Hendricks on 12/14/10

 

This past month, one of our readers asked if we would write about false doctrines and cults. She said: 

 

"I was almost dragged into a church that claimed to be the only way . . . I don't want to see any of the ladies who read this blog believe lies from a particular church."

 

Believe it or not, the same thing happened to me when I was attending community college! Some friends in student government invited me to a Bible study. I started attending, and after a few weeks realized they didn't think I was saved and were trying to convert me.

 

So while I feel very inadequate to tackle such a subject, I'll give it a stab.

God warns us that we will encounter false prophets, teachers, and spirits in the church. In fact, John—the disciple who was closest to Jesus—has something to say to us about this very thing:

 

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).   

 

Did you catch that? You and I are not to believe everything we hear. In fact, we're to test it all to see if it's really from God or from man.

 

There's a group of people commended in the Bible for doing a great job of this: 

  

"Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true" (Acts 17:11, emphasis added).

 

This group of people dug into the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul was saying lined up with what God said. Wow. Sounds like a lot of work, doesn't it? But it's worth it! God expects us to be responsible, discerning listeners and students of His Word.  

 

Another reader, Heather, also wrote on the blog this past month:

"I'm looking forward to that post on Christian cults. I don't know how to detect them because I'm so unknowledgeable, so I could really use the help. . . . Actually, my friends thought that this site was trying to suck me into a cult!! I didn't know what to believe, so I was standoffish on this site for a while . . . but I'd like to avoid that period of suspicion next time the occasion arises."

 

My encouragement to you, Heather, and to me, and to all of us is to not believe everything we hear from people—even those who appear more "spiritual" than us, but to measure it all against God's Word. Every bit of the Bible is true, and it's the standard for all truth.

 

Tomorrow we'll learn from John a really specific way to test whether a spirit is from God or not. But for today, I'd love to hear if you've ever been confused about something you've heard. Do you think you've ever encountered a false teacher, prophet, or spirit? If so, did you feel equipped with the truth of God's Word to not be shaken?

--
Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/