There are many teachers who claim to be Christians and who teach about Christian living. Many of them teach specific target audiences, and how certain areas of Christian living such be done, such as work, marriage, child-rearing and child discipline.
However, many of these teachers impose specific rules which are not found in the Bible as to how people should live or not live. As a result, they claim that the Bible teaches something when it does not, and are therefore in error. Such spiritual error is dangerous because it will hold people in bondage to false teaching.
Examples of false teaching include the teaching that ministry work is more holy, righteous, and God-glorifying that non-ministry work, that people must enter full-time ministry work if they are unmarried, that women cannot be called to work in certain arenas like business and academia, and that people must marry and have a family to holy and righteous. Such teaching is either explicit and implicit in many churches and is evident in the mindset of many people.
False teaching gives a lack of peace to the righteous. If you are righteous, seeking to serve God and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, you can discern false teaching by the lack of peace it gives you. You will feel a strong sense of discomfort with the false teaching and its implications, not because it makes you feel inadequate or inferior, but because it does not hinge on agape love.
False teaching restricts or hinders people from flourishing, because it stops them from doing the Will of God in the exact way He has intended His will to be done. It imposes some man-made rules that a person should not do something or must do something which are not the will of God for that person. When one allows oneself to be lead by false teaching, the consequence is that one cannot flourish because one is not doing what God has graced one with the gifts, talents and abilities to do.
God's will for people may at times make others feel uncomfortable, because it may go against strongly entrenched traditions or attitudes, unconventional, appear illogical or involves contending against people. In some cases, that is precisely why it is God's will, to show people that it is not about what they think or want, but what God wants.
False teaching puts people in spiritual bondage. People are made to feel guilty or less worthy to God because of something which is not sinful they do or do not do, but regarded as sinful by others, just because it goes against tradition or convention. This causes those who are not strong in their faith into frustration, desperation, confusion, or discontentment, owing to the desire to please God, but yet think they one cannot please God because of one's circumstances, or situation. The desire to please God but being under the belief that one is unable to steals joy, peace and an abundant life from a person. That is exactly what false teaching does.
Beware of these three signs when you encounter a teaching that is not explicitly stated in the Bible, or which it is silent about. Ask God for discerning power to discern whether it is true or false teaching.
Repent of your sins. Turn to Christ today.
However, many of these teachers impose specific rules which are not found in the Bible as to how people should live or not live. As a result, they claim that the Bible teaches something when it does not, and are therefore in error. Such spiritual error is dangerous because it will hold people in bondage to false teaching.
Examples of false teaching include the teaching that ministry work is more holy, righteous, and God-glorifying that non-ministry work, that people must enter full-time ministry work if they are unmarried, that women cannot be called to work in certain arenas like business and academia, and that people must marry and have a family to holy and righteous. Such teaching is either explicit and implicit in many churches and is evident in the mindset of many people.
False teaching gives a lack of peace to the righteous. If you are righteous, seeking to serve God and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, you can discern false teaching by the lack of peace it gives you. You will feel a strong sense of discomfort with the false teaching and its implications, not because it makes you feel inadequate or inferior, but because it does not hinge on agape love.
False teaching restricts or hinders people from flourishing, because it stops them from doing the Will of God in the exact way He has intended His will to be done. It imposes some man-made rules that a person should not do something or must do something which are not the will of God for that person. When one allows oneself to be lead by false teaching, the consequence is that one cannot flourish because one is not doing what God has graced one with the gifts, talents and abilities to do.
God's will for people may at times make others feel uncomfortable, because it may go against strongly entrenched traditions or attitudes, unconventional, appear illogical or involves contending against people. In some cases, that is precisely why it is God's will, to show people that it is not about what they think or want, but what God wants.
False teaching puts people in spiritual bondage. People are made to feel guilty or less worthy to God because of something which is not sinful they do or do not do, but regarded as sinful by others, just because it goes against tradition or convention. This causes those who are not strong in their faith into frustration, desperation, confusion, or discontentment, owing to the desire to please God, but yet think they one cannot please God because of one's circumstances, or situation. The desire to please God but being under the belief that one is unable to steals joy, peace and an abundant life from a person. That is exactly what false teaching does.
Beware of these three signs when you encounter a teaching that is not explicitly stated in the Bible, or which it is silent about. Ask God for discerning power to discern whether it is true or false teaching.
Repent of your sins. Turn to Christ today.
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