by Jacob Ninan
The church has largely become a mixture of right and wrong, and good and bad. Thankfully there are some who hold to Christ and His ways and seek to be transformed more and more into the character of Jesus, even while facing attacks from those who follow the popular views. But a larger number of people seem to be mixed up in their understanding of God and His plans for them, having listened to preachers who have brought in all kinds of teachings. This is something we need to be especially careful about in these last days, as God has warned us through the apostle Paul (1Tim.4:1;2Tim.3:1-5). We who have responded to the Gospel and been born again from God are expected to pursue after righteousness and godliness (1Tim.6:11). As a consequence, if we hear other types of preaching or teaching that are not directed towards godliness, we are expected to turn away from such (1Tim.6:3-5).
Can we take a position that we already know what we need to know, and therefore we don't have to bother about all the teaching that goes around? No. None of us knows everything, and we are all to grow in the knowledge of God in our understanding and in life. It is also possible that some of the things we think we know are wrong, because we may have been listening to some wrong preachers, because of the way we grew up, because of the slants in our personality, etc. So, all of us need to be wanting to learn the truth, with greater and greater clarity, so that our practical life can be ordered accordingly.
But then, when we decide to listen to the others in order to learn more, we come across the problem that all that we hear may not be correct. Even if people are quoting from the Bible, it does not mean automatically that they must be right, because they might be quoting verses out of context or misinterpreting the passages. It then becomes our responsibility to listen, and check for ourselves whether what we are hearing or reading is correct. In other words, we cannot simply accept whatever someone is teaching, even if the preacher is famous, experienced, etc.
To illustrate this point, let us look at a very common false teaching that has infiltrated a large part of the church, including otherwise good leaders. People now seem to take it for granted as one of the truths of the Bible, and they apply this in many areas of life, even though it is wrong and it does not work!
I am referring to the teaching that says, in its simplest form, that our tongue has power and that therefore whatever we say will happen, based on Prov.18:21, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit." Apparently, that is what this verse says, and if we recognise this as the word of God, it should work for us! Some people also say that since God spoke and light came into existence (Gen.1:3), as children of God, we too can speak out and then our words can make things happen.
Yes, God has adopted us as His children, but we are not gods or divine beings, but only created beings. We don't have powers like God to create things out of nothing, or to make things happen by speaking words. If we really had such power in our tongue, all around us things should be happening whenever we speak, even carelessly. But they don't! This proverb seems to imply that our tongue has the power even to give life (to a dead body) or to kill a living person. But it doesn't! We must remember here is that proverbs are used to express what we generally observe to be true but they are not necessarily stating physical or spiritual laws. In this particular proverb that uses this figurative language, the intention is simply to give us a warning to be careful about what we speak, because it can have serious consequences, good or bad.
In this connection some people quote Rom.10:9-11 where Paul talks about the connection between believing in our heart and confessing what we believe with our mouth. If we look carefully, we can see that the important thing is believing in our heart, and if we truly believe, we shall not be put to shame. So, what is the part of confessing with our mouth? That is a part of our growing in and experiencing salvation in our life. Being able to confess with our mouth is a proof that we believe, and if we are only able to keep our faith in our heart without being able to confess it vocally, it will show that our faith is not strong. But the passage is not saying that it is our speaking that brings our salvation, because it says clearly, "Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame."
This false teaching referred to as the word of faith, has infiltrated the church to such a large extent that many have accepted it at face value without questioning. The influence of the New Age concepts can be seen behind its origin, and now we can notice the connections in the use of words such as 'activate', 'unlock', 'release', etc. People who believe this feel powerful, and they go around declaring healing into sick people or broken relationships, speaking life into people and situations, etc. They point out rare cases where someone spoke some words and things happened, but do not mention the thousands of times where nothing happened! If there was a law, it should work every time! But it doesn't! Think of the big leaders who commanded Corona to go, and the thousands who declared all kinds of situations to happen in the new year, and nothing happened! What a public shame to the name of God!
This teaches us that even if some 'great' preacher is teaching something, our safety remains in questioning all such teachings from the foundation of the written word of God. We are not rebelling or rising against authority when we question someone's teachings, because we have to do it for our own safety (Gal.1:8). If we don't do that, we can become unquestioning, 'loyal' followers of leaders, and we will eventually lose our identity. It may save us some effort, but we will certainly suffer loss. What will happen to our faith if after many years of confessing and declaring we see that nothing has been happening?
In a practical sense, we must recognise that when God anointed the authors of the books of the Bible, it was a special anointing. That is why we find their writings reliable. But we cannot assume the same reliability now when leaders bring out their teachings. Now it becomes our responsibility check them with reference to the Bible, just as the people of Berea became famous for doing when they listened to the apostle Paul preaching (Acts.17:11). We have to ask not only if people are quoting from the Bible, but also if they are interpreting the verses in the context of the passage and also in agreement with the rest of the Bible. Further questions we have to ask is whether this new teaching is helpful to lead us towards godliness, whether it is going to transform our thinking and our practical life, and whether we can see its fruit in the lives of the people who preach it.
Once we recognise that a certain teaching is from God, our immediate response must be to obey it and to live accordingly. There is no guarantee, if we have only an intellectual curiosity about teachings, perhaps to find a subject for our thesis in college or our books or sermons, that God will lead us to the right understanding (Jn.7:17). Obedience is the proof that shows we really believe what we say we believe, and it is obedience that will produce fruit in our life (Rom.6:17,18). But when we really believe, we will be willing even to deny ourselves in order to obey what God has taught us. Then it will be seen that what God says is more important to us than our pleasures, the opinion of people, etc. Without this obedience, there will be no transformation in our life.
There was a parable Jesus spoke about two builders, one who built upon a rock and the other who built on the sand. Many people jump to the conclusion that the rock is Christ and if they believe in Jesus as their Saviour everything will be fine. But the explanation Jesus gave was different. He said that these two people represented two groups of people, both of whom heard the word of God, but only one obeyed what they heard. Let us not fool ourselves into thinking that believing is enough. Without obedience, there will be no experience of salvation.