Something I've Thought About A Lot Lately

As I've been reading some of the discernment blogs and seen how very subtle false teaching can be, I've been thinking a bit about one reason it is so easy for us to be deceived. I'm convinced there are a lot of us in evangelical circles who really believe the Bible is true and that it is God's Word. But I'm also convinced that, though we claim to believe this, we don't really read it. This is also one reason we get so caught up in emotionalism and can hear an inadequate, but very emotional presentation of the Gospel and yet think it's been deep or thorough enough to still be the Truth, when really all we're hearing is a watered-down, non-gospel because we don't have a firm enough grasp on what the Bible teaches.

I have grown up in the church - Southern Baptist ones mostly - and I have been taught all my life how important the Bible is. And, by God's grace, I am continuing to grow in my love for Bible study - not Bible studies where you go and read what someone else thinks about the Bible and talk a lot, but never really get around to actually studying the Bible itself - but I'm learning to love reading it and learning. It is amazing that everytime I read through the Bible, God can light up a new passage and it will be like I've never read it before. This is how God speaks to us through His Word, and it is how we know Who He is. I am immensely aware that this love and appreciation comes from the work of the Holy Spirit in my life, not by my own intellect or ability, and it is humbling and I am grateful. So what I am about to say does not mean that I think I've "arrived." But it is something that troubles me greatly.

Something I've noticed quite a bit now that I am an adult and have walked with the Lord for a while (I was saved as a young child) is that a preacher will hear many "Amens" from the congregation when he talks about how important it is to believe the Bible and that we need to live according to what is in the Bible. But, these same people don't seem to know much about what the Bible says. In our young adult Sunday School class, while D. was in Iraq, we had a guest teacher who once brought in a quiz he'd found that tests your Bible knowledge. Some of the questions were fairly basic, some more obscure. It was pretty eye-opening how much the class did not know. They couldn't even identify Hosea - and we had just spent a whole month studying that book. And when they got Abraham and Moses confused, the response was, "Well, I knew it was one of those old guys." Appalling. Rather than spurring them to read their Bibles and study more, they got angry at the teacher and didn't come back to class until D. was back teaching. And when they asked me how I knew so many of the answers, I told them it just comes from reading my Bible through over and over, and the Holy Spirit works to drive it into my heart and mind. The response to that was, "I try that, but I get bogged down when I get to things I don't understand and just quit." I suggested reading through anyway and investing in a good study Bible. Then I was told, "Well, not all of us can afford that, Rebekah." Hmmm. And yet, there's a new car out in the parking lot and they seem to afford all kinds of other things that aren't all that important. D. and I were talking about this and we decided you pretty much do what you want to do - what is important enough to you - about these things.

So, if we don't read the Word, how are going to recognize the wolves? If we don't know the Truth, how are we to spot error? This makes us ripe for false teaching that sounds really good because it is so subtle. This is why if we hear "Jesus-talk" we think surely the person is a fellow believer - because we don't know how to discern what is actually being said. This is one reason so many former Southern Baptists are Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and other false things today.

Here's some things I'm praying about:

• That the leadership of the SBC would open their eyes and see how very subtle the deception is. It isn't enough to just say that we believe the Bible - we must have good teaching from the Bible and stop looking for the next best fad.
• That we people in the pews would develop a burning desire to know God and to read His Word. And then that we would begin to act on what He shows us in His Word. And that the Holy Spirit would bring conviction and brokenness and show us where we harbor sin in our lives and lead us to repent.
• That my children would be drawn to Christ and that we would teach them His Word and the Holy Spirit would drive it deep into their hearts and protect them from deception. That they will recognize Truth and discern untruth.
• That my own desire would become more and more to love God and glorify Him, because I confess that that is so often not my motivation, but oh how I want it to be. That the Holy Spirit would soften my heart so that I will respond to His leadership and act on the things I read in His Word.
• Comfort for two friends who are battling cancer and struggling with chemotherapy among other things.

These are just some of the things I want to remember to pray daily. There are others as well.