10 July 2008

OPEN LETTER TO THE BODY OF CHRIST

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I write to you today because I am greatly troubled by what is happening in the Body of Christ; specifically here in the United States. In many ways, the church, or at least parts of the church, has left the gospel of Jesus Christ to seek another gospel; one which is more comfortable. One that allows people to live as they want; sin as they want; and still go to heaven.

In the last couple of years, there have been a number of seriously unbiblical statements made by “big name” preachers in public forum. The essence of these statements is that we do not have to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; saying in effect that all “good people” will be allowed into heaven. Some have gone as far as to say that there are many roads to heaven (a new age teaching); that anyone who loves God will get into heaven (whether we receive Christ, or not); and that it is not necessary to receive Jesus Christ to receive God’s blessings.

These teachings are not scriptural. The Bible clearly states in both the Old and New Testament that sinners will not be allowed to enter heaven’s gates. Whether or not we’ve prayed a sinner’s prayer, if we live as a sinner, we are sinners. The only thing that keeps us out of hell is the grace of God. We receive that grace when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

These statements have seriously undermined the foundation of scripture and the message of the gospel. They can quite fairly be called heresy. Many thousands of people, who follow those ministers, have accepted their teachings as true, and have entered into these ministers heresy.

Please note that I am not talking about minor doctrinal points. Whether or not one speaks in tongues will not send them to hell. Nor will they go to hell believing, or not believing in the laying on of hands when praying for the sick. I am talking about the basic tenets of the faith. Although there are those who condemn ministers for living in a mansion, or having their own private airplane, I am not one of them. I have no problem with a believer, or a minister being blessed. That is between them and God; I want no part of the discussion.

What I am talking about is the validity of scripture, and our interpretation of it. Anything that undermines the divine inspiration of scripture is not of God. Nor is a teaching that ignores a large part of scripture in order to make its point. Each and every one of us must be extremely cautious about how we interpret the Bible.

As believers, I believe we are each personally responsible before God for what we accept as Biblical truth. God will not accept the excuse of “brother so-and-so taught that,” or “my pastor preached this last Sunday.” We must individually examine every teaching and preaching we receive, to determine whether it is of God and in agreement with the Bible.

Both spiritual and natural discernment comes from knowing the truth. When one knows the truth, they can compare everything else to it. That which is true will show forth as truth; but that which is false will show its true colors.

Sadly, the Body of Christ has become lazy. There are few that are willing to study Scripture for themselves, in order to have an understanding of truth. There are even fewer who take notes in church, so that they can review those notes with their Bible in hand, to verify that what they have heard is worth keeping in their heart. To not study the Bible is to say, “I don’t need to know this.” One who does not study will surely accept whatever falsehood sounds good at the moment.

Brethren, don’t accept what anyone teaches you, without checking it out for yourself. I don’t care if your pastor, some bishop, a famous television preacher, or I myself teach it; you are personally responsible to God for whether or not you accept it. The apostle Paul wrote to his son in the faith, Timothy:

Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15

If it takes study to show ourselves approved, then what happens to those of us who don’t study? Does that mean we must become ashamed? Yes, it does. Either we will become ashamed for our failures in walking the Christian walk in this life; or we will be ashamed when we stand before our God and King.

I encourage you to become a student of God’s Word. Allow the Holy Spirit to become your personal teacher; opening the Scriptures to you, and explaining their meaning. Ask Him to teach you, and He will.

I am not saying it is wrong to seek human teachers. I am only saying that we should not rely wholly on them. It is good to seek out and listen to the teachings of godly men and women. However, use wisdom in whom and what you listen to; and again, verify for yourself that what they are teaching you is truly what God is saying to the church.

I would also like to ask you to make a commitment to pray for all those in the ministry. To accept the call of God as a minister is to accept the call to be a target before the enemy. The higher a minister is raised up, the greater a target he becomes. Satan would much rather destroy the ministry of one who ministers to tens of thousands, than one who speaks only to a handful. By destroying the great ministers he can destroy a greater number of believers’ lives.

So, pray for all those in authority; in the secular realm and in the spiritual. Become an armor bearer for someone and keep the enemy from stabbing them in the back; or, even more important, from stabbing them in the heart. Let’s not let the enemy gain a foothold in the church.

Be blessed. Seek the Lord. Commit all your ways to Him.

In Jesus’ precious name,

Rich Murphy