A WORD IN PASSING - July 2024
'Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.' 1 John 5:21
I recently met-up with a couple of friends who told me they were leaving their church: or more accurately they were
leaving their old church building to worshipping in a school hall. Their church had split over differences of opinion regarding
same-sex blessings. Sadly, it’s not an uncommon occurrence these days with many churches following a policy of
‘inclusiveness’ at a cost of excluding God’s word. And sadly, there’s nothing new about churches splitting; about Christian
disputes and infighting fracturing the body of Christ. The evidence is there from the early years of the church in Paul’s letters,
and the evidence continues in the later writings of John’s letters.
The reasons for churches and fellowships splitting are many, but it always come down to the same basic problem, sin; sin
and an unwillingness- for whatever reason - to adhere to the truth God has revealed to us. And at the heart of this truth must
be our understanding of Jesus Christ - who He is and what He has done. For any denial of the Bible’s revelation of He who is
‘God come to us in the flesh’ strikes at the very foundation upon which the Christian faith is built. Unless we know who Jesus
is we have no saving faith our self, and no saving faith to proclaim to others.
The heretical teaching faced by the churches to which John wrote may not be the false teaching facing the church today,
but the danger is still very much with us – albeit in different forms. Interfaith worship, for example, for all its attractions is
founded on a dangerous heresy that diminishes Jesus to make Him more palatable to other faiths. But the real issue of the
day confronting and in many places contaminating the church is that of human sexuality, the definition of gender and the
relentless push for indiscriminate inclusivity.
The word 'discrimination' is often used with negative connotations. But Christians are called to be discriminating when it
comes to kingdom matters. The Bible makes it clear; some things are just unacceptable to God, just as all people are simply
unacceptable to Him as they are. Of course, we can only come to God as we are, but we come to be changed. We come to God
through Jesus and come to God to be ‘in Jesus’, to live our life in accordance with His will and His ways. And it’s that quality
of life ‘in Christ’ that testifies to the fact that we truly are a Christian. But today many churches are adopting a philosophy of
come as you are, be accepted as you are, and be celebrated and affirmed as you are; thus setting their own standards for
kingdom living; making many friends, but also deluding many with a false hope - a hope quite contrary to God’s revealed will.
A hope built on a distortion of God’s character that surely can only be regarded as ‘blasphemous.’
Heresies and false teachers are not just a thing of the past. They may have taken on a different form from John’s day, but
they are still very much with us. And unless we study the Scriptures, and unless we know God’s Word, we will be easy prey.
For the most dangerous heresies are those that pander to our old nature and/or to the prevailing cultural climate. The
object is not to become a Bible ‘nerd’, but to get deeper into God’s Word, to known His will and ways; to better know Jesus;
to better know the truth that ‘will set you free’ and ensure you remain free from the heresies and false teaching that can so
easily ensnare and imprison the ignorant mind of a gullible Christian.
The apostolic letters of the New Testament are as vital and powerful a word for the church today as they were two
thousand years ago. Let’s pray we heed and take to heart what they have to say to us. Times of crisis, individually and
collectively, lie ahead. So, let’s ensure we arm ourselves with God’s Word, God’s wisdom, and be as ready as we possibly can
to face them.
Graham Pulham
For more information about the Christian faith, go to www.christianity.org.uk