Job 13:7 Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for Him? 8 Will you show partiality toward Him? Will you plead the case for God? 9 Will it be well with you when He searches you out? Or can you deceive Him, as one deceives a man?
A trend is taking place among those who believe in Christ as their Saviour and are followers of Jesus. The number of pastors has increased who are asking their congregants not to describe themselves as a Christian when sharing their faith, but rather to explain that they are followers of Jesus or followers of Christ, their Lord. They are no longer at peace being connected to the word Christian because this word no longer reflects their personal faith in Christ. As the cults of Christian Nationalism and Christ-Culture are taking possession of the word Christian to evangelize their brand of erroneous beliefs and cruel creeds, real followers of Jesus want Christ honoured and not a symbol that has become merchandise that is carved into a belt buckle of the modern-day regimes of evil. Job 13:7 Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for Him?
Within the world system, extremism has always been a problem. When reading the book of Revelation, it seems that this type of ideological tyranny will continue until Jesus comes back for His church. Using the scriptures to prop up a political agenda is not new. The Herodians were priests who were a political party that supported King Herod Antipas. The Jews who were in this sect were trying to gain favour in the Roman Empire. They were also a convenient spy organization for Harod. If there were any government takeover plans in the wind, as priests working the temple gig, they could report to Herod, and he could send in those who would put the planmakers to the sword. This is similar to the Christian Nationalist movement and their band of recruits, who have been infiltrating the believers and Christian followers of the church.
I do not want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, because this type of talk can lead down the rabbit hole of another word salad that leads to crazy talk no one understands. I am pointing at this ugly trend because none of it is new and has always been an issue for those who love the Lord. It is an old trend dressed in a different robe of political correctness. True believers in Christ know that we are not to add to God’s words of instruction. Prov. 30:3 Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. We know that we should not cherry-pick the scriptures to prop up a political or religious belief that can be misused and kidnapped for personal profit. Even Satan uses scripture to deceive those who follow Jesus; therefore, what makes us think that these dubious reprobates who seek to control the gullible of the world will not do the same?
The term Christian was coined as a description by the people of Antioch to describe those who believed in Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Acts 11:26b And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. It is believed that this descriptive word began as a term of mockery for the followers of Christ. The word Christian was a label that many at the time took upon themselves as accepting the fact that persecution and name-calling came with becoming a follower of Jesus. Have we come full circle, where now many want to get rid of the name Christian because it invokes thoughts of evil and ugly politics? It’s not that these people who want to ditch the word Christian are embarrassed to be followers of Jesus; it’s that the word Christian has become a word that describes cult members and fools who spout off a word salad of nonsense and cruel intentions.
These events and discussions of them have caused me to reflect on my life as a Christian/Jesus follower, and I can say I, too, am disturbed by the antics of some of my brothers and sisters in the faith. This battle for the minds of believers in Christ has caused some to check out of church entirely and use the events of confusion and nastiness as an excuse to follow their own spiritual paths. While others have doubled down and become conspiracy experts in all manner of darkness that they claim is headed our way. The fact remains that God said these things would happen and warned us of the events with His words of law. Deut 4:2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.
Those who are true followers of Jesus and have dedicated their lives to obeying the instructions of the Lord have been given a simple decree to live by. Jesus said it in its easiest form. Luke 10:27 He answered, “’ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” If we were to apply and simply use this scripture as the beacon to lead our hearts and obey, then there would be no room for cults and the misdirection of Satan’s lies to enter the church and disrupt the dialogue that the followers of Jesus are living their lives through. Cults and idiotic factions can’t thrive where maturity, awareness, and diligence towards God’s instructions are valued and practiced.. Job 13:7 Will you speak falsely for God and speak deceitfully for Him? 9 Will it be well with you when He searches you out? Or can you deceive Him, as one deceives a man? These problems arise when the scriptures are not followed or understood. Yes, I am disappointed in what some of my brothers and sisters are promoting as what they deem to be sacrosanct and righteousness. However, as for me and my house, we will serve and follow Jesus Christ the Lord.
It might be time that we all come together and read out loud what it is we do believe.
“The Apostles’ Creed”
I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
People do use the Bible to support many non biblical beliefs. Then they use their nafarious pebbles of truth to uphold their beliefs. As Christian followers of Jesus I think the best plan is to always use the solid rock truths of the Bible to support our beliefs. Those boulders of truth are from the plain easily discerned words of God. Words that say God is love, will not lie and thy word is truth tell us that we can discover his truths if we follow all of his words without contradiction. Holding tight to the words of God, as he delivered them in the Bible, should be the creed that Christian’s base all of their other beliefs and creeds upon.
You have a point, Clayton. The issue is that we are mixing up our eisegesis (reading into a text, often to justify a pre-existing belief) with honest biblical exegesis.