Enough With Passive Christianity
1John 4: 1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
I have often heard the Christian response to blatant self-serving preaching or odd doctrines - the familiar; "who am I to judge?" Wave after wave of false doctrines continue to infiltrate American Christianity and the very people who should know better seemingly turn a blind eye to it. In avoiding the unsettling notion of confrontation we have allowed the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be reduced to a mockery. The sacrifice of Calvary has been translated into the most obscure or insulting things. Prosperity in the temporal riches of this world, gemstones from bogus angelic visitations, gold dust, holy laughter; the list just goes on and on. People pretending to be Apostles without wanting the sacrifice. People demanding to be called prophets. Yet there we sit, maybe mildly offended but not standing up for what is right and what is wrong. The passivity can be staggering. Yet how does the Bible instruct us to approach our walk?
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Philippians 2: 12-13
The verb here is not passive. We are to "work" out our salvation, not sit in a fetal position until Jesus comes. And how are we to work it out? With fear and trembling. With an awesome appreciation for who God is, what He sacrificed for us, and the eternal destination of all mankind. And what of the great Apostle Paul? Having seen the third heaven and the throne room of God, Paul would evangelize the known world yet here is how he viewed the responsibility he had:
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power. 1Corinthians 2: 1-5
For I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is the same resolution we need to make within ourselves these days. Do not seek the eloquence of prosperity doctrine just Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Do not seek the superior wisdom of man selling you doctrine that doesn't exist in the Word of God just Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I asked my pastor once about salvation based messages versus ones that seemed more geared towards spiritual maturity. His response is that ANY message should be brought back to Calvary's cross. That is the Gospel beloved. Paul speaking in his first letter to the Church at Corinth:
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 1Corinthians 1: 17
When we rely upon human wisdom we actually empty the cross of Christ of its power. The Gospel becomes sullied. Our key verse today warns about this and includes three important points. Working backwards in the verse, the reason John writes this is because he knows that many false prophets have gone out into the world. While this was a great cause for concern in John's day it is even more so today in western Christianity. God warns us especially in these the last days:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2Timothy 4: 3-4
The time has indeed come. Sound doctrine has become watered down. People gather around them teachers to tell them what they want to hear. Everyone wants to believe that God wants them to be rich, which is why prosperity doctrine sells. Everyone wants to chase the "super-spiritual" experience, which is so many of the other false doctrines sell so easily. People want to believe they can continue living in rebellion and inherit eternal life, which is why alternative gospels sell so easily. Look at what the Lord says through the Prophet Jeremiah:
Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague." But I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, the prophets keep telling them, 'You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.' "Then the LORD said to me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. Jeremiah 14: 11-14
Sowing your seed in return for blessing is not of God. To quote a famous singer, "The God I know isn't short of cash." Sowing is a matter of obedience, not a mechanism for turning Christ into an ATM. No beloved; we are compelled to test the spirits we encounter to ascertain whether they are of God or not.
That is the second point from the key verse today test the spirits. I have often heard well-intended Christians automatically assume that the apparent spiritual nature of something must be of God. Let us not forget that there are other spirits at work in the world.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12
There are spiritual forces of evil at work against us. Do not ever lose sight of that. The fact that people fall down when touched by a preacher, roll on the floor in laughter, or pack an auditorium in the tens of thousands does not mean the spirit at work is from God. We must test everything:
