Focus On God’s Word

Sometimes it is shocking to watch our political system.  We see deliberate lying and efforts to slander some people with no supporting evidence, while others are shielded from accusations despite abundant evidence of their guilt.  Election officials deliberately try to change the outcome of elections by disqualifying some citizen’s votes while encouraging non-citizens to vote.  Political figures and various celebrities disparage those who question their ideas, and encourage actual physical attacks on them.  It is not hard to understand prevalence of bullying in our schools when our political figures and celebrities set such an example.  It reminds us of what II Timothy 3:13 warns.  “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”  While the politicians and celebrities are busy attacking each other, drug usage, gang violence and hate crimes are spiraling out of control. 

Unfortunately, these problems are not limited to the secular world, because the church has begun to adopt the world’s philosophies.  In I Timothy 4:1-3, Paul warned that this would happen.  1ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.” 

Some of the changes have been very insidious.  For example, in 1970, Jay Adams published the book, Competent to Counsel as a warning to the church that the growing acceptance of psychology in churches was turning people away from the truth of the gospel.  Today nearly every “Christian” group has psychological counselors to address various problems, and the pastors have been taught to incorporate psychological principles in their teaching and preaching. 

There are several problems in the church as a result, but the most important is the difference in dealing with guilt.  Psychology holds that guilt is terrible thing.   They make a great deal of effort to convince people that the guilt they feel is false guilt.  They insist that most of the things people feel guilty about are natural and people are unable to keep from doing them.  The things that have happened to the person cause his behavior, so that it is not the person’s fault.   The guilt is a result of society’s views rather than any inherent right or wrong. 

This is in exact contradiction to the scriptures.  The Bible teaches that mankind have a conscience, an innate sense of right and wrong.  Just as constant exposure of the body to certain poisons can result in developing a tolerance for them, or even a dependence on them, constant exposure to things that are wrong can produce a tolerance for things that are evil, and even a certain dependence on them, destroying that sense of guilt from doing wrong.  They have no incentive to change their behavior. 

Because the conscience can become desensitized, the law was to provide a more stable measure of right and wrong so people could be aware of their guilt. As Romans 3:19 explains.  “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”  Guilt is not the problem, it is only a symptom telling us a problem exists and that something needs to be done.  The psychological approach is much like giving a person who has an infected injury to their leg an opiate pain drug rather than cleaning and bandaging the injury.  It covers up the pain, but does nothing to resolve the problem and the person may die from the infection.  Instead of covering up the guilt, I John 1:9 tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  By accepting responsibility for the sin, we can have the guilt removed so that we no longer need the pain pill to cover it up. 

Unfortunately, the modern church has adopted many such doctrines in place of what the scriptures teach.   Sometimes they contradict the scriptures, as in this case.  Other times they are disguised as stricter interpretations of the scriptures, such as forbidding eating certain foods or avoiding marriage.   We are instructed to stay focused on the word of God rather than other ideas.  II Timothy 4:1-5 commands, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”  Even though the time will come when people do not want to hear the truth, we are to continue teach it.  We must not try to adapt the gospel to our society, but fulfill the ministry god has given us.  We need to realize obeying God will not make us popular with the world.