In our ministry at AIM we get to meet Christians from various nations and different ethnic, social, and church backgrounds. This gives us an opportunity to see and hear how believers are doing, and we try to encouage as many as possible to remain firm in the faith.
Over the past several years we have become increasingly aware that many Christians we meet--whether in Asia, the US, or right here in Stillwater--are struggling in many areas of their lives. There is testing in their marriages, jobs, finances, health, and moral purity. We hear so often from people that, "whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong" in their lives. It seems that, knowing time is short, Satan as been working overtime in the lives of all that identify as follwers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many believers have become disillusioned in their walk and service to God. There are two different traps that struggling believers have fallen into.
The first is the danger of legalism. So many have been decimated by a legalistic church environment, where unbiblical rules, traditions, and principles are forced on them. These types of environments are poisonous, and many people simply give up under the burden of these rules. They simply cannot keep them.
Many believers have found themselves trapped in a spiritual desert. Legalism is a vicious, yet subtle, master. It promises living water for the soul, only to fill your mouth with sand. Young people are deserting these churches by the thousands. If you find yourself in this position, you must realize that one of Satan's favorite strategies is to cause Christians to wilt and dry up from the inside out. He doesn't care what we believe, as long as it isn't that the Gospel gives life and nourishment to our souls.
The scripture tells us that, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ...These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:8, 17)
If you find yourself trapped in the failure to obey human rules, I encourage you to put your faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not in the rules and traditions of men.
The other trap many believers have fallen into is the belief in a "prosperity" gospel. At first, everything seems well and good, but as the poison of this belief works its way through your life, you will find yourself moving farther and farther away from God. Eventually, your faith will weaken and your heart will grow less responsive to God's Word. In the end, the prosperity Gospel will only bring death and destruction to a believer's life unless God removes it from your system.
The Bible warns us about the danger of false gospels. Paul reminds us when he says, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Galatians 1:6-8)
Be aware that the prosperity Gospel goes much deeper than money and finances alone. It is a wide-spread philosophy that if you do and say certain things, then your life is guaranteed to get progressively better. But the truth is that Jesus told us we must take up our cross daily (be prepared to be crucified) and follow Him. He promised that the world would hate us and persecute us. Yet, this was not to scare us. He told His followers that, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
As soon as hardship comes along, people who believe in the prosperity Gospel collapse, because the false foundation they have built their lives upon begins to disintegrate.
How can you tell if you have fallen into these traps? Over time, the prosperity Gospel believer begins to lose their fear of God. Sin becomes tolerated and even practiced, rather than something to be feared and avoided. This false teaching is so destructive that believers start acting as if God is their servant, and they have the power to order Him to do what they want. Paul tells us that we need to, "...hold on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." (1 Timothy 1:19)
If you find yourself struggling because you are trapped by a false teaching, I encourage you not to give up. As long as you continue to breathe there is hope. The cure for those caught in legalism is the same as for those caught in the prosperity Gospel. The answer is Jesus! The reality is found in Christ.
As the world grows darker, we must humble ourselves before the Living God and depend on Him to steer us clear of these two dangers. Both are places of destruction that millions of believers fall into. If you are struggling, don't hide from God like Adam and Eve did. Instead, come running into the arms of God. Remember these words of our Lord and allow them to soak into your heart and mind, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty...All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:35, 37-40)
--Russ Sharrock
Over the past several years we have become increasingly aware that many Christians we meet--whether in Asia, the US, or right here in Stillwater--are struggling in many areas of their lives. There is testing in their marriages, jobs, finances, health, and moral purity. We hear so often from people that, "whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong" in their lives. It seems that, knowing time is short, Satan as been working overtime in the lives of all that identify as follwers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many believers have become disillusioned in their walk and service to God. There are two different traps that struggling believers have fallen into.
The first is the danger of legalism. So many have been decimated by a legalistic church environment, where unbiblical rules, traditions, and principles are forced on them. These types of environments are poisonous, and many people simply give up under the burden of these rules. They simply cannot keep them.
Many believers have found themselves trapped in a spiritual desert. Legalism is a vicious, yet subtle, master. It promises living water for the soul, only to fill your mouth with sand. Young people are deserting these churches by the thousands. If you find yourself in this position, you must realize that one of Satan's favorite strategies is to cause Christians to wilt and dry up from the inside out. He doesn't care what we believe, as long as it isn't that the Gospel gives life and nourishment to our souls.
The scripture tells us that, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ...These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." (Colossians 2:8, 17)
If you find yourself trapped in the failure to obey human rules, I encourage you to put your faith in Jesus Christ alone, and not in the rules and traditions of men.
The other trap many believers have fallen into is the belief in a "prosperity" gospel. At first, everything seems well and good, but as the poison of this belief works its way through your life, you will find yourself moving farther and farther away from God. Eventually, your faith will weaken and your heart will grow less responsive to God's Word. In the end, the prosperity Gospel will only bring death and destruction to a believer's life unless God removes it from your system.
The Bible warns us about the danger of false gospels. Paul reminds us when he says, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" (Galatians 1:6-8)
Be aware that the prosperity Gospel goes much deeper than money and finances alone. It is a wide-spread philosophy that if you do and say certain things, then your life is guaranteed to get progressively better. But the truth is that Jesus told us we must take up our cross daily (be prepared to be crucified) and follow Him. He promised that the world would hate us and persecute us. Yet, this was not to scare us. He told His followers that, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
As soon as hardship comes along, people who believe in the prosperity Gospel collapse, because the false foundation they have built their lives upon begins to disintegrate.
How can you tell if you have fallen into these traps? Over time, the prosperity Gospel believer begins to lose their fear of God. Sin becomes tolerated and even practiced, rather than something to be feared and avoided. This false teaching is so destructive that believers start acting as if God is their servant, and they have the power to order Him to do what they want. Paul tells us that we need to, "...hold on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith." (1 Timothy 1:19)
If you find yourself struggling because you are trapped by a false teaching, I encourage you not to give up. As long as you continue to breathe there is hope. The cure for those caught in legalism is the same as for those caught in the prosperity Gospel. The answer is Jesus! The reality is found in Christ.
As the world grows darker, we must humble ourselves before the Living God and depend on Him to steer us clear of these two dangers. Both are places of destruction that millions of believers fall into. If you are struggling, don't hide from God like Adam and Eve did. Instead, come running into the arms of God. Remember these words of our Lord and allow them to soak into your heart and mind, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty...All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:35, 37-40)
--Russ Sharrock
