We live in a world of sound bites and talking points, even when it comes to what Scripture teaches. Fewer and fewer people take the time for deep study and thought anymore, partly because of the busyness of our lives. We are quick to believe what we hear on social media or in the news because we just can’t be bothered with actually taking the time to investigate and think for ourselves.
Not only is it harmful to our faith, but dangerous to just go along with things we hear without making sure they are biblical. This morning we cover an opinion piece titled “9 Unbiblical Statements Christians Believe”. Some are rather benign, but others show the depth of biblical illiteracy plaguing our nation and the church. Here are some ideas that sound good, but the question we ask and answer is, “are they Scriptural?”
- God helps those who help themselves
- God wants me to be happy
- We’re all God’s children
- Cleanliness is next to godliness
- God won’t give you more than you can handle
- We all worship the same God
- Bad things happen to good people
- When you die, God gains another angel
- We’re all going to the same place when we die
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First, we must recognize our need for God; we are helpless and hopeless without Christ. 
God wants us to be holy; happiness often depends on circumstances while true joy is from the Lord.
We are all made in the image of God, but only those who have repented and trust in Jesus Christ are His children.
Many gods, many pathways, but there is only one true, living God and He is the One we worship.
In this life, bad things happen to all people – and so do good things. What we often define as good or bad may not be the same way God defines them. Also, men are men and angels are angels. There are two possible eternal destinations and though all of us will live forever (our spirits), we do not go to the same place when we die. Contrary to some in the emergent church and Universalism, that is a perversion of the true gospel.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
John 8:39-45
Philippians 1:6
1 Corinthians 10:12-14
Also discussed:
God sees all the things we don’t, even the deepest hearts of political party leaders. I’ve been thinking lately about Romans 1: When people do not honor God or thank him, He “gives them over” to the consequences of their futile thinking and poor choices.
Maybe God means to do some refining business with political leaders and parties. Maybe He means to do business with His church for looking too hard to politics to provide what only He can give.
Maybe He means to do business with me to “fear not, but be bold and courageous.” To fast and pray, not just about this election but about building His kingdom.”
9 Unbiblical Statements Christians Believe
When You’re Feeling Stressed About This Election
There is nothing like the truth! Good for him!
Allow me to post some humor RE: "we become angels"… Our 4 children, all now grown, attended more funerals when they were young. Being PK's, it sort of came with the territory. Biblical teaching was a major part of their lives. We attended a viewing for a former church member and as we approached the family standing near the casket, we heard the usual comments of "She's with the angels now" and "She's in a better place." My young son, then 7, introduced himself to a relative of the deceased and was comforted with this statement, "Don't mourn for her. She's an angel now." He blurted out just what he was taught, "Oh. no. We don't become angels. That's not the truth." My wife caught him in the midst of explaining by gently putting her hand over his mouth. He is now 21 and is as bold as he was then… just a bit more refined in his tactics.
We are all born with a sin nature, it's the curse. But, children, and mentally disabled adults that cannot comprehend sin, mercy, salvation, etc., are not judged as you would say a normal person, Jesus said his kingdom is made up of children, when the apostles were indignant that children were being brought to Jesus so He could lay His hands on them, what did Jesus say? Do not hinder the children, for of such is my kingdom made of. God is merciful beyond what we can comprehend, children and those with mental disabilities are not judged as we are. Remember when David lost the son he had with Bathsheba? What did he say? "Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23). From that statement, we can assume that babies, young children and those adults who can't understand the sin nature and its consequences are by God's amazing grace, covered for salvation by Jesus' death. As in everything the bible doesn't specifically address we must not be dogmatic, but we can take comfort that God is greater than all, His plan is perfect, He is beyond good and holy, so God will do what is correct.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Romans 3:10
That clearly means no exceptions.
Hi Sheryl,
Yes that is true, no one ever said children nor the mentally challenged were not born with the curse, but to negate the words of Jesus regarding who populates His kingdom would be contradictory, something that God is not. ALL are born with a sin nature, NOT all understand and are responsible, God doesn't create to destroy, those that head to perdition do so at their own volition. Someone who has no idea might have the curse, but has no eyes, thus is not to be blamed, that's why Jesus told the Pharisee, now that your eyes are opened, now you're guilty……..the Pharisee never asked for forgiveness. The bible is not specific, so there can be no dogmatic position, but if you understand the nature of responsibility, age of accountability, you can see there is mercy provided by Christ for children and the mentally incapacitated.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (Romans 10:9&10) Salvation is free for anybody. Salvation is free for ALL! I am a living testimony of the Son of God, Jesus Christ’s Salvation, mercy & grace. I am living proof that God Almighty has freely given each & every one of us eternal life & this life is only in His Son. Those who have the Son have life; those who do not have the Son of God do not have life. (1 John 5:11&12) I have total & complete faith that when I am united face-to-face with my precious Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord will embrace me in His loving arms & say to me: “Friend, your sins are forgiven. Welcome Home!” My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. (1Corinthians 4:4) God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. Let us never forget; It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. (1 Corinthians 1:27-30) I know without a shred of doubt & am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Holy Spirit has instructed me that you all have a form of godliness, but are denying its power & that I must have nothing to do with people like you. (2 Timothy 3:5) Jesus has informed me that because you folks do not welcome me, a disciple & Ambassador of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, that I must leave you all & shake the dust off my feet as a testimony against you folks. (Luke 9:5) Please know that I genuinely harbor no ill-will or unforgiveness in any way. However, when the Holy Spirit moves, I move. I will continue to pray that with the help & power of Jesus Christ’s Love, He will one day breakthrough the calloused hearts & minds of you all so that you can truly “stand-up for The Truth.”
***shake*shake*shaking the dust off my feet***
Let's proclaim the whole counsel Summer, 'ye must be born again'. 'For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man boast'.
Verbal professions do not equate salvation, why do you think Christ said, 'Why do you call me Lord Lord and do not do what I say?'
You are still living in rebellion to God's law, you boast of your perversion and you think you have eternal life. You are trusting in a mere verbal profession and bear no evidence you've been born again. You are still under wrath.
Summer
From what I can tell your visits to this site were less “ambassador for Christ” and more “ambassador” for the rainbow flag: The flag that sees Christianity as bigotry and narrow mindedness. Of course redefinition is required to fit your idea of discipleship (and marriage) into Christianity so you gave it “the old college try”. It was met with resistance. Not bigoted resistance but Biblical resistance. Consequently you announce your departure for not being accepted.
Speaking only for myself: I can see a scenario that at one time you trusted in Christ to forgive your sins and that through the cross He paid for them and through His resurrection He defeated death on our behalf (believers):I get that! I pray it is true that you have put your trust in Christ as you say. But your discipleship and ambassador credentials are phony. How do I know? You misuse, twist, claim scripture to support your agenda. You have the Gospel down! You are hiding behind it.
Scripture instructs us what to do with brothers/sisters in your state—1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
Those of us (hope you are included) who have passed from death to Life will not be judged at the Great White Throne we receive a different judgment and can lose much. I will lose much. I hope I gain much from our encounters.
Dear Summer,
Please stop and ask Jesus to open your eyes. We are ALL sinners, the difference is you are reveling in yours, sin will depress and break a Christian, we confess everyday, we come to the cross for cleansing of the sin that trips us daily, we don't revel in it, we despise it, abhor it, repent of it and through Jesus' work are forgiven of it, the renewing of our minds through The Holy Spirit makes sin repulsive to our "new man," if sin doesn't repulse you, question your motives, your theology and most of all your salvation…….there is a way that seems right, but in the end it brings death. I don't hate you, dislike you in any way, to be frank my spirit is vexed for you, you seem like a a nice, likable person, smiling and laughing your merry way to perdition. I will pray for you Summer. All of us here, all we can do is pray, we can't convince you of your error.
I would also add a 10th that people quote but is not biblical: children are innocent before the Lord. Children are born with Adam's nature and, therefore, unholy sinners, guilty before God. They don't start out innocent and grow into corruption – it resides in them at birth. No where in the Bible is there an "age of accountability." That's a false, man made concept (developed by the Catholic "church," I believe). God destroyed many children in the OT. They are His creation and He does with them as He pleases. I realize this is a deep, hard truth that many will fight against, but children are not exempt from guilt. Remember God said, "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated" even before they were born. He chose one and set His love on him, but the other He rejected. People can argue against it all they wish, but THAT is the God of the Bible and scripture confirms it.
Concerning your list above – "God won't give you more than you can handle." This is actually true & is in The Holy Bible.1 Corinthians 10:13 says that "God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." The Bible instructs us in 1 John 4:1&3 to "test the spirits whether they are from God" & "every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God." Let us remember & never forget "Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Cor. 15:58) Keep fighting the good fight =)
We have been dumbed down in schools, we have been brainwashed into a "snippet" nation, mainstream news which is nothing more than smoke and mirrors has been relegated to the standard of truth, critical thinking by the most part is extinct, we have been brainwashed into believing and worshipping a fictional two party political system, engineered to divide and conquer, keep the masses asleep. The bible has been attacked by those calling themselves Christian pastors, while being no more than wolves in sheep's clothing, we have a population of people both saved and unsaved that have no clue as to what is happening before their eyes. The bible by a large margin is considered a "good" book full of good ideas, but outdated, flawed and worthy of revision, many consider it "evil" as it calls sin the practices favored by our society, it's narrow minded, bigoted and not needed in today's enlightened society or "Christianity." Pastors today quote motivational gurus, marketing strategists, success coaches instead of Jesus or the apostles. False teachers publish books, books that sell in the millions and fawning pastors throughout the nation tell their congregations to give these diabolical books the same reverence and gravitas as the bible. The church which I attended, the pastor expounded we must keep the Purpose Driven Life next to our bibles, as if false pastor Warren was as important as Holy Scripture. Needless to say, that's when we left.