The entire purpose of the Truth Unchained ministry is to help Christians read the Bible for themselves. In one area that I personally believe the Church is failing at is ensuring believers do not accept every pleasing phrase. There are many statements that we hear inside and outside of church that sound beautiful, but if they are not Biblical, then we should discard them so that we do not succumb to false teachings.
In this blog post, I want to go over just a few common expressions that we’ve all heard and see if they are truly Biblical. It is easy to accept phrases from people that we both love and trust, so this isn’t meant as an attack, but rather, a reminder that the sole authority should always be the Word of God.
Expression #1: We are all God’s children
This is a phrase that I’ve heard from some of the nicest people that I’ve ever met. They are loving men and women that want to see the good in people. Unfortunately, not everybody is a child of God.
When Jesus confronted the Pharisees in John chapter 8, He drew a line in the sand so-to-speak. Jesus made it clear to these Jewish leaders that even though they believed in God, they were not His. They rejected the Messiah which meant that they rejected God Himself. God knows our hearts (Jer. 17:9-10). Jesus said:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. “ - John 8:44-45
They rejected the truth. The truth is that Jesus is the only way to the Father (Jn, 14:6). When a person becomes a Christian by believing the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4), they become a child of God (Jn. 1:12, Gal. 3:26).
The Apostle John said in his first epistle, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1:8). Jesus is the truth (Jn. 14:6). If a person is not saved, then they are not a child of God.
Expression #2: The Old Testament saints looked forward to the cross, the New Testament saints look back at the cross
This is a commonly repeated phrase in churches. On the surface it sounds nice, but when you read the Bible, you will see that this isn’t the case at all. The Apostle Paul addressed this in his letter to the Corinthian church:
“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” - 1 Corinthians 2:6-8
Nobody fully understood God’s plan of salvation. The prophet Daniel pointed to the exact day in Daniel 9:25, and yet, nobody from the layman to the religious leaders recognized what was taking place. The Apostles did not understand either (Lk. 18:34, Jn. 18:10-11). Furthermore, when you study Dispensationalism, you will see that there were two dispensations before the Law was even given!
Do New Testament saints look back at the cross? I hope that isn’t the only thing a believer looks at! Remember that the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ - not just his death (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Sadly, the only time this is the focus is on Easter at many churches.
Expression #3: Christians must always forgive
The first time that I ever heard this was right after 9/11 happened. One of my co-workers said that we should not go after the Taliban because Jesus said that we must always turn the other cheek. Over the years, I heard other people say that God will not forgive us unless we forgive those that have done us wrong - no exceptions.
It is definitely important to forgive, however, we must always allow Scripture to speak instead of taking verses out of context. Many times, the person will go straight to Matthew 5. The problem with that is they take verses 39-41 out of context. The subject of chapter 5 is the Kingdom of Heaven - which is the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ upon the Earth. Last I checked, He hasn’t returned yet.
Another verse that people will turn to is Colossians 3:13 which states “forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye”. When did Christ forgive us? When we asked for it. We definitely should forgive others and not be bitter towards them, however, we are to do that when a person asks for forgiveness and not because we feel strong-armed by God as if He were holding His forgiveness hostage.
Christians are to be wise, not ignorant. Christians are to be humble, but not doormats.
Always search the Scriptures for truths. Never allow a finely-dressed opinion to persuade you.