So many Christians, including Groeschel, try to make the interpretations of a secular worldview find harmony with Gods truth, but in the end they weaken both psychology and the Bible. In the early twentieth century, many churches left off preaching the cross of Christ and replaced it with "doing good to their fellow man.". However, I cant end this section without being clear about one thing: Life.Church does talk about Gods wrath when the sermon topic demands it (such as Groeschels specific discussions about Hell). They will be known by their fruit not the fruit of ministry quantity and numbers, but quality and endurance and ultimately the quality of their own lives. Freedom from this is in framing our responses to these things in a way that is positive, empowering, and productive. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Malachi 3:10 NIV. Consider, for example, evangelical pastor-teachers like George Whitefield, who not only enslaved Black peoplemany of whom were Christian sisters and brothersbut also fought to secure the institution of slavery in the state of Georgia. Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel understands deeply this daily battle against self-doubt and negative thinking, and in this powerful new book he reveals the strategies hes discovered to change your mind and your life for the long-term. This is nothing new to Life.Church. It has nothing to do with who we are in Christ, but instead who we can be because of Christ. However, this is completely contrary to both understanding Old Testament context as well as what God reveals: Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Fresh Life Church is an egalitarian church. False religion has "exchanged the truth of God for the lie.". On its own, that statement may not be inherently wrong, but in the context of everything else said from the stage, it highlights a false understanding that weaves through everything Life.Church does. Do you long to break free from the spiral of destructive thinking? Theres no doubt that Life.Church makes its content easily accessible for people around the world. Life.Church wants people to be who God has called them to be. With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal, Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church. It is Bavaria's largest city and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg). The church may excel at creating baby Christians, but the environment does little to help them grow up. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words . False teaching was as much an issue in the early church as it is today. This is a subject that is not only divisive for the church, but has even become a gospel issue. The statement of faith is not very technical and perhaps easy for the unbeliever to understand. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Church Life Beware False Teachers with Good Doctrine and Bad Ethics Poor leaders proclaim Christ in word but deny him with their lives. (Galatians 2:20). At least partly due to this history, some evangelicals have embraced false or oversimplified assumptions about the connection between the two. One of the most damaging things in Christianity is easy believism. Its an approach to the gospel that tells people that if they just pray a prayer, theyll be saved. Pastors rarely use church language or theological terms, instead keeping things approachable for everyone listening.While thats fine, and maybe appropriate for an audience full of new Christians, the problem comes when thats all they offer. For one thing, Steven Furtick is Lysa's pastor. This sounds good until we realize that if God hasnt promised this, they open God up to be a liar (which they acknowledge in their terms). It teaches people to pick and choose verses regardless of their context; it puts the pastors opinion at the core of a sermon; and it doesnt require the pastor to study or grow in understanding because its easy to avoid confusing or difficult passages. Heres a basic example of how people are told to repent of their sin and trust in Christ for salvation (if the video doesnt automatically begin there, its at the 29:40 mark): The number of hands raised or comments written in the chat give Life.Church a sense that so many new Christians are being redeemed by Christ. However, theres much more to a church and its leaders than whether people have the capacity to be saved there. No one understands God perfectly, so be generous and helpful long before you condemn and cast someone out. I am compelled to examine my own life too. He runs a successful leadership podcast, a resource on their website is an ebook called Measuring What Matters which is essentially a how to grow your online business for churches, and in an interview he said they measure success by the number of people participating in various aspects of the church (new visitors, engaging in serving at church, participating in small groups, etc). But being a jerk also makes you a false teacher. Practically speaking, there are several steps to guarding your kids from false teaching: Identify the false teaching and messages through lots of open conversations. His warning may sound clear and simple at first, but as we all know, trees dont bear fruit overnight. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org Hello, friends and subscribers to the Fundamental Baptist Information Service. We arent called to just grow personally, but to grow together. Its clear that Groeschel gets part of his worldview from secular psychology, which emphasizes the basic goodness of people while minimizing their wickedness. Were on a mission to change that. From their church beliefs (emphasis mine): People were created to exist forever. We are seeing the enormous consequences of this kind of heresy every day, but we dont always name it as such. Consider, for example, the Epistle of Jude (and its parallel in 2 Peter 2). The sermons may bring out a simple spiritual truth, but the delivery is often so light and motivational that any relevance to God can be easily dismissed. And so it is with ethical compromise. They contain what Christians were handed onwhat the word tradition meansand also what the church has concluded is essential to preserve and pass down. Despite the unstructured nature of evangelicalism, its leaders, churches, and institutions have long sought to teach and worship rightly. I will say one thing with certainty: I have no doubt that God has saved people through the teaching of Craig Groeschel and the other speakers of Life.Church. To be eternally separated from God is hell. He obstructed the civil rights movement and vocally resisted integration efforts, leading his church to ban Black Christians from religious assemblies. Bible Verses about False Teachers and Prophets Correct and sound doctrine is crucial to salvation and growth in spiritual maturity. (1 Timothy 2:11-12). As an Anglican priest and theology professor, I have watched these stories emerge with deep sorrow and not a little anger. 1. And we must continue to do so, not in a mouthing-the-words way but in a conviction-of-the-heart-and-mind way. So His criticism is that God didnt submit Himself to the context and authority of what was written in His own word (even though Luke 4:16-21 highlights Christs respect for context). Teachers sent of God are to be followed, as with the example given by the apostle Paul, who said by the Spirit, "Become followers of me, even as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). She sits under Furtick's abominable teaching. People arent excited about what God reveals in the Bible, but instead live through the stories and experiences of others while dreaming of someday, somehow, having their own experiences. As I researched Life.Church, I was surprised to see solid Christians giving their (sometimes begrudging) support. The false prophets claiming God said this! were taking Gods name in vain. The things they say, do, and believe are outright dangerous. I would not be who I am today if it wasn't for godly leaders in the church. And despite the good things that Life.Church may do, there are many more problems that overshadow that good. They were at the starting gate. Certainly, when we consider someones pattern of life as part of what potentially qualifies them as a false teacher, then leadership assessment gets very messy very quickly. Second, look at their doctrine. A low view of the authority of the Bible means that what it says about the severity of sin doesnt matter if it doesnt fit their model on being approachable, motivational, and uplifting. They came quickly and early in the life of the church. You won't find any glaring errors in the . One more reason to avoid Lysa TerKeurst of Elevation Church. Life.Church wants people to be who God has called them to be. Everything else is about their lives. But that is a lie. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. Although a single church doesnt always line up with every part of their denomination, its worth pointing out that ECC takes a clear stance on integrating racial reconciliation into the church (read about ECC and Racial Righteousness). We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. Posted By Marsha West on September 5, 2016 in Discernment, False Teacher Alert, Women and the Church 13. Life.Church, likewise, makes promises for God that He hasnt made. However, I realized I was hearing the gospel as someone already familiar with the reality of sin, Gods law, holiness, and what Christ accomplished on the cross. In fact, its the one area in the Bible where God tells you to test Him. If we dont have access to their personal lives, or their doctrinal compromises havent yet been manifest publicly in their behavior, we may find it difficult to know whether they are true. Jesus said that each tree is recognized by its fruit (Luke 6:44). 1) Rick Warren's Purpose Driven movement offers a Broad Way Christianity. Life.Church follows the modern trend of making the pastor a gender-neutral role. [emphasis mine]. Likewise, Paul warns the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:2931) and his protg Timothy (2 Timothy 4:34) that false teaching is sure to come (also 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 3:16). The emphasis on practice continues through the rest of the short epistle, adding further details about false teachers denial of the faith. For the past several years, weve watched over and over as famous pastor-teachers go through very public falls from enormous heights. The same struggles and deceptions that plagued the early church continue to plague modern-day believers. Real Christians never miss a church service.". This clip made the rounds on social media, but I first encountered it naturally while listening to what I assume was just another sermon. I dont say this to be dramatic, but I literally had to pause and rewind to make sure I really heard a pastor say what I thought he did. #7 Hell is not real and God is too good to send anyone there. Perhaps it makes sense, then, that Whitefield, Hudgins, and others kept doctrine and practice largely divorced from each other. Conclusion: Is Life.Church safe for Christians? A false teacher leads into the emptiness of self-righteousness and death, but a true teacher leads to the fullness of Christ and life. They are divisive 2. My Experiences with False Teachers. To that, I can only ask that people examine what has been said here and decide whether an individuals positive experience negates the clear, objective problems discussed. Theyre using Gods name and saying Hes promised something that He hasnt. Conversely, some believers attend to their actions without caring about the doctrinal commitments that undergird (or contradict) those very behaviors. The Holy Spirit Is A Force. These pastor-teachers confessed Christ with their mouths but denied him with their bodies. And if a simple click a button or raise your hand if you want to be saved gets ten times the numerical results compared to biblical discipleship or an intentional, personal gospel presentation that accurately explains what salvation is no businessman in their right mind is going to shy away from the bigger results. (Romans 12:2). Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Sermons are complex, intricate, and complicated pieces of art. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Or in their pride, they despise authority (2 Peter 2:10), and the greatest authority, who upholds all authorities, is God himself. We all know the Christian lingo of repent and ask Jesus to save you from sin. And many of us may be neglectful sometimes by not fully explaining what exactly we mean. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Let Gods truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! To that end, anyone who regularly listens to Life.Church and comes away feeling like they heard a deep or challenging message is almost guaranteed to be either spiritually immature or not saved at all. False Doctrine 4 - The Sabbath Day Abolished. But time will tell. Heres what we can learn from their failures. Heres how Jesus prepares us in Matthew 7:1520: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. There were no cars or airplanes, and no printing presses, websites, or Facebook pages. What we might find surprising both from Jesus and his apostles is how revealing the everyday lives of false teachers are about their falseness. He just doesnt care, nor does he want his people to value handling Gods word carefully. If someone fails to provide for the needs of his household, he has denied the faith (1 Tim 5:8). The apostle Peter also warned Christians that false teachers would arise (2 Peter 2:1). Other things worth knowing for this discussion include: The goal of this article isnt to pick on a random church, but instead to create a resource for those in my area who are becoming interested in attending Life.Church locally. Or, very simply, Follow me (Luke 5:27; John 1:43). But there is also longstanding historical myopia when it comes to the embodiment of doctrine in daily practice. They frequently have new visitors, their online platform is active, their community is bustling, and many people claim to ask Christ to save them every week. The apostle Paul often condemns and warns against those refuting the gospel through the content of their instruction (see Gal. Having multiple buildings across a state or country gives the image of being more successful, but many compromises are made for the sake of these larger numbers. This mentality, honestly, spins my brain in circles. Christians have believed and confessed these core teachings or doctrines for going on two millennia. More numbers equal more disciple-making. It comes as no surprise that God warns us many times in Scripture to be aware of false teaching. For a pastor who leads Gods people, its completely unacceptable. observe and evaluate students' performance and development. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. The best way to guard yourself against falsehood and false teachers is to know the truth. However, we also want to make sure we are in obedience and surrender to Christ as we take part in the redemption of His people. Yes, the New Testament speaks of false teachers whose doctrine denies core elements of the apostolic gospel. If God desires that only men are in the role of pastor, then Life.Church is functioning and teaching in rebellion to God. We love to quote Judes admonition to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (v. 3, NRSV throughout). If false teaching, then, is not only about what our leaders say and write, but also how they live, how is the church to recognize and expose false teaching today? He denies the full humanity of women in both word and deed, advocates for profane views of gender and sex, rages with unrepentant pride, engages in habitual self-promotion, and manipulates and abuses others. I would like to test Gods faithfulness by accepting the Three-Month Tithe Challenge. Ill be discussing the various aspects of Life.Church under three broad categories: Green Flags: Those things I believe the church does wellYellow Flags: Things that are problematic, but dont reject sound biblical teaching or compromise the gospelRed Flags: Reasons Christians should avoid or outright reject Life.Church and their teachings. I can't remember all of my missionary lies. 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