Whenever the Word of God is not established in one’s heart, the requisite conviction to pay the price for what one believes is nonexistent. There’s a difference between hoping that you know, thinking that you know, and knowing that you know. When you are certain that you are anchored in Biblical truth, you are unshakeable in your faith, as well as your conviction. It’s no longer a matter of whether the way is easy or hard. The way is the way, and we must walk in it.
We’ve seen enough duplicitous men who speak out of both sides
of their mouths to understand the importance of knowing what you believe, why
you believe it, and standing firm upon it. Your conviction is not situational
or dependent on conjecture. The way is not rooted in speculation or guesswork,
but it is firmly established in the Word, declaring unequivocally that Jesus is
the way, He is the truth, and He is the life. When we are established in the
truth and anchored therein, we are always ready to give a defense for the hope
that is in us, no matter who it’s to or what authority or power they may hold.
It’s astounding how much conjecture passes for absolute truth
within the church nowadays. The reason is obvious to anyone who would look upon
the modern-day church with a critical, objective eye. Ignorance of biblical
truth and biblical illiteracy, in general, have not only contributed to the
explosion in people believing in fables, but they have likewise perpetuated,
facilitated, and perpetrated their continuity. This lack of understanding of
the Word of God has led to a proliferation of false teachings and a weakening
of the church’s spiritual foundation, making it more important than ever for
believers to deepen their knowledge of scripture.
If I don’t know the truth, then any half-baked lie can be passed
off as the truth, and I would never be the wiser.
After communism fell, we began bringing groups to Romania, whether
to distribute food, help with building projects, or participate in crusades.
Although the heaviness of the message with which he was tasked to deliver would
not hint at it, my grandfather was a gregarious man who loved to laugh and wasn’t
above playing a joke on friends. In Romania, we have a dish called mamaliga, a
softer, mushier version of polenta made from maize flour.
Whenever a new group would arrive, and we would take them to
dinner, my grandfather would order mamaliga for the table and then proceed to
spread it on a slice of bread. Given that those present were unaware of what it
was, they would follow suit and do as he did, thinking this was some traditional
dish. He’d always get a chuckle at seeing their expressions when they bit into
the bread, which didn’t taste like much of anything.
Like those who were unaware of what mamaliga was and assumed
the way my grandfather ate it was correct, many new believers also follow
teachings without questioning or thinking critically. They lack a frame of
reference to the truth of scripture. It’s crucial to encourage questioning and
discernment to empower believers and ensure they take responsibility for their
faith.
2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to
God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.”
Life is not the Matrix, and you don’t get the canon of
scripture downloaded into you the moment you surrender your life. You must be
diligent in studying the world and presenting yourself as approved of God,
rightly dividing the word of truth so that no man might be able to detour you
by idle babblings that have no purpose other than increasing ungodliness.
When the average Christian spends more time on their fantasy
football league than they do studying the Word of God, it’s no wonder the
church is in such a state. Life in Christ is not a hobby. It’s not something we
pursue on the weekends or dedicate ourselves to whenever the internet is down.
Life in Christ is perpetual, consistent, and all-consuming, burning away the
vestiges of the old man so that he might be clothed in the new.
Most people just don’t want to put in the time. That’s the
hard truth of it, and there’s no getting around it. Nominal Christians settle
for fables because they are unwilling to pay the cost an authentic experience
with God would incur. All of you means all of you. Not most, not some, not
half.
What if I could surrender half of myself and still have an
experience close enough to the real thing that I could talk myself into
believing it was the real thing? That mindset is a long way from being willing
to lay down one’s life if required for the great high calling of Christ.
The paradigm shift that has taken place in these last days is
that those who are deemed to be in spiritual authority have validated and
consented to this perpetual hopscotching between the world and the church. They
realized that the more they widened the narrow way, the less exclusivist and
exclusionary they became, the more people would show up on any given Sunday, translating
to a bigger offering and more shekels they could administer. This shift in
focus from spiritual growth to financial gain has led to a dilution of biblical
truth and a compromise of the church’s integrity.
True shepherds still exist, as they have throughout the
history of the church, but they’re as likely to get a knife in the back as they
are to get a pat for calling out duplicity, sin, and those who would make
merchandise of the Word. Come to find out, people don’t like being confronted
with their own compromise, hypocrisy, and lukewarm state. They would rather be
told a lie and believe it than be faced with the truth and compelled to make
the choice of either taking the Christian walk seriously and breaking ties with
sin or continuing in it, knowing they are walking in rebellion.
You couldn’t have one without the other. You couldn’t have an
overabundance of false teachers without a demand for false teaching because
there would be no profit in it, and those who bring in aberrant doctrine or
destructive heresy aren’t doing it out of the goodness of their heart or because
their love for their fellow man is such that it’s demanded of them to do so.
When the money dries up, so will the supply of false teachers.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
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