Are You Trapped?
In my many years of ministry, I have had the opportunity to meet
Christians from various nations and different ethnic, social, and church
backgrounds. This gave me an opportunity to see and hear how other believers
are doing in their walk of faith. I
tried to encourage as many as possible to remain firm in the faith.
Over the past several years I have become increasingly aware that many
Christians I met—whether in Asia, across the US, or right here in Stillwater—were
struggling in many areas of their lives. There is testing in their
marriages, jobs, finances, health, and moral purity. I hear so often from
people that, “whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong” in their
lives. It seems that, knowing time is short, Satan has been working
overtime in the lives of all that identify as followers 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 atmosphere, 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, “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
In
the next 24 hours God will bless you with
Plenty of Money.
Type
Amen and SHARE
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, “Jesus
said to them, I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and
he who believes in Me shall never thirst. All that the Father gives Me shall
come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I
have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent
Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I
lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My
Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal
life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:35, 37-40)
Would you like to have a personal relationship with God?
