“Sheep” in Sheep’s Clothing

?This past Sunday at NEBC, our guest speaker mentioned that the gospel is under attack.  We all know that – the New Testament is filled with Jesus and His followers dodging and taking blows for the good news.  We also see protests and legislation that attempt to remove the gospel from all public (and some private) life.

However, the more frightening attack is coming from within.  While heresy popping up inside the church is nothing new, it also is always effective in leading some astray.  Men and women who call themselves Christians take truth, tweak the message out of ignorance, selfishness, or some other motive, and distort the gospel.

Many times the first manifestations of these false teachings rear their heads in youth ministry.  Teens are looking for something, and will gravitate towards extremes.  Legalism can be alluring, because it adds structure to an otherwise chaotic life.  Inversely, lightening up on the gospel to avoid alienating people is awfully attractive to young men and women seeking to shed the dogmatic constrictions of mom and dad.

Both seem good if you just glance at their results:

• What a devoted group of teens! / Look at all the kids here!
• They are really zealous about their beliefs! / It is so nice to see them accepting everyone!
• I’ve never seen so much scripture memorization! / What energetic music they have!

All of those things are nice, but why are they there?  Are they accepting everyone but not discerning?  Is the scripture being quoted in context, or to support a conviction?

The gospel has enough enemies out there without people in the church muddying the waters.  Peter warns us of this inevitability when he writes, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1). Understanding the truth of scripture through proper interpretation and application of the Bible is necessary, and can provide a great defense to the coming wave of attacks.