Dear friends:

"If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other" (Galatians 5;15, NIV).

There is one thing that can pull down my spirit more than all the unbelief and evil in all the world.  It is when I see followers of Christ biting and devouring one another.  God says, "Watch out!"

This happened today when I visited the popular Web site of an old friend.  On it was a whole section devoted to "exposing" false teachers.  Most of those purportedly guilty of "false teachings," whom you would probably recognize, believe in the Bible as the Word of God and they believe in the basic doctrines of the historic Christian faith, such as the deity of Christ and salvation by grace through faith.  They are brothers and sisters in Christ.  They are proclaiming Him with all their hearts, and many people are entering the Kingdom through their ministries and are edified and blessed.

Their terrible crime: It is simply that they sometimes emphasize aspects of Scripture different from the mind set and tradition of the self-appointed judges, some of whom themselves I know ignore or reject critically important Scriptures.  I read some of the reviews and most of what I read was trite and without substance.  For example, much involved just terminology, synonymous but different from the traditional wording.  If you examine the teachings of those criticized closely, you will usually find agreement with the Word of God, but maybe not religious tradition.  Some of the criticism is out of the context used.  I am not talking about actual heresy, but to some people, any disagreement with their personal presuppositions is heresy.  A critical spirit is often involved.  This is a dangerous game for the practitioners and I would not want to answer for them.

Of those being condemned, I do not necessarily agree with everything they teach, but I thank God for their ministries, their proclamation of Christ, and the fruit coming forth.  I may not agree 100% with any preacher or teacher, but we have to prove all things and hold fast to that which is good.  We swallow the fish and spit out the bones.

This reminds me of the classic book by J.B. Philips, "Your God Is Too Small," which I highly recommend. Many critics have a view of God so small that He cannot do anything outside their little denominational, church, or traditional walls, where, ironically, anything rarely happens and few lives are ever changed.  They believe they have a corner on Him.  If that were true, God would be almost inactive today, and we know better.  He is quite busy in all areas of life, revealing Himself and touching hearts in ways unheard of a few years ago.

We need to remember that we are talking about the creative God of the universe.  No one can restrain or contain Him.  His creativity is endless, and His ways are beyond our imaginations.  We need to be open God's amazing variety and to the marvelous, creative Spirit, and think outside the traditional boxes in which we sometimes find or put ourselves.  I love the song, "He is a big, BIG God!"  He really is.

May we reject the harsh, self-righteous judges, who will get their own reward, and lovingly embrace all those who proclaim Christ, are doing their best to boldly obey Him, His Word, and His Spirit, and with His help are breaking down the gates of hell in the face of attacks by the enemy and by their own brothers. God would be pleased.

I am reminded of Jesus.  "If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends’" (Zechariah 13:6).

Jim