Tuesday, August 07, 2018

The harm of some false teachings

There are some teachings out there that, while they may not necessarily be heresies, they are still important issues for their practical implications. I'm thinking of two in particular. One is the belief that there's physical healing in the atonement, meaning that if you're truly a Christian, you should not have any sicknesses or diseases. The other is the idea that we should all expect God to be speaking to us on a regular basis, telling us what to do, making our decisions for us, or something along those lines. I ran into somebody recently who thought he should expect God to be speaking to him in an audible voice, and it was just a matter of developing the skill to hear God.

The problem with these teachings is that they set up false expectations. When those expectations are not met, people either get really discouraged, thinking there's something wrong with them, or they lose their faith. I've actually met people who abandoned Christianity because of their false expectations. I think that's a real travesty, and it's a good reason for why we should attempt to refute these kinds of teachings. Just because these issues are not central to the gospel doesn't mean they are innocent or harmless. They can be very destructive.

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