Have You Heard One of These 4 Bad Teachings about Christianity?
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Recently, I have received quite a few emails and within them I noticed a trend. Each one was filled with a misunderstanding related to a specific aspect of our walk with Jesus. At the core of these misunderstandings was bad teaching. When people shared their situation with me, I recognized they had fallen victim to it. The problem with most bad teaching is there is usually a measure of truth in it. That’s why it is hard to discern. As Spurgeon said, discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong but knowing the difference between right and almost right.
I believe most people don’t set out to believe in bad teaching; I believe they become victims of it. What throws people off is the measure of truth in it. While there are several bad teachings I could focus on, I am only going to focus on the four I have been asked about most recently. I can’t speak to the motive of those who teach these things. I just know we live in a day where there is a lot of bad doctrine, and more avenues to get access to it. For this reason, it is important to set the record straight on these four teachings.
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1. Giving
Bad Teaching - You give to get
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
There’s a good chance you have heard this Scripture. You could hear it when someone is about to take an offering. This is one verse they may use to encourage you to give. When you read the verse by itself, it seems to imply that if you give, you are going to receive a blessing that will come back to you running over. There is a problem when using this verse in relationship to giving. When you look at it in context, Jesus is not talking about giving money or an offering. Let’s read it in context.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:37-38).
When you read the prior verse, you see this verse is tied to judging, condemning, and forgiving. This has nothing to do with money. What Jesus is simply saying is the way you judge, condemn, or forgive will be the same way you will be judged, condemned, or forgiven.
If you have been taught that you give so you can receive a harvest, that is bad teaching. Giving to get cannot and should not be your motivation for giving. Love of God, trust in God, the joy of giving, and obedience to God should be your primary motivations when you give. I am not saying God does not bless you when you give. I am saying that should not be your motivation for doing it.
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2. Prayer
Bad Teaching - Unanswered prayers result from your lack of faith
If you have prayed for something and it didn’t happen, one thing you may have heard is it’s because you didn’t have enough faith. Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, and chances are you have that amount of faith. This must mean there is more to it than just faith.
While faith is an essential element in God answering prayer, it is not the only element. A big element in God answering prayer is his will. You cannot leave this out of the equation.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
Every prayer you pray that is in alignment with God’s will, he will answer. The challenge is we don’t always know what God’s will is. Before you go beating yourself up for not having enough faith, ask God what is his will in this situation? That might be the reason God is not answering your prayer.
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3. Trials
Bad Teaching - Bad things happen only because of Satanic attack
Bad things happening in your life are not always the result of Satanic attack. Sometimes it is what God allows to get your attention or to move you in the direction he needs you to go.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
God had a plan for Joseph to be the second in command in all of Egypt. However, to get him there, he had to be sold as a slave, become a servant in Potiphar’s house and serve time in prison for a crime he did not commit.
It was God’s plan to make David the king of Israel. Yet after he was anointed to be the next king, he spent many years running for his life because Saul was trying to kill him.
God sent Jesus to save the world from sin. However, for him to do that, he had to be beaten, tried, and nailed to a cross.
In all these situations, the “bad things” that happened were part of God’s plan. It was the setup for God to accomplish what he wanted. One things God knows is that hardship can motivate you many times where blessing can’t. Also, there are times we can get comfortable, and when that happens, complacency can set in.
Don’t get me wrong, Satan can attack and does attack, but he is not the source of every attack. The good news is even if he attacks you, God can still take what is meant to destroy you and use it to move you to the destination he has for you.
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4. God’s Blessings
Bad Teaching - Material blessings are a sign God is pleased with you
The last one I want to tackle is the false connection between material blessing and God’s approval.
“And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’” (Luke 12:15, ESV).
The blessing of God is not primarily about the material things you have. His blessings are not connected to possessions but to contentment. When Jesus talks about being blessed, he rarely ties it to how many assets you have accumulated. While there is nothing wrong with the accumulation of assets, when you connect it to God being pleased with you, then you are making the opposite of that true. If you don’t have material blessings, then God is not pleased with you. This type of teaching can easily lead to covetousness, greed, idolatry, and discouragement.
Everything you have is a blessing from God because they come from him and belong to him. However, just because someone has more does not mean God is more pleased with them. If that were the case, then some of the richest people in the world, who curse God, would be the most blessed. We know that is simply not true. Rather than being obsessed with getting more, learn to be content with what God has blessed you with. This way, if he blesses you with more, it will never overtake you.
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Final Thought
My encouragement to you is to be like the Bereans in Acts.
“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
You should receive the teaching of the word with great joy. Just make sure you examine what you are taught so you will know that what you are hearing is true.
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