Tuesday, March 14, 2006

SYMPTOMS OF DECEPTION IN YOUR CHURCH

There is a great wave of deception going on in many churches today. The church my family and I left has fallen prey to many of the things listed below. Has your church?

(Most of the items below were taken from John MacArthur's sermon series on Discernment, Part 1, 2/20/06).


1. The rejection of doctrine in place of relationships.

2. Fascination with entertainment (in the church) and boredom with exposition (of the Word of God).

3. The emphasis on feelings and the lowering of the value of thinking clearly.

4. The looking down on one who emphasizes discernment and complimenting of one who emphasizes understanding and unity.

5. Persons who take firm stands on Biblical doctrine are criticized for splitting hairs and being unloving.

6. A tendency to gaze lazily at the surface of scriptural truth with a desirable generosity of spirit toward those who differ.

7. The discouraging of dogmatic positions of scripture so as to not come across as being unloving to someone else who has a different opinion.

8. Sharing replacing preaching.

9. The moving away from clarity and conviction of doctrine in the name of unity, love and relationships. Doctrine and conviction are scorned.

10. The tendency to favor openness while rejecting narrowness and dogmatism.

11. The embracing of uncertainty where the act of questioning is more desired than biblical clarity.

12. The placing of experience and sensation above intellectual understanding (of doctrine).

13. The descending of worship from singing great truths about God, lyric centered music, to
music where sound, rhythm and harmony dominate to induce warm and fuzzy feelings.

14. The preacher is comedian, story teller and counselor instead of a powerful, theological herald and proclaimer of divine truth.

-KCO

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