Dangerous Misconceptions

by

Dene McGriff

The prophetic clock of world history is winding down to the last few ticks.  We read prophecies written thousands of years ago in the Old and New Testaments and watch events unfold around us.  Whether we are Christian believers or not, we see the crescendo of events building up as if “on cue”.  The focus on that little piece of land called Israel, the rise of a great economic and military empire that seems hell bent on world domination, the counter reaction of Islam, economic and social upheavals are all signs of the times.

In spite of these signs, few people “get it.  Why?  Because we are operating on a “mental” rather than a “spiritual” level.  It took a revelation for Noah to start building a huge boat while the world spun around him and people made fun of him.  It will take revelation for people today to jump off the treadmill and start to get ready for the coming flood of trial and trouble.   Read the Book!  It’s all there in black and white – written thousands of years ago with the time line of events that will take place.  God wants to speak to you.  He wants to reveal Himself to you.  He wants to have a relationship with you.  He wants to show you things to come.  He wants you to participate in the greatest events in history as a co-worker and friend.

Most won’t get it because they don’t have the personal revelation.  They live in the realm of their own misconceptions.   I’m going to deal with some of those misconceptions in the next few pages.

1. The first big misconception is that a Christian is someone who believes certain way.  A Christian isn’t someone who believes a list of doctrines.  A Christian is someone who has a relationship with God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ.  Their human spirit has been made alive or “born again”.  This is a “heart” not a “head” matter. 

II Corinthians 3:14 and 15 tell us that their minds were hardened … until the veil is removed.   It is speaking of Jews and says, “to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart.”  That is really true of all of us.  We are proud and have closed our minds.  But then it goes on to say,

But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.  Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, but we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”  (II Corinthians 317-18).

This verse gives the key to the Christian life.  You have to ask the Lord to remove the veil from your mind and your understanding.  When He takes the veil away, you will see.

2. The second big misconception is that a Christian has to act a certain way.  Again, it is not a matter of behaving a certain way.   The verse above is also the key to the Christian life, which is to spend time in God’s presence and let Him transform you into His image.   You don’t have to change yourself.  You let the new life within change you.  It is all about the “growth of the life of Christ” within you. 

So many Christians fall into legalism, the doctrines and teachings and forms of Christianity, which has nothing whatsoever to do with real Christianity.  Real Christianity has to do with God’s life in you.  You don’t have to strive to be better or do better.  You have to learn to live in His presence and let Him change you from the inside out.  The Christian life is about letting God work in your human spirit, to fellowship with Him and let Him change you.

3. The third big misconception is that you have to “go to church.”  That usually means you go to a building called a “church”, and you attend meetings led by a pastor, priest or preacher – whatever you want to call it.  You sit there and sing when you are told, listen to what they say, get involved in their programs and pay them 10 percent of your income. 

Christians need to realize that they don’t need to “go to Church.”  Collectively, they are the “Church”.   Unfortunately, most “Christians” put on their best clothes, file into their pew, sit down, pray, sing, listen to a sermon and go home to their real life.  This is not the dynamic communal life early Christians shared with one another. 

 

4.      The fourth misconception is that the professionals know it all.  Nothing against the professional, but the only thing that really counts is what God reveals to you.  The pros are going to pass on what they have been taught.  Spend more time reading your Bible and less time reading books about the Bible.  Learn to let God to speak to you through His Word.

Again, nothing against those professionals that work so hard to serve the Lord, but they are probably the biggest hindrance to your real growth.  Why?  They spoon or bottle-feed their flocks week after week and after a year or two of church you don’t hear anything new.  If they weren’t just trying to be useful and keep their jobs, they would give everyone an opportunity to develop their gift, to share every week what the Lord is doing in their life, etc.  It wouldn’t be a “one man” show, but a symphony of song and life flowing from one to another.

The only thing that will count in eternity is not how well you listened to sermons, but how well you listened to God as He speaks to you through His Word.  The only way to avoid being deceived is to learn to live in His presence and share your life and experiences with those who do the same.

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