If In Doubt
Doubt - Satan’s Master Weapon
About a month back, my wife made an exasperated sigh while staring at her phone. She proceeded to ask me the question… ”Have you seen this?”
She then read the title to a video which had been shared with her via Facebook. It was a YouTube video shared to Facebook by one of her “Facebook Friends”.
The video was titled “Why Most CHRISTIANS are going to HELL!! - Paul Washer”
Initially, I discounted it and told her to ignore it. Intrigued, however, instead of just brushing it off, I thought to myself…
“You know, I should take a few minutes to listen to this and see what it is that makes people who think this way tick”.
Honestly, it’s the same mindset I needed to read The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx or Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. If one is going to know how to defeat an enemy, one must understand from where the enemy is coming; what drives their belief system.
So, I watched. I could stomach about 30 minutes of this “preacher’s” self congratulatory/righteous mantra and finally had enough.
From what I could gather, he’s of Southern Baptist roots. And believe it or not, the title was not click bait.
That title was accurate to his message.
The Pharisee is Alive and Well
We may think the day of the Pharisee is long past. Religious teachers steeped in law and legalistic thinking. Men and women thinking they have the absolute corner (or final authority) on God and what it takes to be in the Lord’s good graces.
These modern day teachers and preachers are often works based and require adherence to a set of standards they have laid down that humans must, absolutely MUST obey or they simply cannot be a “real Christian”. Surely a false Christian destined for hell, according to these “elect” group of folk, unless said believer practices a strict set of standards as deemed acceptable by these same pious people.
A true believer, one that is a “real” Christian, will only
Listen to approved worship music
Read only from an approved translation version of the Holy Bible
Watch only approved television shows and movies
Listen to only approved speakers and preachers
Should any one of us proclaiming Christ as our savior step outside of the acceptable boundaries, our salvation is then called into question. For if we were truly saved, we would understand how off track we are, by, say, watching “The Chosen” or listening to music performed by the “cults” known as Hillsong Music or Bethel or Elevation Church, to name a few.
In truth, these practices of condemning a believer to hell are nothing new.
Men and women like Mr. Washer, the star of the above video, love and I mean LOVE to quote and preach on Matthew 7. Narrow gate, know them by their fruit, false teachers and all that jazz.
They salivate and revel in the bringing fire down from heaven concept in their preaching.
What’s interesting to me is the wool he and all like him have over their eyes. Here’s what I mean.
While those who preach and believe like this man does love these verses and use them to condemn other’s to hell for not being a “real” Christian or a “false teacher”, they themselves are the very person Jesus says he will say “Away from me evildoers”. (verse 23 of Matthew 7).
Why do I say this? Look closely at verse 22, the verse RIGHT BEFORE his condemnation of the mentioned false teachers.
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’” Matthew 7:22
In today’s language?
“Oh Jesus, look at all the things I did in my life. All the ways in which I proved…through my actions…that I was the real deal and how everyone else, who didn’t do the things I did are so unrighteous. Look at alllllllll the ways I did alllllll the things that made me righteous…see all the fruit I bore…while everyone else missed the mark (that I set down).”
Unfortunately, Jesus says, in essence, “I’m not impressed”. And he labels these the false teachers among us.
Sowing Seeds of Doubt
The message behind the above video and the message behind most of what these modern day Pharisees project is “Are you SURE you’re saved?” Put another way “Are you a REAL Christian?”
I believe all one needs to do is look intently as to how Satan works in order to drive division between us and the God who loves and saves us.
Consider this if you might.
We get a look at how Satan operates using his favorite tool, doubt, very early on in the Bible. In Genesis 3:1
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
Notice, he attempts to get Eve to question what she knows to be true. The underlying message here is;
“Are you SURE God said…” -doubt seed planted (and it worked by the way)
Later, I’d like to point out that the Lords son, Jesus Christ himself was not immune to this tactic. Jesus, of course, didn’t fall for it, but the rest of us…well…clearly we do.
Likely, if you are here, you are familiar with the temptation trial Jesus was put through after his 40 day fast.
The first temptation from Satan started with Satan uttering these words to Jesus.
…“If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” Matthew 4:3
Allow me to put it another way. “If you are REALLY God, prove it by doing this…”
Sound familiar? If you are a “Real” Christian, you’d be doing this, or that, or the other thing. As long as it’s acceptable to the elect among us who have deemed themselves the authority of your salvation.
The second temptation comes and Satan again uses the exact same tactic.
“If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect you.
And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’” Matthew 6:4
Yet again, if are real, prove it by doing this.
The effort to get Jesus to doubt himself failed, naturally, so Satan then tried to appeal to the sin of Pride in temptation number 3. Again, Jesus didn’t take the bait.
Why Pride? It’s Satan’s native tongue. It’s all he knows. Pride is what got him cast out of heaven along with 1/3 of the angels.
Satan’s pride was rooted in, you guessed it, him thinking he knows better than God and is the final authority on all matters.
In other words, Satan attempted to use doubt and then pride (his two favorite tools) to trip up Jesus.
What worked with Eve, failed miserably with God as a man.
Why do I care?
One may ask themselves why I care about any of this. Why do I write this?
I write this for the same reasons Paul wrote his letters condemning these false teachers.
Back in his day, some came and said the resurrection had already taken place causing many believers to walk away.
Of course, he spoke sternly against teachers speaking and demanding new Christians eat certain foods, abstain from others, practice this festival, don’t practice that festival, get circumcised on the 8th day. See Colossians chapter 2.
All “man laws” contrived and made up by the same type of individual we have today telling you that unless you speak, watch, listen, or do as only they approve, you may be destined for hell.
All in an effort to instill doubt.
Why?
Because that’s what Satan does. Satan inflates the pride of these modern day believers convincing them they have a corner on the market; that they, and only they are approved of by God and you must only listen to them to find the way.
And in their pride, they then preach messages or share articles and videos all meant to subtly get you to begin to doubt whether or not you are REALLY saved.
Why would this be Satan’s method?
I have a suspicion and I’ll share it here.
I believe he does this so that at some point, you tire of trying to please a God who seems to say…you can never really be sure, you can never really know…because the goal post will always move and change. This goal post is being determined by man and because it is, the hope is you will eventually give up and tell God to “F” off. Think I’m off base? If so, I’d simply point to the multitude of denominations prevalent in the modern American church system. The denominations are the direct result of men not liking the “rules” of one and forming another…to make their own “rules”. Rules change by denomination.
“What’s the point?”
I think that is Satan’s end goal. And he has plenty more than enough humans -today (as he always has) willing to take the bait becoming tools through their pride to do his bidding of spreading doubt and uncertainty.
The Good News
And there IS good news.
We can and will never be able to do enough to be in good graces with God. It’s not that he’s angry. He’s simply perfect and in his perfection cannot associate with anything less.
As such, because he loves us so much and longs for relationship with us, he sent Jesus Christ to die an atoning, underserved death on a cross that by professing with our mouth that we believe he came, died, and rose again we are saved. We are then marked acceptable and will enjoy eternity in God’s company in heaven.
Paul says in Romans 10 the following.
“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” Romans 10 : 9-10
and
“Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Romans 10:11
The entire book of Romans deals with the issues about which I write and are a great comfort reminding us that it is by faith and faith alone we are made acceptable in God’s sight. Nothing more. You cannot add to it.
Nothing you watch or listen to will change it.
Yes, I will agree, with time one will put away those things of the past as we grow in our love and walk with Jesus. Things we once held to will become less and less appealing. But that comes with time, through the Holy Spirit’s conviction and is NEVER and I repeat NEVER from a root of fear or doubt; as peddled by these modern day “false teachers”. Teachers teaching validation by acts and outward appearances.
You see, the above is about trusting God. Believing that what he says is true and “real”. This is not validated by what you do, or better yet, what those around you believe you should do.
You are saved by your faith and belief in Jesus Christ. Nothing more, nothing less.
It says in Hebrews Chapter 3 verse 14, the following
“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”
I believe part of Satan’s plan is to work on us through doubt, sown through the pride of others to get us to question and trust less in God and more in the approved works as outlined by these Pharisee types.
When we “first believed” as it says in Hebrews, we were new, clean, and on fire. We are encouraged to maintain that initial trust. That initial trust was rooted in one single thing, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to save us COMPLETELY and FINALLY for our sins.
Doubt attempts to wear that trust away so we are no longer firm in our convictions. And what does James say? If we are not firm in our convictions and we begin to waver, we are like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
The End
Harkening back to Jesus’ own words in Matthew 7:22, I have news.
Jesus is NOT IMPRESSED with our works and those things which we do that we think are winning us points in heaven. He’s just not. He’s saying there, in my view, I am NOT HONORED by or with your works, those things on which you attempt to hang your hat believing in some way you have earned your way into my kingdom…those things by which you have attempted to use to condemn everyone on the planet.
In John 19:30 while on the cross right before his death Jesus Christ said…”It is finished”.
And…it is finished. Praise the Lord!
Gone are the days of having to perform certain rituals, acts, festivals, or sacrifices to be deemed acceptable by God.
Jesus said, and I believe him “It is finished”.
The work Jesus Christ did saved any and all of us willing to put our faith in his death and resurrection. That’s all you can do. Put your faith in him.
There is no way, through the things you do or say (or don’t do or don’t say) that will get you into heaven.
It’s only through faith in him and through that faith in him, letting him work in and through you to mold you into who he wants you to be.
Let no one on earth tell you otherwise.
-rob out
P.S. Never forget, it was the Pharisees who believed Jesus was a false prophet or teacher and because he didn’t fit their brand of religion, had him killed. Let that sink in for a bit as you consider those among us practicing the same precepts today.
