Apparently, believers in the city of Galatia were getting twisted around and manipulated. Paul thought this important enough that these were his first words following his greeting:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel – which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” – Galatians 1:6-7
“…turning to a different gospel…” “…throwing you into confusion…” “pervert the gospel of Christ.” Powerful words. Yet, we see it happening today. Common verses are taken out of context in the entirety of the Bible – or distorted and twisted to support their arguments.
How many churches do we now see that embrace the LBTQ movement? Who has turned away from the messages against sexual immorality and specifically against homosexuality? Arguing, “We are not to judge others…” or “Jesus never spoke about homosexuality,” they embrace what the Bible clearly calls immoral. (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Jude 1:7; Romans 1:26-28; Genesis 2:24) Yet, there are believers who accept the falsehood rather than the truth – perhaps because they have loved ones who are gay, and they simply want to believe that these are not offending God.
Pro-abortion advocates claim the Bible never speaks against abortion. Yet, this comes strictly from a lack of understanding of the entirety of scripture. (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-18; Isaiah 44:24; and the entirety of warnings to not murder.)
Have you ever heard the words, “Well, we know the Bible was written by men”? The implication is that the Bible is not to be entirely trusted. We hear these words even from those who call themselves believers. Of course, it makes one wonder how they came to believe in Christ Jesus – since the gospel message is entirely found in the Bible “written by men.” Yet, Paul tells us the entirety of scripture was God-breathed:
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2Timothy 3:16-17
You may also have heard that the Bible has been “translated so many times, we don’t know what it really says.” Again, the intent is to impugn the integrity of scripture. Yet, of all the “versions” and translations, what cannot be found is a single significant theological difference. Not one. Any differences are quite minor – rendering the Bible a true representation of the original manuscripts.
Evolution is taught in schools as a fact when it is an entirely unproven theory. And as we all know, Christmas and Easter have been completely hijacked by gaslighting and are now celebrated as secular holidays, even by those who call themselves Christian.
We sometimes may wonder how believers seem to wander so far from Biblical doctrine. Yet, it is easy to see how those who are not students of the Bible might be easily influenced. On the other hand, often, their own desires lead them to listen to false teachings that lead them away from the truth. In his letter to Timothy, Paul warned about this some 2000 years ago:
“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. – 2Timothy 4:3
We need only look at the success today of the prosperity gospel – which, as Paul says, is really no gospel at all.
Cultural Christianity seems rampant – those who say they believe in Jesus but who simply want to talk the talk but not walk the walk. Gaslighting gives them the perfect out.
Photo Credit: Image created using DALL.E 2024 AI technology
