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There are many people in this world who will try to convince you that you are "safe" in identifying with Christianity (in name only), while rejecting all or even portions of Scripture. This is a frightening reality happening today and it grieves me to my core. These people will try to diminish the authority of Scripture and convince you that it's okay to re-define Christianity to suit your own tastes instead of submitting to Scripture. This is false, it is a lie, and is utter deception authored by Satan himself. With truth and compassion, I cannot lie to you and coddle you with statements that are most tickling to your ears. I must tell you the truth, and that is you cannot create your own version of Christianity, and in attempting to do so, you are in damning error.
Scripture asserts itself as ultimate spiritual authority in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Additionally, all throughout Scripture we see the interrelation between the person of God and Scripture (i.e. the Word of God). Essentially, what you think about the Word of God is what you think about God. If you are rejecting His Word (any part of it), you are ultimately rejecting Him.
I understand that there are areas of Scripture that are hard to grasp. And there are many areas in Scripture that seem to be juxtaposed. However, due to it's infallible and inerrant nature, Scripture does not and cannot contradict itself. When we struggle to see the correlation between passages of Scripture, this is simply our finite minds struggling to grasp the correlation; however, our struggles do not change the inerrant and infallible nature of Scripture. The bottomline is that if ANY person tries to convince you that it is okay to diminish the truth of the Bible, for any reason, then they are standing in direct rebellion to God.
Recently, I read an article where the author made several erroneous statements while simultaneously claiming that one can remain Christian while believing these damning errors. Below, I have outlined a few heretical claims found in the article (Note: Scriptural rebuttals are found in parenthesis):
You can be a Christian and not believe that people born LGBTQ are inherently sinful because of that fact. (After the fall of man in Genesis 3, all of mankind took on an inherently sinful nature. We are all "born in sin and shapen in iniquity" and this fact is not exclusive to LGBTQ persons. We are all sinful and in need of salvation that can only be provided through the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Other scriptures that define our depraved nature are: Gen. 6:5, Gen. 8:21, Isaiah 64:6-7, Jeremiah 17:9, John 3:19, Romans 3:10-18).
You can be a Christian and trust much of what Science has revealed about the world and how it works. (The ultimate place where our trust should rest is with God-- Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalm 9:10, Psalm 37:5)
You can be a Christian and not believe in a talking snake. (The Bible clearly speaks of a talking serpent in the book of Genesis. To question the authenticity of this account, is to question God's inspiration of Scripture as well as the inerrant and infallible nature of Scripture--2 Timothy 3:16-17).
You can be a Christian and believe that Hell might not really exist. (Scripture is clear in saying that there will be punishment for the wicked who die unrepentantly in sin. This particular punishment is often described in Scripture with an illustration of fire-- Matthew 25:41, Matthew 3:12, Mark 9:44-49, Luke 16:23-24, Revelation 20:10).
You can be a Christian and not believe you need a magic prayer to escape eternal torment. (Scripture does not support the practice of magic. In fact, coupling the words "magic" and "prayer" with one another is a gross misrepresentation of prayer. Scripture affirms that it is God's desire that no one perishes but that all come to repentance--2 Peter 3:9. As opposed to resorting to magical tactics, we should pray, repent [having godly sorrow for sin and resolving to turn away from it], and have faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, forgiveness of sin and righteousness).
You can be a Christian and believe that there is true stuff not in the Bible, and stuff in the Bible that isn’t true. (To doubt that the Bible is complete is to question its infallible and inerrant nature. Nothing should to be added to or taken away from Scripture. In the Revelation 22:18-19, we receive a stern warning as it pertains to the changing of that particular book. The seriousness of this warning further underscores the fact that nothing should be changed, added, or removed from Scripture).
You can be a Christian and not be completely sure who Jesus is but yet love him deeply and walk in his ways. (If you are truly in Christ, there should be no separation between knowing, loving, and walking in the ways of Jesus Christ. In John 17:3, Jesus speaks of eternal life saying, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.")
Overall, the author of the aforementioned article attempted to re-define Christianity and ended his piece by saying, "Your Christianity is no other human being’s jurisdiction." While this sounds pleasing to the ears, I cannot agree with this statement. My Christianity is not merely MY Christianity. Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of my faith (Hebrews 12:2). We are under Jesus Christ's authority (John 17:1-2). To deny any of these things revealed through Scripture, is to deny and reject Christ; thus choosing to walk away from the Christian faith...and that's just something that you simply cannot redefine.
References:
1. Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Biblical Truth by John MacArthur & Richard Mayhue
2. www.gotquestions.org
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