Series | The Overcoming Life
Scripture | Galatians 1:8, “But
even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!”
Lesson
8 | Bad
Theology, “I Don’t Believe The Bible Teaches That”
People say what they think, but live what they believe. Hence, what we believe about God (theology,
“study of God”) really matters. Some
naive Christians may say, “I don’t get into all that theological stuff… I just
read the Bible.” However, no one can
read the Bible without having a theological belief system- whether good or bad.
For example, when you read the Bible, do you believe it's the
Word of God or just the opinions of man?
Your theology matters. When you
read the Old Testament do you try to do everything it says in today’s culture
or do you believe Christ fulfilled the Old Testament and you only have to obey the
commands in the New Testament? Your theology matters. And lastly, do you believe Jesus was just a
prophet or God in the flesh? Your theology
matters.
The list of things that deeply matter in our theology is not irrelevant,
thus, if you don’t have the proper training and humility to learn the Bible false
teachers and vain imaginations can easily lead you astray. Believe it or not, a false gospel invaded the
church in Galatia within just a few short years.
The people were beginning to believe things about salvation that
weren’t true. However, to them these
erroneous beliefs seemed right because the false teachers were very convincing. Paul even said it was like they were under a
spell of witchcraft (bewitched), Galatians 3:1.
Why? Because when people are deceived they don’t know they’re deceived
because they think they’re right. Hence, the problem with deception- its
very deceiving!
The only way someone can realize they are wrong about something
in the Bible is if they humble themselves, become teachable, study, and hear
what God is really saying in the Scriptures.
Thus, the solution to bad theology is good theology. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as
one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly
handles the word of truth.”
Have you been told by well-trained leaders that you believe
things not clearly taught in the Bible? If so, pray this out loud, “Jesus,
forgive me for following man’s opinions and not your Word. Help me to discern between truth and error
according to your Scriptures. I believe
you are the Truth, thus teach me your ways. Amen.”
Reflection | Have you ever had bad theology or
false beliefs?
Action | (1) Make time to meet with a well-trained
leader in your church to discern if your core beliefs about God are true or
false. (2) Repent of any false beliefs. (3) Lastly, live your life as a student
of God’s Word- rightly dividing it and following its path!
One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Jeremiah 10:1-11:23,
Colossians 3:18-4:18, Psalm 78:56-72, & Proverbs 24:28-29. Click here to read
online.
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