Narrow Way with Steve Phillips Biblical Heresy
All heresy comes from the Bible. It’s true, but it’s false. Confused? Don’t be. Observe:
A radio preacher quotes from Genesis 1 regarding day 3 and day 4 of creation. Not bad so far. He then says day 3 repeatedly mentions seeds and day 4, signs and seasons. OK, that’s obvious; we’re still with you Mr. Preacher-Man: Go on. So now comes his grand finale, the moment we’ve been waiting for.
“Plant your seed and change your season.” Whoa! Wait a minute! No, no, no: that’s Biblical Heresy.
His “seed” is money paid into his ministry. The “season” is your present circumstance. That’s not Genesis 1; neither is it found anywhere else in the Bible. Message and meaning are two different things.
Heresy is self-willed opinion which is substituted for the power of truth. And the devil is the master.
See him carry the Lord Jesus into the holy city and to the apex of the temple. That was the scene for monstrous Biblical Heresy. Yes, that’s where you will find it: in holy places, in the very house of God.
Was the Bible quoted? Yes, very well, just like our radio preacher. Was the message correct? No, not at all, just like our radio preacher. And hence the Bible which is true becomes the source of falsehood.
But how does that happen? Allow the devil himself to tutor us in this twisted craft. “Throw Yourself down, for it is written…” –Matthew 4:6. Here conclusion precedes quotation, but was not derived from it. Meaning is attributed to the text but not obtained from it. A predetermined agenda dictated his message.
The Bible was merely a prop to lend credence to the act. The message was Bible buttressed but not Bible based. The quotation cited from Psalm 91 does not contain the phrase: “Throw Yourself down.”
It was added as if it were part of God’s Word; but it is not. And those 3 words changed the entire meaning of the passage. What is Biblical Heresy? Adding to what has not been written in the Bible.
But that is not all. Equally deadly is leaving out what has been written. And that is what the devil also did. He quoted Psalm 91:11,12 relatively ok: about angels bearing Christ up so as to prevent harm.
But you will not find the devil quoting Psalm 91:13: no, not at all. It reads: “You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra; the great lion and serpent You shall trample underfoot.” Satan hates verse 13. The devil who prowls about as a roaring lion, that serpent of old, is defeated and ruined by the Lord Jesus.
So what is Biblical Heresy? Simple: Add what you wish and leave out what you don’t like. It’s how the devil uses the Bible, and it’s how his ministers use it as well: graduates from Devil Bible School.
Did I say his ministers? Yeah, I guess I did. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his ministers also masquerade as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds” -2 Corinthians 11:13-15. Yep, Satan has his ministers.
It’s nothing new. Biblical Heresy is not a recent invention. “The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule on their own authority” –Jeremiah 5:30. “I listened attentively, but they do not speak aright” –Jeremiah 8:6. “How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us,’ when the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie? They have rejected the Word of the Lord; so what kind of wisdom do they have?” –Jeremiah 8:8,9. Quoting the Word of God without its true meaning is Biblical Heresy.
But in this treacherous jungle of tangled error, what is the way out? Actually it is simple: Listen to the voice of the Good Shepherd. “His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger, but flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers” -John 10:4-5.
“They received the Word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” -Acts 17:11. But who will be your instructor? Who can you depend upon and trust? God.
“The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you, but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, abide in Him” -1 John 2:27. Jesus will not mislead you; the Holy Spirit will not deceive you; the Word of God carefully considered and revealed by the Holy Spirit will keep you from Biblical Heresy.