Articles
Unwanted Correction
Quite often today, complaints are made that there is far too much 'negativity' in religious preaching and teaching. Some who complain about negative teaching and preaching will add, "I thought the gospel was good news!" Such complaints demonstrate ignorance of what makes the gospel good news, for we must understand that we are all guilty of sin (cf. Rom. 3:23) before we can understand that the good news of the gospel message is the fact God has provided a means of being forgiven of all sin. To get to the good, we must first talk about the bad; before we can say something positive, we must talk about the many negative things in this world.
Unfortunately, some still don't want to hear anything negative when hearing about God, Jesus, the church, or eternity. Some want God to simply overlook their sins altogether [without anything done on their part], and to welcome them into heaven for eternity without any strings attached. Some think the church is about making them feel good about self, and making us 'happy' on earth. Some want to believe that personal 'goodness' is what will get them into heaven, and some want nothing to do with a God who condemns, or will say anything negative about the life they have chosen to live. Those who want this kind of God, don't want the God of the Bible.
This kind of thinking that does not want to hear anything negative will not lead to forgiveness or salvation, however; denial of guilt does not mean we are not guilty, and refusing to hear anything deemed negative [identifying behavior as sinful, corrective instruction, etc.] may make us feel good about ourselves, but it does us no spiritual good, no matter how effectively we have deceived ourselves into thinking it does.
To illustrate the foolishness of ignoring or rejecting anything negative or corrective instruction, consider the following example…
You are in Los Angeles, California, and you want to go by car to Dallas, Texas. You have never made this trip before, but you are confident you can get there. You know people who have driven the route, and you trust that they knew what they were doing, so you head out with full confidence you will have no problems arriving at your intended destination.
After driving a long time, you notice the road signs have the shape of the state of Colorado; you stop and ask directions and you are told that you are not headed towards Texas at all. You listen, but you have already traveled this far without problem, so you keep driving. After a few more hours of driving, you notice a sign welcoming you to Wyoming. Again, you decide to ask someone for directions.
At the first open gas station, you stop and go inside to ask someone for directions. The man behind the counter has never been to Texas and is, in fact, new to this country, but he smiles and tells you, "If this is the way you have chosen, it must be okay because you seem to really know what you're doing, and you really want to get there, too. Just keep going the same way you were going."
You thank the man, but you are not quite sure he knows the right way, so you ask someone else. They, too, agree that you must be right because they've seen many others cars traveling the same direction you travel; after all, so many drivers couldn't be wrong, could they? Other customers chime in, telling you stories about friends and family who have traveled this same road, and they all seemed to know what they were doing. One customer dissents, though, saying you need to turn around. You listen to them all, but choose to go on. You thank the people for their help and drive on, continuing to take the road you have traveled for many hours now.
After a few more hours of driving, you see a sign welcoming you to the state of Montana. Undeterred, you press on. Several hours later, you come to a series of signs indicating you are approaching the Canadian border. You ignore the signs, and continue on, until you come to the Border Patrol station and have to stop. An officer holds up his hand, indicating the need to stop, so you do. He then leans down to your side window.
"Where are you headed?" he asks.
Thinking it is not an unusual question, you proudly reply, "Dallas, Texas!"
He takes a step back and with a slight grin, and then says, "Really? Do you know you're headed the wrong direction?"
You are somewhat surprised at his statement, so you ask, "What do you mean?"
The agent sees you are serious, so his face loses its smile and he then tells you plainly, "Sir, Dallas is about 1700 miles that way," as he points the opposite direction from how you have been driving.
You are shocked! You put your car in park and you address the Border Patrol agent, "Who do you think you are to tell me I'm going the wrong direction?!? I've been driving this way for a long time now, and now you're telling me I'm going the wrong direction? Why, I had many people tell me along the way I was headed the right direction, and I have seen may other cars traveling this way; how can you say I am going the wrong direction? Are you some sort of expert on Texas? Did you get a degree in map-making? Who are you to tell me I'm going the wrong direction?"
As unlikely as this scenario might sound, this is exactly what many people are doing right now, spiritually speaking. Many people set off on a path they think leads to heaven and eternal life, but it is not. Many have never consulted God's instructions and directions that tell us the way we must go [as found in the Bible], but simply rely on their 'feelings' about which way is the right way. Others simply follow the path their parents and ancestors have traveled, believing they wouldn't lead them astray, Others consult religious 'experts' who study in seminaries or who get theological degrees, disdaining those who do not hold such lofty titles. And still others simply go with the majority — whatever it may be following — believing "So many people can't be wrong." Unfortunately this is a path many people travel, but it is not the road to heaven. No, it is the path where “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matt. 7:13).
Many people who desire to get to heaven think and believe "there are many roads to heaven," and it doesn't matter which one [which denominational church or even which religious belief — Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.] you take; to them, the way to heaven is like the U.S. Interstate highway system and many other roads, where you can get somewhere by any number of avenues. Despite Jesus Himself saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6), some persist in believing "any road will get you to heaven." Those who follow these paths will be sorely disappointed when they come to an unexpected and undesired end.
And what if we find we have been traveling the wrong path? Will we get angry at the one who tells us? In the illustration, you may remember there were signs along the way that indicated the traveler was headed in the wrong direction [and a few individuals, too], yet he ignored them all, and got upset with the Border Patrol agent who simply pointed out the truth. Unfortunately, this happens far too often when spiritual error is exposed.
Are you on the path to eternal life? Are you sure? —— Steven Harper
