False teaching .............. Parables 281

August 21, 1991

An assistant professor of Religious Studies at a major denominational college made the following statement: “Most people who have taken at least a college-level course in religion know that the Christian Gospels are a combination of historical fact and pious imagination.”

In other words, he is saying that the records we have of the life of Christ are partly accurate and partly fiction and anyone who hasn’t been to college has simply not been clued in.

While the college I attend teaches sound doctrine, I’ve realized that not everyone who gives instruction in “religion” teaches what the Bible plainly says. Many do not even treat God’s Word as a reliable document. For example, outside of my evangelical professors, there are theists, poly-theists and neo-orthodox circles. Each is further broken down into smaller sects and isms, each having a twist in their teaching from what the Bible says.

However, most people don’t care. The common philosophy is whatever anyone wants to believe about “religion” is right for them; there is no such thing as objective truth; it should never be a point of contention.

Jesus Christ did not agree. He said, “I am the way, I am the truth... and no one comes to God except through me.” He repeatedly warned about false teachers who deny the objective truth He came to reveal.

The Apostle Peter said it too: “There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up...”

Thus the Bible has been mocked, even by people who teach “religion.” They say it is only a book by ordinary men, a collection of fables and myths that has no bearing on anyone’s life today. They think the disciples just WANTED to believe Jesus rose from the dead or could perform miracles so they made up those Bible stores and combined them with what actually happened.

Oddly enough, those who say these things do just that themselves. They make up their own version of who God is, what He says and what He has done, or each makes up his own gods and then they teach about the god of their own imagination, not the God revealed in the Bible and in the person of Christ.

Even some who accept the Bible as a “religious book,” insist no mere human could do the things Jesus did, therefore concluding the Bible stories must be in error. Others may concede Jesus is divine but cannot believe any writing could remain accurate after being copied and recopied for over 2000 years, so again, the stories about Him cannot be true.

However, the Bible says God is not mocked. Because He is God, He is more than able to do anything man thinks is impossible, such as reveal Himself in a Man or preserve His truth in a book. Besides, He is not unaware of those who deny Him. He plans one day to call to account those who make up their own version of Him. On that day, they will not only be forced to acknowledge their error but will have no choice but to acknowledge Christ: since “every knee will bow and every tongue WILL confess Christ as Lord.”

All need to heed those who recorded God’s Word. They warned of the dangers of dismissing Scripture as the words of mere men. They made it clear that the Bible is not a myth. After all, if they made it up, why not make up something that is not so demanding? Why not a god and a book that never corrects sinners, never rebukes rebellion and does not promise judgment on those who make up their own version?