My mom used to say, “You’ve got this completely upside-down and backwards!” By this she meant that I not only had it completely wrong but, in addition, my logic was terrible--that what I was arguing was completely opposite from the truth. Unfortunately, I encounter many instances of “upside-down Christianity”-- both on the mission field and at home.
False doctrines which we encounter on the mission field
One example of this is the Pentecostal/Charismatic teaching on healing. This movement teaches, throughout the world, that all diseases can be healed by faith. There are two problems with this. First, no one goes to heaven but by organ failure, either by trauma – such as an automobile accident--or by a disease such as cancer. Or by wear and tear, such as a heart attack or kidney failure. That means, that if, by faith, God heals all diseases and infirmities, then heaven is filled with those who have no faith or are weak in faith. This is completely upside-down and backwards. Are we to imagine that heaven is made for those with no faith or who are weak in faith, while earth is the domain of those, who by their faith are always healed? Secondly, this teaching contradicts the teaching of God the Holy Spirit in Holy Scriptures. In Galatians 4:13, by revelation of God the Holy Spirit, we learn from the great missionary Apostle Paul, “but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time;” and, again, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” Not only was Paul’s illness not a result of a lack of faith but the exact opposite was true. His illness was manifested in his faith, furthered the Gospel and used to provide the church with one of the great epistles of grace and faith – the book of Galatians. The Pentecostals have got this teaching, as my mom would say, “upside-down and backwards.”
Another example of this is the teaching on happiness. In our current narcissistic age of Christianity, it has become God’s “job” to keep us happy. By faith we can avoid unhappiness. All unhappiness is a result of a lack of faith and of sin. If happiness is a result of spiritual power and faith, then how do you explain: The sorrow of God the Father Gen 6:6 “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” The weeping of God the Son John 11:35 “Jesus wept.” The grief of God the Holy Spirit Ephesians 4:30 “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Are we to believe that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are all weak in faith, all susceptible to sin and that, if they only had more faith, they would be happy all the time? God the Holy Spirit clearly teaches in Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;” It is God’s will that we all share in the “fellowship of His sufferings” and our “being conformed to his death” is also God’s will. The current teachers in the Church who proclaim that it is not God’s will for us to experience difficulties, sorrows, poverty or trials, have it, as my mom would say, “upside-down and backwards.”
Then there are those who teach that miracles and spiritual power are the ultimate indication of faith. Once again, they have this upside-down and backwards. The fact is that any demon can perform a miracle (Exodus 7:11, 22; 8:7, 18; 9:11; II Thessalonians 2:8 – 10.) Note the power of the false prophet and anti-Christ in the last days, as given by God the Holy Spirit, in Revelation 13:13-14 “He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.…” Contrast this with the ministry of John the Baptist, of whom Jesus Christ testified in Matthew 11:11 "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” and again through the Revelation of God the Holy Spirit in John 10:41 “Many came to Him and were saying, ‘While John performed no sign, yet everything John said about this man was true.’" Once again they have it upside-down and backwards. They would make the false prophet of the anti-Christ more spiritually powerful than John the Baptist--simply on the basis of the performance of miracles, signs and wonders. We truly live in an upside-down and backwards age when the greatest prophet who ever lived would be declared spiritually weak and the most wicked prophet ever to be raised up by satan declared spiritually powerful --simply on the basis of miracles, signs and wonders. As my mother would say, “you have this upside-down and backwards.”
Then there is the upside-down and backwards teaching that satan is in charge of Hell. Nothing could be further from the truth. God the Holy Spirit clearly teaches us concerning the fate of satan and his demons in Revelation 20:10 “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Satan is not in charge of Hell. It is exactly the opposite – satan is in Hell being tortured with the rest of the unbelievers. Revelation 14:10-11 “he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night…” It is God who is in charge of Hell. Hell is not separation from God--it is the eternal experience of the direct judgment of God. Once again, as my mom would say, “they have this upside-down and backwards.”
Upside-down and backwards Christianity comes from a fascination with what is new and exciting in Christianity rather than what is proven and tested by sound doctrine. I often say when teaching on this issue, “If it is new, it is not tested. If it is tested, it is not new.” We live in an era when new and untested doctrines and teachings are accepted carte blanche by the church. It is as God the Holy Spirit warned in Ephesians 4:14 “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…;” This is contrasted with the men and women of the Holy Scripture, who are guided by the doctrines of the Holy, eternal, inerrant written Word of God in Titus 1:9 “holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” If you do not want to be caught up in upside-down and backwards Christianity, then you must know what the Word of God says.
Unfortunate as it may be, my mission teams experience this, often in their home churches, before departing to the mission field.
I can remember when liberals did not teach the gospel but did humanitarian activities. It was the evangelical church that faithfully proclaimed Christ. It was the liberal churches who followed the model of the United Nations, The Peace Corps and other secular organizations. In contrast, it was the evangelical, Bible-believing churches which openly proclaimed Christ. They would do good as they had opportunity but the missionary was there to preach Jesus. It is a sad day when my team members hear over and over again, “You mean you are only teaching the Bible?”, “Why aren’t you digging wells for fresh water?”, “Why aren’t you fighting AIDS or malaria?”, “Why are you just doing evangelism?”. This flies in the face of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ who commanded His disciples and, through them, the Church - Matthew 28:19 " Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” If we do not hold firmly to the sound doctrinal teachings of missions, we will--as my mom would say--get it “upside-down and backwards.”
I can remember when the liberals and secularists declared entire sections of the world population off limits to foreign missions. It was the evangelical church that viewed the call to missions to be “world missions” and desired to reach the whole world for Christ, not just the so-called “unreached” people groups. To the liberals, most of the world had been “reached” because of culture, education and so called “statistics.” Foreign missions, to them, was becoming a thing of the past. God the Holy Spirit, however, teaches something completely different in Acts 1:8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Yet, many times, mission teams are asked, by members of their churches, “Why are you going to the civilized world?”, “Why are you going to the ‘reached’ world”, “Why are you not instead going to…?” If we are not careful, if we are not guided by the Holy Scripture, we will end up taking whole portions of the world off the “missionary” map -- simply because of our own perspective, not the call of God. We will get the whole thing “upside-down and backwards.”
Liberals and secularists were content with sending money. It was the evangelical church which proclaimed Christ. I can remember secularists and liberals decrying the amount of money the evangelical churches spent on “crusades,” “building churches that only were used once a week,” “paying salaries for missionaries when the money could be sent to the country to feed the poor,” etc. God the Holy Spirit clearly teaches, concerning the ministry of the great missionary Paul as an example to the Church--when it comes to foreign missions, Acts 20:18-21 “…You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, 21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” The evangelical church has always been the organ which God has used to send out missionaries into the world to preach Jesus. Yet we live in an age when those who are going hear the refrain of the dead and dying liberal church, “Why don’t you just send money?” As my mom would say, “You have this upside-down and backwards.”
Grace Community International, in an age of upside-down and backwards Christianity, strives to serve the Lord right-side-up and frontwards. We preach Jesus, we teach the holy, eternal, inerrant written Word of God, we build up the church, we raise up leaders for the church, we establish marriages ad families in the Word of God and we supply ministers on foreign fields with quality study Bibles and Bible study aids. As a mission organization, we stand with the great missionary – the Apostle Paul, Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
I close this blog as always with a deep and abiding thankfulness for your sacrificial and effectual prayers, which empower and drive this ministry ever forward in the cause of Christ. |
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