Error

Recently I wrote that we shouldn't expect any minister to be 100% accurate in their teaching because they are fallible humans. You can click here to read that. Also, I wrote that it is really the Holy Spirit that uses their words and the Word of God to reach people. We must not lose sight of that.

I am reading Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand, the founder of The Voice of the Martyrs. He said something very interesting regarding Communist Russia. He says that there were a few "token" churches that were allowed to remain, to present some semblence of false freedom to the West. The same thing happens in present-day China. The ministers of these churches were to inform the secret police of all Christian activity. If they did not, they were removed (and imprisoned) and replaced. These "ministers" had to preach sermons that were favorable to the state, sermons about Communism. But they had to include some scripture, and the people could sing old hymns. This bit of scripture ministered to the people.

He writes:

"People in China today are converted under the influence of men whom they know to be traitors. They know that they will tell the secret police about their conversions. They must hide their faith from the very one who gave them this faith by his corrupted sermon."
[Emphasis mine.]

This was good for me to hear, confirmation that it doesn't even really matter how corrupted, or off base, or in error, a preacher is. The Holy Spirit can use, even that, to reach someone and draw them into the knowledge of Christ.

Obviously, if we, in our free country, know of a preacher that is way off base, we can choose not to attend their church, we can warn others, we have choices. It does matter, in that sense, we can't become enablers of error. There are consequences for apostasy. Their sin will find them out. We don't have to be the instrument of judgment, but we do need to watch that we are not offended.

One such minister I can think of, fell into serious error. He pastored a huge mega-church, and then it dwindled to a few hundred, practically overnight. Why? Because he told his church that he had changed his position on one of the core beliefs, listed in my post yesterday. He has reaped many times over for his error.

This helps me have a little perspective and not be so picky when I hear something preached that I disagree with. I need to focus on the majority of what I do agree with. Of every minister I can think of that I disagree slightly with, I know that their heart is right, they have the same purpose I have, to reach the lost, they hold to the same core beliefs of Christianity, and are not in cult territory. And it reminds me to be very thankful I don't live in a Communist or Islamic country and have to take my faith underground.

I encourage you to click on the links I have included. You can receive a free copy of Tortured for Christ. You can check out the work that The Voice of the Martyrs is doing and see what you can do to help.