Said one famous preacher to another famous preacher, “I can say I believe the Bible and make those words mean anything I want them to mean.” True story! How’s that for arrogance! At the time that statement was made both men had churches with large and growing memberships. Thirty-odd years later the man who made the boast lost his church and his ministry went downhill. For all that, I get no pleasure in writing this because it was through his ministry that I was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only was I introduced, but drawn irresistibly so, and that has never ceased in thirty years.
I have long since learned this man was not the only minister to “make those words mean anything I want them to mean,” seeing such beginnings originating in the early church Acts 20:29-30; 1 John 4:1. And, without such men there would be no false doctrines, false churches or cults, for these all make the Scriptures to mean what they want them to mean. But he, to my limited knowledge, is the first one to openly admit it! Openly admitting it or not, such leaders are cursed of God; the strictest and most severe judgment awaits every one of them, for it is they who lead their people astray. And many will follow their (false teachers /prophets) destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed 2 Peter 2:2.
Today’s church is saturated with blasphemers of truth; saturated with church people willing to, “make those words mean anything I want them to mean.” Especially is this so with generations X Y Z, Millennials or whatever other silly categories they have. Of course they wouldn’t dare use the language of the famous preacher, but they will use the language, “It all depends on your interpretation of Scripture,” which means the same. And they will too, leave you in no doubt that your interpretation of Scripture is wrong if it differs from theirs. This post is not about same-sex marriage or man-made climate change, but they are two perfect examples of how false teachers get biblically gullible people to embrace deceiving spirits and doctrines of devils 1 Timothy 4:1.
If the Christian leader above honestly believed the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant word of God to man, he would not have gone beyond, “I can say I believe the Bible.” No true Christian would. The fact that many do go beyond is evidence they may not be genuine Christians – not born again Christians. How could we know if they are or are not? I would ask them. “You tell me you are a Christian. Can you define for me what that actually means?” If he failed to testify his faith and trust alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone, that He was delivered over to death for his sins and was raised to life for his justification, Romans 4:25, I would have valid reasons for doubting he was a genuine Christian.
He may not be able to express himself using those words so I would prompt him: “Who is Jesus?” “What does God Incarnate mean?” “What does the Blood of Jesus mean to you?” If it showed up he was not a Christian, I would share the gospel with him, explain clearly what repentance means, then ask if he wanted to pray a prayer of repentance and surrender his life to Jesus, not only as Savior but also as Lord. Lordship is the true test of a Christian. Without Lordship there will be no discipleship. Without discipleship a church gets a bunch of religious rebels, of which there are myriads in the Western church. Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple Luke 14:27. Blasphemers of truth don’t get too close to disciples of Christ!
The most effective and influential blasphemers of truth occupy pulpits and pews, not public streets or steps of Government buildings protesting about this, that and the next thing. The latter couldn’t care less about truth; to them it’s all relative, but not so, the former. Years of conditioning has caused them to become particularly adept at making the words of the Bible mean what they want them to mean. That’s why they don’t blush or bat an eyelid when Governments legislate that which God has cursed. God is love 1 John 4:8 and His love is unconditional,” they’ll say. Christ died for the ungodly ………while we were still sinners, Christ died for us Romans 5:6, 8. All of which is true, but if that’s all the ungodly hear then they’re still on their way to hell!
Blasphemers of truth can read the entire book of New Testament Romans and be completely oblivious to what God has to say about His wrath and judgments on unrighteousness. Discuss with them what God says in Romans 1:18-32 for example, and they’ll tell you, “Oh that was Paul and what he said there is at cross-purposes with what Jesus said; Jesus said He didn’t come to judge.” True, Jesus did not come to judge, but if you ask them why then did He come as Savior, they won’t tell you it was because God had already judged the world; it was already under His condemnation (damnation). They’ll gloss over John 3:16 and ignore altogether John 3:18, He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already.
It is blasphemers of truth who do the greatest harm to the reputation of the Bible. Until less than three hundred years ago Jews didn’t question the veracity of one word of the nearly 593,000 words in what we call the Old Testament and Christians didn’t question the veracity of any of the nearly 774,000 words combining both Testaments. To each it was the sole word of God to man, inerrant and infallible. Yet the ignorant, the liars, the deceivers and the gullible would have you and me to believe otherwise. The Roman Catholic Church knew the veracity of the Bible, that’s why they kept it hidden from their people for centuries. Praise God for Martin Luther! Whatever his failures, his love for truth and his willingness to die for it is most surely admired among true believers.
It is blasphemers of truth doing the greatest harm to the reputation of the Church of Jesus Christ. They don’t see sin as God sees it, they make excuses galore for their own “shortcomings” and condemn the living daylights out of Bible-living believers when they stand up and speak out against it. The moment we proclaim, the wages of sin is death, they stop their ears, gnash their teeth and scream, “Judgmental!” before we can finish the proclamation, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 6:23. Yet, in their eyes, we are the ones “full of hate speech and intolerance,” or something similar but just as silly. Of course, we know it’s Satan’s devils speaking through them; outsiders, equally full of devils see them and think they’re full of God!
Even though they give marvelous appearances of being humble and holy, blasphemers of truth are a self-righteous people. These, the apostle Paul warned us of, lovers of themselves ….. proud, blasphemers…..having a form of godliness but denying its power 2 Timothy 3:1-5. This warning alone gives evidence that the Bible is everything God says it is; it is evidence that we are living in the last days. F B Meyer said, “There is a pure gospel and a specious mimicry of it.” Those whose mission it is to “make those words mean anything I want them to mean” offer the grandest specious mimicry of the gospel. Until I began my Bible studies in earnest I thought the man who introduced me to Jesus was the real deal. It gave me no pleasure to discover he was not.
Blasphemers of truth introduce into the church, profane and vain babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge (science) 1 Timothy 6:20-21. No wonder so many thousands of Christians are caught up in lies of the globalist elite whose real agenda it is to control all peoples of the world not, “save the planet from carbon dioxide emissions.” Listening to these people and not God Almighty whose name is Jesus, is the reason multitudes have strayed concerning the faith. Only a love for truth at all costs will deliver them out of that hell-hole! God tells us to seek Him whole-heartedly not half-heartedly. What Jesus has to say to the half-hearted is the same as what He has to say to the empty-hearted and the hard-hearted: “Repent!”
Just like Jesus, Paul, Peter and John, it was blasphemers of truth Jude was speaking of when he told the church to contend earnestly for the faith…… Jude 1:3. In other words, struggle for the faith – fight for it! Stand up, look into the faces of these enemies of God and speak whatever the Holy Spirit gives you to speak. Since the days of the Reformation not too many Christians have had to do that, but now that has all changed. These people mean business; it’s time for us to mean business! For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled 2 Corinthians 10:4-6.