A group of Christian pastors shared what they considered to be primary concerns facing the Church today. Said one, “My primary concern is for this young generation of Christians. They are not receiving proper teaching, which means they will not be able to stand when the pressure comes.” His peers agreed with him. Whilst his concern is admirable, my concern is, why only this young generation of Christians, when the same could be said for generations of once-young, but now old Christians. What about the improper Bible teaching they received from their starting point?
Young generations of Christians were never responsible for the apostasy so prevalent now throughout the church. They were not the ones to bring the theory of evolution into the church and make it a “fact.” They were not the ones who threw out the authorized translations of the Bible, replacing them with human-centered “translations.” They were not the ones to infiltrate pulpits preaching a blessing of God upon abortion clinics or to say it’s a blessing from God when mothers willingly terminate the lives of their unborn babies. They were not the ones to encourage homosexual men and lesbian women into the church to receive ordination as elders, priests and bishops. No young generation of Christians has ever been responsible for such diabolical teaching and practice.
The fault for this must always be laid squarely at the feet of older, mature Christians, so called. We call them Christians, but it is extremely doubtful the Lord Jesus Christ calls them that based on, Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves……… And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness Matthew 7:15-23. I believe it’s more accurate to call them Cultural Marxists, Socialists, Collectivists and Communists. This is the crowd who bludgeon us with their devil’s doctrine of Political Correctness; these are the anti-Christs responsible for multitudes of Christians both young and old, being unable “to stand when the pressure comes.”
So how can one discern whether the one in the pulpit is an anti-Christ or not? The only true way of discerning is to know what the Scripture says and then take your stand firmly upon that. For example: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God Romans 12:2. When listening to them, ask yourself is this person conformed or transformed? In other words, the conformed mind will speak for the standards and practices of the world system; the transformed mind will speak for the standards and practices of God. One does not need to know every Scripture of the Bible for what’s said. In time, the Holy Spirit will give witness to the truth or the lie of it.
More help to discern who might be an anti-Christ: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him 1 John 2:15. Human-centered “Bible” translators love the world; the love of the Father is not in them. Those dedicated to the “re-imagining of the Scriptures and our relationship to them” don’t know the Father. Those dedicated to replacing male pronouns don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ. Those dedicated to rethinking what kind of Bible language builds barriers and those dedicated to seeking “new and nonsexist ways to express the same ancient truths” don’t know the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Bible! May God help this young generation of Christians to steer clear of such people and their many advocates!
Young generations of Christians have never been responsible for discarding literal interpretations of Scripture in favor of allegorical interpretations. Older, more mature Christians are responsible for that practice. A definition of the allegorical method of interpretation: “Any statement of supposed facts which admits of a literal interpretation, and yet requires or justly admits a moral or figurative one is called an Allegory.” – Angus-Green. Quote: “It would seem that the purpose of the allegorical method is not to interpret Scripture, but to pervert the true meaning of Scripture, albeit under the guise of seeking a deeper or more spiritual meaning.” – J Dwight Pentecost. May this young generation of Christians be alerted to the dangers of this method.
“Let Scripture interpret Scripture,” says the wise man. Not so, the unwise man who favors the allegorical method; he favors his own interpretations, which is a primary cause of multitudes of Christians young and old now holding to perverted, false and twisted doctrines. Further Quotes: “When once the principle of allegory is admitted, when once we start with the rule that whole passages and books of Scripture say one thing when they mean another, the reader is delivered hand and foot to the caprice of the interpreter.” – FW Farrar. “To state that the principal meaning of the Bible is a second-sense meaning, and that the principal method of interpretation is “spiritualizing,” is to open a door to almost uncontrolled speculation and imagination.” – Bernard Ramm.
The above quotes explain why so few Christians are able to stand on the word of God when the pressure is on in earnest. The increasing acceptance of same-sex marriage, transgenderism, interfaith gatherings and man-made climate change gives witness to the truth of this. Holding to the allegorical method of Scripture interpretation explains why there is so little faith expressed in the church, but lots of sentimental emotionalism is expressed. There’s nothing to sustain the people when they come under severe tests and trials. It also explains why so many people give up on God and walk away. “Where’s all the supposed power?” the man wrote back to me recently, when told he needed to meet the biblical Jesus. “I think it’s a wonderful thing if it works for you.” Cop-out!
What does work for us is a steadfast commitment to the literal method of Scripture interpretation, also known as the “grammatical-historical” method. This method “gives to each word of the Bible the same exact basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary, customary usage, whether employed in writing, speaking, or thinking.” – B. Ramm. In other words, stick to the plain-sense meanings of Scripture. This doesn’t mean we rule out figures of speech, symbols, types and allegories when we read of them in Scripture but it does mean we let Scripture interpret Scripture through Holy Spirit guidance. The Author of the Bible is the Teacher of the Bible and if Jesus was wise enough to humbly submit to the Spirit’s literal interpretation when here, so too must we.
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth 2 Timothy 2:15. The worker who rightly divides God’s word understands that no scripture, verse, passage, chapter or book of the Bible lives in isolation from any other of such. And so when reading that which is symbolic in the books Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation for example, we don’t put our own slant on it, we embrace the revelations found elsewhere within. Don’t worry about those who may criticize you for your “lack of spirituality in the deeper things of God.” You will be standing when the pressure comes, many will have fallen. Too, some will be looking for a hand up. Yours they will grab hold of, perhaps!
It was not the practice of the New Testament writers to allegorically interpret the Scriptures of the Old Testament writers. When they interpreted them, they did so literally. A study of the prophecies which were fulfilled in the first coming of the Lord Jesus, plus His life, ministry, death and resurrection establish without question that fact. That means, the OT prophecies still awaiting fulfillment will happen literally too. How about this for a literal future fulfillment: Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him Revelation 1:7. Jesus said the same when speaking of the time of the end of this current age Matthew 24:30.
Like the pastors above, I too have concerns for this young generation of Christians, but so did Spurgeon and others long before and after him. Improper Bible teaching is not a new phenomenon. The practice of discarding literal interpretations of Bible Scripture in favor of allegorical interpretations goes back hundreds of years. For us today, it explains the widespread disregard the Church has for the word of God, the holiness of God and the need for its people to be holy. It explains the widespread lack of knowledge God’s people have for end-times Bible prophecy, the literal return of Jesus Christ and His forthcoming millennial kingdom reign; lots to pray about. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me John 10:27.
The Author of the Bible is the Teacher of the Bible and if Jesus was wise enough to humbly submit to the Spirit’s literal interpretation when here, so too must we.
Amen! Amen!
Amen again, Larry. Thank you.