As I have been attempting to examine throughout this series of articles, because Satan realizes the realities of his eternal fate, he has unleashed a relentless attack on society to diminish and undermine the impact and influence of the one institution that has the power to defeat him as his plans. I have also emphasized that Satan has two primary objectives, which is to, “distract God’s plan and to deceive God’s people.” And ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we have been able to see this plan being orchestrated and played out throughout scripture and throughout history. And today, because of what John records on the Isle of Patmos, “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12), we are seeing the enemy’s strategy being intensified to a level that has really never been seen.

Satan will do all he can to bring defeat into our lives. He is constantly battling for the soul of the sinner and for the life of the saint. The devil’s work is to deceive human beings, and he has many subtle devices and many cunning ways by which he does the job. We do well to take seriously the advice of the Apostle Paul when he says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that we are not to be ignorant of his devices. And keeping believers ignorant of God’s word, ignorant of his devices and strategies, and “undiscerning” of the “signs of the times,” is probably his greatest objective.

Six Reasons for the Decline of Christian Influence

What I have been maintaining throughout this series of articles, is the idea that the enemy has clandestinely launched a three-pronged attack on our culture with the ultimate objective of defeating the plan of God for the human race. This three-pronged strategy has included the battle fields of the mind, the family and the Church. And I have emphasized the idea that it has been the battlefield of the mind (our ideologies, paradigms, our philosophical perspectives, and our worldviews) that has been the central battleground in which Satan has set up as his base camp. And it has been through this battle for our minds that the enemy has negatively impacted the state of the family and the church, which has in turn, has had reverberating destructive consequences on the entire culture. And while there are many different tactics that the enemy has used in order to influence our minds, in a nutshell, particularly as it pertains to western civilization, it has ultimately been the spirit of progressivism that has had the most destructive impact.

In other words, it is progressivism which is the spirit of this age heresy that has had the greatest impact and influence on modern society, including our modern politics and even modern religion, and that is at the heart of the dysfunction and polarization that we are experiencing in this generation. Now for the sake of clarity, when hearing the word “progressivism,” many people automatically associate the term with a particular political party. In truth however, progressivism is not just a mere political party. Instead, progressivism represents the “spirit of this age,” that was referred to by the Apostle Paul when he admonishes, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them” (2 Corinthians 4:4 NKJV). In other words, many in the religious community including many Christian leaders, have made the mistake of viewing progressivism synonymously with a particular political party (primarily the Democrat party). In truth however, progressivism at its heart, is not just merely a political party but rather, progressivism is a worldview or a philosophical and ideological construct of the world.

Furthermore, as I have been attempting to develop throughout this series, progressivism has become the dominant worldview influence that has supplanted Christianity as the dominant influence in the culture. In essence, at the heart (or root) of progressivism is the idea that the Government is God or “the State” replaces the church as the primary influence in determining what is right and what is wrong in a society. And because the religion of progressivism is in such diametric opposition to the Word of God, in order to advance the progressive worldview, Satan has had to make a concerted effort to minimize and marginalize the impact and influence of Christianity. Hence, the attacks to minimize, marginalize the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ and to have contempt for and to redefine the institution of the family, which is the most foundational institution in all of human history, has been the enemies primary target. And by influencing the Church and the family with a progressive worldview, the result has had negative consequences that has reverberated throughout the culture.

So, with that backdrop in mind, the ultimate question that those of us who still believe that the Word of God is “only rule for faith, doctrine and conduct for the believer,” must answer, is how has the Church allowed this to happen? Or, how has the Church allowed its influence and impact on the culture to be so minimized and marginalized and supplanted by the influence of progressivism? Now, while I am aware that this can be an inexhaustible topic, and while I will only be briefly highlighting this question here, from an overall general summary, or from a big picture perspective, I’d like to briefly outline six reasons as discussion starters:

1. The lack of emphasis on the Church’s actual purpose.

2. Division in the body based on doctrine and race.

3. Man-made religious tradition.

4. A proliferation of false teachings and teachers.

5. Ignorance and apathy.

6. A lack of discernment of the signs of the times that we are living.

Now, because of the complexity and the sensitive nature of these issues, I won’t be addressing all six of these points in this article. I will instead be doing a thorough examination of all six of these topics in my forthcoming book, The Three Battle Zones of The Enemy. Also, for my purposes here in this article I’d like to make it perfectly clear that this list is in no way intended to be a comprehensive assessment of the problems of the church, nor is it an indictment of all churches everywhere, rather, it is more of a “big picture” perspective on the overall state of the Church in general in relation to its declining impact and influence on the culture at large, and how that Satan has in fact, subtly and clandestinely manipulated current events and circumstances in order to introduce anti-biblical secularism into the culture as the dominant influence.

Why are we (The Church) here?

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:18-20, KJV)

First and foremost, arguably one of the most significant question that discerning minds and especially every Christian leader should be asking is, how did we get to the point in America today were Christianity has become so undermined, demonized and diluted in our modern society? In order to answer this very perplexing question, it is imperative that we begin by examining one of the more highly overlooked subjects that exists in today’s church which is the questions of, “What is the purpose of the church?” Why are we here? What did Christ “Commission” His church to do in the first place?

For starters, every Christian is keenly aware of the Great Commission. Jesus Christ, before ascending to the Father, spoke directly to these questions concerning our real purpose. When giving His final instructions to his disciples, He gave them a clear and simple mandate, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Math. 28:19-20). This mandate is clear, concise and comprehensive! First, they were to wait in Jerusalem for the arrival of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-8). Then they would “receive power” and become His witness or representatives, “both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the remotest parts of the earth.”

In essence, Jesus was saying, “as you go, make disciples; baptize these disciples, and then teach them to do what I have taught you.” To state even more simply, the disciples were to, “Go everywhere and win men to Christ (that is, make Christian disciples) and then baptize them and teach these new Christians the truths that Christ taught.” Amazingly, in spite of unimaginable persecution and opposition, Christians from the earliest days of the Church, did not keep silent about their faith but instead, boldly brought it with them (and many times at great cost) into the public arena. Paul for example, debated at the illustrious Mars Hill with Greek and Athenian scholars and philosophers (see Acts, Chapter 17). Many there, in fact, welcomed his insights and reasoning skills. Others, including both civic and religious leaders of the day, wanted him to keep his views to himself. But in spite of this dichotomy, Paul boldly, without hesitation and most importantly, without compromise, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ even under the threat of great physical peril.

Earlier, during the initial period of establishment of the Church on and shortly after the day of Pentecost, Luke points out the following: And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42 kjv). Later, Luke goes on to highlight the tremendous impact that they that they had on those had not excepted Christ and who were “dead in sin,” who where residing in Jerusalem, or what would have been their surrounding community: “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7 kjv). In essence, these disciples, several of whom fled and hid in fear just a few months earlier, now became bold and fearless advocates of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To the point that Luke goes on to describe how that the Apostles came to be described as, “those who turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).

Now, one of the many lessons to be learned from the exploits of the early believers, is that those early Christians at least in principle had to navigate through analogous circumstances as believers today. Nevertheless, the impact and influence that those first believers had on the Roman Empire was dramatically different than the impact that we are seeing the Church have in today’s society. For example, those first Christians lived in the secular society of Rome, but by heralding the good news of salvation, not only were their words radically impactful, but their words combined with their deeds changed all of society of their day. In present-day America on the other hand, secularists have taken over and changed the rules of the debate on so many key cultural issues. Religion or more accurately, the Christian way of life, is being shoved out of not only politics but the American culture. We believers are being forced to accept secular worldviews that are anathema to a biblical way of thinking, and being told that we must accept the worlds morals or be labeled “haters” or, more recently, “thumpers.”

In Acts 17 however, the Apostle Paul went directly to the pagan philosophers at Mars Hill and boldly challenged them. In contrast, the great challenge of the Church today is speaking into a culture that that is not only hostile to biblical principles, but also perceives Christianity as an irrelevant, out of touch museum piece. In other words, Christ has placed the Church in the world in order that we may be the “light” that illuminates a world that has been darkened as a result of sin. Unfortunately, many churches are not having the impact on their community that they should because they seem to have forgotten what the real mission of the Church is supposed to be. God has called the church to have an influence in our communities, our society and our world. However, in order for the Church to re-assume its God ordained role in society, it is important that we reacquaint ourselves with our true God ordained assignment in the world.

What is the Church?

Let us first of all, consider what the term “church” really means. The word “church” is derived for the Greek word “ecclesia,” which means to be called out or set apart or summoned for a particular purpose. It was a term originally used by the Greeks to refer to a body of citizens gathered together in order to discuss the affairs of state. The Romans later identified this term with their legislative body. In other words, to the Greeks and Romans, the ecclesia was a group of people that were called out and set apart in order to discuss, establish and execute the mandates of the government. Likewise, the Church is the ecclesia of our Lord. In other words, we have been called out and set apart to be heaven’s ambassadors. We have been established here on earth as Christs earthly legislative body. And our assignment is to discuss, establish and exemplify the mandates of heaven here on earth. We are to get our marching orders from heaven, and our commander and chief is the Lord Jesus Christ. And by leaving us His word, He has left us with all the necessary documents and instructions necessary to carry out his commission.

To put it in a more succinct way, it can be said that the church can be defined as: a group of called out body of believers set apart from all nations and all walks of life. Called out by the power of God, who have been born again, and who are in spiritual union with Christ, acknowledging Him as their head, indwelt by His God’s Spirit and exist to carry out the directives of God. And has established many beachheads around the world in the form of local churches in order to more concertedly carry out our Lords mandates. Ultimately therefore, it can also be said that the church exists to carry out two foundational functions, which are: evangelism (to make disciples) and edification (to teach them). These two functions succinctly encapsulate the entire question of why the church exists in the world.

A careful examination of the Book of Acts clearly demonstrates that the disciples fully understood this commission and dedicated their lives to carrying out this commission. In fact, there are several clear illustrations of how they fulfilled Christ instructions to make disciples as well as to teach them. For example, on one occasion Luke records: “And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed (Acts 14:21-23 KJV). In other words, on Paul’s first missionary journey, he and Barnabas preached the Gospel and won many to Christ (made many disciples), and established churches in those cities. Later, they returned to those cities, and strengthened the new Christians by teaching them and encouraging them in the word of God.

To make disciples

The second function of the local church should be to “make disciples”. We accomplish this primarily by “providing first a basic, and then an in-depth knowledge of God’s word.” By sharing “rightly divided” interpretation and application of biblical truths. Here the church plays a dual role in the life of the new convert. It is called upon to be both the family and educator. For example, in the natural family, a new born first receives nourishment which enables him to grow. At the same time, he is receiving love and affection from those who care for him. Later, the child is instructed and educated in the things that will make him a productive citizen as he grows into a mature adult. This same principle holds true spiritually. The local church is to nourish and instruct believers in the word of God. It is the word of God that perpetuates spiritual growth.

Paul in writing the Ephesians, referred to this when He said: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph. 4:11-15).

The same admonition that Paul gave to the Ephesians Christians, is also applicable to all Christians of all generations. God has placed certain ministries within the church, and among them are pastors, and teachers. These individuals are placed in the church in order that the saints would mature past the babyhood and childhood stages of spiritual development, and “grow up” into a mature Christian who is rooted and grounded in the word of God, who’s living by faith and walking in love. In addition, just as we all (naturally speaking) grow to the point where we are able to “reproduce,” or have children, the spiritual mature Christian is also able reproduce. In other words, they are able to become teachers, evangelist pastors, or whatever ministry God may call them to; resulting in the Body of Christ growing and continuing to fulfill the great commission.

Remarkably, Christ’s original disciples were plain, ordinary Jewish citizens. Several were fisherman, one was a socially despised tax collector, and the others similarly came from low ranking occupations that had different personalities and temperaments. One was overconfident, two craved special recognition, another was skeptical, and another was a self-serving miser. The evening before his trial and crucifixion when Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, his disciples lacked the stamina to stay awake in order to support and comfort Him. A few hours later, one of them even denied knowing Him. The next morning, as Jesus was crucified, all except John hid in fear.

No one would have guessed at that time that these fear-stricken individuals and their associates would in a few years be accused by some of the Jews as having “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6) by their preaching and teaching the message that Christ had entrusted to them. No wonder the Apostle Paul spent so much time teaching the new converts and encouraging the disciples in the early church. He spent a considerable amount of time in Antioch and various other communities, teaching the new Christians and later returned to strengthen the souls of the disciples while admonishing them to keep the faith. Beyond a doubt, Paul was ultimately concerned that believers are provided with not just a basic knowledge of the word, but with a more in-depth knowledge of Gods truths. Many times, when Paul could not go to the believers himself, he sent other apostles.

In addition, in order to make certain those early churches were being continuously fed the gospel, Paul put it in writing. He sent letters to the various churches in order to continue to teach and encourage those early saints. And within those letters, Paul not only taught them the basics of salvation (milk), but he also gave them meat, or instructed them in many deeper truths such as: eschatology, old testament typology and the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In fact, on one occasion, Paul in writing to the Corinthian Christians about some problems that he heard they were having, rebuked them when he wrote: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal” (1Cor. 3:1-3).

Paul indicated here that it was his desire to feed them with meat. However, because of their carnal state of mind, they had to settle for milk. Although milk is necessary for a baby’s growth, because Peter said that we should “desire the sincere milk of the word that we may grow thereby” (1Pet. 2:2), it should come a point in the life of every Christian that you should be able to digest the deeper truths or the meat of God’s word. So, it is therefore the responsibility of the local church to see to it that every member is developed to the point where they are a mature believer, that is according to the admonition of Paul to the believers in Colosse, that it his prayer that they would be, “filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That they might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10).

Next, it is the role of the local Church to provide a place of fellowship among like minded believers. The writer to the Hebrews points this out when he records, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25 KJV). In other words, where if not in the local church will the believers be able to receive wholesome fellowship? For only in settings where people are motivated by the same spirit and the same life will they be able to experience opportunities for sharing and exchanging true communion. One of the true characteristics of the early Christians was the fact that they continued steadfastly in the Apostle’s doctrine and in fellowship. Over and over in the New Testament we find such expressions as: “love one another, teach one another, edify one another, and encourage one another.” Therefore, one of the greatest privileges the church can provide here on earth is true fellowship which we to will someday enjoy in the presence of the Lord.

Finally, the local church is responsible for “Preparing and equipping members for Christian service.” When Jesus first recruited Peter to be one of His disciples, He said, “come after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). A study of the life of Peter reveals that He truly became a great fisher of men. However, He wasn’t an overnight success story. In fact, Jesus said that He would make him to become a fisher of men. In other words, fishers or disciples are “made” or developed over time. Jesus did not simply call His disciples and immediately send them out, nor did He call them and then left them to fend for themselves. Instead, He nurtured them, He taught them, and He was an example before them. He prepared them for the task ahead. Then He sent them forth to preach the gospel and as a result, they subsequently “turned the world upside down” and essentially changed the course of world history.

Now, the Lord could have arranged the church in such a way that the church could have thrived in very friendly environments and could have lived happily ever after until taken up to be with Him for eternity. But instead, the Lord put the church in a hostile environment in a world that would be antagonistic to the message of the gospel. Yet, from the very inception of the church, and in spite of tremendous persecution and opposition the church has gone through, and continues to go through, not only has the church survived, but she has thrived and grew by leaps and bounds, and the gates of hell have not been, and will never be able to, prevail against her. Nevertheless, that has not stopped Satan from unleashing centuries of relentless attacks that has included a combination of physical persecution from external enemies as well as, a proliferation of internal struggles that has included false teachers and false doctrines that has either diluted or polluted the message of the Gospel.

Interestingly, Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples that this would be the case. He warned them that they would be persecuted and they would have to endure severe opposition and physical oppression for their witnessing. In fact, right at the onset of His ministry, he told them: “Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mathew 5:11-12).

Division in the body

After the reemphasizing of the Church’s actual purpose on earth, it could be argued that of all of the remaining challenges facing Christ’s church today, the problem that has been the greatest hinderance and the sharpest weapon that the enemy has used to undermine our influence is that of a divided body. Specifically, it can be summarized that the church has been divided on two separate fronts: those being, by race and also by doctrine. The divisions that has resulted from doctrinal differences is the one division that is well documented and I will also be detailing more later in my upcoming book, however the area of divisiveness that is causing the greatest divide in modern times is the racial divides that exists in American Christianity. And again, this division has had a public magnifying glass shinning on it every since the 2016 Presidential election.

Now what makes dissecting this racial division so challenging, is the fact that from a doctrinal and theological perspective, there is a great deal of commonality between African American believers and white Evangelicals. Ironically in fact, most African American Christians and white Evangelicals, whether they are actually conscience of it or not, actually agree on many theological issues. And even when it comes to politics, most African American believers and white evangelicals are aligned on many of today’s critical political issues such as: pro traditional marriage relationships and abortion.

To be more precise, in terms of theology, members of the historical African-American church community, more often resemble evangelicals than other traditions on many of our modern existential issues. In other words, although the two groups often disagree politically, when it comes to religious beliefs and practices, members of the historically black Protestant tradition appear to have much in common with those in the evangelical tradition. For example, 85% of adherents of the historically black Protestant tradition say religion is very important in their lives (as do 79% of those who belong to evangelical denominations). In addition, 85% of members of the historically black tradition believe the Bible is the word of God (as do 88% of evangelicals). Eight-in-ten members of the historically black Protestant tradition say they pray every day (as do 79% of evangelicals). Indeed, nearly three-quarters of members of historically black Protestant denominations say they think of themselves as ‘born-again or evangelical’ Christians. [1]

However, it is when we get into the discussion of “other issues” on the political front, is where we have a Grand Canyon sized divide between African American believers and white evangelicals that has had adverse reverberations throughout the culture. And it is these distractions and division in the Church between white evangelicals and African American Christians that has been a major facet to the enemy’s overall masterplan to undermine the overall impact and influence that the Church can have on society. And as I pointed out earlier, that division was never more highlighted and pronounced than it was during the 2016 Presidential election. In other words, the 2016 election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton greatly accentuated the division between African American Christians and white Evangelicals and drew tremendous attention to this divide for the entire country to see.

Those who have been studying the issue closely, particularly after the election, all recognize that there is not just a division but a major political chasm between the ideological, philosophical perspectives of these two sides when it comes to the social and cultural arm of politics. However, what is generally not fully understood (or at least not in totality) is the reason why this serious divide exists in the first place. And what is even less understood on both sides, is that there is a spiritual warfare component that is taking place which is causing this confusion and discord in the first place. And the sociological and overall negative kingdom impact that this division has produced, as not been by coincidence, but rather, it has been a part of a strategically orchestrated plan of the enemy to cause division. Nevertheless, in order to begin building a bridge in this divide, the first thing that we must do is “get an understanding” of the “what, whys and wherefores” of the opposing political worldviews.

With all thy getting, get an understanding

First of all, in order to bridge this gap and bring about the unity that our Lord desires, there first needs to be an understanding of the opposing perceptions or the differing worldview perspectives. Consider for example the declaration of Solomon when he professed that, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7 kjv). If you will notice, Solomon never said that with all our getting, you should come to an agreement. Instead, he said that with all of our getting, we should strive to get an understanding.

With that in mind, after critically examine the differences and more importantly, why these differences exist, and what are the “roots” of these differences, even if you still disagree with the other side’s conclusions, at the minimum you should begin to have clarity and understanding of the perspectives of our other Christian brothers and sisters that we may disagree with. In other words, understanding another’s perspective, even if you disagree with the conclusions, is the first step in bridging the gap of division that the enemy has created.

Now for starters, many in the African American church community have the perception (whether consciously or unconsciously, justifiably or non-justifiably) that white evangelicals who traditionally vote republican, especially if they voted for Donald Trump are by default, inherently racist. Many white evangelicals on the other hand, who vehemently deny that they are racist, in turn have become extremely perplexed, hurt and frustrated with this racist characterization. But unfortunately, most white evangelicals really do not understand how to respond to this racial narrative. And just like most African Americans who hold to this racial narrative, they just simply confine themselves to the safety of their church and fellow members, without ever really attempting to get a better understanding from the other side’s perspective. And in the meantime, by either side not understanding the other, these racial narratives and characterizations continue to allow these divisions to get even larger. And all while an unbelieving society, whom the Church of Jesus Christ is called to impact and influence for the Gospel, stands back a watches this division take place right before their eyes.

Now, if truth were to be told, I have had numerous conversations with fellow African Americans believers who hold to this racist narrative, even though some of them were not always able to articulate specific arguments for their position. Now, rather than attempting to challenge that perception directly, I have discerned that it is more impactful to discuss the “what, whys and wherefores” of why most white evangelicals vote Republican and why most African Americans vote democrat. In so doing, even if we still disagree, we can begin to have some clarity and “understanding” of the opposing sides. However, my purpose in this article is not to go into detail, but rather, to draw attention to the issue. Furthermore, in my upcoming book, The Three Battle Zones of The Enemy, I will be doing a very deep dive in unpacking this very critical topic.

Tradition and False Teachers

While division in the body of Christ on the basis of race and doctrine have been detrimental to the body, and has been a device that the enemy has used since the beginning, in order to hinder the spread of the gospel, it has been the problem of man made traditions that has been largely responsible for accentuating this problem by maintaining the element of confusion and in many cases, used as an excuse to justify spiritual abuse and legalism. However, the idea of man-made traditions has been an old trick of the enemy.

In fact, Mark records that on one occasion, Jesus was confronted by a group of Pharisees and Scribes who wanted to challenge the Lord because His disciples were not following all of the “traditions of the Elders.” Jesus of course, discerning their hearts and motives, called them to task and began to turn their challenge back on them: 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” 6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 7And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.” 9 He said to them, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do (Mark 7:5-9, 13).

Interestingly, the above encounter with these Jewish religious leaders of Christ’s day, reveal a very distinct dynamic that had a major negative impact on first century Judaism, which also had a major impact on the early church. And in in many ways is analogous to today’s religious environment, which is the over obsession with the observances of man-made religious traditions. In other words, in addition to the challenges of the secular culture that the early believers had to circumvent regarding the worldly philosophies of the day that were antithetical to their new birth in Christ, they also had to deal with the quandaries of the insistence that many were making regarding their remaining allegiance to these man-made traditions as a continued necessity for the new birth.

For starters, religious tradition was in full force during Jesus’ earthly ministry. In fact, He often scolded the religious leaders, saying things like, “You nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down” (Mark 7:13). The scribes and the Pharisees had added so many of their own non-biblical ideas to God’s Law that the common people were confused and felt helpless to obey it all. In Mark 7:6–8for example, Jesus quoted from Isaiah to reprimand the religious leaders, saying, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Notice that the “commandments of men”were being taught as if they were divinely inspired “doctrines.” And that was the problem.

In the account recorded by Luke, the Pharisees thought that their religious observances were something that was pleasing to God. In reality however, unknown to the average lay person of at the time, these were actually man-made traditions that had been passed down from generation to generation. Over time, these man-made traditions became excepted as being biblically normative, and therefore, nobody thought to questioned. The general consensus was that because these traditions were taught and strictly held by the most prominent and notable religious leaders of the day, these practices had to be biblical. Jesus however, soundly rebuked these religious leaders for their hypocrisy. He emphasized the fact that they had held up their traditions above the commandments of God. In essence, what they thought was pleasing to God was actually being done in vain.

One of the many traditions kept by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day involved a ritualistic hand-washing before meals. The observance of this tradition had nothing to do with cleanliness; the Pharisees’ concern was ceremonial purity. Once, when a Pharisee invited Jesus to eat with him, Jesus bypassed the tradition: “His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom” (Luke 11:38, NLT). Jesus had broken no law. In fact, nothing in the Mosaic commandments required such hand-washing, but the Pharisee expected conformity to the custom nonetheless. Jesus’ outright disregard of that man made tradition, sets up a clear distinction between what is binding (God’s commands) and what is not binding (human tradition).

The proliferation of false teachers and false doctrines

Finally, contributing to the problem with the ongoing insistence of maintaining their traditions, was the proliferation of false teachers infiltrating the church, teaching and preaching false and even heretical doctrines. In other words, in addition to some horrific persecutions, the early church also had to deal with substantial internal discord that resulted from the proliferation of false teachers bringing heretical teachings into the church. The New Testament in fact, indicates that certain false teachers found their way into the early church and sought to replace Christian doctrine with heretical teachings such as Gnosticism. These teachers mingled freely with the Christian converts, seeking to win them over with promises of advanced knowledge, deeper understanding, and profound wisdom. This soon led to dissensions and disturbances in the various churches.

James for example, sought to lead the disaffected converts away from the false representations of the Gospel, and back to Christian ways of thinking and living. James warned them not to be led astray by these false prophets, but to go direct to God for the fulfillment of all their desires for higher teaching. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting” (James 1:5-6). James further pointed out that deeper understanding is attained, not through this erroneous teaching, but by putting the Christian teaching into regular daily practice. Even more pointedly, is the fact that Jesus Himself warned against false teaching and even criticized the religious leaders of His day for misleading the Jews through their words and their walk. Notice for example, Matthew 16:6-12. Here, Jesus warned His disciples of the “leaven” or “doctrine” (v. 12) of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In the context, these religious leaders were looking for a “sign” from Jesus rather than receiving Him as their Messiah and changing their hearts. Jesus called them “blind guides” (Matt. 23:16, 24) and “hypocrites” who were “void of discernment” (Matt. 16:3), and yet these men were revered as the leading rabbis of the day who were responsible to impart spiritual knowledge to the children of Israel.

Nevertheless, following the death and resurrection of Jesus and the birth of the church, false doctrine continued to find its home in the hearts and minds of many within and without the church. The apostle Paul told the elders in Ephesus to “take heed” to themselves and to God’s “flock” because after Paul left them, false teachers, including some of the church elders would “arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples” (Acts 20:29-30). Even in the church at Ephesus, false teaching was a serious problem.

What is false doctrine?

Briefly stated, false teaching or false doctrine, is simply any teaching propagated or embraced that conflicts with the truth as revealed in the Word of God. Most people who embrace false doctrine, actually point to Scripture to support their errant beliefs. Yes, people can make the Bible say anything they want it to say. This is why it is so important to grasp the context of every passage of Scripture. The goal of the faithful Christian is to understand God’s Word as God meant it to be understood to the reader. Remember, even Satan himself used the Bible to “proof text” his claims as he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Yet Jesus replied with Scripture accurately interpreted!

The word doctrine simply means “teaching.” Yes, false doctrine does exist. In fact, it has existed since the beginning of time. And as I explored earlier in the book, thousands of years ago in the garden of Eden, the serpent propagated the first “false doctrine” recorded in the history of mankind when he told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). God had declared to Adam and Eve that they could eat of any fruit of the trees of the garden except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told them that should they eat of this tree, they would certainly die. The serpent declared otherwise. God declared the truth, and the serpent contradicted it with false doctrine, or erroneous teaching.

As I explored in the earlier chapter on “The Battle for the Mind,” ever since this first incident in the garden of Eden, Satan has continued to propagate false teaching, for “he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). Christians who comprise the body of Christ in this age, are not without warning concerning the reality and abundance of false teaching. The New Testament Scriptures warn the believer that false teaching, even within the professing church, will be a hallmark characteristic of the church age, the age of grace. Interestingly enough, many of the New Testament epistles (letters) were written to address false teaching that had crept into the church. Paul, Peter, John, Jude, and others penned Holy Spirit-inspired letters to individuals and churches for the purpose of setting the record straight, and declaring the truth over against doctrinal error. Consider several epistles written for the purpose of addressing the problem of false teachers and false doctrine:

1. Galatians—written to address the problem of legalism proclaimed by the Judaizers.

2. Colossians—written to address the problem of Gnosticism making its way into the church.

3. 2 Thessalonians—written to address the problem of false teaching concerning the rapture and the tribulation.

4. Hebrews—written to Christians who were backsliding into spiritual lethargy and leaning toward Judaist legalism.

5. 1 John and 2 John—written to Christians who were facing the Gnostic heresies that diminished the person of Jesus Christ (1 Jn. 2:26; 4:1-6; 2 Jn. 7-11).

6. Revelation—Chapters two and three were written to local churches in Asia Minor, some of which were embracing error or minimizing the dangers of false doctrine.

The death of discernment

One of the most troublesome components of the enemy’s attack on Christianity, is the complete lack of spiritual discernment or the ability to be able to distinguish the spiritual warfare or prophetic relationship between the prophetic word and current events, including today’s political climate, and the signs of the times. Interestingly, this is a problem that is not unique to today’s culture. In fact, this amazing lack of discernment was also systemic among the Jewish Religious leaders of Christ’s day.

Note for example, the famous encounter in which Jesus gave a stinging rebuke to some Pharisees and Sadducees who were members of two of the leading religious sects of the day, and who came to Him attempting to trick Him by asking Him for a “sign.” Mathew describes this encounter when he writes, “Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times (Mathew 16:1-3 NKJV). In His response, Jesus soundly criticized these religious leaders for their inability to discern God’s actions and timing in their generation. They failed to recognize and discern the purposes of God because their hearts were far from God. They embraced a form of religion and pronounced it with their lips, but their hearts and focus were in the wrong place.

In today’s Christianity signs of a spiritual famine are evident. In other words, the fact that secularism has become the prevailing and dominant worldview in the culture, is the primary evidence that spiritual discernment is lacking in the Christian community. Though there are faithful pastors and Christians who take the word of God seriously, there is an increasing number of Christians who are abandoning the clarity and commands of Scripture and substituting political correctness, feelings, and tolerance for biblical truth and its sometimes, very difficult revelations. We seem to have forgotten the idea that it was Satan in the Garden of Eden who first challenged the word of God when he asked Eve, “Did God really say?” (Genesis. 3:1). With this question, doubt about the word of God (which is really doubt about the integrity of God) led to a lack of spiritual discernment by Eve and then by Adam. The result was The Fall, and the path to all subsequent heresies and apostasies was laid.

In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically. Applying this to today, it can be argued that this lack of any semblance of real spiritual discernment among believers, is possibly the single most devastating byproduct of the serious crises of biblical illiteracy in the Church. In other words, because of the fact that experience and emotion, have been elevated above the divine revelation that comes from in-depth expository preaching and teaching from the pulpits, and the deemphasizing and the devaluation of serious and consistent bible study, many who call themselves Christians have no biblical substance or foundation in which to grow as a Christian.

This diluting of biblical doctrine has as a result, conditioned today’s church to desire only what will make it feel comfortable and satisfied rather than what is best for the development of mature disciples in Christ. In other words, the primary emphasis in modern preaching has been placed upon religion as a power which can do things for us and which can make us happy as oppose to making us mature disciples. Moreover, this emotional and feeling based religion has been over-emphasized at the expense of the intellectual, mind renewing component of the gospel that leads to the development of mature and discerning believers.

Because so many in today’s church, have only a shallow knowledge of God’s Word, they have filled that void with things like; trust in personal experiences and their personal feelings as actual truth. And even more detrimentally, it has become in-vogue for believers to chase personal comfort and success as a way of life as opposed to Kingdom righteousness. Subsequently, we have turned out to be a body that has become so preoccupied with ourselves, our moods, our feelings, our inward states and our earthly prosperity, that when we are confronted by external issues and problem that have a profound affect on our lives individually and the body collectively, such as the issues we face politically for example, we lack the ability to discern or “critically think” through the problem from a biblical perspective.

As I have been attempting to draw attention to throughout this series, because Satan realizes the realities of his eternal fate, he has unleashed a relentless attack on society to diminish and undermine the impact and influence of the one institution that has the power to defeat him as his plans. I have also discussed that idea that Satan has two primary objectives, which is to, “distract God’s plan and to deceive God’s people.” And ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, we have been able to see this plan being orchestrated and played out throughout scripture and throughout history. And today, because of what John records on the Isle of Patmos, “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” (Revelation 12:12), we are seeing the enemy’s strategy being intensified to a level that has really never been seen.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that in this series of six articles, is by no means intended to an exhaustive examination to the issues that I have highlighted. Instead, my purpose has been simply to draw attention to some issues and problems that we face that are detrimentally impacting our society, our children and the Church of Jesus Christ. And it is my argument, that the ONLY hope for the future of the country, is NOT politics, NOT any particular politician, activist, or political party, but rather, our only hope is that the Church of Jesus Christ stand up and become that “Salt and Light” to the darkness that we were designed to be. And again, I hope that you will look forward to my upcoming book entitled, The Three Battle Zones of the Enemy, in which I will examine the things that I have highlighted in this six part series of articles in much greater and more specific detail.

1. Religious Landscape Study, Pew Research Center, Religion & Public Life.