We have come to a point where specificity is required in everything you refer to. If you’re not very specific, you will or might be misunderstood. Things have gotten complicated and are not as simple as we thought it to be back then. You can’t afford to be simple hearted in a world filled with the outright cunningness of people. No wonder the book of proverbs is also written to endow the simple ( gullible, easily deceived) with wisdom.
The word, Truth, has been twisted and tainted by several groups of religious sects to fit their beliefs. Everyone believes that his/her belief is the truth while others are not.
However, I am bringing this concept to the world of Christianity, where we believe in Jesus Christ, who is the way, the TRUTH, and the life.
It’s a pity that in christendom, there are diverse doctrines that have pervaded and infiltrated the minds of many christians, corrupting them from the truth in Jesus Christ. So many doctrines have been painted as truth with the aim of accruing crowds of hoodwinked and unsuspecting christians.
There are several church denominations that preach the ‘truth’, yet the ‘truth’ preached is insufficient to prepare the souls of their members for eternity. Iniquity keeps multiplying as the number of church attendees escalates. If attending church services is the antidote to living a sinless life, then I might have a rethink because the prevalent situation is the opposite.
Prosperity, deliverance, faith and other beacons of truth in the scriptures are not meant to be separated and dwelt upon individually as a sole doctrine.
Some preachers, in their desires to contain the weakness of the flesh have cropped out the truth and modified what is left to accommodate the world in the church (which is a sore sight before God). They also proclaim themselves to be christians. I’m afraid we are having a mixed multitude set of christians.
What happens to a Christian who has only heard the preachings on prosperity?Or another who has only been fed with messages of deliverance or eternal security, in the name of the liberality of God’s grace( which is not)?
It’s just like feeding on only one class of food and expecting to be healthy. If it’s not kwashiorkor, beri beri or marasmus, it must be one of the disorders associated with malnutrition that will befall the individual.
As much as a balanced diet is required for our physical and mental healthiness, so is the balanced truth pertinent to our spiritual healthiness.
What then is a balanced truth?
According to the scriptures in John 16:13, where Jesus promised the Holy Spirit’s guidance into all truth, he implied the balanced truth.
Therefore, the balanced truth is only obtained under the guidance of the spirit of God. If your spiritual knowledge is only hinged on what you read or hear, without the Holy Spirit’s guidance, then you might have not apprehended the balanced truth, which is the only thing that can keep you spiritually fit.
Your spiritual fitness is not determined by the number of times you read the scriptures or the number of spiritual books and theses you’ve read. If you do not have the spirit’s breath of life on them, they’ll just be accumulated words in your hippocampus, without the power to effect the necessary changes in your life. Little wonder why Jesus emphasized that “ the letters killeth but the spirit giveth life. ”
the balanced truth is only obtained under the guidance of the spirit of God
What about members of churches where the leader depends only on his stuffiness of spiritual knowledge and academic prowess as sources of inspiration for his messages? No doubt, they will miss out greatly on the Holy Spirit’s package no matter how “impactful” the message seems.
This is why it is crucial to attend a church where the leader relies solely on the help of the Holy Spirit to guide his God given knowledge of the scriptures to enlighten his members.
Not only church attendance will guarantee your spiritual fitness, personal study of the scriptures and books written by seasoned christians, with the beamed light of the Holy Spirit will greatly benefit your spiritual health.
Messages on salvation, holiness, prosperity, deliverance, faith, holy spirit baptism…etc should be preached as a whole gospel under the Holy Spirit’s guidance and not separated, else, we would have a caricature of christians with spiritual Kwashiorkor.
You’ve attended church services for several years; Can you pinpoint the things the Holy Spirit has ministered to you personally for your growth in Christ? Do you just gulp down every wave of doctrine , hook, line and sinker without the guidance of the spirit of truth?Do you also harvest the truth from spirit inspired messages, or you just listen passively because it’s church service, and you’ve got to be present, without relying on the Holy Spirit to tailor all you’re hearing to make your life perfect before God?
It’s high time we depended on the Holy Spirit to guide our knowledge of the word of God. It’s only until then we can become balanced christians, who will not be moved by every wave of doctrine.
You might also be a member of a good church, but you sieve the word of God to what you can accommodate and throw out the rest. Aren’t you hurting yourself? It’s like you’re retaining the bath water and throwing out the baby. Aren’t you short changing yourself?The balanced truth from God’s spirit will definitely transform your life by pruning you for more growth.
It’s not only about having the truth, it’s about having the balanced truth in Jesus Christ.
GOD BLESS YOU.🤍