My friend, Angela McDowell writes a powerful article on false teachers and false doctrines (or the doctrines of men) Beware Of The Leaven And False Teachers The Scribes and Pharisees were adding to the commandment of God their own traditions. Instead of honoring the parents with service, they merely told the parents that what they (parents) would have gained from them was given to God, and they (children) need not honor their parents. The children were supposed to honor their parents by service and not to tell them that they were gifts of God that would benefit the parents in due course. It was merely a lip service but not a service through hands. The attitude to do such a service had to be emanated from their hearts. In the same manner, the Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem honored God with their lips but their heart was far from Him. In vain they worshiped Him in the Temple but their heart was from Him. They taught for doctrines the commandments of men. They relegated the commandment of God to the background but worshiped Him in the Temple. Jesus made a clear distinction between the Old Testament, which was the commandment of God and the Pharisaic tradition, which consisted of merely human pronouncements.Today, many false teachers in the Body of Christ are likened to the Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem. The Scribes and Pharisees were part of the Temple and were not outside the Temple. They were the teachers of law. They taught the law but added their traditions to it. Even today also, we find traditions of men laying emphasis on outward ceremonies. But their heart was far from God. They taught the law through their lips but taught their own traditions. If we observe every church or every Christian ministry, we can observe the same kind of teaching system of the Scribes and Pharisees. I came across some messages wherein the women of God were condemned for not wearing the Jewish veils or for not covering their heads when they pray or prophesy. Kindly take the Bible in your hand and read it prayerfully. Ask the Lord to enlighten you through the Holy Spirit. We should know the context in which Paul wrote this letter and the spirit of his letter addressed to the women of God in the Corinthian church. He wanted the women of God to submit themselves to the authority of their husbands for which he desired them to have the symbolical cover of a veil when they pray or prophesy because she dishonoureth the head, the husband. In the same letter, Paul addresses the men of God also that they should not cover their heads because he is the image and glory of God. It was customary for the Jewish women to cover their heads in the temples in the first century. I Cor 11:16. Paul says, But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. But is very important. Ultimately, he says that if there is any contention on this issue, there is no such custom even in the churches of God. There should be no custom in the churches of God on the outward wearing of veils or on the outward appearance of men with a head cover. We do not read the Bible carefully but come to the conclusion after reading it in between the lines. If I write a letter to someone, that letter should be read from the salutation to the end. But if you pick up something from the middle of the letter and say something which I have not intended to convey, what does it show? This is the great tragedy with us today. Pharisees found fault with the disciples of Jesus for not washing their hands before they ate. Jesus rebuked them for following some tradition. Why should we find fault with those girls and women who do not cover their heads? A womans hair is her glory!!! Legalism will harm the churches of God and will be a stumbling block to those new believers who have accepted the Lord from the religious backgrounds. These false teachers say that this is the commandment of God to be followed by us. They just add up to the list of Old Testament laws. There are many sundry commandments from the Word of God applicable to the Jewish people of the Old Covenant regarding food habits. There were instructions to avoid contacting men who had been lepers (Lev.13: 44 - 46). The leper should dwell alone : without the camp shall his habitation. Quoting the Bible, can we drive away the lepers from our towns today? Similarly, read the instructions about the uncleanness of issues in men in Lev.Chapter 15. Can we follow these instructions today? When I opposed some false teachers, someone who had not read the Bible about the meaning of wolves in sheeps clothing and the life of Judas pointed his finger of accusation at me as if I had taken away the Lords sheep from the fold of the Great Shepherd (which the wolves in sheeps clothing do) and as if I had committed financial impropriety or betrayed the Lord Jesus like Judas? The judgment of these false teachers is also not righteous. They just read the Bible and know these phrases and names. Then they attack the people of God who speak the truth. Of course, the women of God or the men of God are supposed to wear their dresses in a modest manner. It is again their cultures that define the limits of modesty. Jesus has not given us any ministry of condemnation. The ministry of discernment is much different from the ministry of condemnation or unrighteous judgment. Let us avoid such false teachers who take away the Lords sheep from the fold of the Great Shepherd, teaching commandments of men. If we cannot convince these false teachers with our logical arguments, we had better avoid them. But let us continue to love them and to pray for them. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Written By: Angela McDowell September 22, 2013 Unlik
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 13:21:28 +0000
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