Christian Living

Keep Paddling Upstream

by Jeff Drinnan
08/26/21
For Sale
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Yesterday I was disheartened when I read a story on Christianheadlines.com that cited a study that said 60 percent of U.S. born again Christians under 40 years old think they can get their salvation outside of Christ. Although a survey from Probe Ministries said the number of those who claim to be believers jumped by nearly 25, there is a "striking decline" in evangelical religious beliefs and practices over the last decade, the piece said.

Even those who call themselves born again Christians "can have a false view of Jesus Christ and embrace a pluralistic worldview..." said Probe Ministries president Kerby Anderson.

False doctrine has plagued the church since the 1st century. In the church in Ephesus, the young pastor Timothy had to deal with false teachers disrupting the church, His mentor Paul encouraged Timothy and coached him on how to address the false doctrine . Timothy preached and practiced the truth and, with God's guidance, was able to get the church back on track with the true gospel.

"If someone spreads false teachings and does not agree with sound words (that is, those of our Lord Jesus Christ) and with the teaching that accords with godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicons, and constant bickering by people corrupted in their minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a way of making a profit". -1 Timothy 6:3-5

After reading the article about the deterioration of today's church, I came across an article on Biblestudytools.com "Five Powerful Reasons You Need To Study Your Bible." This edifying article admonisted Christians to combat false doctrine by knowing the truth of the Bible.

At the faith-based meetings I used to take a friend with a drug problem to the leaders emphasized holding to doctrine true to scripture. The truth of the Bible can help people with any sin, including drug addiction.

We must press on, filliing our hearts and minds with the truth of the Bible. On his program "A Walk Through The BIble...", host Les Feldick made an analogy of pressing on in the faith to paddling a canoe upstream. If you stop paddling the canoe, the current will pull you downstream. Likewise, if you don't pull against the corruption of the sinful world, you will be dragged downstream, into sin. Long ago, a pastor told the congregation of a service I attended that Christians should not just go with the flow. "A dead fish can do that", he exclaimed.