This has been quite a year. As a nation and a world, we’ve experienced a lot of anomalies in the current generations. American Christians, in particular (and possibly some other first world countries), have begun facing some interesting challenges in our faith. I don’t know about yours, but my faith and worldview have definitely been altered this year. I’m more settled in some ways, and left wrestling in others. However, I’m encouraged by the handful of friends around me who are also undergoing similar changes to their faith and worldview, and the ones who’ve patiently waited, watched, and welcomed me with open arms. (You know who you are and I thank God for you.)
Early in my walk I wondered how I would ever possibly spot false teachings. Maybe you’ve struggled with this, too. The New Testament writers address this issue and warn us about it repeatedly, but I felt ill-equipped to know how to clearly understand the word of God for myself in a way that would stand up to those false teachings. And I secretly worried that the arguments for those teachings would be able to sway me. They did for a while. I wasn’t settled on sound doctrinal teachings of truth. I’m still learning just how much and how deep those deceptions go in modern church and bible teachings, so today’s post won’t be about naming the doctrines or teachers. (Maybe eventually a future post will be better suited for that.) For now, I will touch on just one key belief that has been a stumbling block for me.
The belief that I’ve been rethinking lately is that all (or most) sickness, disease and hardship is the result of some kind of disobedience to God or a continued, unconfessed sin issue. What’s really interesting is that I see this idea gaining a lot of momentum in popular Western Christianity. And while I do think there are biblical examples of unfortunate circumstances coming into effect because of someone’s unrepentant attitude toward sin or disobedience of God (Romans 5:12, Mark 5:1-20, Exodus 15:26, etc), I also see biblical examples where sickness and hardship have nothing to do with a sin issue (Job, 1 Timothy 5:23 seems to have more to do with the water in the area, and Matthew 16:24-26 – among many other verses – directly relates suffering and hardship to a normal part of the life of Christians).
Many times in my walk I’ve heard people ask others who are suffering in some way what the last thing was that God asked them to do, and if they ever did it. Implying that sole responsibility for their hardship lies on their shoulders. Don’t get me wrong. I think this can be an appropriate response in some situations. However, even Jesus says not to enter into relationship with Him lightly, but to count the cost. Life as a believer can get hard. So unless we know someone personally, or are privy to the inner most details of their life, I don’t believe that’s an appropriate judgement for Christians to make about others. This is something that confused my faith for years, and I finally feel like I’m making heads and tales of it. Sometimes we suffer sickness or hardship because of sin. Sometimes we suffer hardship simply because we live in a fallen world. And sometimes germs cause us to get sick. It’s pretty simple.
This year I plan on writing a lot more about the false teachings that I’ve been learning about, but I want to share them by writing about what scripture actually says, not by solely focusing on the negative stuff. Basically, I want to start diving into some fun bible studies and posting them here. I plan to go much more in depth than I have here, but this seemed like a quick fun way to give a taste of what I’ve been learning. My hope is that what I have to share will impact you and your walk with the Lord in positive ways, and empower you to study and think about what scripture says for yourself.
I’m walking out of 2020 and into 2021 with this prayer on my heart: Lord, You are wonderful and praiseworthy and faithful. Thank You for all that You’ve taught and shown me and many others last year. Thank You for the truth, and the grace to take it in. Forgive me for the areas where I’ve been wrong and may have unknowingly led others into wrong thinking about You as a result. Help me make those wrongs right with grace and love. Please keep my heart and the hearts of those in Your Church humble and open to correction. Show each of us where we have pride or fear or any other sin in our hearts, especially if it is keeping us from learning and growing in relationship and right standing with You. Make us holy in Your sight. Make us a light for Your gospel. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Blessings to all of you in 2021!
Robin 💜
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