4 Christian Teachings to Stay Away From

 Today’s article is about four false teachings taught in the church today. These false teachings should be avoided at all costs and are common in Christian churches today. In scripture we are taught to discern and be mature, testing between good and evil. If your church teaches one of these four falsehoods, I encourage you to find another church.

Salvation through tongues

“It is a sad twist of irony that those who claim to be most focused on the Holy Spirit are in actuality the ones doing the most to abuse, grieve, insult, misrepresent, quench, and dishonor Him. How do they do it? By attributing to Him words He did not say, deeds He did not do, phenomena He did not produce, and experiences that have nothing to do with Him. They boldly plaster His name on that which is not His work.” — John Macarthur

If your church thinks every Christian must speak in tongues, you should leave.

Especially if they believe it’s necessary for salvation. The Bible says that confessing and repenting from our sins and believing upon the name of Jesus is what saves us. It’s by faith and nothing else that we are saved. To say otherwise is to pervert the gospel.

The Bible is full of examples of people that were saved without speaking in tongues. The primary example is the thief on the cross next to Jesus. To require someone to speak in tongues is an addition to the gospel, making it no gospel to follow. The Apostle Paul clearly says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 that not every Christian will speak in tongues. He does so by rhetorical questions. Showing that we are all different.

Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. (1 Corinthians 12: 30–31, NIV)

The Prosperity Gospel

We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves, when the central message of Christianity is about abandoning ourselves. — David Platt

If your church believes wealth is a sign of right standing before God, I encourage you to leave. Also, if your church believes that health is a sign of right standing with God, I encourage to leave. The prosperity gospel is creating havoc in the modern evangelical church. It’s natural to believe that if things are going well, I must be ‘good’ with God. The Bible is clear this is not the case. Not only that, but the Bible also doesn’t promise immediate blessings. It is replete with blessings for the future, but it also depicts a journey of suffering to get there.

The Bible teaches that Jesus came to save sinners. He did not come to make you healthy and wealthy. There are no guarantees of temporal happiness. There is a guarantee of forgiveness from sins through faith in Jesus Christ. What great news! The Bible actually cautions us against health and wealth. These are things that can impede are relationship with God. Think of the story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16–30). Jesus said it’s easier for a camel to fit through a needle then for a rich person to get into heaven.

This teaching is doing more damage than any other around the world. Faith healers are preying on the poor of Africa, for one example. Millions of people gather and are encouraged to put faith in Jesus. By putting faith in Jesus, they are promised that Jesus will make them healthy and wealthy. It’s a con. It’s a travesty. It should never happen. These people go away sick and poor. The worst part is they don’t even hear the gospel. They hear Jesus will make you rich. What they need to hear is that Jesus died for their sins.

Speak it into existence

My guess is that Christians who blow off such promises — like “ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” — have an uneasy conscience that they’re not really taking Jesus seriously — John Piper

If your church thinks you can speak your destiny into existence, I encourage you to leave.

We are not God. We do not create ex nihilo (out of nothing). God speaks and things become. We don’t have this ability. It’s a misreading of scripture to apply God’s abilities to our desires.

We cannot change God’s mind. We can’t demand things of God. Prayer is powerful but not in ways people think. The purpose of prayer is not to get what you want, but to get what God wants in you. The perfect example of this is Jesus in the garden of gethsemane. Jesus prayed for what He desired. He then paused and said in effect, “not what I want but what you want God”.

The claim that we can speak something into existence gives humans superpowers. We don’t have superpowers. We have a super God that cares for us.

Legalism

If you feel that you can follow a few little rules or some clever gimmicks to make you a mature Christian, then you have fallen into a subtle trap of legalism. — J. Vernon Mcgee

If your church is highly legalistic, I encourage you to leave. If your church has a checklist of bad behaviors or condemns other people, I encourage you to leave.

If your church is against dancing, music, dresses, bars, tattoos, etc. this reveals hyper legalism. There are things we should abstain from, and the Bible makes those things clear. Anything in addition to what the Bible clearly says is too much.

Legalism creates a culture of control, trauma, and bitterness. Wherever the gospel is, there is freedom. Freedom from legalism and freedom from sin. The apostle Paul talks about how the law was an encourager of his sin nature. Legalism does the same thing. My personal opinion is that the polarization of America is because of legalism. Both the left and the right have too high of morals. These morals are in addition to the Bible, not from the Bible.

Conclusion

Included are four Christian teachings to avoid. This list is not extensive but are a few things I believe every Christian should avoid.

We are called to discern correcting teaching from false. If you're in a bad situation, I encourage you to leave. The gospel is worth it.

In the end it’s about salvation. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Anything in addition to this truth will mitigate it.