A local church has some new billboards around our town that caught my eye today. It says “Attention Believers: 5 Lies You Should Know About the Bible”. Well, that certainly caught my attention. So when I got back to my office, I pulled up the website to see what all the fuss was about.
What I found causes me some concern. The “5 lies” suggest that most churches are lying to people in some big areas and while I agree that churches have some different views on different things, for the most part…. I find the post very misleading and painting a picture I do not recognize. I normally wouldn’t say anything but as a local pastor, I feel this can be damaging and throw some people off so I feel led to offer a different view-point.
With that said, I will just copy and paste the “lies” and offer some thoughts.
Lie #1: Jesus cancelled many of the Laws of Moses.
I guess it depends on how you view the statement. The posting refers to Matthew 5 where Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law but He did come to fulfill it. This is a baffling statement to say the least (especially to those there at the sermon on the mount) so Jesus follows it up with several examples of how the law fulfilled looks like. As you look through each, you will see Jesus say “You have heard it said” (and then refers to the law command) and then says “but I say to you” (and Jesus expresses a thought that goes into the attitude behind the law when God gave it). In many cases, Jesus throws out the list of things to do or not do by focusing in on the love behind the action. That doesn’t mean we run around and do whatever we want but it does mean that if we adopt God’s heart of love, we will naturally do what’s right because we want to and not because we have to. In other words, I don’t have to memorize the 10 commandments if i love like Christ loves. With love, I won’t want to commit adultery, murder someone, or lie. Jesus shows that it’s not about if we wear polyester, eat shrimp, or even if we technically just do “the right thing” … It’s about the attitude and the love behind it that matter most. I wouldn’t say Jesus cancelled many of the laws but I would say He fulfilled them and one would be wise to dig deeper into what this means.
Lie #2: The Old Testament isn’t for Christians.
I have never, ever heard this “lie”. Maybe it’s referring to what is above but the Old Testament has so much for us as Christians in our heritage, our testimony, our heroes of the faith and more. I do not know of a church that believes this.
Lie #3: Jesus moved the Sabbath to Sunday.
Again, I have never heard this said in my 40+ years of life. Any casual study of the Scripture would show that the Sabbath is on Saturdays and I have never heard a church say otherwise.
What I bet they are trying to address is that many churches worship on Sunday instead of Saturday and that this is a bad thing because it is not Biblical (from their vantage point). It also states that Jesus observed the Sabbath (which He did but not always in a way the religious leaders liked when it comes to healings) and that the early church did. They state that the Sunday worship came much later.
Sunday worship was observed not because of the Sabbath but because it was the Lord’s Day. The early, first century church (not the later church) started this practice to celebrate the day Jesus came back to life victorious over sin and death. It is a practice still celebrated today as well as throughout the week.
So do we worship on Saturdays or Sundays? What’s the Bible say? Well, according to Acts 2… they met together daily. I’m all for having a Christian Community that doesn’t just get together on a posted time and place but interact throughout the week in fellowship, worship, Bible study, and doing life together while reaching the world around us. I strive for it and hope others do too.
Lie # 4: Jesus and Paul started a new religion with Christianity.
Again, I have never, ever heard a church say this. I’m starting to wonder why these big lies are ones I have never heard. A matter of fact, I’m pretty disturbed by the picture they paint after this one stating that if you look at the church today versus the first century church, you would think they were two different religions.
I could agree to that on some reasons but not for the ones listed. I don’t think we are off track because we are not Old Testament enough… I think we are off track because we are not close enough to what Jesus taught and have gone back to cold hearts, following lists, and just trying to be good people.
Christians were first called Christians at Antioch by the non- Christians. It means Christ followers. The church there was so on fire for Christ, that the community around them compared them to Him. That’s what we need to get back to by being the salt and the light in the world in a way we represent Him.
I don’t know of one soul who ever said Jesus and Paul started a new religion with Christianity. It is clear that Jesus was coming to fulfill and bringing what it was intended to be.
Lie # 5: The Church replaced Israel in God’s eyes.
Again, who is saying these things? I have never heard this. Israel is God’s chosen people and through Christ, we are grafted into His family when we accept Jesus as Leader and Forgiver in our lives. We are adopted into His family when we repent by walking away from the old life and following Him. Christ ushered in the church age which is full of repentant Jews and Gentiles alike.
I have to wonder where are these lies being heard and who is saying them that I am so oblivious to them after all these years. Better yet, I wonder are they being said at all in the general community?
It almost appears more like an illusionist setting up a “reality” to create the point he wants to make.
Maybe I am wrong. Maybe these “lies” are out there (but I doubt it).
None the less, here’s my concern. Here’s the lie I would take issue with.
If someone who doesn’t know much about the Christian life sees this billboard and then visits the website, they would get the impression that every Sunday morning church is a bunch of lairs and this one church is the only one who has it all figured out. For most, that would be damaging, unloving, and untrue. It is my prayer people will look past their blog, my blog, and get into the Word and a local body church to see that the Truth is much better than this report of lies.
About Tom Hypes
