Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. |
Bible Question:
I am brand new to this site. I am in urgent need of advice from fellow believers. I am a member of a church in WV. My husband is a deacon. We have a man in the church who is more highly recognized and sought out than our Pastor. He was a "founder" of the church from many years back. My problem is with him. He has some very strange doctrine. I will mention a few. 1. Paul had the same experience as the apostles at pentacost ( I don't doubt this part), but in the same upper room and 40 years AFTER his conversion on the road to Damascus! 2. Lazarus was not really dead when Christ called him out of the tomb. 3. Satan, the devil, and Lucifer are not the same being. 4. Satan has been transformed into an angel of light and is now a good angel. 5. The devil is locked away in hell and does not go to and fro through the earth seeking whom he may devour. He claims he just paces back and forth in the pit. This is just of a few of the outrages he teaches. He preaches ocassionally in the church, but he is on our radio ministry every Sat. evening. He is not overt about this in these two situations. He is more subtle. He takes young believers aside and goes into their homes and subverts them. My husband and I have talked to the pastor about this and he seems unwilling to force this man to stop. He periodically preaches the truth about these things esp. the devil part, but does not contrast the truth to the lie. (gives the doctrine of the lie and shows how it is false). He says he has told this "elder" that he does not agree with this doctrine. But the man is in rebellion and will not stop teaching it to others. The last conversation I had with my pastor I told him he need to be more careful because he is responsible for the "sheep" and is responsible for what we are fed from his pulpit and from his church. He told me that he was no more responsible than anyone else. This brings me to my question. If he is telling us, my husband and me, that we are also responsible then I cannot let this go on. I feel one of us has to confront this and present the truth. We have to tell this man to stop subverting the others or we will take him before the church. Am I correct on this process? I have spoken with other ministers and the youth pastor and the church is so divided and torn. All with any maturity know this is a lie but the young christians are saying they are so confused and don't know what to believe. Any help from anyone even if you need to correct me I need to know. I plan to act swiftly. I am ready to leave this church if this doesn't change and I don't want to do that if I can avoid it. Thank you and God Bless you all. Theresa |
Bible Answer: Theresa, while it is impossible to know all the things that may or may not be going on in your church, and consequently any suggested remedies that anyone on this forum can legitimately offer are necessarily general ones. If your pastor tells you he is not any more responsible to the flock than you and your husband, he clearly is abdicating his sacred vow that surely he must have taken when he was ordained as a pastor. He should lead the movement to put down heresy in the congregation with whose spiritual feeding he has been charged. Are there other factors in this equation, perhaps? Does the troublemaker, for example, wield a heavy hand over the pastor and the congregation because, for example, of financial or political power? You mention that this person is a "founder" of your church. It's sad to say that "founders" can, and do, come to think of the church as "mine" instead of the Lord's. Vanity has been around a long time....Another question popped into my mind when I read your plea. To what extent are other members of your church irate about what is happening? Your husband is a deacon. What do the other deacons think about this? Is the offender himself currently on the deacon board? I don't know what your church's government is. In the church I attend, the local congregation is autonomous; that is, we are not governed by church hierarchy....If the majority of your congregation is either neutral on this issue, or supportive of the person you clearly see as a heretic, and you and your husband can no longer tolerate the conditions, clearly you have no viable choice but to absent yourselves from this church and seek another, with the guidance of the Spirit, that is more in line with your convictions. That's precisely what my wife and I, along with some 40 other members of a church of about 200, had to do some four years ago. The issues were not the same as yours, but the principle is the same. I might add that not for one moment have we had any cause to regret the decision we made. If anything, we rue the fact that we did not make it sooner than we did. Please don't construe my words to mean advocacy of flight over a valiant effort to effect reconciliation. Pray earnestly over the matter and do everything you can to mend the breach short of sacrificing your honest convictions. Try to rally as much support for your cause as you can. Suggest a meeting with the parties involved, including the troublesome person, the deacons, and your pastor. Try to bring everything out into the open and deal with it firmly and frankly, but in the spirit of Christian charity. Then, having done all, if the situation continues to prevail, for your soul's health you and your husband would probably be wise to cast your nets in another pond. I shall remember you and your church in my prayers. --Hank |