Teachable Moments

1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping – 2 Pet. 2:1-3 NIV

The New Testament writers following in the footsteps of their Master, warned that in the last days false teachers will become prevalent. Such false teachers are religious in their character and are found in the church.

Notice in the above passage verse 1, Peter said that there will be these false teachers “among you.” When they teach in order to recruit and influence others, they do so “secretly.” The content of their message are heresies that are destructive in origin and they end up going so far as denying the Lord who bought them.

Where do these teaches get their messages? Do they have a direct hotline to God? No. Peter says in verse 3 that they are so greedy in their shameful ways that they will go so far as to teach people “stories they have made up.” But God sees what they are doing and their judgment is forthcoming.

Below are a couple of examples I wanted to show you. Each of these true stories would be bad enough if they had been taught by those who are not a part of Christianity. But these are clergymen and churches who because of their abandonment of the bible, have taken upon themselves heresies which are destructive in nature.

Example 1: A Clergyman Teaches His Church that It’s Okay To Steal. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

A clergyman has been criticized as 'highly irresponsible' after advising his congregation to shoplift following his Nativity sermon.

Father Tim Jones, 41, broke off from his traditional annual sermon yesterday to tell his flock that stealing from large chains is sometimes the best option for vulnerable people.

It is far better for people desperate during the recession to shoplift than turn to 'prostitution, mugging or burglary', he said.

The married father-of-two insisted his unusual advice did not break the Bible commandment 'Thou shalt not steal' - because God's love for the poor outweighs his love for the rich.

But the minister's controversial sermon at St Lawrence Church in York has been slammed by police, the British Retail Consortium and a local MP, who all say that no matter what the circumstances, shoplifting is an offence.

Delivering his festive lesson, Father Jones told the congregation: 'My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.

'I would ask that they do not steal from small family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices.

'I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need.

'I offer the advice with a heavy heart and wish society would recognize that bureaucratic ineptitude and systematic delay has created an invitation and incentive to crime for people struggling to cope.'

You say, “Pastor Rich, this is over the top. Telling people that it is okay to steal from others (the rich) because of hard economic times would certainly constitute heresy."

I most certainly agree. But, let’s use this story as a teachable moment. Don’t we also take the liberty to steal as well when we want to? You say, “What in the world are you talking about?” Read below –

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.” But you ask, “How do we rob you?” "In tithes and offerings” (Mal. 3:8).

Stealing from the rich because they can afford it maybe also the same mindset that some Christians have when robbing God. “It’s okay to steal from God. He won’t feel a thing.”

So you see, it is incredibly disturbing to imagine a pastor telling his people it is okay to steal from others when you need to. But don’t we also take the liberty when we want or need to do so to rob God of the tithes and offerings that belong to Him?

When I read stories like this that shake me to the core and get me all excited with holy anger, I remember how God captured king David’s attention. After David had committed adultery and had the husband of his mistress killed (2 Sam. 11), he tried to go on with his life as usual. But God loved David too much to simply leave him alone in his state of unconfessed sin. So the Lord sent to David a prophet named Nathan.

The prophet was a wise man. He approached David with this story: 1 The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, "There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 "Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him” (2 Sam. 12:1-4).

When David heard this story he was enraged and said, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity” (vv. 5-6).

You see, it is easy to see the sins of other people, but oh, so much harder to see where it applies to us. Once Nathan understood that David was angry with such an evil act, Nathan nailed him: "You are the man!” (v. 7).

Therefore, when I come across such stories as the one above, I think of David and wonder, “Am I also doing the same thing without realizing it? Why did you have me to read this story, Lord? You got my attention. I am angry with this pastor. Now do I need to look within my own heart and see if there is any correlation?”

Example 2: A church billboard showing the Virgin Mary and Joseph in bed apparently after having disappointing sex has caused outrage among Christians in New Zealand. www.telegraph.co.uk

The large poster depicts a dejected-looking Joseph lying next to Mary, whose eyes are turned heavenwards, under the words: "Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow."

Archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to lampoon the literal interpretation of the Christmas conception story "and that somehow this male God impregnated Mary".

"What we're trying to do is to get people to think more about what Christmas is all about," he said.

"We actually think God is about the power of love as shown in Jesus, which is something quite different than a literal man up in the sky."

Another church, another pastor, another heresy. This is what happens when pastors and churches abandoned the bible. They think with such small minds. In their thinking, no one can be pregnant apart from having sex. But that’s the whole miracle behind the Christmas story. God did not have sex with Mary. He implanted Jesus into her apart from the physical act of procreation. This is the reason why she is called a “virgin” (Luke 1:27).

But liberals cannot handle the miraculous. The God that they believe in is natural, common, man-centered and certainly not the God of the bible.

Would seeing a billboard like the one described above in front of a church outrage you? I think most Christians would be offended and outrage over something like that.

But is it not also true that our lives are a poster or billboard that tells the world something of what we hold to as truth? It is not uncommon for me to step away from the worship service for a moment to use the restroom before I preach. I walk out front where cars often pass by and where people come walking into church, and see Christians lighting up a cigarette or talking in cliques about things that really could wait until a better time.

You see, a poster like the one described above tells us a lot of what kind of messages are being preached within that church. We don’t have to go in and check it out ourselves, we merely have to look at the poster in front of the church to get an idea.

So it is also with each of us. Our lives are the church’s poster in shopping malls, at home, at work, among our neighbors, on the sport field, and in front of church. People walk or drive by and they see what is written on the poster and conclude, “No need for me to step into that church and mingle with those Christians. Based on the poster, I already know what messages are being preached and what those Christians are like.”

Aren’t you glad God is not finished with us yet? There is still a lot more work God has to do. But it behooves us to do our best to cooperate with the Lord so improvements to our lives and our character will be Christlike.

The next time you read stories that outrage you, ask yourself, “Okay Lord, is there any correlation to me that I need to know?” God won’t lie to you. He loves you too much to let a good teachable moment slip by.