A few weeks ago while sitting in church listening to the sermon, our pastor mentioned six false expectations believers might hold. He then listed these false expectations that were written by Randy Alcorn.
Here they are:
1.God’s love for us should look just like we want.
2.We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
3.Jesus must return in our lifetime.
4.Life will go smoothly and we will always have health and wealth.
5.Life will be fair and people will treat us kindly and thoughtfully.
6.Churches owe us better treatment than we’ve received.
After hearing these false expectations, I couldn’t stop thinking about them and agreeing that many believers might be trapped in one or more of these.
What do you think?
Randy Alcorn reminds us that these six false expectations “are not grounded in Scripture and undermine our happiness.”
As one who has been in Christian ministry for a few (okay, more than a few) decades, I’ve seen too many in the church who have held onto some of these false expectations.
This is sad.
And even more sad, I’ve seen people walk away from the faith, partly because they were instructed by a false teacher that these expectations are biblical. They eventually become disappointed or hurt, and walk away.
Jesus said, “…false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
Paul shared these words with Timothy: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Those of us who teach the Word of God, whether from a pulpit, small group living room, or church classroom, we have a responsibility to teach God’s word faithfully and not foster false expectations.
We will tackle these false expectations over the next few days and share the biblical alternatives. Of course, as always, your comments and thoughts are welcome.
Also, if you would like a workshop for your church on How to Study and Understand the Bible, please contact me. We can do this in-person or virtually.
Blessings.
Here they are:
1.God’s love for us should look just like we want.
2.We won’t be persecuted for our faith.
3.Jesus must return in our lifetime.
4.Life will go smoothly and we will always have health and wealth.
5.Life will be fair and people will treat us kindly and thoughtfully.
6.Churches owe us better treatment than we’ve received.
After hearing these false expectations, I couldn’t stop thinking about them and agreeing that many believers might be trapped in one or more of these.
What do you think?
Randy Alcorn reminds us that these six false expectations “are not grounded in Scripture and undermine our happiness.”
As one who has been in Christian ministry for a few (okay, more than a few) decades, I’ve seen too many in the church who have held onto some of these false expectations.
This is sad.
And even more sad, I’ve seen people walk away from the faith, partly because they were instructed by a false teacher that these expectations are biblical. They eventually become disappointed or hurt, and walk away.
Jesus said, “…false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
Paul shared these words with Timothy: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)
Those of us who teach the Word of God, whether from a pulpit, small group living room, or church classroom, we have a responsibility to teach God’s word faithfully and not foster false expectations.
We will tackle these false expectations over the next few days and share the biblical alternatives. Of course, as always, your comments and thoughts are welcome.
Also, if you would like a workshop for your church on How to Study and Understand the Bible, please contact me. We can do this in-person or virtually.
Blessings.
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