Perceptions vs. Biblical Truth

Our perceptions sure can lie to us, can't they? How many times has someone misinterpreted your written word or misconstrued your actions? Perceptions are always skewed by bias and clouded by limited vision and finite minds, so we must guard against allowing perceptions to shape our beliefs.

Sadly, the American church is filled with seminary professors, church leaders, pastors, and lay people who fall into this trap all the time. To attract more followers (and sadly for some, to bring in more money to pay for Mrs. Meyer's many jets and all the multi-million dollar homes she buys for her children or to fund the Osteen's lavish empire), teachers will preach on the feel good scriptures while omitting the passages that are convicting or uncomfortable. By presenting half of the truth (ie, "You do not have because you do not ask") without the "in Jesus name' - or "according to His will" or without mentioning that those who follow Christ will be persecuted and suffer for righteousness (yes, suffering is promised while getting filthy rich and possessing magical healing powers and kegs of water from the fountain of youth are NOT - not in this life anyway, but get ready for the next for that's an entirely different story), they preach a false prosperity gospel that leads people astray.

By JGHowes at en.wikipedia (Jeremy Rasmussen, photographer)

In this culture, perceptions often lead people to focus on the Bible verses that speak of God's love while rejecting those that speak of sin or His standard of holiness. Christ followers are individually responsible for examining God's word for themselves so they can know their Lord's identity fully and distinguish between false teaching and the whole truth of God, just as the Bereans modeled so faithfully. We must be very skeptical of any teaching that comes from a leader who does not place himself or herself under LOTS of Biblical accountability or who tries to exert too much control, for such a leader will inevitably corrupt God's word.

Beth Moore described this alarming trend in the church so well when she wrote, "What we see, hear, and experience can be so glaringly persuasive that we end up scribbling invisible addendums and corrections all over Scripture. Like the half-man/half-goat in Greek mythology, our theology ends up in the shape of a mythical half-us/half-God. We create our own blend based on the parts of Scripture that match our perceptions. Fusion becomes the answer to our confusion."

And I would add that such fusion only compounds our confusion and results in delusion.
If any changes or white-out were needed for the divinely inspired (2 Peter 3:16), complete, authoritative, always relevant, perfect word of God, then God would not have inspired this final warning in the last chapter of Revelation:

 “18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19)

Let us be discerning and faithful stewards of God's word, "wise as serpents and innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)