A Journey Through Ephesians… 4:14-16

Then you will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way, more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Eph 4:14-16

Gosh I didn’t see this one coming. I have so much emotion reading this passage it makes me want to cry.

False teaching today looks different than when I grew up. I feel the biggest problem were TV preachers sharing prosperity gospel or taking donations and buying fancy cars. Well, that is what Mamaw said was false teaching, anyway.

But today. Oh my.  Our kids are fighting a new war.

False teaching is not wearing a navy polyester suit on a 12” screen.

False teaching today sounds a lot like love. Acceptance. Self-expression. Speaking, not The Truth but “your truth.”

False teaching sounds like freedom… Freedom to believe what you want and be who you want and love who you want and smoke what you want and watch what you want. It’s boundary-less. 

And life without boundaries is not freedom. Or loving. It is dangerous.

Verse 14 offers us a promise. 

We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. And today’s society is quite breezy.

Last night, Luke and I went for a walk. And in the road, about five feet ahead, there was a long stick – right in the middle. Well, it was a stick until it moved.We stood motionless, clutching each other’s arms until our “stick” slithered his way into the brush on the shoulder.

Snakes and sticks looks the same. Until you get too close.

We need to identify snakes before we come up on them. And they hurt us.

Or they hurt our kids.

The placement of these two scripture come right off the heels of Paul’s explanation of the Five Fold Ministry of Jesus. Friend, we need those roles in our lives to help equip us for the false teaching of our day. And I KNOW how hard church came be for some. It is a broken group of people all under one roof trying to look more like Jesus. Not a place full of perfect people who already look like Jesus. But even if you have been hurt by the Church in the past, I can’t encourage you enough – try again. Get plugged into the body of Christ. Maybe you already are! … but I know some reading this are not. Oh how we need each other – our kids need others, too.

We need as much reinforcement of Real Truth as possible. We want the next generation to not be “influenced when people try to trick them with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” False teaching is a cancer in our culture. Arguably the worst it’s ever been.

“Little t truth” is sneaky and seems good.

False teaching preys on those rooted in “nothing.”

False teaching preys on those rooted in “everything”.

And it can easily persuade those with a very loose knowledge of God. 

David Benner, in his book, Sacred Companions writes, “A friend who was unhappy with the church had an interesting reply when I recently asked him why he continued to attend, even intermittently. He answered that he was afraid that he would stop growing if he dropped out of the church. He went on: ‘even if I get nothing out of the service that day… church keeps me in touch with others on the spiritual journey. Spiritual growth is just too hard to maintain alone.'”

Yes it is. We need each other to point out sticks in the road. We need each other to hold on tightly until the hard times pass. We need each other to say grounded and not tossed about. These are windy times, friends. Let’s stay connected.

Spiritual growth IS too hard alone.

And forgive the different fonts today LOL. I couldn’t get it to do right.