Not Trading my Mansion for a Shack

The assault on traditional Christianity continues to move forward at an incredibly alarming rate. The attacks that come from the world don't trouble so much but I am increasingly troubled by the way the church is being infiltrated by non-Biblical teaching that is disguised as being Biblical. I am also troubled by the ever increasing amount of Christians who seem unable or unwilling to discern truth from a lie. We have certainly surrounded ourselves with teachers who tickle our ears.

As dismayed and irritated as I get over the inflow of false teaching thinly veiled as Christianity it should not come as a surprise. The scripture has warned us of this for 2 thousand years.

2 Peter 2
1But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

Verse 3 certainly captures the essence of today's mass marketed "christianity." Rick Warren and Joel Osteen have certainly done a wonderful job of packaging their personal version of Christianity into a marketable format that has made them millions. We listen to diatribes about finding purpose, getting our best life right here and now, etc. etc. all the while ignoring the advice and truths of the Bible. No one seems to even pause and think that getting your best life now isn't even a Biblical concept.

Matthew 6: 19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

But we'll just ignore that because Biblical truth might cut into the profit margin. The other wonderful new book to hit the church lately is "The Shack" undoubtedly a wonderful piece of fiction that transforms the truth of God into a lie and is widely accepted in the church as a wonderful way to help people understand God. To understand a god or one man version god but not the God as represented in the Bible. God the Father who will punish sin is not represented in the shacks female god who see no need to punish sin because sin is a punishment in and of its self. Sounds nice and new age and might make you feel better about yourself by thinking you can make God whatever you want HIM to be but it still doesn't add up with the truth of the WORD OF GOD. One of the shacks defenders even wrote an article and stated that God has no gender. Well in the America of today that might be true, after all mom, dad, father, mother, are losing their meaning very quickly in a culture that is increasingly gender neutral and determined to blur the lines between male and female but like it or not folks the term "God the Father" is not gender neutral. This subject might need more attention later and I know that I am quickly coming to the place of being labeled as "legalistic, intolerant, outdated" and so on. If that what I must be to be faithful to my God then I will gladly embrace that definition of who I am. Regardless of what the world or the church may think I for one refuse to trade in my mansion in glory for a shack.