With the exception of what some atheists say about themselves, we all have spiritual beliefs. And we all believe that what we believe is the truth. But how often do we consider the origin of what we actually believe? I say actually, because often we say we believe something but our actions prove that we really don’t.
Usually we take on the beliefs of whoever we are following. Whether that be our parents, the religion we grew up in, the education we received, those we esteem as being wiser or better than ourselves, or our own reasoning, we rarely give much thought to why we believe what we believe. We believe because someone in authority told us to believe. We believe because it feels right to us. We believe because it seems logical to our way of thinking. We believe because it makes us feel part of a group. Or we believe because we had a spiritual encounter. Regardless of how we formed our beliefs, they become part of who we are. They can change over time as we learn and mature – if we think about what we believe – but for most people beliefs become set and are very hard to change. Have you noticed how defensive people can get when talking about them? Almost as much as when talking about politics. In my view, that’s because they are not looking at their beliefs objectively. Their beliefs go very deep in their hearts and they cannot separate who they are from what they believe.
Over the years, especially the last year or two, I have felt God leading me to examine everything I believe. I have been surprised, sometimes even shocked, to find out just how much of what I believe did not come from Him. I imagine the Jews at the time when Jesus walked the earth must have felt the same whenever Jesus spoke against some of what the religious leaders were teaching. He sometimes began by saying, “You have heard it said,” and then continue with, “but I say.” God had given Moses the laws they were to follow, but over the centuries, religious leaders added to them. Most likely, some had good intentions. Their job was to assist the Jews in their worship and sacrifices to God as well as to model how to live pure lives. They probably added laws that they felt made God’s laws clearer. But others added or enforced laws to increase their own power and prestige. Such were the Pharisees and the Sadducees that Jesus strongly and clearly spoke out against, especially with all those woes in Matthew 23.
Jesus warned against the danger of wrong beliefs by comparing them to leaven. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they (the disciples) understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Matthew 16:11b-12. Mark adds “the leaven of Herod” (Mark 8:15) so it’s not just what the Jews were learning from religion but also what they were learning from secularism.
So what do you believe? How do you determine what is true? For Christians, that would be the Bible. Not a religious leader no matter how famous or important or loved. Not your pastor or your family or your own reasoning. They may be preaching truth, but we should be like the Bereans in Acts 17 who examined the Scriptures nightly to see if what Paul was preaching was true.
When God told me to have a Scripture for each thing I told people in my blogs or other writings, I was amazed at what I found. Or rather, what I didn’t’ find. I was raised in a strict denomination with many rules and traditions. I was part of the early Charismatic movement with its heavy emphasis on the gifts of the Spirit. I got into the Enneagram when it was first introduced into my group of Christian friends. I followed the Word of Faith and the Prosperity Gospel teachings, again in its earlier days. I attended the services of varying denominations. I read multiple books on different religions and on the history of Christianity. I immersed myself in science fiction through books, TV shows, and movies. My faith – the things I believed – was knowingly and unknowingly influenced by all of these areas. As I began to examine what I believed by searching for it in the Scriptures, it turns out some of it was true, but a lot of it was not found in the Bible. In fact, some of it bordered on the occult and new thought (Christianized occult practices and beliefs) and was actually condemned in the Bible. I then had a choice: continue to believe what I wanted to believe, or repent and change to line up with God’s Word.
It’s hard to accept that something we hold near and dear to our hearts could be partially or completely untrue. Some that come to mind are…
God helps those who help themselves.
God wants everyone healthy and wealthy.
If I am good enough, I will get into heaven.
Being sick is caused by sinning.
Disasters in our lives are caused by Satan attacking us.
Jesus died for my past sins, but I have to pay for my current and future sins.
We are all children of God.
I used to believe each of those at some point in my life, but have since found Scriptures that reveal the fallacy of such beliefs. Let me know if you want me to send you some of the Scriptures I found.
Stay tuned. Next, I plan to start examining specific beliefs.
Note about the Bible, it’s important to read the context of whatever verse is being referenced. Biblical verses taken out of context can be made to say or support anything. John 6:27 is a good example.
John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
If we pulled this Scripture by itself without considering it in the context of the rest of the Bible, we might use it to believe that we shouldn’t have jobs. We might think that we should only do spiritual things and that our food will come directly from Jesus. However, reading through the other books in the Bible, we know that we are supposed to live in the world (have jobs, support our families) but not be of it (with the same world views, morality, ambitions). Our focus should be on the kingdom of heaven – spiritual matters – without expecting others to take care of us (see the last Scriptures listed below).
Scriptures:
Seven Woes to the Scribes and Pharisees
Matthew 23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,[a] and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi[b] by others. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.[c] 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.[d] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell[e] as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah,[f] whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
“You have heard it that was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Matthew 5:43-44
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:10-11
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own lands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Ephesians 4:28
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, Colossians 3:23
Nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:8
For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly, and to earn their own living. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12
Amazing God Stories 