Week of March 18

Salad Bar Spirituality
By Skip Heitzig

Whenever people reject the authentic, they’re open to anything and everything. Today’s spirituality is generic. I call it a “salad bar” spirituality. The attitude is, “I’ll have a small order of Christianity--I like that “judge not” part and the Golden Rule, but cut out all the rest--add a little Hinduism and some Buddhism, maybe some New-Age spices...” If you have that kind of mentality, a lot of people will arise to serve it up.

But does everyone who claims to speak for God actually speak for God? No! In Matthew 7:15, we’re warned to beware of false prophets. When you decide to go through the narrow gate, you’ll find some hanging out by the gate who want to widen it. They don’t agree that there’s only one way to get to the Kingdom, through that narrow gate. Who are they? They’re fake sheep. They look like sheep, but inwardly, Jesus said, they’re wolves.

Even under the umbrella of Christianity, the lines of truth are getting fuzzier. Some years ago, the World Council of Churches sponsored a symposium of 25 theologians who came up with a document that included this statement: “We find ourselves recognizing a need to move beyond a theology which confines salvation to the explicit personal commitment to Jesus Christ.” That is helping pave the way for the compromise of truth.

You don’t have to look for the wolves; they’ll come to you. And they’ll be beautifully disguised. They’ll seem sincere and good, and they’ll seem to love. But don’t be swayed by someone’s charm or education, or even by signs. Lift up the fleece and see the wolf underneath.

Here are some good tests for finding the wolves.

Their character: When the Holy Spirit comes into a person He starts changing that person, and it will be evident. Look for the fruit of the spirit, found in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. These will be lacking in those who are false.

Their creed: That means what they say about God. The creed of false prophets is that there is no narrow gate, that there are many ways to God. They’ll deny the essentials of the historic Christian church, and they’ll attack the person and work of Christ. You should follow the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11. The Bereans didn’t accept even Paul’s word, but they “searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” Doctrine matters!

Their converts: Watch the effect of the teaching that is being disseminated in the lives of those who are receiving it. It’s not always readily apparent, but it will eventually erode their spiritual walk.

So stay in the Word, listen with discernment, don’t be fooled by sheep costumes, and stay away from that spiritual salad bar!

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