Excerpt from Beth Moore "When Godly People Do Ungodly Things:" Part 2 "WISE UP!"

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[Janet Easson Martin]

Part Two

WISE UP !

The following are small excerpts clarifying the difference between godly relationships and spiritual relationships which so confirmed to me the seduction I knew I had experienced at GCx.  God also used this bible study to prompt me to begin writing on this very warning site. These quotes are found over the entire 'WISE UP' chapter Bible Study workbook (2003), pages 79-100, by Beth Moore; not just the 'Beware of the Web' section, highlighted previously.

Satan's plans are ugly, but God makes them sooo beautiful that Satan wishes he'd never touched us. Here are some of the quotes by Beth that are such good news and relief to us who have an inkling we've been hoodwinked, and maybe a shock to others who think that all "spiritual" relationships are good and approved by God. All bold emphasis below is mine. Be blessed as you skim-read this revealing workbook chapter below:


"Jesus came for the express purpose of connecting with people. If we are going to connect, we must learn to develop godly relationships instead of spiritual relationships." ...

"Our focus this week will be guarding against relational seductions and perhaps a host of other kinds of unhealthy relationships by making sure we are healthy..."

"One of the synonyms for the word schemes regarding Satan's tactics specifically against Christians in Ephesians 6:11 is trickery... If Satan wants to seduce a spiritual person, he's often going to use spiritual bait. We're going to learn something highly important as we seek to seduce-proof our close relationships with the church community: the goal is godly relationships, not spiritual relationships.


     What might be the difference between a godly relationship and a spiritual relationship?


     Have you ever been involved in a spiritual relationship that was not godly?  Explain.

 

... Remember this: Spirituality does not equal godliness in either party nor does being deeply spiritual about Christian things.  All sorts of seductions take place in spiritual settings. The point is not to get cynical or suspicious but to get protected and make wise, discerning decisions.  Awareness of the possibility is key.


     In your own experience, how has Satan disguised himself?



Do you question whether those Satan could use readily against another could be Christians at all?  You may recall in Matthew 16:23 that Satan used Peter against Christ.


     Read 2 Corinthians 11:14-15.  What does Paul say about Satan in verse 14?


     What does Paul say about Satan's servants in verse 15?



Do you see the scriptural possibility that Satan can use believers in all sorts of ways if given the opportunity?  He simply can't possess them.

...We are going to have to find safety in Christ, hiding ourselves in Him..."

"Let's address one more example of nonsexual relational seduction in hopes that you'll have enough information to recognize the messy lines that put relationships at risk. We have referenced two primary texts in our study: (1) 2 Corinthians 11:2-3, where we are warned that a wholehearted, sincere, and pure devotee to Christ can be seduced by the serpent and (2) Matthew 24..."

"...In the example in 2 Corinthians, Paul implied that if the Jesus others preach doesn't sound like the Jesus he preached, it's not the same Jesus! Both of these brands of impostors are fairly outward and obvious examples of false Christs. I'd like to submit to you that Satan can also seduce us with a far subtler kind of false Christ.

      Anyone who becomes a "Christ" to us constitutes an unhealthy and ungodly tie no matter how spiritual he or she may be.  Whether or not the person intentionally solicits dependency and devotion, Satan's scheme is to subtly transfer the deep devotion the believer has felt to Christ to a mortal instead."


      "Have you ever had anyone in your life who became a "Christ" to you?


      How did you develop such dependency on the person?



Any relationship in which we begin to emotionally attribute some of the biblically specified activities of Christ to a person is not only an unhealthy tie, it is a mess.  God will not share his glory with another. He will neither bless nor tolerate someone becoming a savior to us."

"Job 8 speaks of those who forget God somewhat like the one who transfers his or her devotion to a false Christ. Surely "what he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web" (v.14). Isaiah 59 speaks of the unrepentant whose fingers are stained with guilt and whose lips speak lies and wicked things. They conceive trouble. They spin a spider's web (v.5).

...Wisdom comes from recognizing both how webs are spun and how to avoid them."

"We have discussed sexually relational seductions and then two examples of nonsexually relational seductions. All three examples had messy ties as opposed to the clean ties that protect the believer from seduction. All of them formed sinful entanglements.
...

     Have you ever been in an entangling relationship? If so, how did you get into the tangled mess ?


     How can we keep our relational ties healthy and clean?  Keep Christ between them!
...

     Do you have someone in your life who refuses to respect clean lines? What is your greatest fear in putting distance between you and this person?"


Beth closes this workbook chapter with the reason Paul kept healthy clean ties with those he discipled and pastored.

..."his desire was their devotion to Christ -- not their devotion to him. God-ordained yokefellows are jealous for us to be God's, not theirs.  Godly accountability is never codependent."

[Janet Easson Martin]

We Must Obey God Rather Than Ungodly Church Leadership

“I’ve heard way too many stories of church leaders who are clearly not walking out their leadership in a godly manner, yet for some reason the Christians in their church feel like they must continue to follow and obey that church leader. Why?
. . .
I believe this belief that Christians must obey and not contradict or stand against church leadership, comes from several key verses that are utilized by ungodly leadership to try to falsely manipulate people into obeying them. Verses like Romans 13:1-2 “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”
. . .
Who do we answer to? Romans 13:1-2  “There is no authority except from God.”

Ephesians 5:23  “Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body . . . the church is subject to Christ.”

Col 1:18 “And [Jesus Christ] is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

If what God says in the Bible differs from what your leader says, Biblically you are to obey and do what God says in His word not what the leader says. God is the authority and God has preeminence.

How do we know this is what this means?  Act 5:29 “Peter and the other apostles answered and said [to the religious leaders]: ‘We ought to obey God rather than men’”

Challenge: Please do not think God has mandated you to follow ungodly leaders or obey them in their evil. If you are being told by a church leader that you must obey them even when what they say contradicts the Bible, it’s time for you to say as the apostles did, “I must obey God rather than you.””


*All emphasis mine.


These are excerpts from an article by Given Hoffman. I quite agree with them. GCx Church Leaders have often taken errant and convenient liberties to twist scripture to manipulate and profit their own interests. They have stolen verses about a wife submittting to her husband even when he is unreasonable and turned them to serve their purposes with errant GCx leadership.

They have implied that they share the same biblical authority as those in governmental roles (as this article demonstrates is common for ungodly leaders). Over and over they claim it doesn’t matter if they are wrong; if they teach something that isn’t biblical truth, if they treat their people with continual condemnation and themselves with constant commendation, if they teach lies and impart terror to manipulate people to remain in their possession (for their use and “glory”); -basically that godly people must obey ungodly church leaders.

Who says? You cannot find that claim in the Bible about church leaders. So, God DOES NOT SAY THAT.

I love the simple solution, when church leaders are claiming “authority” that is not godly, we must listen to and follow God rather than those men. This is what the initial disciples of McCotter should have done when ungodly words, actions, and patterns surfaced. They should have talked to God about this, searched scripture, and followed Him rather than McCotter. They should have left the ungodly or rebellious “church leader.” By staying, knowingly supporting, and exulting him; they themselves became ungodly.

Those people who left for this reason were actually FOLOWING GOD, not the opposite as they were unrightly slandered and undeservedly maligned. Beware of any church who tells you those who leave are in sin. That is what False Teachers tell their people. God commands our first love and loyalty to be Him, not a group of men or a man himself.

By the way, the fascinating author, Given Hoffman, writes inspirational fiction for boys among other things, grew up and was homeschooled in Minnesota. Guessing some of you may be familiar with her though I was not. You may want to checkout her website about why and how she writes - very cool!!


Do We Have to Obey Ungodly Church Leaders? - from “when the rocks speak” by Given Hoffman
https://whentherocksspeak.wordpress.com/2020/06/15/do-we-have-to-obey-ungodly-church-leaders/