1 There will also be false teachers among you, who
will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who
bought them… 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of
them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their
greed they will exploit you with false words… -2 Peter 2:1-3
False Doctrines for the Desperate and Needy
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| Zionists are seen all over Zimbabwe |
The
propagation of the idea that the purpose of Salvation is for man’s own benefit
and glorification follows a direct parallel to the false gospels put forth
today. And the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy due to the brutal corruption of
government within its borders has squeezed out a vast plea from the people for that
of a more pleasurable disposition. Hence any gospel which offers prosperity and
happiness is snatched up as quickly as it is put forth. These humanist regimes
which have slipped into a soft sheep’s clothing merely seek to deify man
and either completely abolish, or at least lay low, the Creator into a position
under the dominion of man’s counsel and ruling. Such false teachings include “prosperity
preachers” and Zionists which are both rampant in Zimbabwe.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor
Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and
their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became
fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an
image in the form of corruptible man… 24 Therefore God
gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity… 25 For they
exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 28 And just as
they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper. -Romans 1:18-28
A Core of the Gospel
With this in
mind, the brunt of our teaching was on the essence of the true Gospel, dealing
with Repentance, Full Salvation, What is a Christian?, The World vs the Word, I
am not Ashamed of the Gospel, The Beatitudes, Suffering, Revival, and a few
other important issues. We tried, although scarcely ourselves holding even
a glimpse of its enormity, to establish within the seminar participants the
utter and infinite chasm between our ways and the Lord’s as is well described in
Isaiah 55:8-9. Whether their eyes were opened and their stony hearts torn out
and replaced with flesh is a matter which rests in the Lord’s hands.
What about Baptism?
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| First seminar's participants |
So
on Saturday, we crossed into Zimbabwe, having an
opportunity to bring greetings the next day to those at a Baptist Church. John (one of the staff at Frontline) and I each gave a
greeting followed by a sermon from David (Frontline Missionary). For the next 3
days, the 3 of us held a seminar there at the church. In addition to the above
mentioned lectures, we included films in the programme, such as The Biggest Question (working through
the various aspects of salvation: justification, sanctification, and
glorification), Hell’s Best Kept Secret
(on the importance of proclaiming the true Gospel, using the 10 Commandments to
convict people of sin), 3 Days in Sudan
(testimony of a journalist's experience with one of Frontline’s Missions to
Sudan), and the Revival Hymn (a
compilation of sermon clips from various Revivals). One of the biggest issues that
arose there concerned baptism: Is Baptism required for salvation? What is its
significance? Are salvation and the filling of the Holy Spirit separate from
one another, or hand in hand? The discussions following the questions during
lunch and even after each day’s seminar showed the interest of several of the
participants curious about what the Bible had to say about these things.
Examine Yourselves!
In
addition to the seminar, John and I also had the privilege of speaking at their
youth group one evening. I started by working through some of first 1 John,
challenging those there, “Test yourselves
to see if you are in the Faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize
this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the
test?” (2 Cor. 13:5); that a
person who loves the world does not have the Father in him, no matter what
“good” he might appear to be capable of. Then John gave his testimony as an
illustration of the complete difference between a life of the world and a life
set on Christ. Having previously experienced a lot of the primary issues and
struggles of the youth there, his testimony proved very encouraging and
challenging to them.
A Heart of Humility
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| Teaching at the Baptist church |
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| David giving morning devotions |
Fifteen
minutes’ drive from there, was another Baptist church, where we held a seminar for the
following 3 days (Thurs—Sat). The structure was very similar to that of the first seminar. However, after our team’s thoughts regarding the previous schedule, we
decided it was critical to also show A
Call for Discernment, in which Justin Peters systematically tackles the
all-too-popular doctrines of the “health, wealth, & prosperity” movement—and
indeed this kindled much discussion. It was encouraging to see just how
responsive these seminar participants were – and how humble the pastor was!
After David had explained what Discipleship really was, the pastor stated in
front of his own congregation: “I always used to think that big crusades were
the best way to witness, but I was wrong and now see the importance of
one-on-one discipleship. That’s something I’ll have to change.”
So that’s a blessing?
The
topic of suffering paralleled with their previous understanding of the Gospel
(sole prosperity) brought up quite a controversy as to whether that was right
for a Christian to endure. David questioned them as to what they considered to
be the biggest blessing, then putting it into perspective through passages like
James 5:1-3, Matt. 6:19-21, and Phil. 3:7-11.
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| Sunday's service |
That
Sunday, David went to preach at another church, and John and I stayed at that church. After I preached on “A Holy God before a Lofty and Lowly
People,” John spoke on “The Kingdom of Heaven.” Then followed a time of prayer
for about half an hour, in which time the prayer request for courage and
boldness in going out to witness seemed very prevalent.
Yes, we’ll embrace suffering!
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| Morning seminar participants |
After that, we held two seminars at another Baptist Church: one
in the morning, one on the afternoon. We again repeated the programme for the
morning seminar. But in the afternoons, as we didn’t have as much time, we
decided to keep the programme very simple and leave plenty room for discussion.
Conversation was stirred by questions to them such as “Why should you go to Heaven?”, “Why are there so few on the right path?”, “Will God pardon you if
you’re really sincere?”, “What if you’re sincerely wrong?” and so on. I was
quite encouraged to see, even before I began the lecture on suffering, their
unanimous agreement on the fact that as Christians, not only will it occur, but
that suffering for Christ’s sake is a blessing in itself and that through it “I may know Him and the power of His Resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil.
3:10).
The Church Plant
From there, we journeyed with a pastor and a few of the youth 3
hrs north to another small village where the pastor wanted
to plant a church, primarily because of the terrible influence this prosperity
gospel was having in this area. So we erected a large tent and that evening
held an open air gathering for the people in the surrounding area.
The
next morning, we had a time of Devotions with a few of the folk from the area,
based on Matthew 23 and the whitewashed Pharisees. Then we talked about where
the power comes from to overcome sin including James 4:1-10.
Work Within the Worker
Concerning Missions, I’ve heard it said that it’s comprised of “2% what we did for the
lives of those we ministered to, and 98% what God did in me!” To a large extent, I
would concur with this statement, especially on this last Mission. God moved in
my life in such a profound way to get me to realize more fully the extremity of
a simple principle:
God is Holy.
I am a wretched, hell-deserving sinner. God’s ways are not my ways, nor His
thoughts my own. I am as nothing to Him and regarded by Him as less than
nothing. The greatest works I can put forth are as dirty rags.
Hence passages such as Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans5:6-11; Luke 17:7-10 mean all the more. How fascinating that such a simple
concept can be so readily ignored, rejected, and despised by man unless God has
done a work in that person’s life.
What a mighty God we serve! Praise be His
Holy Name!
