Danger Ahead!!

Sometimes I feel like a man sitting on the side of the road with a sign that says, “Bridge Out Ahead!” while people continue to speed past me. I know what will become of these people if they do not turn around, but most of them continue going in the direction they were headed in, and some will even speed up to get to their destination of destruction even faster.

To be clear I am not even talking about people who are headed for Hell. Surprisingly, many people who hear the Gospel message will at least slow down. No, I am talking about people who are traveling the road toward theological liberalism and even apostacy.

How does the journey toward liberalism begin?

The answer to this question can be found in Genesis chapter three. Although not a direct statement to people today, the question posed by the serpent to Eve is still the one that gets the wheels turning in the wrong direction.

“Did God really say…?”

Whenever people come to question, and then defy, a direct statement from Scripture, they have fallen into the same trap as Eve. When we consider the religious devastation that is “deconstruction” today, we can easily see that this one simple question is at the heart of the issue.

As Christians we must understand that the Bible is written for our benefit.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

When we ignore what is written in Scripture, we are ignoring God Himself. In this article I am going to use a controversial Scripture as a primary example. My hope is that those who read this will see the dangers of ignoring the warnings of Scripture when it comes to matters of teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness.

The Word of God is our source for doctrine, not tradition or our own ideas. When we ignore what the Word of God says, or attempt to redefine what it says, we start down a path that can lead to destruction, not only of individuals, but of the witness of the Church to the world around us.

People who are questioning the Bible are ending up in one of two camps. They are either strengthened in their faith and, thereby, a more solid believer, or they end up denying the faith altogether and walk away from God.

We can see this happening within denominations as well. Take the biblical mandate that women are not to teach or to exercise authority over men, found in 1 Timothy 2:12. On the surface this seems like it could be Paul being a misogynist and denying women the ability to do anything in the Church. However, we have to consider what it really is. This is God-breathed Scripture, statements that are inspired by the Holy Spirit and then written down by the human authors. In other words, Paul is not the one saying that women are not to teach or hold authority, God is the one saying this.

In the past 100 years or so, there has been a surge of women in ministry. There has been a redefining of Paul’s words concerning women in leadership in the Church. I fell victim to it as well, for a time.

We hear things like, “This was only for a certain church in a certain location for a certain time period,” or “This was a cultural situation and not meant for today.” If this were the case, then I am sure that God would have been able to put something in His Word concerning an expiration date for this restriction. However, since He didn’t give any other commands concerning this issue, nor did He give an expiration date, then this restriction against women in leadership is just a valid today as it was when it was written.

Why is this important?

Look at the denominations who have started redefining Scripture and allowing women to be ordained as pastors, elders, bishops, or whatever they name their leaders. When they start with this one issue it opens the doors to redefine other areas where Scripture is clear in its commands.

The Church of England

In 1992 the General Synod of the Church of England voted to allow women to be ordained as priests. On March 12, 1994, at Bristol Cathedral, 32 women were ordained to the priesthood.

A few short years later, in 1999, the Church of England ordained its first openly homosexual priest. Although the CoE has a strict policy of celibacy for homosexual priests, the idea that an openly gay man can be ordained as a priest shows the value that the CoE places on Scripture.

“Did God really say…?”

The United Methodist Church

Although female ordination has been part of the Methodist movement since the beginning, with John Wesley licensing Sarah Crosby to preach in 1761, women were not given full clergy rights until much later. On May 4, 1956, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the General Council of the Methodist Church gave full clergy rights to women.

It took a little longer than the Church of England, but eventually the UMC did go the same direction. On May 1, 2024, the General Council of the Methodist Church voted to repeal its ban on homosexual clergy. There was no debate on the matter, which passed by a vote of 692-51.

“Did God really say…?”

Other Denominations and Their Stances

Some other denominations who have been engaged in the ordination of both women and homosexuals are:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began ordaining women in 1970 and ordained its first openly homosexual bishop in 2013.

The Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) ordained its first woman as an elder in 1930 and has been ordaining openly homosexual elders since 2010.

The Church of Scotland ordained its first woman as an elder in 1966 while, after much debate around the matter, began ordaining homosexual elders in 2011.

While this is just a partial list, the full list is quite extensive and covers a multitude of denominational backgrounds and ideas. But it doesn’t just include the ordination of women and homosexual persons. What about those who ordain women, but, at the time of this writing, still hold that homosexuality is sinful? That list includes, but is definitely not limited to:

The Assemblies of God

Church of God (Cleveland, TN)

American Baptist Churches USA

Baptist Union of Great Britain

Church of the Nazarene

My question for these churches, and those others who have compromised on the centrality of Scripture regarding women as leaders, is this: how long will it be before they also begin allowing homosexual pastors lead their churches?

“Did God Really Say…?”

If all Scripture is breathed out by God, as we see in 2 Timothy 3, and the Scripture says that women are not to teach or to exercise authority over a man, as we see in 1 Timothy 2:12, why do entire churches and denominations disregard this obvious command?

Either Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, or it isn’t. If it is, then these churches, and those who teach other ideas which are contrary to Scripture, are in direct conflict with the Word of God and blatantly defying the Creator of the universe. If it isn’t, then the entire Gospel message can be brought to question.

Which one of these scenarios is more plausible?

Thousands upon thousands of churches openly defying God by disregarding what the Bible says.

OR

God not really meaning what He said very clearly in the Bible.

Before you answer that question, remember the first words that we see spoken in the Bible after the creation account in Genesis 1 and 2; the very first words that anyone else says are, “Did God really say…?”

This has been the deception of the enemy of our souls from the beginning of time and it will continue to be his deception until he is finally thrown into Hell forever. Nothing is more pleasurable to him than to make God’s people question God’s Word. Historically, all it takes is that one simple question to start a snowball effect toward theological liberalism.

Other Examples

It doesn’t have to be on as grand a scale as large denominations questioning God’s Word concerning women in leadership. It can be something as small as a man questioning his place in the home. “Did God really say…” submit to Christ and love your wife as Christ loved the Church?

It can be a woman questioning her position in the family. “Did God really say…” submit to your husband as unto Christ?

It can be the questioning of any sin. “Did God really say…” that telling a lie, committing murder, fornication, adultery, envy, covetousness, and pride are all sins?

Sin, the Ultimate Reason

Throughout Scripture we see a multitude of sins. Throughout society we see many of those sins becoming acceptable as “lifestyle choices.” This is true for a variety of reasons.

First, we live in a fallen world. Since Adam first sinned, this world has been thrown into more and more debaucherous sin. At one point, the Bible tells us, that God got so fed up with the sinfulness of mankind that He completely wiped everyone off the face of the earth, except for eight people, Noah, his wife, his three sons, and their wives.

Second, the Church has fallen down on its job to reach the world. In an effort to win people over to God, many churches have moved away from using biblical terms such as sin, repentance, and holiness. They try so hard not to offend people that they have forgotten that the Gospel is an offense to the sinner.

Finally, many churches have simply allowed the world to infiltrate them. It is difficult to find a church these days that has not become an entertainment center. Between the rock concert that has become the music portion of the service and the motivational speech that has replaced the sermon, it is no wonder that people are having problems finding a biblical church.

Jesus, the Only Answer

There is only one answer to the problem we see in these churches. Jesus Christ must be foremost in everything that the Church does. He must be the center of everything that we do, say, and teach. The Bible is our source for His teachings. Without the Bible and the teachings contained therein, we are doomed to continue this never-ending cycle of sin rampaging through the Church.

What to do Now…

I can’t tell you what you should do about the church you may be attending. At the time I am writing this, my family and I are attending an Assembly of God church, one of the denominations that has been ordaining women for many years and, from the sounds of things, may be on the downward slide toward other errors as well. However, that is where we are at the moment, and I am helping the pastor there as much as I can without calling his entire denomination to the carpet.

What I can tell you is this: I am still here, holding my sign, doing my best to warn people of the danger that lies ahead. Is there anybody paying attention? Is there anybody who will stand along with me? Or is everyone just pushing the accelerator down a little harder?

Maybe they think they can jump the bridge if they pick up enough speed. Unfortunately, such a move only works in TV shows and movies.

What I do know is this: it will only be a matter of time before sin is found out and exposed. It will not stay hidden forever. Theological liberalism, at any level, leads to sin. While this is a warning to individuals to at least slow down, it is also a warning to those running these large denominations.

Yes, God really did say the things that are found in the Bible. Either He said it or the whole thing is false, and we are all living a lie. Honestly, I would rather believe that God said the things that I read than to believe that a bunch of different men came up with this big story over the course of about 1500 years and it all came together in what we have as our Bible.

“Did God really say…?”

Yes, and Jesus really said, “Get behind me Satan,” or as the ESV puts it, “Be gone, Satan.”

We need to tell Satan to “Be gone” both individually and corporately before lives are led to ruin and souls are led to Hell.