““My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray
and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered
over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.“
Jeremiah 50:6
This picture of the house of Israel during the time of their Babylonian captivity is somewhat prophetic of the modern church. Now, this is not represented by the entire church of today, but for the most part the modern Christian church is lost, led astray by false teachers and their own desires. They have forsaken the way of purity and prayer; they have abandoned the way of quality and discipleship for quantity and a cheap gospel.
Christians, more than ever, need to know what they believe because there are plenty of false gospels around. There are gospels that tickle the ears with tales of a God only of love and no justice. There are gospels that spread a blanket of love and acceptance, with no thought to sin, immorality and consequence. There are gospels that preach to a nation of broken people, offering only quick fixes and easy solutions. The true gospel is neither quick nor easy; it is completely against the world.
As Christians, if we know what the Bible teaches, we will not be led so easily astray by these false teachers. If we swear allegiance to God alone and not to a man, whether they are prophet, priest, or king, we will not be so easily led astray. But it is too easy to place our trust in man. It’s so easy to not have to learn on our own and use the ear of critical thinking when we listen to our preachers preach. If we want to keep from wandering, we need to learn to listen to the voice of the One, True Shepherd: Jesus.
* A disciple studies to keep from wandering
Application: Where do you place the majority of your trust: in the Bible or what the preacher says about the Bible? Are you wandering or following the True Shepherd?