Almost but not Quite

      I was recently going through some change I had in my purse, and came across this Canadian quarter.  Here are the heads and tails pictures of it.

     

     This quarter feels exactly like a US quarter.  It is exactly the same size as a US quarter.  Without looking closely, it would be very easy to think it is a US quarter.  Somehow, it made it into circulation in the US, and somehow was given to me as change somewhere, and I didn't notice and accepted it (and probably the person who gave it to me didn't notice it and had accepted it, maybe all the way back to its original circulation in the US).  But guess what?  In spite of the fact that this coin has been used, and was given to me in a transaction, it isn't American money.  It isn't backed up by the United States government.  And yet functionally, it has been used as an American quarter.  In actuality, it is worth about 19 cents in American money, not the 25 cents it was being used to pay.  

     This is not my first time getting Canadian money, although it isn't something I've experienced terribly often.  I've even gotten British money a time or two.  I think most times foreign coins enter circulation in our country (or any country) it is probably an accident.  It would be interesting to know the stories behind all these coins that got into US usage.  But as relatively harmless as this is, it gives way to a deeper thought.  How do we let wrong things get into our lives?  Into our churches?  Into our homes?  Things that seem right, but aren't?  Wrong teachings make their way into Biblically-established churches.  Wolves in sheep's clothing make their way into positions of leadership.  How do we let that happen?  How can we prevent it?  

     Jude verse 4 (Jude only has one chapter) says, For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.  The previous verse tells us to contend for the faith.  This is what we must do if we discover these false believers.  But how do we prevent their infiltration to begin with?  Like Canadian quarters, they look like the real thing.  They feel like the real thing.  But they aren't.  

     How do you determine a quarter is an American or Canadian quarter?  You look at it.  Look at the inscription.  Look at whose likeness is on it.  If you take a moment to do that, it's simple.  As Christians, we need to put that same effort in looking at people and teachings coming into our churches as we'd take to look at money to determine its origin.  How does this person's words line up with the Bible?  What fruit is he or she bearing?  

     About 20 years ago, when I was finishing up Bible college, a man rose to prominence in the Christian community.  His name was Rob Bell, and he was known for his Nooma videos.  To get our reactions, our Bible college made us watch these short videos weekly (they were each about 10 minutes or so).  This man went on to rise up the ladder of Christian fame.  Several periodicals predicted that Rob Bell would become the next Billy Graham.  He was praised all over the place. Until one day, he went too far.  In 2011, he wrote the book Love Wins, which seemed to promote a universalist view that there is no hell, and no need of salvation.   And like that, he was no longer an evangelical hero.  Many felt let down.  Not me.  Not in 2011.  My letdown with him had come much earlier, back when we had watched his Nooma videos my senior year of Bible college (and I guess he continued making them for some years after I graduated, so I haven't seen them all).  

     While Rob Bell was a rising Christian star, I already saw that what he was promoting was about as real as a Canadian quarter in US circulation.  His videos didn't say anything outrightly heretical, but several of them criticized evangelism, and said we should focus on just making this world a better place, and not focus on eternity.  This is so contrary to the Bible, which urges us to evangelize (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8) and focus on the eternal (First John 2:17, And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.  Second Corinthians 4:18, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.). 

     Rob Bell used verses here and there to support what he was saying, but he used them out of context to give a wrong message.  For example, in his most anti-evangelism video, Bullhorn, he uses John 3:17, which states, God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world... and he used it to say we should never share anything negative about sin or separation from God, or even a need of a savior, because it's too condemning.  His conclusion was that we should just be kind to everyone and that was enough.  This is not what Jesus was saying at all in John chapter 3.  In that chapter, He said that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  Rob Bell conveniently left that part out.  In fact, he left off the last half of John 3:17, which says, ...but that the world through Him might be saved.  The Gospel is the Good News, not the Bad News!  But there has to be bad news in order to get to the solution we all need.  Would you rather have a doctor who says, "The tests show you have cancer, but we have a 100% guaranteed treatment plan for you, and you're going to be fine if you let us help you," or a doctor who sees your tests reveal that you have cancer, but tells you, "You're fine, just as you are!  Don't worry about it." It seemed to me Rob Bell was advocating the latter response. 

     I saw he was wrong, but nobody at the time listened to me.  They heard the verses he quoted.  They heard some things he said that made sense (for example, in the Bullhorn video, he is making fun of street preachers who shout the Gospel through a bullhorn, as if it's this big problem in our society. I agree it makes sense that that isn't the best type of witnessing technique, and people saw that and just agreed with him).  I have seen very few of these types of evangelists in my life.  While they may not be doing the most effective form of evangelism, that doesn't nix all evangelism.  Rob Bell used an extreme to preach against something Jesus commanded.  Nobody was picking up on that.  Rob Bell had to get to the point of heresy before the Christian world at large started to question him.  They should have questioned him much sooner.  He was making evangelists his enemy, instead of Satan.  He was making friends with the world, another thing warned against in scripture (James 4:4, Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?). Once his heresy was evident, the Christians did right and contended for the faith.  But it could have been prevented, and it requires us to carefully compare what is said to God's word, and listening to other Christians who might have a concern.  My concern was ignored by everyone, because they took him at face value.  We can't take anyone at face value!  We need to be asking questions.  What are the implications of what this person is saying?  What heart attitude are they pressing on us?  Is the Bible being used rightly, or ignored altogether--or even misused?  

     The Holy Spirit can give us discernment to distinguish truth from error.  When we find ourselves face to face with outright evil, we need to contend, just like I found myself in possession of a Canadian quarter, and I choose to remove it from circulation and just keep it as a reminder.  But before it ever comes to that, we need to be focused so much on the Word of God that when something doesn't quite line up, we can spot it and contend much earlier, before more damage is done!  

     This Canadian coin will serve as a reminder to me, and I hope to always use discernment to distinguish what is real from what isn't quite.  Almost but not quite isn't good enough.