The Bible warns against us allowing the cares of this life to choke the Word of God out of us. Thus, rendering us unable to produce the fruit in our lives that God has planted. There has been a lot of distractions in the daily media that can be used to choke the Word of God out of us if we aren’t careful in guarding ourselves against distractions.
Some of the main distractions I’ve noticed have been racism, sexism, and an overall religious spirit. There is this woke mentality where even believers are questioning truths about Jesus Christ due to the gospel in America being preached with racist ideas.
Jesus’ name was used on one of the ships carrying slaves from Africa. It is referenced as “The Jesus Ship” or the Jesus ship of Lubeck. This is a classic example of taking God’s name in vain. God’s Word is clear that God will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain (Exodus 20:7). We have to trust God enough to judge those who use his name for something that does not represent his character. This is why we have to get to know God for ourselves.
Also, the name Jesus was a common named during ancient times. Just because someone uses the name Jesus doesn’t mean they are referencing Jesus Christ of the Bible. The Word of God was used to promote Black slaves in America to obey their masters, and Biblical principles such as anti-abortion and working are over-emphasized over the value of loving our neighbors in the Republican party which often identifies as Christian. If one isn’t firmly rooted in Christ and his Word for himself; how can he stand to continuing to trust in Christ?
It has been my personal prayer that the Lord would raise a standard against the false teaching and false ideology of anti-Christ being promoted in the Black community. The spirit of anti-Christ has attempted to, like a python, wrap itself in Black culture to choke out the word of God. However, this attack is a greater call for us as believers to do our diligence in studying the Word of God for ourselves and being open to learning about apologetics.
Finally, a Bible teacher and speaker whom I just recently became familiar with through his book, “Why Believe the Bible”, has spoken out against another teacher carrying the gospel simply because she is a woman. What type of foolishness? It’s simply a distraction. One distraction is to get Afro-Americans to devalue themselves and distance themselves from Christ; while the other is to get women to devalue themselves and become stagnant and bound up in not using our purpose to glorify Christ.
The final word on both of the above-mentioned distractions is that salvation is for all men including Whites, Blacks, Jews, and all gentiles. It’s God’s will that all men would be saved. This is clearly stated in the Word of God, and shown throughout the genealogy of God’s chosen people, the Jews. The Jews were not chosen because they were special, but because they were small (Deuteronomy 7:7.) They were chosen to be a figurative example of God’s commitment to his people. A greater covenant than what’s been shown to the Jews is currently available to all men through Jesus Christ. A good book recommendation to read up on these things is, “Every People and Nation: A Biblical theology of race” by Daniel Hays.
The second lie is simply ignorant especially for a Bible teacher or scholar. There is no special placement with God for being male or female. That means nothing to God. That’s why the Bible says there is no male or female in Christ (Galatians 3:28). There have been a few confusing scriptures when taken at face value however, but all we have to do is study it out to get the understanding. For example, women will be saved through child-bearing.
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. – I Tim 2:15
At face value, it appears that the scripture is saying women cannot be saved unless they have babies, but that leaves a lot of women out. Some women are infertile, others have not married and never will marry. How will they have babies in a God-honoring way? Well, that isn’t what the scripture is saying. When studied, in context, the letter is written from Paul to Timothy instructing him on how to respond to the false doctrine that had infiltrated the church at Ephesus that Timothy was given charge over.
There was a false god called Artemis. She was known for fertility and child-birth among other things. All of her devotees were women called, priestesses. They were infiltrating the Ephesian church putting fear in Christian women about not getting through childbirth safely if they chose not to worship her. That word saved in the Greek means: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction. Those who interpreted the scripture may have made the understanding clearer by using the word safe through child-bearing instead of saved. Safe is a word more similar to the Greek meaning of saved as we know it in the English language.
The Bible confirms the presence of worship for Artemis in Acts 19:23-41. There was a riot that started due to Blacksmiths and tradesmen being afraid that Paul’s ministry would put them out of business for making and selling the Artemis idols.
Looking up definitions of words, studying the historical contexts in Bible dictionaries, commentaries, and other reputable sources allows us to get a greater understanding of what the scripture is saying rather than taking someone’s word for it who has not studied. Unfortunately, some Christian teachers place their on biases in teachings relating to the scripture.
However, The Word of God will always confirm it’s meaning. It is better to believe and fear God and his Word than man. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by the cares of this life, but instead, study to show yourself approved unto God a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth. My point is that you need to know God for yourself. You need to know what he says about you for yourself. You need to know that God values and loves you for yourself. Don’t believe the lies, and don’t allow yourself to be distracted.
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