 The book below is available in paperback books & printable downloads: 3rd Edition, completely revised beyond online 2004 first edition. 2008 version at a donation price.Deliverance book 1: Major Christian Deliverance Principles: Keys for Self-deliverance and Ministry
Chapter 1. The Fallibility of the Church CHAPTER 1 SUB-TOPICS: - The Church (body of Christ) is Liable to Err
- Nature of False, Erroneous or False Teachings
- Consequences of Church Errors on Believers The Church (body of Christ) is Liable to Err To begin with, every sincere and practicing born again believer in evangelical circles is heaven-bound. Not even hell can contest that. We are sealed as God’s children in the body of Christ and the Spirit in us bears witness to that. However, it would be wrong to assume that all the doctrinal beliefs held in our various evangelical denominations are infallible or free from error. The church, the bride of Christ, is fallible and liable to err. By the end of this book you’ll understand how fallible we are and that in our fallibility we are still 100 percent God’s children and his elect. You’ll also learn that being in err has its consequences in this life. It may not affect our place in eternity if we are innocently deceived yet it does affect our outcomes in this life. That is why it’s not worth entertaining erroneous teachings when they are revealed. No single denomination can claim to be free from error on all its doctrines and beliefs. Such a claim would be at best naοve and at worst an expression of pride. It is a false assumption even when we may not know what the major error(s) may be. The Lord has exposed some level of error in every church and denomination throughout history. Thus even today no single denomination can be the exception, not in this fallible life. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says “The history of the church shows that it has been as liable to error, and as readily influenced by natural conditions, as any other human institutions,” (ISB Encyclopedia, “Authority in Religion: V. Classification of Theories”). Exposing the errors has been our Lord’s way of building, growing and maturing his church. Those that made changes have steered the church to higher levels of obedience, truth, and usefulness. The Bible says we do not yet have perfect knowledge of everything, until this present world passes away. “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.” 1 Corinthians 13:9-10. The imperfect knowledge we have will be replaced by the perfect. We therefore only know in part, according to the level the Lord chooses to reveal. More revelation brings more freedom and more power in the body of Christ against Satan’s works on earth. “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” John 8:31-32. A truth revealed to correct an error is therefore a sign that the Lord is taking us to a new level of freedom. It’s a sign that he is closing the door Satan legally used to attack us through our ignorance. We understand that hell will stop at nothing in attempting to rob or even destroy God’s elect. Deception has been his major weapon of attack. Deception feeds on ignorance. Our level of deception therefore depends on our level of ignorance. The Lord also allows that we remain ignorant on particular truths we may not be able to handle. “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear,” John 16:12. At each point in church history and even in our individual lives the Lord has been revealing more to us in relation to what we can effectively bear. There is therefore more to be revealed to us in the measure that we can handle. He reveals to us the amount we can handle per time. This often happens when dealing with revelations that will drastically change our understanding. By the time we get the whole truth we’re able to accept it without it seeming controversial. It’s able to replace old beliefs we had always assumed were true. Nature of False, Erroneous or False Teachings False doctrine in the body of Christ refers to teachings with biblical half-truths containing errors that misinterpret the scripture. Presence of false doctrine does not imply a particular church or denomination is a cult. Far from it. A cult in its broadest meaning represents groups that worship or give reverence to a deity other than God, Father of Jesus Christ and deny the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. False doctrine and cults can therefore refer to two separate matters, even though cults by their nature follow false doctrine. As Chapter 1 shows, church history has shown that every church body has had some level of error uncovered at some point or another. That error constituted false doctrine but did not imply that believers who fell for it were part of a cult. This book is therefore, not about exposing cults but about false doctrines in the body of Christ. It is primarily about revealing and correcting one area of false doctrines: on Christian deliverance and deliverance ministry principles. The book is also not about attacking or condemning any individual, church or denomination in body of Christ. It is about pointing out erroneous and harmful teachings that pose major hindrances to believers and ultimately the entire body of Christ. The book uncovers the errors on Christian deliverance and deliverance ministry principles that have entered the body of Christ trapping many sincere believers who practice them. The biblical truths contained in this book facilitate their freedom from all consequences of the false doctrines on deliverance teachings. False doctrines or false teachings at their lowest level are a hindrance to true Christian living. At their worst level they are severely destructive to a believer spiritually, emotionally, socially, materially, or even physically. For example, the false doctrines on slavery and gender biases brought psycho-social humiliation of inferiority complexes and economic deprivation on discriminated groups. Although other religions and cultures still embrace primitive gender biases our focus here is where scripture is misinterpreted in order to justify false beliefs. One of our most recent false beliefs in the body of Christ are on Christian deliverance teachings. This book and its companion on spiritual warfare, titled Major Spiritual Warfare Principles: Biblical Do’s and Don’ts of Warfare, reveal how and why the spiritual warfare and Christian deliverance errors have among the worst consequences among false doctrines currently circulating in the body of Christ. Thankfully there is a way out and there are actually bible based principles that bring freedom. More content available in the Third Edition of the book: Click here to acquire it Deliverance book: Major Christian Deliverance Principles: Keys for Self-deliverance and Ministry © 2008 Eric Gondwe, BMC, MBA, DD
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