Nuggets of Knowledge, Article 5
Blessed morning everyone and welcome to yet another installment of the Nuggets of knowledge series here at metanoiameans.com!
Today, we are going to talk about the big F-word…. FAITH.
So, put your helmets on and strap yourselves in, because this is going to be one exciting and wild ride!
Now, let’s get started. I am sure that most of you understand what the word faith means, whether you learned it from reading the previous articles in this series or not.
However, for those of you who may be new to following our LORD Jesus, our Heavenly Father YHWH and His Holy Spirit, the almighty triune God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, let’s first define it.
Oxford Languages gives the following three definitions:
Faith:
1. complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
i.e. “This restores one’s faith in humanity.”
2. strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than tangible proof.
i.e. “Bereaved people who have shown supreme faith.”
3. a strongly held belief or theory.
As you can see by reading these three definitions, faith is a strongly held belief, a complete and unwavering trust in something or someone.
In context of not only this article but this entire series and the life of a true follower of our LORD Jesus, the faith that is being discussed is one’s faith in our God.
There are many references and usages of the word faith throughout God’s Word (the Bible) but I personally believe Hebrews chapter 11 says it best.
My favorite portion of that chapter–the best-known portion of the chapter–provides us with what I believe to be the definitive, best (and likely best-known) definition of faith in Scripture: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
After this, in the book of Matthew chapter 18 verses 2-4 we read:
“And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’
If one was to read this portion of scripture and take it literally, not only would it sound ridiculous, it would also be impossible. We cannot turn back the clock and relive our childhood.
So, what does this mean? It means that we must have the faith that a child would have in their parents. A child trusts their parents unconditionally, they come to their parents with every want, need, desire, hardship and or question that they could possibly have.
Why? Because they have trust in or FAITH in their parent’s ability to help them and to get them what they need.
The verse is telling US that we must have faith like this in our almighty loving God.
All our loving God, who knows all things and can do all things, asks of us is to have faith in Him and to trust Him without wavering.
Sadly though, for many, that’s easier said than done. That fact is what brings forward the title for this article, a simple phrase that God gave to me while I was in prayer recently:
“Cotton Candy Christianity”
This article could also be called “Christ’s fair-weather friends.”
What are these two phrases not-so-subtly-hinting at?
Those who claim to have faith in our almighty triune God when things are going their way, but turn tail and run the second the tide seems to shift, as soon as things get a little rough.
Now, I’m not saying that all people who are struggling with something are “Christ’s fair-weather friends” nor am I saying they are “cotton candy Christians.” What I am saying is that those who expected their lives to be easy once they had submitted to Christ and bow out as soon as they found or experienced (what seemed like) the opposite are the ones in the wrong.
I personally have a great amount of respect for those who can face down one of life’s tough challenges and walk through it with their heads held high because of their FAITH in our all powerful God.
The word of God warns us who follow Him that our lives will not be easy, which is why it saddens me when I see or hear about a cotton candy Christian.
Psalm 34:17: When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
James 1:12: Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Psalm 46:1: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
John 16:33: I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
These scriptural examples are just a slight smattering of the ample warning we believers in and followers of Christ our LORD are given about the difficulties that everyone will face… once they decide to follow Jesus.
They do say that the life of a Christian will be a difficult one.
While this may seem scary to some, we have to look more closely at the verses. Each and every one of the examples given says that we have God to help us, to bring us through each and every hardship.
Those who live the life of a Cotton Candy Christian or a fair-weather friend of Christ tend to either forget or just not know that our God is here for us in everything we will go through in our lives.
He isn’t just here for the good times, coz He Isn’t a fair-weather Father.
He isn’t just here for the bad times, coz He’s not addicted to chasing drama (or attention by association, for that matter…
Our Heavenly Father Is Here through it all.
I have noticed that a lot of people tend to come up with their own version of our almighty triune God, their own “head-canon” if you will.
That is the most dangerous thing that any Christian can do because the fallacy can be spread like a disease, not only through the theological mind of that person, but that of anyone who isn’t well-enough acquainted with the God of the Bible.
Eventually, someone who creates their own version of Jesus or any of the three personages of the Holy Trinity will truly believe it and begin to worship the image they created. This breaks the very first of the 10 commandments given to Moses long ago. “thou shalt have no other gods before me”
It is vital for a follower of Christ to be well-versed in His Word for this very reason. If we are not seasoned readers of His Word, frequent studiers of His Word, then we cannot know who our God, the one true God, Is.
This can lead to even fervent true believers being deceived and pulled away from our loving, gracious and merciful Heavenly Father.
My heart hurts when I think of how many false gods are being preached in the modern church.
“gods” that condone homosexuality, adultery, promiscuity, thievery, murder, greed and much, much more.
These false gods not only condone and perpetuate confusion over the most basic of Biblical facts (ie the existence of just 2 genders–and the permanence thereof), they nurture, facilitate and spread it through false teachings, like those found in the false religion “progressive Christianity,” and its book, the “queen james bible”.
The God of the true bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the great YHWH the almighty triune God, the God whom I love, worship, adore, respect, and serve, does not condone sin.
He hates it and the punishment for it all is both spiritual death (the second death) and eternal separation from Him in hell.
The reason the above 2 paragraphs are even in this article is because they are showing the problem with not knowing the true God through His Word.
The enemy, satan, is a deceiver.
What better way to deceive than to spread false teachings and doctrines throughout the world.
What better way to wrench God’s children from His hands than to spread lies about Him and make it very difficult, if not impossible, for those who have not read the true bible to learn about Him.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to study the TRUE WORD OF GOD. It is the only way we can learn what our God Is truly like, and what He both wants and expects from us. If nothing else, it is our responsibility as Christians to learn His Word and keep it not only in our hearts but in our minds as well.
When our LORD Jesus was sent into the desert for trials that lasted 40 days and nights, he fought off the devil with the Word! Matthew 4:1-11 tells us about this period of trials that Jesus endured.
If even the only begotten son of God had to be well-versed in scripture, who are we to think we don’t have to be?
The devil roams the earth, looking for people to rip away from God, or as the Word of God puts it, to devour.
Anyone who does not read the word is like a lamb who is unaware of the dangers that lurk just outside of the fence their shepherd built. They will live their life just as they wish and when they get too close to the fence or go beyond it, get eaten by the wolves that hide in the shadows.
Who are the wolves? People who spread false teachings, whether they are inaccurate or incomplete, false teachings all do the same. They teach unsuspecting seekers of God and His Holy Truth incorrect things.
These teachings will have disastrous eternal effects on those who follow them. They will lead anyone who does not seek YHWH through His Word away from Him and to hell.
While studying up on false teachers and teachings, I found an excellent (and brief) list of False TeachINGS from Brother Allen Parr. (Check out the entire list, as well as its accompanying video, at https://www.pursuegod.org/7-false-teachings-to-avoid/)
#1 Every Christian can and should speak in tongues and needs to in order to be saved. The Bible teaches that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through speaking in tongues (Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:30).
#2 Christians can lose their salvation (Ephesians 1:4; 2:8-9; Jude 24).
#3 It is God’s will that every Christian be healthy and wealthy. Jesus’s death on the cross is for salvation from sins, not deliverance from worldly peril (Matthew 1:21). And countless faithful Christians (including Paul; 2 Corinthians 12:1-10) suffered physically.
#4 Christians can “claim,” “decree,” or “speak” something into existence. This is a misreading of Romans 4:17. Humans do not have the power to manipulate God. Even when we pray fervently, he is sovereign and his hand is not forced.
#5 Legalism. This is the idea that a lot of rules and regulations – and following them closely – will please God. Legalism says things like, “Real Christians don’t have tattoos… Real Christians never miss a church service.”
#6 Hyper-grace. This is the idea that because we’re saved, we can do whatever we want and God’s okay with it. This is an abuse of the freedom God has given us (Romans 6:2).
#7 Hell is not real and God is too good to send anyone there. Jesus speaks about hell as does the closing chapters of Revelation. (See 2 Thessalonians 1:9.)
The only way to know if something you are hearing or being taught is false is to READ THE BIBLE and study it. Beware of ANYONE who speaks false teachings.
Remember, false teaching of any kind is a disease that will kill your faith in the one true God of the Bible… if you allow it to take root in your heart and taint your theological knowledge.
Moving on to the propagators of half-truths and unwholesome heresies aplenty, I submit to you this excerpt (below) of an extensive list identifying church leaders known to spread false teachings; check out the entire list here: list of false teachers.
Some names that jumped out at me include:
1. Joel Osteen is a known peddler of the prosperity gospel, a devastating false teaching. teaches that we open ourselves to God to get more from God. He teaches that we use our words to speak into existence a better reality.
2. John Avanzini is another peddler of the prosperity gospel like Joel
3. Benny Hinn another known false teacher who also spread the prosperity gospel falsehood along with giving false prophecies
4. John and Lisa Bevere they use an abusive discipleship method known as heavy shepherding and also spread the teachings of Benny Hinn.
5. Joyce Meyer teaches that Jesus somehow stopped being the Son of God on the Cross
6. Kenneth Copeland is responsible for spreading many of the Faith movement’s unBiblical teachings. He distorts the Biblical concepts of faith and covenant. He reduces God to the image of man while elevating man to the status of God. Read this for more
Ok, now let’s circle back and see how this all ties together and what it all has to do with “cotton candy Christianity”.
The tie in for all of this is quite simple, actually: the best example for how false teachings create cotton candy Christians that can be found in this article is the “prosperity gospel” false teaching itself.
I just spent no less than two pages showing you all that our loving God did indeed tell us that our lives would be fraught with hardships and trials once we follow Him–and that our gracious LORD would bring us through them all.
HOWEVER, He did NOT say we would never suffer in any way or lack earthly things such as money.
The prosperity gospel is also known as the “health and wealth gospel,” it basically teaches that you can “speak into existence” or “manifest” a better life situation for yourself.
[Sally B. suddenly stopped by to add her two cent$ on this topic:
“The only thing these peeps be manifesting is more demons. Their church services are “worship experiences” meant to give us liver shivers, their “Bible teachings” are more like motivational speeches (at best) and abusive/terrifying/terrifyingly-corny pep rallies infused with witchcraft and “little g god” energy-raisings. I’m ashamed to admit that I was “confused” to hear an otherwise-excellent Bible teacher say, several years ago, all sorts of things about sowing into sermons and positive confessions and… like, YES, The LORD Loves a cheerful giver, and I would not think of stopping at ten per cent. But I’m NOT “sowing seed,” I’m giving it back To Him. If I give with the expectation or even the hope that I will one day receive, then I’m just lending it, aren’t I.
Being positive — as in NOT moping and whining–is great, coz life and death are in the power of the tongue. And sure, demons DO hear what we SAY (not think) and can, therefore, pull all sorts of shenanigans. Like the time I “overshared” (sorry, no such thing, lol) to my then-boss that my throat was like ground glass and I believed I had strep and couldn’t teach. Well, sir, even though I wasn’t convinced it was strep at first, it soon turned into that malady.
And that was NOT “speaking it into existence,” but rather, “I told a falsehood and I’d not be a bit surprised if God Taught me a lesson about fibbing,” lol.
But it could just as easily have been a demon listening to my fear that I’d not get to teach that day, and “obliging.”
Mayhap that’s where these Faithful Word-ness peeps get the idea
that you can blab it and grab it, name it and claim it. Because Ephesians 3:20, of course, and because it’s your season, your time to shine! Your breakthrough, which is on the way, cannot be thwarted, since “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” Every last physical ailment you have HAS to leave your body, because “By His Stripes, we are healed.
This is NOT sarcasm, btw, but rather “these verses be SO out of context, y’all, AND they’re not even reflecting the verses that Malcolm mentioned five minutes ago, aka “in this life, you WILL have troubles!” or “storms” !!
Ok, I’ll go back to my corner now, coz this article–like all of Malcolm’s–is super-fab! But before I do, may I just PROCLAIM that “Decree and declare” is no less unBiblical than the other things mentioned and/or ranted on in this little novella I dropped in here (by accident).
Ok! Back to the originally-scheduled program <3 :)))
_ _ _ _ _
Only our God, the God of the true Bible, has the power–and authority–to do any of that.
Read the creation story in the book of Genesis for more details, about the creative power of His words. We as humans simply CANNOT speak things into existence. We cannot put our hand out and say something like “let there be one million dollars” and have it just appear in our hands. Unlike our God who said “let there be light” and with His word alone, the vast darkness of space was immediately illuminated. The entire story of creation can be found in the book of Genesis chapters 1&2.
Any teaching that says we can create things in the manner that our God can is incorrect and unBiblical.
Anything that is found to be unBiblical should be avoided at all costs!
Why? Because it is not from our most gracious and Holy God. Teachings like that one in particular are tantamount to witchcraft and are therefore of the devil. ANYTHING that goes against the word of God is evil and is from the devil.
But…how do these things create cotton candy Christians?
False teachings create cotton candy Christians by lying about the capabilities of both God and man and also about core elements of the truth of our God. Example, Jesus Christ ceased to be the son of God once he was crucified. There is NOTHING in the bible that says that. You can search the entire book and you WILL NOT find any reference to that ever happening.
A Christian who falls prey to false teachings will develop an incorrect and unBiblical understanding of God that will crumble, fall apart, and fall away once life travels outside of the boundaries of the teaching. How many people do you think tried the “let there be a million dollars” prosperity gospel stuff and were sorely disappointed? I’ll tell you now that it is 100% of whatever number you come up with, our God does not work like that.
The dangers of a false teaching don’t just lay in what they can do to our perception and understanding of God but also our faith in Him.
How? If you listen to the teachings of the health and wealth gospel for
example, eventually you will get tired of not getting the million dollars you may have tried to speak into existence or having to go to the hospital for a serious illness or two that you “declared” healing over.
Then you will question the teaching that you listened to that told you that you would never have trouble in this world.
Once done questioning the teaching, you will then question God if you still think He exists by the end of your ordeal. That’s assuming you don’t abandon Him at the first sign of trouble.
Such is the spiritual life of a cotton candy Christian or a fair weather friend of Christ’s.
If a true follower of Christ who knows His true word from the Bible comes across a false teaching, they will be able to discern the fact that it is false and will not fall for that trap.
However, someone who is just starting out with their faith and is working on building their relationship with the one true God, the almighty triune God of the Bible, someone that does not have that much of His Word in them yet may very well fall for a false teaching.
The teachings of God that are found in His word are both timeless and boundless. Take for example the sermon on the mount, found in the book of Matthew chapters 5-7. Hundreds and thousands of years after Christ walked this earth, this sermon of His is still regarded as one of –if not the greatest–ethical teachings in all of history and is still referenced today.
These are some of the topics it covers:
1. Anger
2. Lust
3. Divorce
4. Oaths
5. Retaliation
6. Loving your enemy
7. Giving to the needy
8. Anxiety
9. Judging others
There are a total of 21 different topics that can be found in this sermon given by Jesus Christ, the Son of God Himself.
I don’t know about you, but to me, all of these are dripping in relevance, even in today’s culture.
I know that even if the devil tries to make it seem otherwise, the words of my God are eternal, just as He Himself Is and they will not fade from importance, nor will they fail.
Forgive me if it sounds as though I am tooting my own horn here, that is not my intention but Cotton candy Christians do not have that kind of faith in the teachings they follow. Their version of “god” that they created in their minds or that someone else gave to them would not test their faith at all, let alone test them daily in order to build it. Our loving Heavenly Father warns us against false teachers, false
prophets, false doctrines, and all other things that might trip us up during our walk with Him within His Word.
Scriptural warnings on false prophets and teachers:
1. Matthew 7:15
2. Deuteronomy 18:20-22
3. Galatians 1:6-9
4. 1 John 4:1
5. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
6. 1 John 4:1-6
7. 2 Peter 2
In conclusion, the brittle “faith” of cotton candy Christianity is a big problem we as Christians have to face. It is the reason that many people never truly learn about our wonderful, amazing and loving Holy God. This faith condition is mainly brought about by the failings of false teachings and imaginary versions of our beloved triune God. These are the non-Biblical versions of the Holy trinity that are fulfilling the whims of the world, not the events set forth by the Word of the one true God YHWH.
The horrible disease of cotton candy Christianity can be stopped, there is a cure: scriptural literacy.
We as Christians both young and old in the faith need to be well versed in the words of God so that we do not get taken in by the false teachings, practices, doctrines, theologies, and religions of the world, but instead stay firmly rooted in Christ Jesus and continue to Follow Him on the narrow path to heaven.
I encourage you all who have read this far to read each and every verse that I have discussed in today’s nuggets of knowledge installment for yourselves.
Stay out of the reach of the wolves of false teaching my brothers and sisters.
May the one true and living God bless you all.
Thank you for reading, see you again soon!
METANOiA Means 