Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Christian Facebook Groups
In Facebook, I am a part of several Christians groups. Sometimes it seems as if there are more posts about people announcing they are leaving the group than there are posts about Jesus. They claim that the groups are too filled with people who only want to argue, people who don't portray the fruits of the Spirit, or something similar. If you are someone thinking about leaving a Christian group for these reasons or something similar, you should think before acting. There are a few things you need to consider.
1) There are thousands of denominations in Christianity. All of them teach a different variant of Bible doctrines. So any generic Christian group is going to have a lot of people who disagree on how scripture should be interpreted.
2) Every group is going to consist of believers at every stage of their walk with God. Some will be well studied and have strong relationships with the Lord. Some will have knowledge but not have a good understanding. Others will have one foot in the world and it will show in the way they treat others. Likely every Christian group will attract some who do not believe and are looking to cause trouble.
3) If the group has a lot of good Christians in it, that is all the more reason to expect problems because the devil and his demonic spirits will have a greater desire to cause problems for that group. If the group is all sweet and perfect with no problems, it means one of two things. Either that it is based on a very specific set of beliefs and only those who believe that way are allowed in, or the devil has no reason to bother with something he already controls.
As I had already mentioned, we all are at different stages in our walk. If you are a baby Christian and not ready for the deeper teachings, maybe find a Christian group that is filled with "Jesus Loves You" memes. That kind of group will not do a lot for your knowledge of the Bible but it will help build your joy in the Lord maybe. At one point however, many Christians gain a desire to leave the milk behind and start eating meat. They want to learn deeper truths of God's Word. If you are one of these, you can join a group that really discusses scripture, but be warned there will be many, many debates as believers from every denomination will give their beliefs.
Let's be clear on this. Debating scripture is not a bad thing. When God drew me back to Him at the end of 2017, I had not been to church in many years. Every time I desired to go to church, God placed obstructions to keep me from doing so. Believe it or not that is what happened. Not that God thinks church is bad, but I truly believe God had plans for me to study His Word from a completely unbiased view. As I studied His Word, there were many times when I was told I had something wrong and I would take the info they gave me and look into it. In the end, sometimes I decided what they gave me was not correct and sometimes the evidence they presented was so strong I had to admit I was wrong. My own beliefs constantly changed as I searched for God's truth. If nobody was willing to step up and debate with me, I would still have several beliefs wrong.
The problem is not everyone is willing to open their mind to the possibility they might have something wrong. A lot of people will insist what they believe is right no matter how much you prove their scriptures are nothing more than man's interpretation in contradiction to primary scriptures which hold God's truth.
So debating scripture is not wrong. With so much false doctrine being taught in churches today, it would be wrong to let it go unchecked.
There will always be those who think they know a lot more than they do as well. God knows I used to be one of these. To my shame, I never fully read the Bible even once and used to think I understood it because I heard preachers preach it. I believed what I heard and had no idea how much I was taught that was false. Groups will be filled with these kinds of believers. They will preach what they think they know and then when someone corrects them and their pride is hurt, they will get upset. They will take it personal. Some will even get personal in their replies.
In the last couple years, I have lost track of how many times I have been rebuked. How many times I have been called out as being led by the devil and being a false teacher. I have even been called a false prophet a few times, even though I have never prophecies anything in my life. To put it simple, people hate it when you teach them anything different than what their pastors teach. That would mean their church is teaching them wrong and they can't accept that.
When you see people getting upset in comments, that is not a sign that the group is not of God. That is a clear sign that the truth is being taught and false doctrine is being brought to light.
Think about it. Thousands of denominations in Christianity. There is only one correct set of doctrines. This means that there is at least a 99.9% chance that you are being taught something wrong at church. The odds are high that you are taught multiple things wrong. So there is a high chance that when you come to a group that is really discussing scripture, you are going to find someone teaching something you don't agree with.
If you have studied a doctrine in depth and someone is teaching a false doctrine. Should you let it go unchecked? God forbid! The truth should always be taught and false doctrine should always be countered.
The problem is not that people are willing to debate scripture. That is a credit to them for wanting the truth to be taught. The problem is in putting your pride aside and being willing to actually consider what the other side is saying. Because nobody knows everything perfectly! We can all learn from time to time. And we cannot learn the truth if we are not willing to consider the possibility we are wrong.
It will all seem overwhelming to a new Christians. It will seem like fighting and arguing to some. But if the truth is not being taught, the devil would have no reason to cause trouble.
1) There are thousands of denominations in Christianity. All of them teach a different variant of Bible doctrines. So any generic Christian group is going to have a lot of people who disagree on how scripture should be interpreted.
2) Every group is going to consist of believers at every stage of their walk with God. Some will be well studied and have strong relationships with the Lord. Some will have knowledge but not have a good understanding. Others will have one foot in the world and it will show in the way they treat others. Likely every Christian group will attract some who do not believe and are looking to cause trouble.
3) If the group has a lot of good Christians in it, that is all the more reason to expect problems because the devil and his demonic spirits will have a greater desire to cause problems for that group. If the group is all sweet and perfect with no problems, it means one of two things. Either that it is based on a very specific set of beliefs and only those who believe that way are allowed in, or the devil has no reason to bother with something he already controls.
As I had already mentioned, we all are at different stages in our walk. If you are a baby Christian and not ready for the deeper teachings, maybe find a Christian group that is filled with "Jesus Loves You" memes. That kind of group will not do a lot for your knowledge of the Bible but it will help build your joy in the Lord maybe. At one point however, many Christians gain a desire to leave the milk behind and start eating meat. They want to learn deeper truths of God's Word. If you are one of these, you can join a group that really discusses scripture, but be warned there will be many, many debates as believers from every denomination will give their beliefs.
Let's be clear on this. Debating scripture is not a bad thing. When God drew me back to Him at the end of 2017, I had not been to church in many years. Every time I desired to go to church, God placed obstructions to keep me from doing so. Believe it or not that is what happened. Not that God thinks church is bad, but I truly believe God had plans for me to study His Word from a completely unbiased view. As I studied His Word, there were many times when I was told I had something wrong and I would take the info they gave me and look into it. In the end, sometimes I decided what they gave me was not correct and sometimes the evidence they presented was so strong I had to admit I was wrong. My own beliefs constantly changed as I searched for God's truth. If nobody was willing to step up and debate with me, I would still have several beliefs wrong.
The problem is not everyone is willing to open their mind to the possibility they might have something wrong. A lot of people will insist what they believe is right no matter how much you prove their scriptures are nothing more than man's interpretation in contradiction to primary scriptures which hold God's truth.
So debating scripture is not wrong. With so much false doctrine being taught in churches today, it would be wrong to let it go unchecked.
There will always be those who think they know a lot more than they do as well. God knows I used to be one of these. To my shame, I never fully read the Bible even once and used to think I understood it because I heard preachers preach it. I believed what I heard and had no idea how much I was taught that was false. Groups will be filled with these kinds of believers. They will preach what they think they know and then when someone corrects them and their pride is hurt, they will get upset. They will take it personal. Some will even get personal in their replies.
In the last couple years, I have lost track of how many times I have been rebuked. How many times I have been called out as being led by the devil and being a false teacher. I have even been called a false prophet a few times, even though I have never prophecies anything in my life. To put it simple, people hate it when you teach them anything different than what their pastors teach. That would mean their church is teaching them wrong and they can't accept that.
When you see people getting upset in comments, that is not a sign that the group is not of God. That is a clear sign that the truth is being taught and false doctrine is being brought to light.
Think about it. Thousands of denominations in Christianity. There is only one correct set of doctrines. This means that there is at least a 99.9% chance that you are being taught something wrong at church. The odds are high that you are taught multiple things wrong. So there is a high chance that when you come to a group that is really discussing scripture, you are going to find someone teaching something you don't agree with.
If you have studied a doctrine in depth and someone is teaching a false doctrine. Should you let it go unchecked? God forbid! The truth should always be taught and false doctrine should always be countered.
The problem is not that people are willing to debate scripture. That is a credit to them for wanting the truth to be taught. The problem is in putting your pride aside and being willing to actually consider what the other side is saying. Because nobody knows everything perfectly! We can all learn from time to time. And we cannot learn the truth if we are not willing to consider the possibility we are wrong.
It will all seem overwhelming to a new Christians. It will seem like fighting and arguing to some. But if the truth is not being taught, the devil would have no reason to cause trouble.