We have a Trinity symbol with a heart because we believe that the only source of life is God Himself, and love empowers us as we begin to love as God loves.

Below is a challenge to listen carefully to a message and learn to discern if the teaching leads you to God or away. This discussion is submitted humbly for your consideration by someone who has been asking these questions for over forty years.

Be careful if you are someone who would want to teach.(James 3)
The responsibility of being one who teaches is not to be taken lightly. People hear the words spoken and, amazingly, attempt to put them into action in some cases. It is this response that requires careful attention on the part of the teacher. 
What response is the teacher asking of the hearers? Are you asking something of the people that you yourselves have already done? Or that you have already experienced? Or are you teaching things you have not or are not willing to do? Is the concept that you are teaching today part of your life? Has the truth taken hold in your own life? Is it TRUTH? Is it possible that you have heard of this truth and maybe have seen it in others genuinely expressed, but you only know that truth as a concept and not as an actual life-giving reality? Be careful, therefore, what you teach.

Unfortunately, the temptation to craft a message and the relentless ongoing schedule to come up with material can cause a teacher to merely select teaching that fits a series or a need and overlook whether they have any authentic experience or maturity in the area of their topic. What ends up happening then is conceptual, theoretical ideas presented, but with no authority behind them. No matter how forcefully or creatively it is given, the power comes from God Himself working the truth into the teacher’s life and bringing a humble understanding of the application of God’s work in the teacher’s life over time. Applying a Spirit-Inspired truth results in knowledge that can be transferred to the hearer, not simply communicated. This knowing of truth is different than knowledge. It is something that becomes part of the person, part of their being, and comes out of them through their very pores because it is in them. So – be careful what “truths” become known.  

Similarly, many teachers have life experience with the concept they are about to teach, but the worldview and paradigm related to the work of God could be clouded. It is an unfortunate fact that as soon as a person hears the truth and applies that truth by the Grace of God, they can be tempted to think more highly of themselves in the application of the concept and forget that it is only the Grace of God that they were drawn to it in the first place. Pride enters in as the teacher develops the message and the application. “My, how blessed it is that I am not like those I am teaching… I have already applied this truth and will encourage these non-adopters to apply it as well….”  (Warning in Luke 18)
What results from this temptation to think more highly of oneself is a message that takes a solid, Spirit-led concept that was life-giving to the teacher and turns it into a formula that requires the effort of the self and neglects the dependence on the Spirit that initiated it, in the beginning. 

The message instead now calls the hearer to the effort of application as a means of achieving a blessing or a result. 
The teacher can wrongly interpret that the process they did in their own strength brought about the sanctification and can focus on trying to teach people the process. What began with a relationship with the Spirit and was God-breathed and empowered in the process of the teacher’s sanctification can end up being a formula of law in the hearer. Although the application of Biblical principles through one’s effort will result in increased discipline, blessing, and even miraculous change, it does not produce fruit that will be lasting. Look at the people of Israel, who embraced righteous living and were blessed, only to turn away once again. 

As well – the glory goes to the person who applies the principle, and not back to God. God is merely left to be the One who owes the person who uses the principle correctly. He ends up being the other side of a transaction instead of the One Himself that is the end of all things and should be the relational center of everything we do and are. I’ll speak more about this in a separate discussion.

Is Biblical teaching the same as theater? Is Biblical teaching the same as motivating? Is Biblical teaching the same as selling?  Is Biblical teaching essentially advertising? Do people need to be treated like consumers or customers who need to be convinced to change their behavior to get some goods or services, or benefits? I’ve heard it described as all of the above, and in some cases, people evaluate teaching much like they would a good Ted talk, an excellent sales presentation, or a motivational pre-game speech from a coach. People who are teachers can fall prey to the desire to manufacture a response in their hearers by creating the following sequence of emotions, which, interestingly enough, also can be paralleled in a gospel message. Keep in mind that the teacher is not necessarily malicious in attempting to create this response, but merely may be repeating a pattern in their own life that seems like the way to get people to change. So – do not judge a teacher’s motives. There is not much difference between an excellent motivational speaking meeting and a sermon in today’s evangelical church. We who are hearers of teaching have learned patterns of hearing messages that feed into a cycle of manufactured response.  We all have been part of this process.

Here’s the sequence: Warm Up/Build Connection/Show the Gap or Lack/Provide a remedy/Close the Deal/Cool Down 

First, the teacher wants the audience warmed up and in a good emotional state. I’ve been to many services where the singing and worship warmed up to the message. In church, these could be the opening songs intended to “bring the Spirit” or, at the very least, help the audience feel open to God.  What may at one point in a church or movement’s beginning was an open, honest, heartfelt acknowledgment of the glorious person of God and His Grace has now become an opening act, with the trappings of emotion and the crowd dynamics of group adulation. Many worship leaders have discussed how a specific song brings the proper response. The music “creates the atmosphere so that the Spirit can be Himself?” – Interesting.  In other settings, this warm-up can be an opening act or a funny, witty, warm, or inviting pre-speaker. With the right environment or mood having thus been created, the teacher can enter and prepare the emotional state for the correct response.  Sometimes, both dynamics are used. The group will use music and a funny, witty, warm, inviting pre-speaker. Also, at this time, credibility is built around the group identity of the congregation, so people will be at ease about just how great this group of people around them is.  Video testimonies, stories, and news items, usually geared toward building credibility in the organization or the group, will enhance the credibility and authority of the messenger and give more openness to the concepts about to be discussed.  

It is now time for the main event: The message or the teaching. Now comes the time to create a sense of lack. Using strategically placed Bible verses, the speaker lays out the gap between Biblical principles and the audience’s behavior. The more a message can expose the opening, the better. If possible, the teacher will want the audience to be caught in a state of tension, maybe a bit of guilt or shame, and see how they have fallen short of a clear expectation of behavior or belief. 
Keep in mind that belief is the behavior when trying to do this type of manufactured response in the teacher’s mind. There is no difference if the gap is one of belief or faith, or actions.  Having faith is not trust in a Faithful One – it is an ACTION that is expected. Behavior in a certain way or believing or having faith that leads to action is all the same – it is behavior. So – if the gap is exposed between the audience’s behavior or belief and the expectation laid out in Scripture, and the audience is sufficiently wounded or pricked with an awareness of their “lack” (guilt/shame/remorse, etc.), they are now ready to hear the remedy.  The teacher working on the emotional response manufacturing may have become agitated themselves and angry, emotional, or otherwise tense during the description of this “gap” or “lack” that is so egregious to a Holy God. 

The remedy is presented as the answer to the emotional feeling of the “lack” The remedy will resolve the inner conflict you feel and address the gap between the audience’s behavior and God’s expectation. The remedy will be presented, and along with that will be the promise of some blessing, redemption, better behavior or outcome, healing, provision, peace, or any number of other contractual obligations. If you apply the remedy, you will get this in return.

The sales process has begun to make its closing. Today, the teacher has shown you how you don’t match up. Today, the teacher is offering you a way to close that gap and begin to match up to the expectation. If you do this today – you will get this great reward. So don’t wait any longer, the teacher/salesperson urges – ACT NOW, assistants are standing by, MAKE THAT CALL, and get your reward.  
It is usually at this point that a teacher attempting to manufacture a response may become more emotional or introduce another story that is charged with emotion. The testimony will tell how responding in the way they want you to respond resulted in the reward in their own life or the life of another. If possible, background music can accompany the final plea to enhance the emotion. The goal is to get the audience to feel the need to DO the called-for behavior, action, or belief. If some swells of chord progressions enhance the emotion, then sure, go ahead. Final chances are offered to the audience to commit to the activity, behave more in line with the standard, or respond with the response that was called for by the teacher. There is an urgency, as “phone lines will be closing,” and you must act now. Sometimes, another song is presented as a way of relieving the tension or adding to the sense that the time to respond is coming to an end. If there was not a good enough response or willingness exhibited, the speaker/teacher might come up again during the song or after and re-urge people to not lose their opportunity to change their behavior and close the gap.  

Sound or feel familiar? I’ve been in thousands of services with this exact sequence of events. I’ve participated and taught in services with this precise sequence of events. I’ve been in planning meetings with teams to discuss each of these sections and how to deliver them to an audience better. Not much of this sequence is Scriptural, but it has been honed and perfected through cultural means for a long time. We in the church can judge whether a weekend experience was “great” or not by how well we were led through the emotional cycle of warm-up, group identification, lack, gap, or conviction, remedy, motivation to solve the lack or gap, and resolution. If we add in a touch of 2-3 minute shallow conversation and some coffee, we will probably experience weekend “greatness” and pay our bill….

So – how do we determine if a service or teaching that we are in is Biblically sound? How do we filter out what is emotional manipulation and sales presentation from God’s own voice through the Spirit? Can’t I simply enjoy the experience of feeling like I’m close to God, realizing how my behavior doesn’t match up, and being offered a way to close that gap and go home? Why must I be critical or think critically about my experience?  

I believe that it is imperative that all people learn to discern whether a teaching is profitable or not.

 In Acts 17:11, the Bereans were commended for hearing Paul’s teaching but then checking it against Scripture to see if it was true. The system that I described above has been in place for over hundred and fifty years in most churches. IT IS NOT WORKING. For the most part, people hear messages, and it is not resulting in transformed lives. Sure, people may adjust their behavior for a period of time, and the teacher may be able to talk about how great a response they got, but the evidence is showing that people who regularly attend church and call themselves Christians are just as powerless and worldly as those that don’t. Life is not happening, and fruit is sparse.  

So – how do we discern? The key point in watching the above sequence comes in the presentation of the remedy and in the anticipated or called-for response. Here’s what to watch for and avoid if you can:

BACKGROUND: 
Life in Christ should lead to a walking with God that empowers you from the inside out by the Spirit to have a desire to follow and be empowered to behave in more and more Christ-like ways. It is the work of Christ to be the Author AND Perfector of your faith. It is the work of the Spirit to lead you into truth. It is out of abiding with God that your life produces fruit.  This fruit and the results of this connected, abiding life are the things that will last eternally. It is ONLY the actions that spring from this connected life that produce eternal fruit and are of God. Anything that is done apart from this connected life is actually fruitless and is not eternal. Your behavior can not “connect” you to God. Jesus Christ provides the connection to the Father, and God sends His Spirit to bring new life into you and out from inside you to sanctify you and produce fruit.

If you hear a message describing a “gap” in your behavior or “Christ-likeness” that provides a remedy that is based on your effort, or your faith, or your faithfulness, or your own motivation to change, it more than likely is focused on a self-empowered attempt at closing the gap. It more than likely will involve you feeling motivated to do more, believe more, change your behavior, and get a benefit from that. Let this be a warning – If you embrace this path, you may get a reward, but you will be stepping onto a treadmill of behavior modification and performance that will lead you away from understanding God’s Grace.  

If you hear a message that says the way to solve the gap or lack is for you to become MORE FAITHFUL, or to have an increased amount of a certain behavior, then it very likely is a teacher who has forgotten that becoming like Christ is a relational thing and not a performing thing.  The teacher themselves may have had, at one point, a relationship with God that was filled with life-giving living water but has forgotten that the source of life is God Himself and not the behavior or the process of the behavior. The source is God, and a relationship with Him facilitates the power to be new. The perfecting of our faith is trust in the Faithful One, not a process of our own doing, which causes Him(God) to be obligated to behave for us based on our faithfulness. Teaching that asks you to follow the law, whether created in Scripture or added by the teacher, and does not correspondently help you receive the Grace of God to connect you to the source of power for that behavior is leading you astray.

This kind of error has been around in the church since the beginning, as well-meaning and some outright deceitful people infiltrated the truth of the New Covenant by focusing on behavior modification as a means to demonstrating faithfulness and receiving a blessing. Whether the law is an Old Testament one, or a new version of it added by the teacher, keep in mind that the law can not be kept in our own strength. If the message does not present the power to keep the law as coming ONLY from the transformed nature that comes from a relationship with God Himself – it is leading you farther from your relationship with God and is potentially leading you to Hell. It is entirely possible that the teacher does not actually know God, or that God doesn’t know the teacher, and they are merely reciting to you what they have been taught themselves – That there are benefits of faithfulness that come through keeping the law and thinking that it is the same as a relationship with God Himself. Do not fall prey to thinking that our efforts at righteousness, our own manipulation of behavior, and even apparent blessing from that self-righteous behavior is equivalent to abiding with God through Christ. (Matthew 7 should be a warning to us) The remedy must be a call to love – Love God, Love Neighbor, Love Brother, and Sister. The solving of behavior and belief “gaps” comes from a stronger relationship to the One who is holy. 

A relationship with God is all you need to be able to keep the law. Nothing more added to it is needed.  Relationship with God only comes through accepting that only God Himself is Holy and you can not be holy, except through acknowledging and believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He provided righteousness for us and forgiveness of our sin on the cross and overcame the law of sin and death through his resurrection. Trust in His work, Trust in His faithfulness, Trust in His plan, relinquishing of our own will, and submitting to His will is the only way to receive the power from the Spirit that will flow out of us and result in righteous, redeemed, Biblically aligned behavior. It DOES NOT FLOW THE OTHER WAY. Your own efforts do not result in a connected relationship that can be characterized as “Walking with God” Interestingly enough, the early Biblical accounts of preaching and teaching were COMPLETELY focused on who God is, who Jesus Christ was and is, and calling people to an understanding and acceptance of that reality. The resulting life and power that came through the infilling of the Spirit produced a river of life flowing out of each new believer, washing away their selfishness and sinfulness and flowing love into the surrounding community.

As much as we in our own makeup and flesh would like to have it be something that we could take credit for, we must avoid at all costs the temptation to follow such teachings. We as humans want to be able to take credit for our own righteousness, and there is a real temptation to create teachings that say, “you do this behavior, and God will be obligated to obey you and bless you….” Watch out for that type of teaching. It is not in alignment with the New Covenant, where the goal is a connected relationship with God the Father, through the Son, and made real and new in the Spirit. God’s desire has always been to walk with His people and to dwell with them.  We see that as the ultimate end in the fulfillment of the Kingdom at the end of Revelation (Rev 21). If the connected relationship is God’s desire and His ultimate goal, then that should be the only remedy offered when a “gap” or “lack” comes up. You see or experience a gap in your own life and the life described in Scripture – TURN to the source, repent of your own willfulness, and go back in and walk with God the Father through the Son, and receive the power of the Spirit to live a new life. Please don’t fall victim to the lie that there is another way to it. There is NO OTHER way. Connect to the Father – acknowledge your lack, and receive His GRACE. Once you receive his Grace, really, really, really receive and know that you have been granted Grace, you are now in a position to receive His power to live differently. You are living differently with gratefulness to God as being the source of your holiness and nothing from your own effort and living differently with thankfulness to God and His greatness and no other pay or blessing or recompense except a closer relationship with Him. 

If you can learn to focus on the relationship between you and God and learn to trust that He is making you new through the Spirit, the closing of the gaps in your own behavior and a standard of holiness will come naturally.  Sure, you will still sin. You will still fall prey to the temptation to be selfish or to be drawn to other false sources of life. But as you abide in Christ and He connects you to the Father and the Family of God, the Spirit brings newness of life, and you will no longer be ruled by your old selfish self or by the influences of outside cultures and attractions. You will be compelled by love. Love will produce in you an other-centeredness that desires the best for others and for your community. It is then that you will become mature and begin to be characterized by holy living. The key to everything is a relationship with God. Not a formula, a five-step application of doing, or even a positive declaration that requires God to behave a certain way. No, those are all self-provided activities that produce self-rewarded ends. The more you do self-provided activities, the farther away from an abiding relationship you get.

Avoid at all costs a temptation to go along with the church culture of today that says it is normal and good to go somewhere, get warmed up by some music, identify with the group, be told how you don’t match up, and get motivated to do more or believe more or be more. That system hasn’t been producing good fruit for thousands of years. That system has gotten so bad as to breed an entire backlash against Christianity that talks about transforming power and holiness but doesn’t actually have any of it.

Instead, turn to Him. Ask God to show you who He is – to really show you. Accept that Jesus Christ is the only way to get to God. In accepting Jesus, you are dying to yourself as the means to holiness. Accepting Jesus means giving up your own attempts at solving life and closing the gaps or lacks that you see. Surrendering your will to His will actually set you free to begin to be a new creation. He is the only One who is trustworthy and strong enough to build your life on a firm foundation. YOU CAN NOT BUILD YOUR LIFE. Contrary to the popular song. It is He that will build your life upon your trust in Him. Surrender to Him. Jesus can bridge the gap between you and God the Father. When you cross over through the cross to live in God, the Spirit will re-birth you into a new creation, and you will be able to live a free life finally.

If you haven’t given up your striving, you will continue on a cycle of possibly knowing what you ought to be like, and feeling helpless ever to make it far enough. Cycles of guilt and shame that lead only to you increasing your effort do not produce righteousness. But guilt and shame that brings you to the end of yourself and causes you to surrender – to die – to give up to Christ will bring about an experience of Grace like you’ve never had and will be the beginning of true life for you.

Questions for the hearers of a message:

What do you hope to learn?
What do you hope to experience?
How do you feel going into hearing a message/teaching?
How do you hope to feel leaving a teaching/message?
How do you tell if a message is Biblical?
What do you do if you think there is an inconsistency or inaccuracy in a message?
Did the message urge you toward some action or activity?
Did the message unlock a secret?
Did the message leave you feeling a lack or a gap in your experience and the description from the examples?
Was there a promised result if you were to apply the concept in the message?
Did the message show you more of God? What did seeing more of God do to you?
Did the message increase the connection between you and God?

Questions for the teacher/presenter of a message:

What did YOU learn in preparing for this message?
If you learned something, did it change your thinking or the way you believe?
How do you hope your audience/congregation/group feels when they are done hearing your message?
Are you introducing a concept that is new or a new perspective?
If you are introducing a new concept, how have you checked it against Scripture?
What, if any, repentance (metanoia) is called for in your message?
What does the application of your message require from the hearer?
Is there a promise or blessing that your message offers in exchange for application?
Has anyone else presented similar material that you will need to reference?
If a person hears your message and takes it to heart, what will be the result in their life?
How will a hearer of this message see more of God?
Do you have a desire for the hearer of this message to be more connected to God? Or is there some other desire fueling this message?