It is a contradiction to claim to be a Christian and refuse to learn, are we not called to be disciples of Christ?
Without studying the Scriptures, you cannot learn of the Lord, and I believe I can quite assuredly say that Jesus is not going to come to your house and teach you personally. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.” (Eph. 4:11)
The one who stands behind the pulpit and teaches you has, hopefully, been called by the Lord to do so, but I believe that is the rare man today. Most have acquiesced to those who sit in the pews, “Not so much preaching about the blood please,” “You need to speak more about what’s going on in the world,” “I don’t understand about justification and sanctification, and I really don’t see how they matter.” Itchy ears. (2 Tim. 4:3)
No matter if it is a man of God behind that pulpit or a messenger of Satan that seems righteous, you are responsible after each Sunday morning, while that sermon is at least partially fresh in your mind to go through the Word of God and verify everything that was spoken. If you find fault in it, you must approach that man, privately as first mentioned in Matthew 18:15, and if he will not respond to you, then you follow those verses until, if it is necessary, the entire church is informed of the grave error. But I fear you may be left standing alone most times.
There are at least two forms of people in the falling away mentioned in 1 Timothy 4:1, those who have found, though they would never admit it to themselves much less to others, that Jesus is not enough, that life is going as well as can be expected, and there is no real need for what the Word of God calls a crucified life. After all they are saved, at least they believe they are, and God understands the pressures and responsibilities that press down upon them daily.
The other group simply sits in the pews, nodding their heads, either in blind obedience to whatever is being spoken, or in that state between wakefulness and sleep. They have shown up to church, what more could God ask of them?
There are two types of Christians, in this regard, those that are dead and those that are dead in Christ.
If all of what you know of the Scriptures has come from listening to what someone else has said about them, I pity you. The treasures of His eternal Word are daily available, and yet self and the world draw your attention, Christ is placed far down the list. Just because someone has been doing a particular thing for an extended period of time does not mean they have been doing it correctly, and the one behind the pulpit that you trust may be that man.
I have met many people over the decades that do not even understand the basic oracles of God, in fact, they do not even know that word is in the Scriptures. Entire Books of the Word of God go unread the entirety of their lives, their faith is not in Christ so much as it is in their pastor.
Satan’s responsibility is to attempt to deceive and lead astray the children of God, and in these last days he has done exceptionally well at that.
Are you checking up on your pastors, the elders and deacons, can you verify what is being taught in your church is the truth from the Word of God? Husbands, are you the Spiritual leader in your home, do you study to know the truth, wives do you verify those words?
We will be held accountable no matter what position we find ourselves in, you will not be able to lay the blame on anyone else when that day arrives.
How can you behave in a Christlike manner if you have not studied the life of Christ? How can you be pleasing in the eyes of the Lord if you do not know what pleases Him?
