Choking on the Bones

The church today is suffering from a sad and heartbreaking reality: many people are choking on the bones. Before you call me, “Crazy,” just hear me out.

I believe some of it stems from a statement I’ve heard Christians and more sadly, pastors say, “You just need to chew the meat and spit out the bones.”

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False ideas and false teaching {a.k.a. “the bones”} are nothing new. These have been around since the Garden of Eden.

After all, what did Satan do with God’s very words? He twisted them when he said to Eve, “Did God really say you can’t eat of ANY of the trees?”

No, actually. That’s not what God said. Twisted words. False words.

Choking on the Bones

The early church even faced false ideas and false teaching. Judaizers, Docetism, and Gnosticism are just a few off the top of my head. {Read Justin Holcomb’s book, Know the Heretics, if you’re curious to learn more about false teaching.}

With all that said, it shouldn’t surprise us when false teachers today use the name of Jesus in twisted ways to perhaps make a profit or grow their “empire.” Nearly every book of the New Testament warns us that false teachers are to be expected.

So…

• What happens when you discover that a book your pastor is encouraging the church to read has false teaching in it?
• What happens when your church allows “safe” songs to be sung while your church funds apostate teachers and movements?
• What happens when the youth pastor praises the name of someone whom you know isn’t exactly leading the next generation in the ways of the Lord?

{These are all things that have just happened recently, so they’re very fresh on my mind.}

A dear friend was recently telling me about how she approached her pastor. He had recommended the church read a book that clearly had New Age teaching mixed in. When she discovered it and did her research, she came to him. After telling her he agreed that it was indeed very concerning, he said, “Well, I believe that people can chew the meat and spit out the bones.”

Wait. What? Full stop.

I was absolutely preplexed and honestly grieved by his response. It really got me thinking about the dangers of assuming this statement to be true of everyone who comes to church.

As I was sharing this story with my pastor, he said something that was quite profound. If you’re still drinking spiritual milk, the bones can choke you. The bones are easier to spot and spit if you’re already eating meat.

You see, God’s Word is the meat. And the Bible says that those who don’t feast on the meat of God’s Word are only drinking milk. God’s Word tells us they will struggle to discern between good and evil, truth and twisted lies.

The very next morning after talking with my pastor, I “just so happened” to read these verses in Hebrews 5:11-14 in my time with the Lord:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” {NIV}

One thing is for sure, we should never assume that people will just know how to “chew the meat and spit out the bones.”

The flippant statement made by my friend’s pastor made me righteously angry and heartbroken. But I was also challenged in that moment to be proactive about being in the Word every day. Knowing God’s Word, living God’s Word, and teaching God’s Word.

We are much better equipped to spot and spit out the false teaching and false ideas {even from our own flesh} when we are in His Word each and every day, feasting on meat.

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Keep feasting!
~Becky