The Globe-republican., 1894-08-17
Religious Department.
FALSE TEACHING.


| And as for my flock they eat that which We
have trodden with your feet; and they drink
that which ye have fouled with your feet:
Ezekiel xxxIv 10.
This accusation was made against
those who teach the people concerning
spiritual matters. They are termed
shepherds, and teaching the word to
disciples is called feeding the flock.
Stock raisers know that eating grass
which has been fouled by being trodden
underfoot by filthy feet and drinking
water made foul by stirring dirt with it
BY means of the feet, will cause disease
and death to the flocks and herds. So in
like manner will it be spiritual disease
and death to accept and follow false
theories mingled with the true word of
God. If Only filth were offered to cattle
IN the place of grass, and instead of
muddy water dirt alone is given them to
drink, they could not be induced to take
it, and because of unsatisfied hunger and
thist. some at least. would search until
good grass and pure water were found.
thus preserving them from disease aud
death.
Those teachers referred to by the
prophet do not undertake the impossible
task of teaching unmixed error, neither
do they mingle those kinds of false teach
ing which are repulsive to the people.
In these days it is not done from motives
of malevolence toward the flock, but
rather because comparatively few will
accept unauthorized truth, and those
false teachers deceive themselves into
the idea that it were better to issue such
teachings as will insure a large flock,
rather than reduce the number by pre-
senting the plain truth.
They pervert the Scriptures by teach
ing that it is all right to seek after the
pleasures of this life, or qualification of
the natural senses, providing it is done
within certain bounds or degrees of mod
Grafton while the words of Christ, in Luke
VIII, II, mentions pleasures of this life
as among the things which choke out the
new life from above.
Christ makes no exceptions. He does
not modify the word pleasures except
by the term ''of this lIfe,'' and the whole |
tenor of the new testament scriptures |
goes to show that christians must not live |
for their own pleasure, but for the good
of others. The apostle Paul says in first |
Corinthians, X, "a, ''let no man seek his |
own, but every man anOther's wealth."
The newrevisiOn reads ''anOther's good"
instead of "another's wealth." but the |
principle is the same. Paul furthermore |
denounces pleasure festivals as idolatrOus |
in first Corianthns X, Z: .'Neither be We |
idolaters. as were some of them; as it is |
written, the people sat down to eat and |
drink, and rose up to play" This form
of pleasure seeking is endorsed by some |
religious teachers as means of raising
money for church purposes. Hand in
hand with this false teaching goes the
doctrine that people cannot live sin |
holiness and righteousness before him |
all the days of our life,'' as set forth in
st John l, IS, and deny that people can
live without committing sin, when John
says. in first John Y, 8. sswhosOever is |
born Of God doth not commit SIM per-
verting the same letter where it speaks
the natural man. walking in darkness, in
the first chapter, giving an application
to include those born of God, when the
writer clearly applies it to those describ-
ed as follows: eff we say that we have
fellowship in him and walk in darkness
we lie, and do not the truth John l, 6. |