The church’s greatest threat has never been from the outside, but rather, from deception within. The Bible is clear. Satan doesn’t show up at the foot of your bed with red horns and a pitch-fork claiming, “Here I am to distract and deceive you!” Neither do his false prophets. They are disguised in light; seeming to be workers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Over the past 3 months our latest book, Defining Deception, has ended up in the hands of nearly 3000 people. Reviews are pouring in from people who claim a variety of denominational alliances and most (including Pentecostals and Charismatics) are calling the book a timely work with a balanced argument.

Experience is never a good excuse for ignoring the truth. In fact, when we choose to use our own experience as the ultimate evidence for our view of truth, we end up believing in things and defending things that may be set on sinking sand.

Why in the world does church history matter? That’s a question more Christians should be able to answer – and a highly important one at that. In his phenomenal work, Why Church History Matters, Robert F. Rea defines history as “the study of the past in order to understand the present and improve the future.”[1] History teaches us valuable lessons about the good, the bad, and the ugly.

A few years ago an excited woman in her 20’s ran up to me one Sunday at church – she was a newer attendee who had been kicking the tires on our church for a few weeks when my last name must have clicked. It’s not like we talked about it every Sunday at our church – our members don’t really focus on that. We have a lot of important ministry to do and I’m just another one of the pastors. But sometimes, it comes out in conversations and you never know what you’re going to get.

Modern-day Christian culture is obsessed with experience. The Bible has become a footnote. Truth, we say, is important, but it must come second to our experience. Modern mystics claim, “We owe the world an encounter!” They’re referring to their ability to help people experience a special anointing of God. One of the newest faith healers on the circuit states, “The cross, to me, isn’t a revelation of my sin, it’s a revelation of my value!” He’d prefer we don’t talk about sin.

Joel Beeke, in his article about Calvin’s knowledge and piety, summarizes his view of Calvin’s teaching about the work of the Holy Spirit and the written Word this way: “The work of the Spirit does not supplement or supersede the revelation of Scripture, but authenticates it.” [1]