Esoteric Knowledge

Esoteric knowledge is the problem with Christian education.

Esoteric knowledge is the knowledge that can only be understood by an elite few.

God wrote His Word for the masses of people of any and all ages old enough to read. There is no wisdom or knowledge that is so deep and secret that a born-again believer cannot understand from the pure and simple reading of His Word.

When we do not understand a passage because of the difficulties from translating His Word into a language it was not written in, such as English, then the Holy Spirit will give the understanding. Other people who are further along in their walk can help us at times, but since they too can be wrong we must take what they say to the Bible to prove whether or not it is true.

Those who love their intellectualism will often be led astray into strange doctrines full of error. Pride is at the root of desiring to know more than others, even know things others cannot know. This mentality appeals to those who wish to be superior to others.

If you run across a teacher of the word who cannot be challenged or instructed you have met one of these "esoteric" types. They cannot tolerate anyone knowing something they don't know.

One of the tactics of these esoteric types is to ignore the person who corrects them or mock them as inferior. Intimidation is a common tactic of these preachers who must appear all-knowing and elevated in the eyes of others.

2 Timothy 2:23-25 "…23 But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling. 24 And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach (meaning able to be taught), and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.…"

This passage has been misunderstood often in our culture. Many people use this verse as evidence that a preacher must be talented and gifted in teaching. However, this is not a proper rendering of the passage. This passage is telling us that the teacher must be "able to be taught himself. No man should be a teacher in the gathering who is not able to be corrected or instructed by others in the group.

A teacher of the word in the gathering does not have the final word, he merely presents the information, and the others judge according to scripture to be sure he is correct. If he is not correct they are to say so and bring the evidence from the Bible to prove it.

1 Corinthians 14:29-30 "29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop.…"

Even Paul the apostle was tested by the Bereans.

Acts 17:11-12 "11 Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true. 12 As a result, many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men.…"

We are never to hold a man in high regard any more than any other man. We are to give teachers double honor in the sense that they must be treated with respect and helped in their ministry but they must never be elevated to the point no one can criticize them. We have many protestant popes and worshiped seminary graduates in our culture.

Many people elevate the teachers and college graduates above Christ. Every person who is born again is able to discern the truth when they seek Christ. No teacher or "ordained by man" teacher is above anyone else.

There is no model in the Word of God for "ordained preachers" who have been commissioned by men. Everyone who has been called to preach was called by God and most of them mentioned in the word had no other education than the instruction of the Holy Spirit.

John 6:63

"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

Psalm 118:8

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man."

Jeremiah 17:5

"Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord."

The Word Judges the Heart

One might ask why I write so much about pretenders in the church. I have a close up and personal vantage point. I was a pretender many years ago.

I too would have said I was a Christian many years ago when I was in sin. One day I realized I was not saved I repented and Christ changed me.

I wanted all the safety and perks of the Christian life but didn't care about what God thought. After I became born again I desired to grow more than anything else and did because my ravenous appetite for the Word kept me seeking Him.

I am convinced that those who are authentically saved do have this same desire to one degree or another. No child of God keeps on sinning and justifying it after they have been changed by Christ.

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"

Next time a "Christians" is living in sin refusing to repent and says; "God knows my heart", tell them I know your heart too by the sin that you live. Your heart makes the decision to sin willfully and then you carry it out in the flesh. No one can sin if there is no sinfulness in their heart. Sin in the heart comes first and then the actions follow.

Sometimes the actions never come but a person sins in their heart their entire life by their thoughts and desires to sin even if they never carry out those desires, there remains sin in their heart.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Matthew 7:17-19 "…17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.…"

Matthew 7:21-23 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

If you are willfully living in sin without repentance toward it you are not born again and are not going to heaven. Let God judge your heart by His Word.

Clues of the State of Ones Character

Pretenders give off clues that we can see but in our culture are reluctant to "judge" them by their fruit.

Matthew 7:15-20 "15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

When we are honest and seeking truth we will see the clues. The clues are always violations of the scriptures pertaining to character. One thing I have to tell people all the time is that no one can be different on the outside from the condition of their heart on the inside. The heart comes first, then the actions.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Those who have love in their heart will not have to "try real hard" to be loving. They will operate instinctively from the standpoint of love in all situations.

A lifestyle of love is effortless for those who possess love in their hearts.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away."

Christ's love dwells in those who have changed into a new creation by Him. They do not live a lifestyle of sin, crudeness or rudeness.

Romans 7:7-13

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet…"

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother."

Christians may sin from time to time but they hate it and eventually will confess to be cleansed.

Romans 12:9

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good."

Proverbs 8:13

"The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate."

The Manipulative Tactic of Blaming