Gen_3:1 Now the serpentH5175 wasH1961 more subtilH6175 than anyH4480 H3605 beastH2416 of the fieldH7704 whichH834 the LORDH3068 GodH430 had made.H6213 And he saidH559 untoH413 the woman,H802 Yea,H637 H3588 hath GodH430 said,H559 Ye shall notH3808 eatH398 of everyH4480 H3605 treeH6086 of the garden?H1588
Mat_4:3 AndG2532 when theG3588 tempterG3985 cameG4334 to him,G846 he said,G2036 IfG1487 thou beG1488 the Son ofG5207 God,G2316 commandG2036 thatG2443 theseG3778 stonesG3037 be madeG1096 bread.G740
Mat_4:6 AndG2532 saithG3004 unto him,G846 IfG1487 thou beG1488 the SonG5207 of God,G2316 castG906 thyselfG4572 down:G2736 forG1063 it is written,G1125 He shall give his angels chargeG1781 G848 G32 concerningG4012 thee:G4675 andG2532 inG1909 their
handsG5495 they shall bear thee
up,G142 G4571 lest at any timeG3379 thou dashG4350 thyG4675 footG4228 againstG4314 a stone.G3037
The
passages above (definitions below) were part of a sermon I heard recently. The focus was how Adam (via Eve) failed
because they bought into an ‘IF’ question.
Doubting God and His goodness.
Whereas,
Jesus, when tempted by the enemy with an ‘IF’ question, didn’t fail. He trusted God and was obedient.
We
were exhorted to trust God, His goodness, provision, or allowance of trials and
tribulations in our lives for His glory.
To be wary when there are doubts or questions, which as evidenced by
Adam (and Eve) can lead to serious consequences.
Which
leads me to the issue of concern. The IF:Gathering. Several ladies encouraged me to attend an
upcoming event, hosted and promoted by the local body.
The
irony of the ‘message’ on IF (in essence – doubting and questioning God) didn’t
hit me until I started researching, “What is IF?” (Acts 17:11). Here are a few of my discoveries:
“The
speakers at the IF:Gathering are barkers.
They are luring many professing Christian women with persuasive and captivating
words. A repetitive error I noticed in the Conference was that a speaker would
set up a straw man, and then mix the answer to it with Scripture. She would
then insist that the conclusion was a valid point. An example was when Jen
Hatmaker argued that we cannot possibly know all of God. She quoted a Scripture
from Romans 11:33. Her conclusion was that because we cannot know God fully, it
is not detrimental to faith to have doubt. However, faith does not depend on
knowledge, but trust. Lack of knowledge should not make us doubt, but rather a
lack of trust. This was a prevailing theme at IF.”
“Okay, but I still have questions. I understand
the “gather” part, but isn’t the “equip” part the work of the Holy Spirit and
the five leadership offices? Further, one can only be unleashed if one is on a
leash. Do the women involved believe that the next generation is on a leash
(biblical Christianity?)? Last, if the focus of their efforts is about the next
generation, what about the present generation(s) of women that must necessarily
be on leashes?”
Another quote:
“But an individual
whom God supernaturally calls to accomplish a significant work should give a
credible and unambiguous account of that call. One could say, “I saw a need and
did my best to meet it.” However, when one says, “I heard a voice from God,” a different standard is involved. The reason is because something that has a
supernatural event as an origin will have a much greater weight of influence.
It presents the individual as a special agent of God, just as any of the
figures in the Bible whom God used to accomplish unprecedented purposes. It
almost immunizes the revelation and the individual from critical examination.”
“Sounds good on the surface, but from
what I can tell from their website, there is not much gospel there and they are
actually offering another gospel all together. The other gospel is a form that
comes from moral-therapeutic Deism where all the messages are centered upon
telling their followers to pull themselves up by their panty hose and get out
there to save the culture. It’s basically Oprah with Bible verses attached to
it.”
The
above is just a small representation of concerns for the body of Christ,
specifically the women. Remember it was
Eve who was deceived. Sisters, it is
imperative we study the Word, submit to His authority and follow Him, not charismatic
or enthusiastic speakers, no matter how ‘good’ the message may appear. Do your homework, be a Berean!
If – OT:
H518 - A
primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!;
interrogitive, whether?; or conditional, if,
although; also Oh that!, when; hence as a negative, not:
H3588 -
A primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix)
indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or
consequent; (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjugation or
adverb; often largely modified by other particles annexed.
H194 - From H176; if not; hence perhaps.
H2006 -
(Chaldee); corresponding to H2005; lo! also there, therefore,
unless, less, whether,
but, if.
If – NT (602 matches)
G1487 -
A primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.
G1437 –
From G1487 and G302; a conditional particle;
in case that, provided, etc.; often
used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness
or uncertainty:
