Illustration: Steak sauce ruins the steak—you’re not tasting the steak— you’re tasting the sauce---it overwhelms the beefy flavor of the steak---steak sauce was created to cover up the taste of poor quality steaks. When steak sauce is used it weakens the savory taste, when steak sauce is used the chef is tempted to snatch the steak off of our plate. We either grab the A-1 because it isn’t enough to satisfy our palate, or out of pure ignorant habit we believe every piece of meat should have sauce. Though your stomach will be full, you’ll have great difficulty separating the taste of the sauce with the true taste of the steak.
Any strong substance can become diluted when there are low grade substances that are added to weaken the most important element. Once weakened it loses its original potency because the contaminants have transformed the form and function of the original substance into something is was never intended to become Diluted.
If you are not biblically grounded in your faith you will be susceptible to the addition of worldly attitudes and practices, weakening the administration of God’s grace.
When anything is added to our faith outside of the bible, the uniqueness and sufficiency of Christ is compromised and another gospel can be created that is, well, actually not the gospel---resembling the world and eradicating any resemblance of Jesus.
There is an archaic yet powerful demonic concept we need to be aware of. Seeking to persuade us to follow ungodly spiritual entities. Strategically pushed on us to contaminate our faith. The Danger of Religious Syncretism. Religious Syncretism is the attempted blending of the Christian faith with any of the false religions of this world. It is the meshing of culture, philosophy, psychology and senseless religious acts into the Christian faith. This is dangerous, for the error is not in hearing the information but the hidden terror is storing up within your heart, because what goes in and stays in shapes who we are. Heed the words of King Solomon Prov 4:23 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
At Mount Sanai God prohibited his people from worshipping other “so called” Gods. Exodus 20:3 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” The Lord our God is the object of your worship. For if we have learned anything from the Israelites in the OT it is that when our faith is diluted with falsehood and error, we have now diluted our dependency upon the triune God and put generations in the flames of falsehood.
The first of the 10 commandments isn’t a warning but a prohibition. In one verse---God denounces two ancient religious concepts of worship. He denounces the idea of polytheism, the belief or worship of more than one God and (Hay-No) Henotheism, the idea of a hierarchal concept of worship which sets the Lord our God as a first amongst equals.
Moses says in, Deut 4:39 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
Yes, people worship many different Gods and even the bible describes this practice and recognizes polytheistic beliefs in the OT and NT, but it doesn’t mean these Gods actually exists. I believe God is firmly establishing the belief of the one true God, in the midst of a world full of imposters.
The one true God has exclusive claim to our allegiance, he created us to worship him alone and made a covenant with his chosen people of faith.If the Lord our God has revealed himself to us through nature and his holy word-- then we ought to be careful that we do not confuse the one, true God with everything else and blend our beliefs with the world. Yet this is exactly what we are influenced to do and many of us have been deceived already. It’s time to peel away the deceptive concepts that many Christians mix into their faith, convinced it is harmless to our worship.
We do not subscribe to the belief that “all faiths” worship the sameGod under different forms Illustration. The blind men and the Elephant example—Key points (Trunk/Snake, Ear/Fan, Leg/Tree Trunk, Side/Wall, Tail/Rope, Tusk/spear)- The point is everyone is entitled to their interpretation of what they have grasped but it implies all are blind and that the elephant didn’t speak— God has spoken—God began the process of opening our eyes)
John 1:1-5 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Luke 24:45 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, God has revealed himself, he has spoken and opens our minds to understand
• This idea that we all worship the same God, just in our own way, is a breeding ground for religious syncretism. It infects the thrust of evangelism and violently opposes biblical truth—it is religious compromise–it is a surgical dissection of Christian doctrine
I once heard a man say, “Compromise is never anything but an ignoble truce between the duty of a man and the terror of a coward.”
Religious syncretism is one compromise at a time—Judges, 1 & 2 Kings, Exodus, Every major and Minor prophet—The Fall of the Israelites is because they combined truth with error, light with darkness, blending their belief with the beliefs of the surrounding culture
• 1 Kings 18:21 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word
At the great banquet in heaven do you believe there will be any invited guest who rejected the person and work of Christ, do you believe there will be any invited guest who didn’t surrender their lives to Christ, do you believe someone will sneak in who didn’t believe and repent
•Matthew 10:32-33 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
We do not join the religious practice of others outside the body of Christ—--Read 2 Cor 6:14-18 There is a difference between "interfaith respect and adopting false religious practices and concepts” be culturally sensitive and relatable (Proximity/Practice)
Illustration: Ex. Native American sweat lodge, deny an invitation to participate in eastern mysticism—meditation practices If we are in the world, then we are sent to the world because we have been crucified to this world-- not to love it but to rescue people from it 1 Cor 9:19-22 Paul sought to evangelize by becoming like them, this indicates that Paul refused to fall into sin for the sake of others. Paul didn’t compromise the gospel, he adapted to his audience and respected their culture. Paul did not yield to anything that was immoral or unbiblical. As rescuers we are planted in the world. Your location isn’t the issue, but an environment drawing you away from the Lord changing your behavior and redirecting your worship will become an issue. Within the concept of Syncretism is the sneaky language of removing what divides and separates us and uniting on the basis of this things wherein we agree- core
Illustration: I believe that black lives matter, because I believe every human life matters, that’s never changed, we all should be against systematic injustice—but that doesn’t mean you are to support the black lives matter organization—why?
The world wants to silence Christ by silencing you—they’ll silence you by no longer by bringing their trojan horse to the door of the church and say we’re all together as one—and will crucify you when you stand for Christ
Luke 11:23 23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
The world will say they are not enemies of Jesus, they’ll say we all basically believe the same thing---but Jesus says you are at enmity with him—you are an enemy to the cross, if you are a friend to the world James 4:4 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
False religions needs to neutralize/dilute Christianity because if Christ is silenced in the private and public sectors then it means they have kidnapped the messengers so as never to witness against sin, evil and every form of immorality. (Witness intimidation)
Ex. John the Baptist beheaded.....Mark 6:16-19—Why because he spoke out against lawlessness, immorality and sin! How else will people repent?
This is what’s happening today, this is what happened in ancient times. This isn’t about being woke, this is about staying awake, never falling asleep, living in the light. This is about no longer conforming to the pattern of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds. Learn to see
these dangers of syncretism, tolerance and neutrality for what it really is---a clever deception of Satan. We do not accept any other God, we do not accept any other way, we do not accept any other truth, we do not accept any other life—To Jesus belongs the name which is above every name and to that name every knee must bow. Phil 2:9 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 sothat at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Remember, don’t put sauce on savory steak because you’ll ruin the taste