4 Ways We Add Our Own Beliefs To The Bible (Without Even Knowing It)

“Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part.”  (The Screwtape Letters)

C.S. Lewis points out in his intriguingly disturbing book, The Screwtape Letters, how easily neutral beliefs can be integrated into our faith. Patriotism and pacifism aren’t the only examples where this happens.

Many areas of our lives can complement the gospel and reflect some of its message. But we, with the best intentions, can easily stray into allowing personal beliefs – other than God’s Word – to become an absolute truth that we think is essential to being a Christian.

Examples could be my politics, or my favourite church traditions. They may have a moral element to them that Christians should have a stance on. And they are important in their way. Nothing wrong about having convictions about them.

Nevertheless, it’s risky to conflate them with the gospel. We can start to think that God needs to share our politics or denomination, and looking down on others who don’t fit that mould. At their worst, these beliefs can even drive people away from the church for not having the “right” beliefs – beliefs that aren’t part of the gospel anyway.

Here are a few beliefs that we can mistake for the gospel.

Denominations

Thinking through the theology when you’re choosing a denomination is important. Your theological literacy is a vital part of your faith walk – it helps you stand firm and understand your faith in a deeper way.

There are certainly irreconcilable issues that warrant division, too. The doctrinal differences that began the Protestant Reformation is the most obvious example of this.

But when you come down to it, many issues that differentiate our Protestant denominations are not the core of the gospel.

Let’s have “family discussions” about our differences, but there are many disputable matters in Christianity that fall within the bounds of Christian liberty. While theological discussion is healthy and good, we should keep it in balance with an aim to “maintain the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-6).

Teachings of popular Christian figures

Celebrity pastors can also become problematic in this way. Billy Graham was a great man and said a lot of great things. But I think he would agree with me that his words are not on the same level as the gospel.

The same goes for Tim Keller, Lee Strobel, Matt Chandler, Max Lucado, Philip Yancey, Joyce Meyer and whoever else you read.

It makes me deeply uncomfortable to suggest it, because I’m by no means suggesting any of these figures aren’t learned or wise. But even the most world-renowned preacher is not infallible. We need to be active listeners and make sure we’re not conflating sermons with absolute truth.

I’ve been enriched and deepened in my faith by listening to inspiring Christians (leaders or otherwise), but we do need to keep vigilant and checking their words against the Bible. Not even those of church leaders, who can and should be held to higher accountability (James 3:1).

Our tradition

This could mean anything, from traditional social expectations of Christians to how you run your church service. Traditions can be deeply meaningful and enact parts of the gospel that enrich our church. But traditions are not the same as the gospel.

As Ed Stetzer said:

You can be liturgical and not get trapped in a negative expression of tradition… The problem comes in when the traditions are built, not on gospel foundations or on liturgical /theological traditions, but on cultural milieu and are then held to as if they are gospel truth.

Some apologetics I’ve read have said that we should accept this interpretation primarily because Christians have thought this way for hundreds of years. Certainly, it’s important to take on board the wisdom of others. But longevity itself isn’t the only reason for continued existence.

Our politics

Political views – we all have them. Not being into politics is itself a political choice. Your politics will probably collide with your morals and faith on the regular, and debates can get heated.

But we need to make room for the reality that the Bible doesn’t lean left or right. It’s both, and it’s neither. Those banners that yell, “Jesus was a Republican” are just a poor understanding of what Jesus was really about – not about governments, but much more than that.

Joshua asked the angel if he was for Israel or for their enemies, and the angel said, “Neither” (Joshua 5:13-15). The same applies here.

There are absolutely moral issues in politics that we need to be firm on. But we also need to keep cautious that we’re not integrating politics into some absolute biblical truth that we all need to agree about.

Christians from the left and the right both go to church.

Conclusion

Thinking about how we add beliefs to our faith, it reminds me of the passages in 1 Corinthians 3, where Paul and Apollos have inadvertently attracted their own fan clubs. We fall into tribalism so easily and end up confusing other beliefs for ultimate truth. Tragically, it can also mean alienating other Christians who don’t agree with us on a particular aspect, and promote disunity.

When you look at our church today, there are so many things that divide us. A tragic element of conflating personal beliefs with our faith is that there’s just another thing we’re arguing over.

As Jesus said,

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)

Let’s keep listening to the words that proceed from God first.