Designer Religions
Designer drugs are created to mimic the effects of illegal drugs. The people using them do so in hopes of avoiding the penalties of drug laws, and to take advantage of the lower cost. Those who experiment with such things are taking their lives into their own hands as most of these drugs have not been tested. Numerous lives have been lost as a result, but in many cases something could have been done to prevent it. Too often we hear of family members who noticed the “warning signs” but turned a blind eye until it was too late.
That being said, I would like to discuss what I will refer to as “designer religions”. Just as designer drugs are intended to serve as a loophole in drug laws, designer religions are the presumed loophole in God’s law. You know the ones I am referring to— those who base their church services on what will make members feel good. Such religions seek to gratify their own desires by promoting lifestyles which the true Word of God does not condone. Many people accept these practices, but aren’t they just as dangerous as designer drugs?
Those who take designer drugs are looking for a quick and cheap high. They take them because they want the satisfaction of being high with a smaller chance of getting in trouble with the law. Designer religions offer church services to uplift and comfort those in attendance. They sometimes condone un-biblical behavior for the sake of giving people what they want to hear. These types of religions are for those who want the church experience without having to worry about the consequences of an ungodly lifestyle. Because they are not worshiping God as He intended, they are putting themselves in danger. Yet, when family members see this happening, they turn a blind eye.
Let’s think back to the families who have lost their loved ones to designer drugs. They saw the warning signs, but refused to intervene. They may have even justified the behavior by thinking , at least they aren’t taking “real drugs”. They don’t realize that designer drugs are just as dangerous. When Christians see our family members taking part in designer religions, we sometimes have the same attitude. At least they are going to church. We must acknowledge that if our loved ones are not attending a church that teaches the true word of God, they are in just as much danger as someone who doesn’t go to church at all. Remember what Christ said:
Matthew 7:15-20 (NKJV) “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
The advice from our Lord and Savior is simple: avoid the false teachers of the world or you, too, will be consumed by their deceptions. Nothing would break my heart more than knowing I took part in the demise of someone’s soul. As people who know the truth, we must proclaim it to those we hold dear to our hearts. I am writing about this likely controversial topic because I care about the members of this congregation and their families.
I have personally struggled with this in my own family. There are people that I love who I have tried to convince to follow the truth of the Gospel. Some listened, others to this day cannot be changed. In the same way, some parents go to extremes to warn their children of the dangers of drugs. Some kids refuse to listen, and often have to pay the price with their lives. Let us not allow the people we love to pay with their souls. Rather, let us proclaim the truth of the Gospel as Paul wrote in:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (NKJV) Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you–unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Adrian
