10,000 Truths by RoseAnn Salanitri

Have you ever wondered about where are those preachers that roared from the pulpits in the 1700’s – the men of God whom the British labeled the “Black Regiment”? It was these very men that the British held directly responsible for the Revolutionary War.

What set these men apart from the preachers of today? To begin with, they were the children of the Great Revival ushered in by men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield. They weren’t content to worship God ceremonially on Sundays and live their lives according to their own standards of right and wrong. They went beyond this and were men who weren’t afraid to teach the truth, and nothing but the truth from the pulpits. In their day and age that meant standing biblically against the tyrannies of Great Britain – regardless of the consequences. No, they weren’t concerned about preaching what the people wanted to hear just to make them feel good. Their concern was helping the people of their day understand the challenges before them from a biblical perspective.

My; how things have changed. To be sure, there are still many preachers in these United States that aren’t afraid to teach the truth according to God’s Word, but there are many more that tell people what they want to hear. It should be no great jump of reason to understand why the latter are those that have achieved great wealth and status. Simply put, they have a greater audience that seeks the wider path rather than the narrow way.

Consider the saying that the devil will tell us 10,000 truths to get us to believe one lie. Yes, these preachers will tell many truths. If you are educated at all in the Scriptures and you listen to them there will be many times they will have you nodding your head in agreement. Unfortunately, after they have you nodding in agreement with what they have taught/said, they will slip in a lie – and many will still be nodding their heads in agreement. I have listened critically to sermons from such preachers that friends revere, fully knowing that they are false prophets walking in the way of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15ff; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14). And I too, like my friends, find myself nodding in agreement, But then – there is it is: the untruth cloaked in truth – the proverbial wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. In Balaam’s day, he led the people into unrighteous ways. So it is today. The Balaams among us have led many astray. They talk a good game, clothed in many truths, but then – there it is: the lie. Whether it be the deceitful lie of socialism or the approval of immorality of all kinds, they lead those that revel in their lies into believing that loving God permits these things. They never teach that our loving God is also a just God. Perhaps if they taught the hard to hear truths this country would not find itself in the mess that is now smothering it.

Many offer up many reasons why we are falling apart at the seams, but the real reason is that we have strayed so far from the principles and precepts of God that chaos is inevitable. Liberty and true peace are the blessings of God, and we cannot expect the blessings of God upon a nation that has not only turned its back to Him, but has also justified sin from the pulpits – all in the name of God. We can blame the politicians. We can blame the media. We can even blame academia. But the real reason we are falling apart at the seams is because the threads of righteous living that once sewed us together have been pulled out of the fabric of our lives. So if blame is to rest anywhere, it rests at the foot of our many Balaams. The only way to tell the truth from the promulgation of such lies is to know the truth. Nowadays it is more critical than ever to be a good Berean and test everything against the Holy Scriptures. And if you find yourself sitting under the teachings of Balaam, leave immediately. Forsake any relationships that bind you to that teaching and run, don’t walk out of that congregation. As I said before, there are still many preachers in this country that are teaching the unadulterated truth. Find those preachers, support them, and learn from them. Although outnumbered, they still exist.