Myths Christians Believe

Written by Sue Bohlin

Angels, Good and Bad

In this article we examine some of the myths Christians believe.
There are lots of misconceptions about angels and devils that come from non-biblical sources ranging from great literature to films to the comic strips in our newspaper.

One myth about angels is that when a loved one dies, he or she becomes our guardian angel. While that can be a comforting thought, that's not what Scripture says. God created angels before He created the physical universe; because we know they sang together in worship and shouted for joy at the creation (Job 38:7). When believing loved ones die, they stay human, but they become better than they ever were on earth, and better than the angels. No angel was ever indwelled by God Himself, as Christians are!

An even greater myth that many people believe is the image of Satan as an ugly red creature with pitchfork, horns, and a tail who gladly reigns in hell. For this misconception we have several authors to thank, mainly the 13th century work of Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost, written in the 1700s. The biblical image of Satan is of an angel who has fallen to irredeemable evil and depravity but yet can transform himself into a beautiful angel of light. (2 Cor. 11:14) He can make himself appear winsome, which is why people can be attracted to the occult. But Satan is not the king of hell. Jesus disarmed him at the Cross, made a public spectacle of him and the rest of the demons, and made him into a defeated foe destined for an eternity of torment in the lake of fire. (Col. 2:15, Rev. 20:10)

Another misconception about Satan that many people believe is that he is the evil counterpart to God. In C.S. Lewis' preface to the Screwtape Letters, he answers the question of whether he believes in "the Devil":
Now, if by 'the Devil' you mean a power opposite to God and, like God, self-existent from all eternity, the answer is certainly No. There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. No being could attain a "perfect badness" opposite to the perfect goodness of God; for when you have taken away every kind of good thing (intelligence, will, memory, energy, and existence itself) there would be none of him left.
If I Do Everything Right, Life Will Work Smoothly.

A very common myth that many Christians believe is, "If I do everything right, life will work smoothly." We seem to be immersed in an attitude of entitlement, believing that God owes us an easy and comfortable life if we serve Him. We expect to be able to avoid all pain, and we look for formulas to make life work. Frankly, many of us are addicted to our own comfort zones, and when anything disturbs our comfort zone, we feel betrayed and abandoned by God.

So when life doesn't go so smoothly, we often jump to one of two conclusions. Either we must be sinning, or God is out to get us. The book of Job draws back the curtain on the unseen drama in the heavenlies and shows us that when problems come, it doesn't have to be one of these two options. Sometimes things are going on behind the scenes in the heavenly realm that have nothing to do with our sin. And since God is totally good, it's a lie from the pit of hell that when bad things happen, God is out to get us in some kind of cosmic sadistic power play.
Even when we do everything right--although NOBODY does everything right, not even the holiest, most disciplined people--things can go wrong. The Bible gives us insight into why it might be happening. First, we live in a fallen world, where bad stuff happens because that's the consequence of sin. This includes natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes and floods, and includes moral disasters like divorce and abuse and murder.
Secondly, we live in a spiritual battle zone. Unseen demonic enemies attack us with spiritual warfare. God has provided spiritual armor, described in Ephesians 6, but if we don't put it on, His armor can't protect us.

Third, we have an inaccurate view of suffering. We think that if we're suffering, something is wrong and needs to be fixed. But 1 Peter 4:19 says that some people suffer according to the will of God. That doesn't sound very nice, but that's because we often think the most important thing in life is avoiding pain. But God isn't committed to keeping us comfortable, He's creating a Bride for His Son who needs to shine with character and perseverance and maturity.

The Lord Jesus promised that we would have tribulation in this world. (John 16:33) The word for tribulation means pressure; it means we get squeezed in by trouble. Jesus said that in the world we would have pressure, but in Him we have peace. Life won't always work smoothly, no matter how well we live, but we always have the presence and power of God Himself to take us through it.

God Won't Give Me More Than I Can Handle.

People get baffled and angry when bad things happen, and it just gets worse when God doesn't make the difficult situation go away. We start wondering if God has gone on vacation because we're nearing our breaking point and God isn't stepping in to make things better.
The problem with this myth is that God is in the business of breaking His people so that we will get to the point of complete dependence on Him.{1} Brokenness is a virtue, not something to be protected from. When the apostle Paul pleaded with God to remove his thorn in the flesh, God said no. Instead, He responded with an amazing promise: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Paul realized that his weakness was the very key to experiencing God's strength and not his own.

One of my friends ministered as a chaplain at Ground Zero in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks. She got so tired and exhausted that she knew it was more than she could bear. That's when she discovered that her exhaustion took her out of God's way and He could shine through her, ministering with His strength through her profound weakness.
I love this definition of brokenness: "Brokenness is that place where we realize that all the things we counted on to make life work, don't."{2} God makes life work. Formulas don't. Our own efforts don't. Trustful dependence on Him plugs us into the power source for life. And that often happens when we've crossed over the line of what we can handle on our own.

God Helps Those Who Help Themselves.

This myth has been repeated so many times that many people think its in Scripture. It's not. In fact, the truth is exactly the opposite. A heart full of self-dependence and self-reliance says to God, "I don't need You, I can do it myself. I can handle life without You." God honors our choices and the exercise of our will; He doesn't push His help on us. He waits for us to ask for it. He can't help those who help themselves because we're too busy doing to receive His strength and His help. It's like the way you can't fill a cup with coffee when it's already full of tea. Jesus said, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5) But that doesn't stop lots of us from trying! The truth is, God doesn't help those who help themselves; God helps the helpless.

Two Myths About Heaven

The first myth is perpetuated by the many jokes and comics about St. Peter at the pearly gates. Many people believe that if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds, St. Peter will let us into heaven. It doesn't work that way.

God has one standard for getting into heaven: absolute perfection and holiness. The person who has sinned the smallest sin is still guilty and cannot be perfect and holy. It's like a balloon: once it's popped, there's nothing anyone can do to make it whole again. Only one Person has ever qualified for heaven by being perfect and holy--the Lord Jesus. When we trust Christ as our Savior, He does two things for us: He pays the penalty for our sin, which keeps us out of hell, and He exchanges our sin for His righteousness, which allows us into heaven.

Another myth is that heaven is like a big socialist state where everybody gets a standard issue harp and halo and we all sit around on clouds all day praising God in a never-ending church service. Doesn't sound all that great, does it?

Fortunately, heaven's a whole lot better than that. For one thing, the reason we think worshiping God for all eternity is boring is because we don't know God as He really is. We're like the six-year-old boy who declared that "girls are stupid, and kissin' 'em is even stupider." Kids don't have a clue how great love can be, and we don't have a clue how wonderful God is.

Heaven is no socialist state. There will be varying degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven, depending on the way we lived our life on earth. All believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, when God will test our works by passing them through the fire of motive. If we did things in His strength and for His glory, they will pass through the refining fire and emerge as gold, silver and costly stones. If we did things in our own flesh and for our glory or for the earthly payoff, we will have gotten all our strokes on earth, and our works will be burned up, not making it through the testing "fire."

There are different types of rewards in heaven: a prophet's reward, a righteous man's reward, and a disciple's reward. Some will receive the crown of life, or a martyr's crown, and there's also the crown of righteousness. Our lives in heaven will be determined by the choices, sacrifices, and actions of earth. Some will be very wealthy, and others will be "barely there." You can check our Web site for the scriptures about this.{3}

Myths About the Bible and Salvation

Many non-Christians believe a myth that is accepted by a lot of Christians as well--that the Bible has been changed and corrupted since it was written. The historical evidence actually makes a rather astounding case for the supernatural protection and preservation of both Old and New Testaments.

As soon as the New Testament documents were written, people immediately started making copies and passing them around. There are so many copies in existence that the New Testament is the best-documented piece of ancient literature in the world. And because there are so many copies, we can compare them to today's Bible and be assured that what we have is what was written.

The Old Testament scribes were so meticulous in copying their manuscripts that they were obsessive about accuracy. They would count the middle letter of the entire original text and compare it to the middle letter of the new copy. If it didn't match, they'd make a new copy. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, they demonstrated that this collection of Old Testament scriptures has been faithfully preserved for two thousand years.

Many people believe that certain parts of the Bible have been corrupted or deleted, such as supposed teaching on reincarnation. However, this is just hearsay from people who do not understand how the canon of scripture was decided on. From the beginning of the church, Christians recognized the 27 books that make up the New Testament as God's inspired word, and the writings that weren't inspired were eventually dropped. We have some great articles on our Web site that explain about the reliability of the Bible.{4}

Many Christians believe another myth: "I believe in Jesus, but surely God will let people of other faiths into heaven too." Many seem to think that being a "good Muslim" or a "sincere Buddhist" should count for something.
This does make sense from a human perspective, but God didn't leave us in the dark trying to figure out truth on our own. He has revealed truth to us, both through Jesus and through the Bible. So regardless of what makes sense from our limited human perspective, we need to trust what God has said.

And Jesus, who ought to know because He is God in the flesh, said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me." (John 14:6) No other religion deals with the problem of sin and God's requirement of perfection and holiness on God's terms. There may be many ways to Jesus, but there's only way to the Father. It's God's heaven, and He makes the rules: it's Jesus or nothing.

Notes

1. I am indebted to Dr. Al Meredith, the pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, Texas, for this perspective. Wedgwood Baptist was the site of the massacre the night of the "See You At the Pole" celebration when seven youth and staff members were killed and seven others wounded by a crazed gunman.
2. Jeff Kinkade, pastor of Reinhardt Bible Church in Garland, Texas.
3. "Probe Answers Our E-Mail: Help Me Understand Rewards in Heaven."
4. "Are the Biblical Documents Reliable?". Also, "The Authority of the Bible" and "The Christian Canon".

just a question, i've just joined and where you say check our website for scripture or something like that, are you talking about TCD or a different one???and if so what is it? cause something you said id never heard and it sparked interest in me.

Hello,

I’m not sure if we have a section for scripture per-say, however I will give it a look. May I ask what sparked your interest? If your refering to the article, the article is from Probe Ministries. Here's the link:

[sorry, I took off the link, cuz I wasnt sure if it was considered spamming or not]

Living Martyr wrote (View Post): › Heaven is no socialist state. There will be varying degrees of reward and responsibility in heaven, depending on the way we lived our life on earth. All believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, when God will test our works by passing them through the fire of motive. If we did things in His strength and for His glory, they will pass through the refining fire and emerge as gold, silver and costly stones. If we did things in our own flesh and for our glory or for the earthly payoff, we will have gotten all our strokes on earth, and our works will be burned up, not making it through the testing "fire." There are different types of rewards in heaven: a prophet's reward, a righteous man's reward, and a disciple's reward. Some will receive the crown of life, or a martyr's crown, and there's also the crown of righteousness. Our lives in heaven will be determined by the choices, sacrifices, and actions of earth. Some will be very wealthy, and others will be "barely there." You can check our Web site for the scriptures about this.{3}

that's what sparked interest. i'd never heard that before and i didnt know if there was scripture of that or not. im just a curious teenager and i was just wondering cause that is very interesting to know. ill go check out that website too in the meantime.

aha, i found out what i was looking for. thank you. i managed to find it. 1 Cor. 3:9-15.

hmmm....The quote you quoted is interesting. I was hoping that someone would point that out; it'll make a good debate. On the Probe web page where i found this, someone wrote in asking about how they could better understanding Rewards in Heaven. Here's the question and the response from the author of the article:

Question:

Dear Sue,

I want to ask about different rewards in heaven. In some classes I've been told that everyone is equal in heaven and there are no levels. Other classes seem to indicate that it is the way you live on earth and the deposits you make in heaven on the rewards you receive. I know that believing in Jesus Christ as your Savior guarantees your salvation, but I am a little confused on the levels in heaven and what this means. I've even been told that it is just different people's interpretation. Please help me understand!

Answer :

The confusion usually comes from people confusing the differences between SALVATION and REWARDS. Salvation is a free gift, but rewards are earned by our works after we are saved. No one's works will ever earn them salvation--the only ones that count are the ones we perform after becoming a Christian. Salvation is a present reality, but our rewards will be given in the future, in heaven.

They will be given at the Judgment Seat of Christ (you may hear some people call it by the Greek word, bema [bay-ma] ), when our works (NOT our sins, which were paid for at the Cross) will be tested and judged.
2 Cor. 5:10 says, "We must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." Similarly, Rom. 14:10 says, "We will all stand before the Judgment Seat of God. . . and each one of us will give an account of himself to God."

1 Cor. 3:9-15 describes what will happen: God will test our works by the fire of motive. If we did things in His strength and for His glory, they will pass through the refining fire and emerge as gold, silver and costly stones. If we did things in our own flesh and for our glory or for the earthly payoff, we will have gotten all our strokes on earth, and the works will be burned up, not making it through the testing "fire." (Those works are referred to as wood, hay and straw, which are easily consumed by flame.)

There are various kinds of rewards, but the Bible doesn't give a lot of information.

Matt. 10:41 talks about a prophet's reward, a righteous man's reward, and a disciple's reward.

Rev. 2:10 refers to the "crown of life." (Some have called this the martyr's crown.)

2 Tim. 4:7-8 refers to the "crown of righteousness."
Crowns symbolize dominion and authority over people, and sure enough, God's rewards include dominion and authority:

Rev. 2:26--"He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron." This goes along with one of the parables in Luke 19:17 where the master rewards the servant who was a faithful steward of his money; he says, "because you were faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities."

Rev. 2:17--In this book written to people undergoing persecution, Jesus promises, "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name, written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it."

We can also lose our rewards (2 John 8), and it's possible for someone to take our crown (Rev. 3:11). So, no wonder God calls us to be faithful and persevering all the way to the end!

I'm so glad you asked this, because I've heard people say, "If those who become Christians as small children end up in the same place (heaven) as those who trust Christ moments before they die, then why spend your whole life serving God?" That's because they don't understand that what happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ will be very, very different for these two people. Our lives in heaven will be determined by the choices, sacrifices, and actions of earth. Some will be very wealthy, and others will be "barely there." I Cor. 3:15 says that the deeds of some people will be burned up, and they will suffer loss; they will be saved, but only as those escaping through the flames. It will be like watching your house burn to the ground with every single thing you own in it. . . lost. On the other hand, lots of people will see their works shown for the high quality that they are, and they will be rewarded exceedingly well because God is so generous.

Oh...oops, I hope giving out that web page isnt considered spamming?!?!? If a staff member reads this plz let me know and i'll edit it out.

thank you very much. that has helped me out. i read that and i was like, hmm, it makes sense but i've never heard it before, and after finding the scripture references to it, it helped even more. thank you for this whole article, cause it has given me proof in scripture on things my friends believe.

No Problem, Happy to help.

Here’s some helpful advice that you probably already know:

When reading articles such as the above, and you see something that your not sure of, or haven’t heard of before, that deals with scripture; it’s best to check it out yourself in the Bible. There are always people out there who try altering or changing things in the Bible, so it’s important to always open the pages of Gods word, and check it out for your self. (Just like you did with that Bible verse)

God Bless

Living Martyr

ok now i have another question. i have searched the bible for this and i can't find it, and i want to know if this is in the bible, or if i've just heard it somewhere. i remember hearing when i was younger that we as humans are greater even than the angels. is that scripturally true, or is it just something someone has said???

unworthy_singer16 wrote (View Post): › I remember hearing when I was younger that we as humans are greater even than the angels. is that scripturally true, or is it just something someone has said???

Hmmm…good question, here’s my answer:

The word "angel" actually comes from the Greek word aggelos, which means "messenger." The matching Hebrew word mal'ak has the same meaning.

Sometimes, the Bible uses these words for human beings:

ordinary people who carry messages (Job 1:14; Luke 7:24; 9:52)

prophets (Isaiah 42:19; Malachi 3:1)

priests (Malachi 2:7)

church leaders (Rev 1:20)

Sometimes, it speaks figuratively of things or events as "messengers"…

the pillar of cloud (Exodus 14:19)

pestilence or plagues (2 Samuel 24:16-17)

But it usually describes the whole range of spirits whom God has created, including both good and evil angels, and special categories such as cherubim, seraphim, and the archangel.

Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 times in the New Testament (Chafer, Systematic Theology, II, 3). Hence, there is ample information available in Scripture to allow us to build a foundation for our knowledge of angelic beings.

Angels are essentially "ministering spirits," (Hebrews 1:14) and do not have physical bodies like humans. Jesus declared that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke 24:37-39).

The Bible does, however, make it clear that angels can only be in one place at a time. They must have some localized presence.

Angels can take on the appearance of men when the occasion demands. How else could some "entertain angels unaware" (Hebrews 13:2)? On the other hand, their appearance is sometimes in dazzling white and blazing glory (Matthew 28:2-4).

*Sorry if my above writting seems off topic, I can get carried away. Now for your question: HOW DO ANGELS COMPARE TO HUMAN BEINGS?*

Angels are stronger than man, but not omnipotent (Psalm 103:20; 2 Peter 2:11). They are greater than man in knowledge, but not omniscient (2 Samuel 14:20; Matthew 24:36). They are more noble than man, but not omnipresent (Daniel 9:21-23, 10:10-14).

So in conclusion, No, from what I've learnt, humans arnt greater that Angels. But dont take my word for it, check it out.

God Bless

Living Martyr



*Thanx to Dr. Paul Eymann for the info*

Hi unworthy_singer16,


I'm not much for providing Bible verses off the top of my head, but I do recall hearing and reading that:

1. The depth of the meaning of our salvation is something into which "even angels long to peer" (paraphrasing some NT verse).

2. The NT says that when we have been resurrected it will be unto a glory that is "greater than the angels".

3. One reason that Satan has it out for us is that we were appointed a higher place (ultimately) than the angels.

Number (1) and (2) above are related. They essentially come down to the fact that what God is doing in us -- the great mercy and blessing that is bestowed upon us, His sacrifice which was for us, and not the angles, etc. -- in a sense elevates us, both as receivers of great glory and as reflectors of that great glory, to a higher plane than what the angles will know. The angels always illuminate the glory of God through praise, obedience, etc. But we humans, even while we live in this earthly body, can occasionally turn from sin and respond with a kind of thankfulness and praise for that salvation which surpasses this illumination of the angels (that's my understanding). They do not know what it is like to be lost, convicted, under wrath of judgment ... and then be saved from all of that out of God's sheer mercy and nothing else. Our response to that doesn't make us "greater", per se, but glorifies us in the sense that in the economy and currency of God's kingdom, those things which glorify God the most are themselves entities of great glory (thus the supremecy of Christ's glory because of how He humbled Himself the most and glorified the Father the most).

Number (3) I'm really not sure where the Bible mentions this, but I'll try to keep this thread in mind if and when I run across it.

Hope this sparks some thinking.


Arythmael

Wow! That was a very powerful and thought-provoking article. Thank you for sharing it! Now, I have a question of my own that I need answered: When something isn't mentioned anywhere in the Bible, and we preach for or against it anyway (even go so far as to impose whatever beliefs we have on others with a judgemental, shame-based attitude), are we creating and following a man-made doctrine? I am referring to masturbation. Just wondering!

Hey Joann67, welcome to the forum.

Here's a link that might answer your question from another topic, where we talk about masturbation and other stuff sorrounding it. I think it's on the 2nd or 3rd page.

Hope it helps, God Bless

Yes demons are angels, who have been kicked out of heaven, when they set up the abomination that causes desolation the myth of horns and goats hoofs with a pitch fork was invented, but they would be no difference in appearence as other angels or heavenly spirits.