Hypocrites and Pagans – Navigating the Narrow Gate (Pt 2)

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13-14

I began telling you two stories in the first part of our series. One was about hypocrites. The other was about pagans. Both are challenges to navigating the Christian life successfully.

Paul and the Pagans

Jesus Christ called Saul of Tarsus (Paul) to become His “apostle to the Gentiles.”

… he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Acts 9:15

 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles… Romans 11:13

… for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1 Timothy 2:7

… to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 2 Timothy 1:11

Paul took the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire sharing the Gospel of Christ with Gentiles and Jews – primarily with Gentiles. What we find in the Book of Acts is that Paul had to deal with the hypocrisy of Jews and the paganism of the Gentiles. While hypocrisy has been a problem in American churches for centuries, paganism in churches is more recent. That’s our current focus.

Paul “navigated” well through the paganism of the 1st century Roman Empire. How did he do it? He stayed on the narrow road that led through the narrow gate. The people of Iconium were ready to worship Paul and Barnabas as gods, but Paul wouldn’t allow the pagans to do that (Acts 14). It led to the people stoning Paul and leaving him for dead. However, God protected Paul and he lived on to continue preaching the Gospel to pagans and Jews. Paul’s message was clear – “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” When Paul returned to Antioch, Syria, after his first missionary journey, Paul reported that God “had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.”The Gospel of Christ overcomes paganism when it is practiced and preached correctly.

One of the best-known examples of how Paul dealt with paganism is found in Acts 17. That’s where he was traveling alone in Athens. The pagans thought he was “a proclaimer of foreign gods,’ because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.” Some of the philosophers invited Paul to speak to them at the famed Areopagus. What Paul said in Acts 17:2-31 is an excellent example of how he explained Christianity to pagans. He didn’t give in to their philosophies for a minute.

Don’t Give In To Paganism!

Not giving in to pagan philosophies is a primary emphasis of this series. Neo-paganism has slowly crept into churches, denominations, Christian colleges, seminaries, and conferences. It has infected modern Christianity with a spiritual disease that is slowly choking the truth out of the Gospel of Christ. Here are four examples of what I mean by that.

1. According to Lifeway Research in 2020 almost two-thirds (65%) of evangelical Christians believe Jesus is “the first and greatest being created by God.” Since that research was three years ago, I think we can safely say that a full two-thirds of “evangelical” Christians believe that Jesus Christ is a “created” being. Keep in mind that Lifeway, Barna, and other research groups view “evangelical Christians” as people who view themselves as being “born again.” So, two-thirds of people who self-identify as “evangelical, born again” Christians believe that God created Jesus. They believe that even though the New Testament is very clear that Jesus Christ is Eternal, Uncreated, and Co-Equal with God the Father and God the Spirit (e.g. John 1:1-4; 17:5; Colossians 1:15-18; Philippians 2:5-7; Titus 2:13). You may remember that the apostles dealt with that heresy in the 1st century, and the early Church condemned that view as “heretical.” Yet, here we are in the 21st century with a large majority of “evangelical” Christians believing in a false view of Jesus Christ. Diminishing the Person of the Son of God is a type of “paganism.”
2. Next example. The “truth” of the Gospel of Christ includes sharing the Gospel with unbelievers. Jesus and His apostles made that very clear throughout the New Testament. However, recent Barna Research (2019) showed that almost half of practicing Christian millennials say evangelism is wrong – “Almost half of Millennials (47%) agree at least somewhat that it is wrong to share one’s personal beliefs with someone of a different faith in hopes that they will one day share the same faith.” Though Gen Z was not included in Barna’s research, the future of Christian evangelism is not looking good. The reason given in the research was the “cultural temperature around spiritual conversations.” Younger people don’t believe it’s right to change what other people believe is “true.” This is what I mean by “creep and drift” in churches and denominations. Christians today have determined that they know better than God about the purpose of being a follower of Jesus Christ. While almost half of Millennials believe that evangelism is wrong, the numbers for older Christians who believe evangelism is wrong is substantially smaller (27% for Gen X, 19% for Boomers, and 20% for Elders). The drift toward error and disobedience in the church has been happening for decades, but is now increasing. It should be no surprise that as more Christians believe evangelism is wrong, fewer people are becoming Christians. The idea that truth is “subjective” rather than “objective” is a type of “paganism.” If everyone’s “truth” is equally valid, then why bother presenting evidence that Jesus Christ is the Truth and the only Way to the Father? This is very insidious and deceptive, and has deeply infected the American church.
3. Third example. Many people who say they are Christians don’t even believe Jesus rose from the dead, even though that is a primary teaching of the entire New Testament. It sadly demonstrates how wrong people who claim to be Christians are about Jesus. Why are they so wrong? Because their leaders are so wrong. Barna did research in 2000 on the number of U.S. church leaders who believed in the resurrection of Jesus. 33% of the church leaders said they believed Jesus was crucified but not physically resurrected.  33% of church lay leaders also said they believed in the crucifixion but not the physical resurrection. Keep in mind that was 23 years ago. It’s become much worse since then.
4. Fourth example. Barna Research from 2009 showed that only a slight majority of Christians (55%) strongly agree that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches. About a third of those same “Christians” believe the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Koran teach the same truths, including those about the nature of God, salvation, and truth.

Terrible Teaching

How did “Neo-paganism” make its way into the modern church? The Bible clearly points a finger at terrible teaching. Pastors, Bible teachers, seminary professors, religious authors, worship song writers, etc., have been teaching terrible theology for decades. They may have been deceived or they may be the deceivers. Whatever the reason, that bad teaching is causing very bad things to happen in churches and denominations across America. Christians are readily accepting Neo-pagan beliefs and practices into their lives and congregations because of terrible teaching.

Pastors and teachers have a particular responsibility in the Christian community. They are to shepherd, feed, guard, and equip the people of God for “their” maturity and ministry –

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

Pastors and teachers are supposed to help Christians “not” be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. Notice where that comes from – “by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” The infiltration of Neo-paganism in the church doesn’t happen by chance. It happens because of the “trickery” of men. It happens because of the “cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.” The church in America is in the position it’s in because of bad teaching.

Paganism Revived

Neo-paganism is simply paganism revived. It’s the old paganism in new clothing. You can dress up ancient paganism and call it new, but it still stinks. God was very specific when He warned Israel about the dangers of pagan worship as they prepared to enter into the “promised land.” That included idol worship (including the worship of nature), sorcery, divination, witchcraft, sexual immorality, child sacrifice, and the like.

But Christians don’t believe in paganism or do pagan things. Right? I wish I could agree, but I can’t because of what I see influencing Christians today. We are being deceived into accepting “religious syncretism.” That’s where Christianity blends well with other types of religious or spiritual systems to make a new system that is supposedly better than the Christianity the apostles practiced and preached. Since the Holy Spirit of God inspired that preaching, people believe that they either know more than God or that God has changed since the New Testament was written. The Bible teaches that God is unchanging and knows more than anyone else in the universe, so those people are wrong – dead wrong.

Here are some of those religious philosophies that are deceiving Christians by the millions in the Americas –

• Relativism – the belief that truth is subject to what individual Christians view as their “personal” truth (reality) – faith in “feelings” are more relevant and important than faith in “facts” – “relativism” more important than “revelation”
• Inclusivism – the belief that all religious viewpoints are equally valid and all people are “God’s children” … buying into the idea that everyone is a “child of the same universe”
• New-Ageism – the belief in spiritual energy in all things; belief in astrology; belief in palmistry; belief in reading “spiritual cards;” belief in Ouija boards; belief in psychic abilities; belief in power of crystals; belief in mystic powers; “grave sucking” (a type of necromancy); “drunk” in the spirit; “casting” of spells; spirit writing; belief in reincarnation; etc.
• Spiritualism – the belief that living people can communicate with the dead through “spirit guides” and meditate using their spiritual “energy,” including Kundalini energy; inviting spirit beings to enter the human body for wisdom, power, fame, or fortune
• Angel-ism – belief in the power of angels to serve the desires of God’s human children
• Paranormal – belief in paranormal activities (e.g. seeing ghosts or apparitions, visiting Heaven or Hell and returning to describe it, etc)
• Human wisdom – belief in the power of human wisdom to solve problems in the human condition (e.g. humanistic psychology, philosophy)
• Destiny Control – belief that humans can control their destiny, including health, wealth, and overall prosperity

What’s behind Neo-paganism and New-Ageism? “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). When Christians invite these beliefs and activities into their minds, into their families, into their churches, into their denominations, into their schools and seminaries, they are inviting in deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons.

Paul also sent a warning to the Christians in Corinth – “I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.” (1 Corinthians 10:20) He wrote that in the context of the Lord’s Supper and “things offered to idols.” Interestingly, Paul addressed Israel’s history of idol worship while wandering in the wilderness, then told the Corinthians to “flee from idolatry.” In that context, Paul wrote this –

Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. 1 Corinthians 10:18-21

Think about what Paul was saying. He did not want Christians “to have fellowship with demons.” How could Christians “fellowship” with demons? The Greek word translated “fellowship” is κοινωνός. It means “a joint-participant, a sharer, a partner, a companion.” Can you imagine partnering with demons as a child of God? Paul said it was happening in the Corinthian church and needed to stop. Many Christians today are “partnering, participating, cooperating,” with demons, whether they realize it or not.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, warned about a wisdom that “does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” (James 3:15) The Apostle John warned that people in the end times would “worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood” rather than repent of their evil. (Revelation 9:20)

Demons existed before humans did. They have long been involved in deceiving people into worshipping false gods. Demons accepted the worship of humans. Moses wrote this in Leviticus 17 – “They shall no more offer their sacrifices to demons, after whom they have played the harlot” (Leviticus 17:7). Blood sacrifices were made to gods. God revealed in Leviticus that demons were some, if not all, of the gods that people sacrificed to in Egypt and other nations of the ancient world. Paul pointed that out in 1 Corinthians when he wrote about Gentiles sacrificing to demons and not to God. Then Paul wrote, “you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.”

Christians cannot have it both ways. They cannot partner with demons through Neo-paganism and still worship God. God is “a jealous God” and will not share Himself with demons. “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Mixing worship of God with worship of demons is missing the narrow gate. You are now on a broad road that leads to destruction.

Neo-Pagan and New Age Examples

Pew Research in 2018 found that – “While eight-in-ten Christians say they believe in God as described in the Bible, six-in-ten believe in one or more of the four New Age beliefs analyzed here, ranging from 47% of evangelical Protestants to roughly seven-in-ten Catholics and Protestants in the historically black tradition.” Those four New Age beliefs mentioned in the research included belief in

1. reincarnation
2. astrology
3. psychics
4. the presence of spiritual energy in physical objects like mountains or trees

Are you mixing your belief in Christ with Neo-pagan and New Age beliefs? How would you know if you were? I think we can learn something from a group of Jews who lived in southwestern Macedonia during the 1st century –

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. Acts 17:10-12

The “Scriptures” the Bereans searched daily was the Hebrew Bible – what Christians know as the Old Testament. The Jews listened to what Paul and Silas said about Jesus, then searched through the Hebrew Bible to see if their “truth claims” were true. Many of the Jews did believe what Paul and Silas said. So did some Greeks, “prominent women as well as men.”

The Jews in Berea knew a lot about paganism because they lived among pagans. Pagans in Macedonia worshipped most of the same gods as other Greeks of the time. That included the “Twelve Olympians,” including Zeus, Apollo, Heracles, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Ares, Hermes, Dionysius, and Poseidon. They also knew the long history that Israel had had with paganism, including the worship of even more ancient gods like Asherah, Baal, Dagon, Marduk, Moloch, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot, and Astarte. Paul’s teaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God may have sounded like paganism to some Jews, but the Berean Jews realized as they searched the Scriptures that Jesus was in fact the long-promised Messiah of Israel – the Son of God, the Son of Man.

What I want you to notice is the word “searched.” It’s an English translation of the Greek verb ἀνακρίνω, which means “investigate, question, examine closely.” I spent much of my career as an investigative journalist, so I understand the process of ἀνακρίνω. It means observing carefully, asking many questions for interpretation, answering those questions thoroughly, making correct interpretations from the answers you get to your questions, then applying the truth to your life. If you follow the process correctly, you will come to the truth. The Apostle Paul used the phrase, “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) to express the same idea. It’s the process of handling the Word of God “correctly.”

Next Time

The “deceivers” in today’s churches and denominations are skilled at hiding Neo-pagan practices from Christians, but that doesn’t mean Christians can’t recognize them. I’ll share some effective methods on how to do that in the next part of our special series.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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