One of the most effective deceptions that Satan has foisted upon Christians is the idea that certain groups are more spiritually mature than less-enlightened believers. The endless game of, 鈥淚 am more approved in the Lord%26#039;s eyes than you,鈥?divides the Body of Christ and gives non-believers a negative opinion of the Christian faith. Few people would ever openly say, 鈥淚%26#039;m a better Christian than you.鈥?It is through their beliefs and deeds that they proclaim their superiority. Listed below are six common ways people use to promote spiritual elitism.
1. Members of the One True Church
The trademark of this belief is that a particular group has a stranglehold on the truth and that there is no salvation outside of its organization. The groups hold that leaders are specially anointed by God, are in many cases infallible in interpretation of holy writings and, more importantly, are above reproach. These groups believe in what they feel are superior interpretations of scripture and they are more concerned about the doctrines and traditions of man than the Word of God.
Special revelations from God are a trademark of the One True Church. In most cases, the luster of the revelation can be found to have been tarnished by failed prediction. Bible requires 100 percent accuracy rate for all predictions that are claimed to have originated from God.
One-true-churchism leads to people questioning their salvation and spending more time worrying about their actions than on studying the Word of God and enriching their personal walk with Him.
Mark 7:9: 鈥淎nd he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.鈥?
2. The Keepers of the Law
This group of people believes in keeping Torah observance. While I see no problem with people choosing to keep the levitical kosher (dietary) laws or the Sabbath, there is a fine line between personal choice and self-righteousness.
These groups maintain that Jesus never intended for the law to go away. They base this belief on Matthew 5:17 and John 14:15, which say, %26quot;Think not that I have come to destroy the law,%26quot; and %26quot;If you love me, you will keep my commandments,%26quot; respectively.
What they are missing, however, is that Jesus clarified what He was referring to and it had nothing to do with the 613 laws of Torah. When Jesus was cornered by the Pharisees and asked which of the commandments were the greatest, He replied:
Matthew 22:37-40: 鈥淛esus said to him, %26#039;You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.%26#039; This is the first and great commandment and the second is like it: %26#039;You shall love your neighbor as yourself.%26#039; On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.%26quot; What was He referencing?
Isaiah 29:13: 鈥淭herefore the Lord said, 鈥業nasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.鈥欌€?
Jeremiah 31:33: 鈥淏ut this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.鈥?
It is impossible for the Judaic law to save anyone. The standard is too high for anyone to follow the law to perfection. The law said, 鈥淒on%26#039;t do it.鈥?Jesus said, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e guilty if you even think about doing something that is wrong.鈥?Paul warned us in Galatians that we can fall from grace by trying to follow after the law.
Galatians 2:21: 鈥淚 do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness [come] by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.鈥?
Galatians 5:4: 鈥淵ou have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.鈥?
3. Legalists
Scripture tells us that we are to exhort fellow believers (1 Thess. 4:1). So where is the line between assisting a believer in his walk with the Lord and condemning a believer for his every thought and action?
Common sense dictates that a believer should not dress wantonly and get drunk, but common sense is not enough for the legalist crowd. That crowd feels a duty to protect people from themselves, so it creates measuring sticks in order to maintain its role as its brother%26#039;s keeper.
Based on 1Thessalonians 5:22, which says to abstain from all appearance of evil, popular legalisms promoted are: no drinking, smoking, dancing, going to movies, or attending sporting events (because beer is sold). Women can%26#039;t cut their hair or wear makeup, jewelry or slacks. Women%26#039;s skirts or culottes must be at least below the knee in length. Men must wear trousers at all times, regardless of the weather. No eating out on Sundays. Everything must be approved by a minister. The list is endless.
While I am not advocating a free-wheeling lifestyle, I am saying that we are to walk in the Lord%26#039;s light. Our deeds are like filthy rags to Him; it is what is in our hearts that matters. Legalism pits believers against one another in an unending cycle of condemnation. Additionally, it can turn people away from understanding the grace of Christ when they are made to feel that they have bigger shoes to fill than they can wear.
Matthew 23:24: 鈥淸Ye] Blind guides, who strain on a gnat and swallow a camel!鈥?
4. KJVOnlyism
Some Christians proclaim that the 1611 King James Version (KJV) is the one and only true English version of the word of God and that all other versions were corrupted by Satan.
While Rapture Ready uses the KJV for Scripture references, it is only because this version is the mostly widely quoted. Nothing is dramatically wrong with other versions of Christian Bibles such as the New King James Version, New American Standard Version, and the Revised Standard Version. However, some versions, such as the Clear Word Bible of the Seventh Day Adventists or the New World Translation of the Jehovah%26#039;s Witnesses, were specifically rewritten to accommodate private interpretations, but even these versions contains the heart of Biblical truth.
No Bible version says that Satan died for our sins. The King James Only crowd implies that positive magical qualities are attached to the KJV version, and that negative energies indwell all non-KJV Bibles. I have never found a need to go digging into the meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek. Whenever I encounter a passage that seems unclear to me, most of the time, I%26#039;m able to find some other verse that resolves the confusion.
The King James Version was written in Elizabethan English (a la Shakespeare), and can be rather difficult for people to read, especially for those new to the faith. What is more important: encouraging people to read their Bibles to learn about Jesus, or overwhelming them with language that makes understanding the text more difficult, causing them to turn to commentaries of man rather than the Word of God?
Hebrews 5:12: 鈥淔or though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.鈥?
5. Word of Faith Proponents
This group promotes the doctrine of 鈥渘ame-it-claim-it,鈥?which says that the Lord has a storehouse full of blessings in heaven just waiting for the faithful to claim while they鈥檙e here on earth. It teaches that those in the Lord%26#039;s favor are blessed with health and wealth and that those who are struggling in life are not blessed because of their inferior relationship with the Lord and their inferior faith and trust in Him.
The biggest question here is the one of universal application. Is this teaching practical and accessible to all? Is a teaching of the Lord if it only applies to affluent suburbia but not the underdeveloped nations of the world? What application does the teaching have for believers imprisoned for their faith by atheistic, Islamic and other repressive governments?
Word of Faith promotes elitism between the 鈥渉aves鈥?and the 鈥渉ave nots鈥?by claiming that those who 鈥渉ave not鈥?are inferior Christians of inferior faith and the Lord is treating them as such.
Matthew 6:19-20: %26quot;Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.鈥?
Mark 10:31: 鈥淏ut many who are first will be last, and the last first.%26quot;
6. The Intellectuals
One of the most basic human desires is the praise of mankind. Many Christians like to impress other believers with their intellectual capabilities. Some go as far as proclaiming themselves spiritually superior to anyone who doesn鈥檛 share the same level of academic achievement.
The intellectual crowd is very harmful to the spreading of the Gospel. They motivate fellow Christians to try to master a lofty vocabulary that is often above the heads of average people. They hold the general philosophy that it is better to appear to be intelligent than it is to be understood by your audience.
The Bible repeatedly warns against trusting in the flesh for wisdom. Because Satan is a spirit being, with nearly unlimited intellectual skills, no man is able to match wits with him. Anyone who strays from the Word of God to rely on his own understanding is making a terrible mistake.
1 Corinthians 3:18-19: 鈥淟et no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.鈥?
Romans 1:21-22: 鈥淏ecause that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.鈥?
Bottom Line
Individuals who hold to an 鈥淚%26#039;m a better Christian than you鈥?mindset can always find Scripture that will support their stance. What they need to do is examine their rationale for holding to this view. If their offering of correction is not sparked from love, then one can only conclude vanity is their only motivation.
Philippians 2:2-3: 鈥淔ulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.鈥?
--------------------------------------...
Do you think you are better? Actually, the most common thing Satan does is what he did with Eve, convincing people that there is more to life that what God says. A good example of all the man made holidays. What God and Christ said to do was not good enough, so Christians had to come up with more. They had to eat from the tree to see if there was more.
Do you think you are better? OK, so what was your question?
Do you think you are better? Most people think their views are right and others%26#039; are wrong, and since being right is naturally regarded as better than being wrong, it%26#039;s not entirely surprising that people regard themselves as better (in at least one sense) than others. Indeed, they could be right, if their premises are valid.
Do you think you are better? This isn%26#039;t a question...it%26#039;s a sermon for crying out loud. Wasting your time, Love. There is no god....never was, is not now, or ever will be!
Do you think you are better? It is a ditch that many, many people, including Christians, fall into.
Do you think you are better? cant we all just get along
Do you think you are better? I don%26#039;t even TRY to be better than anyone,
I%26#039;m just living my life and having fun in the process,
Have an awesome friday
Do you think you are better? Wow, Thanks! Yes, I have learned to accept other faiths even if I do not believe them. I think you are definitely right. Thanks for sharing. It made my day!
Do you think you are better? wow...you took all that time cutting and pasting scripture into your question but you forgot to ask a question....you%26#039;re good...
Do you think you are better? I didn%26#039;t read all of that, but yes, I am better.
Do you think you are better? tried to read ,sorry! but I%26#039;ve never think that i am better than anyone...........
Do you think you are better? Who cares %26#039;bout that stuff? I%26#039;m a good kitty! I like catnip!
Now excuse me, I must lick my butt.
Do you think you are better? Since Christians proclaim to be the only way to God, that would make them influenced by satan, right!
Do you think you are better? You forgot that one of the biggest characteristics of Christ was humilty and charity above all. So how can you be humble and charitable whilst being judgemental and forcing your belief on someone else, you cant.
For God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son, does not state for just one group of people, His Son%26#039;s death is for everyone.
Thanks for the enlightening words. God bless you always.
Do you think you are better? Individuals (we all know this) are all different. We were all raised in different situations in different parts of the world with different parents/peers. Experience in life has lead us toward our own paths. The problem with religion is that no two people are alike- so how can there be so many rules. Christians incorporate their own belief system and values and social status into their preaching. (they%26#039;re not the only ones) Come on...no one way is better than another- and we all know this.
Do you think you are better? Yes what you are saying is all very true, however what gets me the most is that Christians take a back seat to the Jews, why they don%26#039;t even realize that the God of Abraham is not the father of Jesus, because if that were the case the Jews would be Christians. But they know Jesus is not the son of the god of Abraham.
Do you think you are better? Yes. I am better. That WAS the only question you had, right? I didn%26#039;t read much of the rest as it became quite clear early on that it was nothing more than self-righteous, holier-than-thou, condescending bullsh!t.
Have a super day!
Do you think you are better? You aren%26#039;t much better than a minister or pastor in a christian church. You take a verse here and a verse there to develop and enforce a point of view. Even the devil can quote verses - God is comes from within hearts, no matter what religion. All must read for themselves and allow God to speak to their hearts, not mankind. Christianity is like all religions - no one lets the words of God speak for themselves, when did God give any man the right to speak on his behalf? Christians talk of Jesus, but all Jesus%26#039; own words were of brotherly/sisterly love of humankind.
Do you think you are better? Back to your original question, God made all people equal. He sees and views everyone equally and He gave each one of us different yet equally important gifts to share among everyone.
It is us, ourselves, who pridefully act as though we are better. We are not without sin and only shows us that we need to be completely dependent on Christ alone. For He can develop the true character alone.
Do you think you are better? If people didn%26#039;t think they were better and deserved more then they would not see and reject what they believe is a failing, faltering or false church. There are so many kinds of Christian churches, each with its dogmas and doctrines and beliefs and doubts that to say that you are better is not necessarily a condescending judgement, but a spiritually mature discernment. We are told to know them by their fruits. We make choices based on discreet value judgements. If I strongly reject something, then I think I have the right to say it may be below me, or at a minimum, it%26#039;s not for me. I do believe that some churches are definitely more spiritual mature and advanced than others, if not by knowledge, then by spirit, charity, faith and works.
Do you think you are better? Who are the True Christians?
Down through history, God has always set apart and marked those who truly serve Him by keeping His commandments and His LAWS. The Apostle John was inspired to write: %26quot;He who says, 鈥業 know Him,鈥?and does not keep His commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is not in him%26quot; (1 John 2:4).
The true God does not even hear our prayers unless we keep His commandments! %26quot;And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS and do those things that are pleasing in His sight%26quot; (1 John 3:22).
God further states: %26quot;Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the DOCTRINE of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the DOCTRINE of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do NOT receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds%26quot; (2 John 9鈥?1).
This true teaching鈥攖he matter of OBEDIENCE to the true God and His LAW鈥攊s of PARAMOUNT importance in the eyes of God! Even in the final book of your Bible, the book of Revelation, this standard of OBEDIENCE is used as a sign of IDENTITY of God鈥檚 true Church down through the ages.
Notice! Speaking of the true Church, which has to flee from the Devil at the time of the end, God says: %26quot;And the dragon [Satan the Devil] was enraged with the woman [the true Church], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ%26quot; (Revelation 12:17).
And, at the very END of your Bible, as His final message to YOU, God states: %26quot;Blessed are those who do His COMMANDMENTS, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city%26quot; (Revelation 22:14).
True Christianity then, the Christianity of Christ鈥攊s a WAY of life! It involves the Living Jesus Christ living His life within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then we can truly worship God in the way He tells us to. We will be given spiritual LOVE to have the genuine out-flowing concern, the patience, the kindness and the mercy we need toward our fellow human beings.
Through His Spirit, we will %26quot;walk with God%26quot; on a daily basis鈥攔eflecting Jesus Christ in every facet of our lives. We will overcome the downward pull of sin and鈥攖hrough Christ in us鈥?we will SURRENDER to let God form within us His very nature and character. And so God Himself will prepare us and qualify us to RULE with Christ in the coming Kingdom of God soon to be set up on this earth! %26quot;And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; 鈥楬e shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter鈥檚 vessels鈥? as I also have received from My Father%26quot; (Revelation 2:26鈥?7).
For real Christians are called not just to be %26quot;nice%26quot; people鈥?NOT just to %26quot;roll around heaven%26quot; all day with nothing to do. Rather we are called to join with Christ in RULING this world and bringing genuine peace and JOY to the earth when Christ鈥檚 Kingdom becomes a glorious reality at His Second Coming. That is the very purpose for those called now to be true Christians.
Do you think you are better? What the heck are your asking us? Make is short and simple. Your %26quot;question%26quot; is so incredibly long, I%26#039;m pretty sure no one is going to read through all that.
Do you think you are better? I started out as a Catholic. Stayed that way for 12 years. Then I got to see the adults ( y%26#039;know the ones in charge) behind closed doors, behaving like the service message applied to everyone but them. I guess they were special. So I tried some non-denomination churches. I met lots of nice people and had lots of fun but... the same kind of thing happens. That is when I realized that us poor people are flawed and no matter how hard we try. we screw up often. Then we go get forgiven and we are %26quot;saved%26quot; . I quit going to church completely once I realized that the majority of people I saw treated mass as their shower for their soul. You can go out and get as dirty as you want then come in here and have yourself washed clean, figuratively speaking. That isn%26#039;t the idea I want to encourage so I keep my own faith. I don%26#039;t need to be told what is wrong or evil. I don%26#039;t need to worship in a building with other people. I don%26#039;t need to be encouraged to help my fellow man (or woman) . If you see someone in need and you can help ,then you should. If you see someone who needs protection, or advice, or just encouragement and you can take a few seconds or minutes to help then it is your duty as an adult to do so. I don%26#039;t believe I am better than anyone but I know I am happier than most and I try to do the right thing when oppurtunity knocks. Since most religions have many of the same virtues I really don%26#039;t get all the hate. You do realize that eventually you will find out the truth when your time is up.
Do you think you are better? I agree with some disagree with others, but for being against legalism, you sure have the idea that your way of viewing things is the only way. I am KJV only and for your info it is not about splitting Christians it is about conserving the truth of God. My KJV only stance is rooted in Love of God and love of God%26#039;s Word, so if you want to pass judgement on my way of thinking, be as legalistic as you want to be.
Do you think you are better? can you please stop writing sutch long explanations?
Do you think you are better? Answering this question as a agnostic there is a simple and underlying reason for the attitude of superiority...Progress. Direct conflict is perhaps the greatest motivation for progress in terms of culture, technology, and even genetics. The race to procure limited resources in essence leads us to edge out the %26quot;losers%26quot; out of the race. The spiritual, national, or ethnic unity we seek as a means of effecting a superior stance over other competitors are sought in a premeditated manner and are re-actively created by others as they perceive the threat posed to themselves.
