Are You a Social Media Christian?

Are You a Social Media Christian? When I got born again newly, the Holy Spirit led me to read several Christian books. Then, I did not know nor understand much of Scripture. Later in my walk with God, I understood that He helped me to feed on the milk of His word through the matured Christians who wrote those books. Our spiritual growth can be compared with the physical growth – infancy, teenage years and full maturity as an adult. When we encounter Jesus Christ as new believers, it is essential that we have some guidance in what we feed our spirit. The One who gives this guidance is the Holy Spirit. He knows what food is good for us through the different stages of our spiritual lives.

           Years after I fed so much on these spiritual books that the Holy Spirit introduced me to, alongside the Bible, I started spending more time feeding solely on Scripture. This gave me a different perspective on some of those books! Consequently, I could analyse some of the things the authors said, based on my understanding of the Scripture.

This totally agrees with what Paul said in Hebrews 5:12, “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!” It is okay for an infant to crave milk. If a teenager or an adult chooses milk solely over solid food, the parents would be deeply concerned. That was Paul’s worry then, and it is still relevant to our times.

Spiritual milk is not bad if the people we are feeding on are matured Christians that are grounded in their relationship with God or their theology is Scripture-centred. One of the problems the church is facing right now is the proliferation of fake ministers, especially on social media. Some of them are virtually rewriting the Holy Bible in their quest to entice viewers with sensational revelations from the God they have created in their minds. 

These are the people Peter had in mind when he wrote 2 Peter 2:23, “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingered not, and their damnation slumbered not.” The Scripture not only condemns the false teachers, but those who patronise them. Paul predicted this sorry situation in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.”

 The “itching ears” encourage social media influencers to propagate false gospel on their various platforms. These charlatans present exotic revelations that question the validity and inerrancy of the written word of God in the Holy Bible. One of their favourite areas of focus is the timeframe for the rapture, as well as the second coming of Christ.

Each time there is an earth-shaking event like a war or sightings in the inter-planetary system such as the blood moon, the internet ministers will predict the return of Christ and the rapture with dates! How ridiculous!  The Lord Jesus Christ said in Mark 13:32, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself.” How is this Scripture not enough to stop Christians from speculating about these anticipated events?

 Another area where false ministers are reaping windfalls from their deluded followers online is testimony on Near Death Experiences (NDEs). I used to watch videos of some of these testimonies until I realised that the devil is using them to attack the inerrancy of Scripture. In fact, some of those who claimed to have met God during their NDEs poked hole in certain areas of Scripture, especially God’s demand for holiness.

Their testimonies essentially present God as not caring about whatever we do on this earth, because of His great love for humanity. Is such a claim Scriptural? Certainly not. When the LORD revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, He said of Himself, “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness, maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.”

 Presenting just a side of God may attract people to a website or channel, as indeed it is happening in the West, especially America, but it will not invalidate the word of God. In Psalm 89:34 God declares: “I will not violate My covenant or alter what My lips have uttered.” If Almighty God does not edit His word, what authority does anyone on earth have to do so?

 If you are reading this article, and your major source of spiritual food is the social media, you need to do yourself a favour and retrace your steps today. On the day of judgment, you will not have any opportunity to accuse your social media gods of leading you astray. Make the Holy Bible the only source of your spirit food, for God has made His word the sole authority for believers. If you choose to continue in your folly because the exotic revelations presented by the false ministers tantalise your soul, you have clearly chosen death and an eternity with the master trickster, satan over eternal life with Almighty God.