You Can’t Have It Your Way – Obeying God’s Whole Word

Scripture: James 1:22 (NIV) "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

Picking & Choosing is NOT Christianity

Many today treat the Bible like a buffet—taking the parts they like and ignoring the rest.

• They love “God is love,” but ignore “Repent and turn from your wicked ways.”

• They celebrate “Judge not,” but forget “Go and sin no more.”

• They accept grace, but reject holiness and obedience.

  
  

The truth: Partial obedience is still disobedience! You cannot say you follow Christ while ignoring half of what He says. If you reject any part of God’s Word, you are not serving Him—you are serving yourself.

Denominations That Have Strayed From God’s Word

Many churches today have strayed from Biblical truth by embracing man-made traditions, cultural trends, or outright falsehoods. If your church is teaching anything that contradicts the Bible, it is a false church. Here are a few examples from popular denominations:

Pentecostalism – Chasing Emotional Experiences Over Biblical Truth

How They Stray:

• Speaking in tongues as proof of salvation (violates 1 Corinthians 12:30 – “Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?”)

• Promoting hyper-emotionalism over sound doctrine

• Encouraging false prophets and "holy laughter" movements (violates 1 John 4:1 – “Test the spirits.”)

• Ordaining women pastors (violates 1 Timothy 2:12)

👉 Many Pentecostal churches elevate emotional experiences over biblical truth, leading to deception.

Seventh-Day Adventism – Adding Unbiblical Teachings

How They Stray:

• Teaching that worshiping on Sunday is the "Mark of the Beast" (violates Romans 14:5 – “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike.”)

• Ellen G. White's writings treated as divine revelation

• Soul sleep and annihilationism (denying eternal punishment, violating Matthew 25:46)

👉 If a church treats a human founder’s writings as equal to Scripture, it is a false church.

Evangelical Methodism – Watering Down Biblical Holiness

How They Stray:

• Ordaining women pastors (violates 1 Timothy 2:12)

• Embracing LGBTQ+ clergy and same-sex marriage (violates Romans 1:26-27)

• Becoming politically driven instead of biblically driven

👉 When churches follow cultural trends instead of the Bible, they are not following Christ.

The Catholic Church – Adding to the Word of God

How They Stray:

• Praying to Mary and the saints (violates Exodus 20:3-5 – "You shall have no other gods before Me.")

• Calling the Pope the "Holy Father" (violates Matthew 23:9 – "Call no man Father.")

• Claiming tradition is equal to Scripture (violates Mark 7:8 – "You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.")

👉 The Catholic Church has mixed Christianity with pagan traditions, FALSE Purgatory, leading millions into deception.

The Prosperity Gospel (Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Kenneth Copeland, etc.) – Twisting the Gospel for Money

How They Stray:

• Teaching that God wants everyone to be rich (violates Matthew 6:19 – "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.")

• Ignoring sin, repentance, and holiness to avoid offending people.

• Making Jesus a financial ATM instead of calling people to take up their cross and follow Him.

👉 If your church only preaches blessings, wealth, and happiness—but never preaches repentance, sacrifice, and holiness—you are in a false church.

Progressive Christianity – Redefining Sin & Ignoring Biblical Morality

How They Stray:

• Affirming homosexuality and same-sex marriage (violates Romans 1:26-27)

• Allowing women pastors (violates 1 Timothy 2:12 – "I do not permit a woman to teach or assume authority over a man.")

• Saying all religions lead to God (violates John 14:6 – "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.")

👉 If your church is trying to be “culturally relevant” instead of biblically faithful, it is a false church.

The Mormon Church – Teaching a False Gospel

How They Stray:

• Teaching that Jesus is a created being and the brother of Lucifer (violates John 1:1-3 – "In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God.")

• Adding the Book of Mormon to Scripture (violates Revelation 22:18 – "If anyone adds to these words, God will add to them the plagues described in this book.")

• Teaching that humans can become gods (violates Isaiah 43:10 – "Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.")

👉 The Mormon Church preaches a different Jesus and a different gospel. This is not Christianity—it is a false religion.

Jehovah’s Witnesses – Denying the Divinity of Christ

How They Stray:

• Teaching that Jesus is not God (violates John 10:30 – "I and the Father are one.")

• Teaching that only 144,000 people will go to heaven (violates Revelation 7:9 – "A great multitude that no one could count.")

• Denying the existence of hell (violates Matthew 25:46 – "Then they will go away to eternal punishment.")

👉 If a church denies that Jesus is God, they are preaching a false gospel.

God's Word is NOT Progressive – It is Eternal

(Matthew 24:35) – “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

Many churches today act as if God has changed His mind on moral and spiritual issues. They say: “That was for another time.” OR “We need to modernize the Bible.” OR “Culture is different now.” LIES! God’s truth does not change just because society does.

(Malachi 3:6) – “I the Lord do not change.”

Biblical Example: King Saul’s Partial Obedience

King Saul thought he could obey God halfway. He was told to destroy all the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15). Instead, he spared the best animals and kept the enemy king alive.

• Saul justified his disobedience by saying he was doing it for God.

• He made excuses instead of obeying.

  
  

What did God say?

(1 Samuel 15:22-23) – “To obey is better than sacrifice… Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king.”

LESSON: You can’t twist God’s Word to fit your own agenda.

What Should We Do?

1️⃣ Read the WHOLE Bible – Not Just the Parts You Like

(2 Timothy 3:16) – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.”

2️⃣ Follow God’s Commands, Not Feelings

(John 14:15) – “If you love Me, keep My commands.”

3️⃣ Reject False Teachers Who Twist Scripture

(2 Peter 2:1) – “There will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies.”

Final Warning: Obedience is NOT Optional

Jesus is coming soon. If you are picking and choosing which parts of the Bible to follow, you are in danger.

REPENT. TURN BACK. OBEY GOD.

Are you following the FULL Word of God? Or just the parts you like?

Closing Prayer

"Father, forgive us for ever compromising Your Word. Help us to obey You fully, without excuses. Keep us from deception, and give us strength to stand firm in truth. In Jesus' name, Amen."

This is a wake-up call! Let me know if you want to go even deeper!