When the False Teachers Come to Town

 

 

November, 1995

 

����������� This fall a few students and the staff have placed a special emphasis on praying for revival during the joint prayer meetings on campus.� Extra prayer meetings were set up, advertisements were placed around the school, and a special prayer bulletin was established. In Campus Crusade we taught about and began to practice fasting.� We also held a joint concert of prayer with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship this term.� Although a couple of key students in our movement have learned a lot about prayer and have grown spiritually through this emphasis, I feel that it is safe to say that the majority of Christians on the campus have remained untouched.

 

����������� What has touched many Christians on campus has been the arrival of a new cult-like group.� An alarming number of Christians both inside and outside our Campus Crusade movements at the U of O and at Carleton University have been approached by "friendly young people from Toronto who invite them to an exciting new Bible study or church meeting at the Ch�teau Laurier".� For the most part, the Christians have no idea that this group has been designated as a sect with mind-controlling practices by secular and Christian investigators alike.

 

����������� When I was working at U of T we had the same problem with the same group.� The group was eventually barred from York University and Ryerson because of the complaints of former group members who said that they had been harassed and subjected to abuses of authority.� Unfortunately, we in Campus Crusade were often tarred with the same "cult" brush since we often take the initiative to talk to strangers on campus.� Cults of any sort on campus simply make the task of evangelism more difficult.� As paranoia about cult activity rises and as more students are injured by the activity of cults, the spiritual battle for souls becomes more intense.

 

����������� When you live and work in a major centre, it's only a matter of time before the false teachers come to town.� The apostle Paul warned Timothy of the danger in Ephesus of false teachers who "teach strange doctrines". (I Tim.1:3)� In order to combat the false teachers and the many other problems Timothy faced in his ministry, the apostle made the following recommendation:

 

Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.� Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and teaching...Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.� (I Tim.4:12,13&16)

 

����������� As our team has wrestled with the presence of false teachers in our territory and how to handle them, the Spriptures have instructed us.� To combat error we must teach, preach, and live the TRUTH.� We must do this with perseverance and prayer remembering that the weapons of our warfare are spiritual and not of this world.� As believers walk in the Spirit of truth, exercising the gifts and ministries that the Spirit gives, God will win the battle through us.

 

����������� I started this letter by talking about prayer meetings for revival on campus.� So where is the revival?� I still believe it will come some day.� Instead of revival we're confronted with false teachers.� Why?

 

����������� My observation is that the vast majority of Christian students are preoccupied by their own studies, the pursuit of career and other personal concerns.� No one has time for seeking the lost.� True Christian community is a virtual unkown. Sacrificial service unto Christ doesn't fit in with the prior commitment to individualism and personal comfort.

 

����������� For the last six years we have had the luxury of presenting the gospel on campus in Ottawa without the hindering presence of the cults.� In my opinion the presence of a dangerous group on campus is not a mere nuisance but a wake-up call for the Christian community.� We need to become serious about the call to discipleship and in presenting the gospel of grace if we are to combat the cults.

 

����������� Please pray for true revival to occur on campus.� Pray that we will be successful in preaching, teaching, and living the truth as we face error.

 

 

 

����������������������������������������������������������������������� From the battlefront,

 

 

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Catherine

 

P.S. Praise God for my meetings with Elsa.� She has been studying the gospel of John with me this semester and is close to indicating a decision for Christ.