I first heard about this book in a live radio interview I did a few weeks ago. I was discussing my book, Don't Check Your Brains at the Door, and the host mentioned that the next day's interview would be with Steve McVey, author of 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday.
The title intrigued me, so once the interview concluded, I went online and ordered a copy. I'm glad I did.
True to the title, McVey discusses lies most Christians believe, and many pastors teach. He says he himself once taught these lies from the pulpit. But he patiently and passionately uncovers each one and explains why the teaching of Scripture is so much better than the lie we have flippantly (and sometimes not-so-flippantly) believed. Examples include:
- “Salvation is giving your life to Christ.”
- “Our sins are under the blood of Jesus."
- "God won't put more on you than you can bear."
- "Your sins can disqualify you from being used by God."
- and more.
There are those who struggle with the pure, undiluted grace of God, so they take the concept of balance and try to apply it here. They can't very well deny the grace of God--it's too evident in Scripture. But they'll try to tone it down with this argument: "Well, yes," they say. "Grace is a wonderful truth. But you have to keep grace and truth in balance with each other so you don't go to an extreme." Since few people want to be "extreme," that seems to make reasonable sense....This approach is problematic because it draws a line down the middle and puts grace on one side and truth on the other, as if the two are in opposition to each other. It's as if they're saying that grace is not truth and truth is not grace. That's not what the Bible says....If you're going to draw a line, draw it between grace and legalism, not between grace and truth.
There's more, but you really should get the book and read. You won't be sorry.
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