More Tares

People with long memories might remember that the purpose of this blog is to help Christians who have been hurt by churches or other Christians. If you have a really long memory, you might recall that I believe that many of these problems are caused by tares. Tares are false Christians who are trained by genuine Christians. Satan plants tares and then goes away; he does not do any great thing in their lives. When tares produce their fruit, the servants (in some parables, servants picture soul-winners) can recognise them for what they are.

Doubly redeemed Christians have tares. Troubled by their lives of sin, and perhaps influenced by Godly training in their youth, some people make a false profession of faith. Some of them can fit in well with the doubly redeemed, because they enjoy the rock music, lack of standards, and lack of condemnation of outward sin.

Conservative fundamentalists also get tares. As long as the tares cling to their man-made standards, the conservative fundamentalists believe that they are living holy lives. Colossians 2:23 talks about man-made rules, but it is almost impossible to understand in the King James Version. The New King James Version translates Col 2:23 "These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."

When these two types of Christians insist on genuine Biblical holiness, they have an easier time spotting tares. And when you recognise tares, it is easier to avoid being hurt by them.