Before doing this study, please read Psychology, Boundaries, Marijuana, or Scripture? It explains that in many areas, Christians have incorporated atheistic psychology into Bible teachings thus polluting and compromising true biblical principles. It offers examples of the way psychology has changed with culture, calling things healthy which they previously called unhealthy. It also offers examples such as the popular Boundaries teachings which add a few biblical principles to atheistic psychology and present their teachings as Christian when they are not.
So let's look at some passages that warn us against such things:
1. Preparing our minds.
We'll never be able to identify these half-truth teachings unless we prepare our minds and hearts in God's Word, refusing to conform to culture.
1 Peter 1:13-16: “Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
2. Remaining faithful to Scriptural principles.
We must choose truth even when it means personal sacrifice and repentance.
Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
3. Guarding our hearts and minds.
We should avoid any teacher who incorporates worldly principles into his/her teachings.
1 Timothy 6:20-21: “Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all.”
4. Understanding the source of false philosophies.
Any human philosophy which leads people away from biblical principles is Satanic propaganda.
1 John 5:19: “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”
2 Corinthians 4:4: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
2 Corinthians 11:3: “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
5. Accept our Christian responsibility.
We are called to identify and refute false teachings.
2 Corinthians 10:5: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Additional Explanations of False Psychological Teachings
Please take time to look at the following list and familiarize yourself with false teachings which seek to combine psychology and Bible verses.
This article explains the basic premises of the boundaries teaching as highlighted in the first and last chapters of the book.
Overview and introduction: How Cloud judges traditional Christian answers, psychological answers, and his answers.
This article examines the three Scripture passages most often used by Boundaries books and online articles to explain the foundation of their teaching.
This
article explains the benefit of using "guidelines" instead of
boundaries. Boundaries promote protection from difficulties; guidelines
promote reconciliation.
This review of Chapter 15 in the Boundaries book examines the Boundaries' claims about what they call "guilt messages."
If you follow popular teachings of the day, you can protect yourself from difficult relationships and prevent your own maturity.
The Boundaries teachings goes far beyond the books of Cloud and Townsend. This devotion offers another popular example.
Reviews of some of the articles from the Boundaries website:
Hope or Sin: Are "Boundaries" feeding selfish hearts or strengthening hearts for the Lord?
Beware of teachings which blame-shift problems onto parents. It's popular but leads to big losses all around.
This devotion uses a teaching in the Boundaries book to explains two methods of false teachings.
A review of the Boundaries article "Unsafe People Exist at Church Too." Is it fair? Is it Biblical?
It's hard to believe this is a "Christian" ministry making this recommendation.
Christians understand that we are fallen human beings who need grace. So why do we choose "Boundaries" instead?
This article reviews the Boundaries article "Wise, Foolish, or Evil" comparing it's teachings with Scripture.
John
Townsend believes husbands are supposed to submit to wives just as
wives are supposed to submit to husbands and all submission problems are
the husband's fault. This article compares those views with Scripture
and with the experiences of a wife married 50 years.
A pastor outlines the major errors in the Boundaries philosophy.
Other Pertinent Devotions:
It's
becoming popular to call people "toxic" when they are simply annoying.
This is one example of misusing language to disobey God's commands.
Actions
speak louder than words. And our attitude toward others reflects our
belief or denial of Scripture. God calls us to deal graciously and
persevere in difficult relationships.
It's
becoming increasingly popular to avoid difficult people. This 1-minute
devotion explains why that can cause us to miss a big blessing!
Narcissism
is defined by a lack of empathy and a demand for favor. It used to be a
rare clinical problem, but many people have taken on narcissistic
personality traits making relationships difficult.
Christians
have the power to mend relationships by applying these 3 Biblical
principles. A lack of these is a sign of weak faith
Many
boundaries are erected when one person corrects another, especially
when parents correct an adult child. These type of boundaries are based
on pride, not wisdom. If we can't take correct, how small is our faith!
This 1-minute devotion explains.
It's
very popular to set up "boundaries" in our relationships, but we gain
so much more when we build bridges. This 1-minute devotion explains.
Many Christians are erecting boundaries instead of obeying this command and they're losing great blessings in the process.
It can be hard to deal biblically with annoying parents, but this devotions explains how to do so biblically.
Many families are dealing with estrangement. These 4 biblical principles can help us restore family relationships.
Jesus
made a strong warning against those who find excuses not to honor their
parents...Blessing or curse....the decision is ours.
This 1-minute devotion offers 3 reasons people don't get along and 3 biblical solutions
A
helpful look at handling an important relationship which is often
neglected or rejected by wives who don’t understand how important it is
for the well-being of their marriage.
The word "boundaries" has taken on a whole new meaning in
relationships, and Christians are setting ungodly boundaries at the
encouragement of poor counselors.
Exaggeration is always deceptive, and it does great harm when we use it to avoid reconciliation and forgiveness.
There
are some popular self-righteous excuses for avoiding calm, mutual
discussion in troubled relationships. This 1-minute devotion gives the
Biblical view of such problems.
Family relationships can be messy at times, but genuine Christians will refuse to make any of these 6 damaging choices.
He
told me he was "praying for revelation" but he was missing the enormous
revelation at his fingertips. This 1-minute devotion explains.
It's
a popular cultural idea, but it's not biblical to "Trust Your Heart."
However, many of the Boundaries articles encourage us to do that very
thing. This 1-minute devotion explains why trusting our hearts is an
unbiblical idea.
The
story of Joseph is especially pertinent to our discussion of the
Boundaries teachings. It was Joseph's brothers who tried to set up
boundaries, not Joseph. Of course, they were violent and ungodly, but
that's one of the major flaws in the Boundaries teachings: it's often
the immature or vengeful family member who sets up the boundaries, and
it prevents them from growing up. Christians may be able to avoid their Genesis 50:19-20 situations but they won't be better people because of it.
Most
adult children are “speck-finders” when it comes to their parents, but
the blessings belong to “log-removers.” This 1-minute devotion explains.
Copyright, Gail Burton Purath, BiteSizeBibleStudy.com, 2024
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