"Last Day Saints" blog #1: August 2010

The term "Toxic Faith" obviously means a faith that is poisonous and dangerous to one's health. There is a point in the life of a church when if God's love, compassion and mercy are not focused on, then the good news can become bad news. Jesus rebuked religious leaders of His day regarding new converts. "He said; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are"(Matt 23:15). Those leaders were very focused on the outer sacrifices but had neglected the issues of the heart. Jesus liken them to cups, clean on the outside but filthy on the inside.Because God is love, His first priority is our relationship with Him. In toxic faith churches the emphasis is first on performance and second on the fellowship with God. In John 15:8 Jesus said that the Father was glorified by us bearing much fruit(spiritual growth). But the way of becoming fruitful was to "abide in Him". The process of fulfilling the greatest commandment(Mark 12:30) is to first love the Lord with all your "heart". After that comes our "mind" and then our "strength".
When a leader begins using people to build his or her empire, ministry changes from a sacrifice of joy to slavery. God loves us deeply for a multitude of reasons. He loves us because we are His creation. He loves us because He knows and understands our weaknesses and frailties. He loves us because we are made in His image. He loves us because Jesus has made us presentable to Him. He loves us because, if we have given Him our lives, we are now His Spirit-filled sons and daughters. But in toxic faith churches, all those reasons are left behind and we become valued solely on the basis of how much we contribute and how hard we work. This type of legalism, or a performance-based relationship with God, affects not only our relationship with Him but with other people. Just like poison spreads, this toxic influence can effect any christian who is not covered by the blood of Jesus. In another post I will be sharing classic warning signs of these toxic, abusive churches to help other believers know what to look for. Now is the time to seek the Lord like never before. "Do not be decieved", God is not mocked; for what ever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he who sows to his flesh, will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life(Gal 6:7)...