A friend saw my face and demeanor after a discussion of spiritual gifts, and he kindly checked on me. I told him I sometimes struggle with the fact that everyone agrees my spiritual gift is teaching, but I’m rarely allowed to teach because I tell people about the “don’t be deceived passages”: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:5-7; 1 John 3:7. He even sent a text encouraging me that God will separate the wheat and tares on the last day.

I waited at least a week, probably more, and then I sent this text back:

Thank you for taking the time to send your voice text.

My hope is that Christian teachers will stop telling Christians that it is impossible that they are one of the tares; that they will tell them to beware of being choked out by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches rather than hinting or outright saying that it’s impossible for us to fall away. If someone “wanders from the truth” we are to restore them in order to “save a soul from death,” but how much harder that has been in my experience because that soul is comfortably thinking “I’ll just lose rewards; that’s sad, but at least I’m saved.”

I think most Christians would admit that the deceitfulness of riches and the cares of this world are one of the greatest problems we face in following Jesus in the USA. Who, though, is warning Christians of the danger?

If I were to ask the opposite: who is telling Christians there is no danger of being the third ground, the question would be much easier to answer. Almost everyone. This is my concern. You are being sent as a missionary, so I am happy to pass on that concern.

I do not want to separate the wheat from the tares myself. I just want to warn Christians that they can be found a tare on the last day.

Again, there are three “don’t be deceived” passages about this subject in the New Testament: 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 6:7-9; Eph. 5:5-7. I could also include 1 Jn. 3:7.

Since you will be teaching, let me exhort you to take a good look at Revelation 2-3. Does Jesus assure the 7 churches of their faith or warn them of their deeds?

When Peter says he wants to remind us of his teaching so we remember it after he dies (1 Peter 1:12-16), he is talking about “diligently” supplying extra things to our faith (2 Peter 1:5-7) and then diligently “doing these things” to “make our calling and election sure” (2 Pet. 1:10).

Warnings are central to the New Testament and rather than diligently passing those warnings on for the safety of the saints many, if not most, Christian teachers are diligently “protecting” the saints from those warnings.

This is my concern. Thus, it is very frustrating to have people say, “Yes, Paul, teaching is definitely your spiritual gift, but we can’t really let you teach because you’re going to tell people that they have to do things to make their calling and election sure” (2 Pet. 1:10-11).