Rachel Stephens out of Las Vegas (for the skeptics among my tribe, yes there are solid believers even in Vegas) is someone I have been following for a few months now.
I first heard of her through my mother who mentioned Rachel’s YouTube material, an apologetics/biblical studies channel under the ministry name Crack Your Bible, when we were talking about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text.
While we may not agree on everything, Rachel’s approach is hard-hitting and detailed with the text of Scripture. And she will challenge you to dig, dig, dig into the canon.
Recently, she posted a lucid piece on Facebook, on the topic of ψευδαδελφοι (false brothers: Galatians 2:4-5). And while I could have posted my own thoughts, hers are better, and so I asked her for permission to repost, which she gave. I will also provide a link before the original post on FB for your reading. Read on:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2545633502177417&id=329299267144196
Hey Fam!
Have you ever had to deal with false brothers in the church? You know those fake friends who turn on a dime and let their true colors show when they don’t get what they want? I know this is one of Paul’s complaints throughout scripture – the injuries from false brothers!Paul talks about all the garbage he’s had to put up with in ministry, check out 2 Corinthians 11, verse 26 in particular:
“24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
Just today I dealt with a false brother in Christ!
False brothers are everywhere. Creeps pretending to be part of the #CrackYourBible Fam just so that they can benefit themselves and try to get an endorsement.
Beware of people that are quick to flatter!
When I didn’t immediately follow this person, they deleted their endorsement, unfollowed and then asked me why I wasn’t following them.
“For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.” – Psalm 5:9
For my family’s privacy, I don’t even follow any of them on social media, let alone strangers with a fake name, & a random profile pic that isn’t of them.
Luckily this person showed their true colors within minutes of me liking their original post, but work on not being too trusting of people, especially at church.
Two days ago, I read an article about how 93% of convicted mol esters described themselves as “religious.” https://religionnews.com/2014/01/09/startling-statistics/
Fellowship ≠ no vetting. Trust is earned, even in God’s family.
Be on guard! Don’t be quick to trust, especially people who seem over eager to interact with you, and especially your kids. This includes church leadership! There are too many predator pastors claiming to be “Christian” and who are supposedly “vigilant” in defending the faith when they’re really just “vigilant” about getting into your pants.
Be especially weary of individuals online who have super religious screen names. In my experience, the more religious the screen name, the more secret sin the person is trying to hide, especially if the screen name contains the words “Christian” or “Jesus.” That immediately sets off red flags in my head.
Stay safe, Fam!
“Trust is earned, even in God’s family.”
That one line is worth the price of admission.
For more of this material, give this woman a follow on her social media, and especially the YouTube channel.
Just be warned, any religious mindsets you have will be challenged. She does use the language of the culture in order to address her generation.