71 popular Christian teachings which are to be challenged.

These are some of the popular teachings I have observed for that past 10 years of my Christian life among predominantly large Christian denominations/groups. By no means, this is an attempt to find fault but I strongly believe that right believing will lead us to right living and if our premise (of belief) is wrong, anything we build upon it could be just fragile, erroneous, and futile and as a result limiting us from experiencing the freedom Jesus gave His life for.


Regardless of what you have been taught/believed for years or decades, are you willing to take up the challenge to re-assess your beliefs as you go through this list with a "what if?" attitude?

1. God saves us so that He can change us.
2. When you sin, God is disappointed.
3. Preaching too much grace is dangerous.
4. We are merely a "sinner saved by grace".
5. God expect every Christians to be "soul winners".
6. Our heart is wicked and is deceitful above all things.
7. New Covenant is the continuation of the Old Covenant.
8. If we are not tithing (10% of our income), we are robbing God.
9. We can earn rewards in heaven if we work hard for God.
10. Through the death of Jesus, the ceremonial laws were fulfilled, but the moral laws (10 commandments) are expected to be obeyed by Christians.
11. When we are saved, our past sins are forgiven, then on, all the sins we commit in our daily life need to be confessed and sought forgiveness for.
12. The righteousness we have in Christ is only "positional" for now, it becomes a reality in its true sense only when we reach heaven.
13. The fact that Christ lives in us is only a "positional" truth which need to be a reality in the future.
14. We are saved by grace apart from the law, but once saved, Holy Spirit gives us the ability to obey the law.
15. The primary benefit of believing in Jesus is avoiding hell and going to heaven.
16. We need to take the whole bible as it is written to us and the whole bible (66 books) are applicable to us today.
17. Sinners need to clean up their acts before they can be accepted and loved by God.
18. The sign of being a good Christian can be measured by the various activities he/she is involved in - prayer, fasting, bible study, evangelism, good works
19. The issue of hell is a great tool to use in convincing people to accept Jesus.
20. The goal of Christian life is going to heaven one day.
21. Christians should always be nice, meek and gentle because Jesus was nice, meek and gentle.
22. The problems you have in life - sickness, poverty, depression etc are usually a sign of unconfessed sin your life.
23. Sanctification is the process of achieving sinlessness by obeying the law.
24. A Christian who is not busy with Christian activities is usually a backslidden christian.
25. The biggest advantage of becoming a christian is avoiding hell.
26. If you consider yourself holy and righteous (because of what Jesus did), there is a danger of falling into pride and arrogance.
27. If you preach total forgiveness, people might end up sinning more.
28. If you preach that you are totally free from the law, people will take it as a license to sin.
29. 10 commandments is the rail on which your christian train should be running.
30. It is the moral duty of a Christian to fight against all the sinful behaviors in the world (homosexuality, abortion, etc).
31. True conservative Christians are republicans.
32. Working for God is doing certain activities - bible teaching, preaching, evangelizing.
33. The biggest problem with Christianity today is that they drifted away from fundamentalism/conservatism.
34. If you haven't prayed the "sinner's prayer", you can't be sure that you are really saved.
35. Salvation is an "initial" experience, which is to be followed by a second (or more) experience of infilling of the Holy Spirit.
36. It is important for a Christian to be under the teaching (cover) of an ordained pastor and a local church.
37. By participating in the activities of your local church, you are participating in the works of the Lord.
38. If you pray earnestly, with the right amount of faith, God will grand your requests.
39. By starving/weakening your body, through fasting, you can strengthen your spirit.
40. All Christians have two natures - a sinful nature and a righteous nature. Both these natures are at war.
41. Sunday is the Christian Sabbath.
42. When you sin, you are out of fellowship with God.
43. You need to repent of each of your sins and confess it and seek forgiveness from God on a daily basis.
44. Not asking forgiveness to God again and again is a sign of arrogance.
45. All Jesus's teachings in the 4 gospel books (Lords prayer, sermon on the mount etc) are to be followed by Christians today.
46. Lord's supper should be administered by a pastor/priest in a church setting.
47. We should teach our kids to have a fear of God.
48. Bible should be used as a rule book for our daily life.
49. It is important for Christians to stay out of the "world", because the world can contaminate their Christian righteousness.
50. Faithful Christians are always prospering 
51. All your sicknesses will be healed if you have enough faith and use the right formula to pray.
52. If you aren't materially prospering, you are not believing and claiming God's blessings enough.
53. If you get busy for God, you will sin less and be blessed more.
54. Pastors/Priests/Leaders have special hot communication line with God, and special privileges to interpret the Bible unlike the flocks.
55. If you are not water baptized, you are not a Christian.
56. You can lose your salvation if you continually sin.
57. Holy Spirit's job is to convince you the sins you commit.
58. Salvation is nothing but a "guarantee" that we will go to heaven.
59. The formula for salvation is - Accept, Believe and Confess.
60. If you are emotional and crying in an environment of dim lights and slow music, it is a sign of the presence of Holy Spirit.
61. Church is a building with a set of activities.
62. God has a serious attitude, so everything "godly" must be serious.
63. Serious Christians have accountability partners.
64. It is important that we preach the right balance of law and grace.
65. Becoming a Christian is giving your life to Jesus.
66. In our Christian gathering, it is necessary that we invite the presence of Holy Spirit, so that He will be present.
67. Mosaic laws (10 commandments) are written on a Christian's heart.
68. Anyone  who questions the institutional church system and the practices of the organized, traditional Christianity is a heretic.
69. Having the attitude of a "sinner saved by grace" is a sign of humility.
70. By being a Christian you are bullet proofing yourself from various trials you may otherwise face in the world.
71. God communicates to us only through the Bible.