“What Does My Facebook Teach People?”

(From the blog series “Before I Post to Facebook”)

You are a teacher. Yes, that’s right—you teach. People do read what you post on Facebook and they do learn something.

It could be good. Or, it could be bad.

Before posting, we would do well to ask, “what does my Facebook teach people?” Especially if we claim the name of Jesus Christ. He says: “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matt 12:36).

Our question #3 this week has to do with our theology and how we express that. Everybody has a theology because everybody believes something about God. Needless to say, many well-meaning Christians have a bad theology. In part, 1) churches aren’t teaching biblical truth at any depth anymore and in part 2) people simply don’t ready their Bibles on a regular basis. What is the product when we mix these ingredients together?

False doctrine. (The Scriptures clearly denounce wicked teachers—1 Tim 3:3-5, 2 Pet 2:1-3, i.a.). On Facebook, I observe a concerning regularity of public postings containing wrong ideas about a Holy God and His revealed Word (1 Tim 3:7). You’ve seen this (perhaps you’ve done it yourself)—predictions for Christ’s return and rapture, special visions and dreams, serious errors about God’s love, and the abysmal application of Matt 7:1 (“Do not judge…”). Sadly, Facebook regularly reminds us that just because one claims the name of Jesus, it does not mean that he/she understands the Savior, His Word, or the Christian life.

Christian, we must be very careful what we teach people about our magnificent Lord Jesus when we post to Facebook. He does not jest in Matt 12:36; face-to-face we will talk to Christ about how we’ve represented Him on Facebook. Be a Berean (Acts 17:11)! Read the Bible, get to a Bible Study—equip yourself to avoid disparaging the faith. You will stand before Christ one day and talk to Him about Facebook. Best of all, you can hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” What does your Facebook teach people?