All of us have blind spots. These are characteristics that we can ignore or are simply unable to see. Fortunately, these usually do not have a dramatic impact on our lives. But with an addict, that is not the case.
I saw an interview with a 30-year-old man. He weighed over 600 pounds and was unable to walk due to the weight. He told the interviewer that he was going to lose the weight. He had committed himself to eating only 1800 calories a day and had started the program a few weeks earlier.
While the interview was going on, he was eating food that was all around him. There were three large pizzas, donuts, large bags of chips, and several liter-sized soft drinks. He never stopped eating and drinking, all the while insisting he would not eat more than 1800 calories a day. After all, he said, he was serious about losing weight.
Everybody watching the interview could see that he was addicted to food. I think he actually believed he was eating only 1800 calories a day, but his addiction kept him from seeing the obvious. Anybody could see that his statement was ludicrous.
I recently read another statement by a man who has to be an addict. Here is what he said:
I do not believe there is a single NT text that, when correctly interpreted, supports the notion that believers will be distinguished one from another for all eternity on the basis of their works as Christians. What is more, I am convinced that when this unfounded doctrine of degrees of reward in heaven is acted upon consistently—though, fortunately, it often is not—it can have highly damaging consequences for the motivation and psychology of living the Christian life.
What!?
I find this statement as amazing as the man who said he only ate 1800 calories a day. I have met many Bible teachers who do not believe in rewards and who think that all believers will be equal in the kingdom of God, but it is rare to find such a bold statement.
Even those who reject rewards will usually admit that there are verses that do indicate there will be rewards. Such teachers will say they don’t understand those verses. Maybe the rewards will be temporary, or perhaps these rewards will be different from the way we know rewards in this world. Perhaps we will get rewards and give them back to Jesus after a while. Maybe after we get them and desire to give them back, the Lord will let us have them anyway. Some of these teachers will even say they don’t believe in rewards because they seem unfair, but they are open to the possibility. They will admit that they might be wrong, even though they don’t think they are.
I can only assume that the writer quoted above is a theological addict. He is on a different level from the teachers described in the previous paragraph. I don’t doubt that he is a very intelligent man with multiple theological degrees. But he believes in a system that teaches that all people in the kingdom of God will be believers who lived righteous lives on this earth. If a person didn’t live righteously, they won’t be in the kingdom. Since all citizens of the kingdom will be holy people, there can’t be any differences among them. All will be equal. He is addicted to that theology. Any verse that says there will be rewards does not exist. Just like an extra-large pepperoni pizza.
Just as anybody watching the interview of the 600-pound man could see the pizzas, donuts, soft drinks, and chips, any unbiased reader of the NT can see plenty of verses that speak of rewards and of differences among believers in the kingdom. There is not enough room in a blog to list all such passages, so I will mention only a few: Matt 5:12; 25:20–28; Mark 10:37–40; Luke 19:12–26; Rom 8:17; 1 Cor 3:10–15; Rev 22:12.
It takes one’s breath away to hear a Bible teacher say there is not a single verse in the NT that teaches there will be rewards in the kingdom. It would be like the gasp many let out when the large man said he was only eating 1800 calories a day—while consuming his third large pizza.
Any addiction can cause problems. Theological addiction can make a person unable to see what is written all over the pages of the Scriptures. It is a warning to all of us. May we not place a theological system above the Scriptures. If we do, we can become addicted to those beliefs. Unfortunately, theological addicts are all around us.
