Good point.
I feel that today's christianity is more "Biblical" than spiritual, I mean that people's do read the Scriptures, but they still do not know God, but because they read the scriptures, they allow they self to be pleas about them self.
The Bible is read through the lense of systematic theology and thus the truth is obscured.
The two main lies are...
1. Original Sin (
Ye cannot obey God due to inability)
This teaches that the root cause of sin in an individuals life is a result of their "birth state." Thus a human being is perceived as "born evil." This necessitates an understanding that a sinner is a victim as opposed to a criminal because the "sinner being evil" is a VICTIM of circumstance (ie. born a sinner). With the "exercise of free agency" being removed from the equation it is impossible for the sinner to truly feel responsible for their behaviour and thus repentance has to be redefined into a mere CONFESSION OF SINFULNESS.
Original Sin or "born a sinner" denotes INABILITY. In other words a sinner is a sinner involuntarily, ie. "I am a sinner and I cannot help it." Thus the petition to God through the redefined repentance (confession of sinfulness) is a petition to a needed OFFSET TO INABILITY. Thus people are conditioned to WAIT ON GOD to effect a change in them whilst they wait in a disabled state.
There is no inability of man. Sin is a choice. Of course we can do nothing without God because God is the source of light we need to plug ourselves into God (hence Jesus would say, "without me you can do nothing.") All human beings have the full capacity to plug themselves into God and thus become empowered to walk in the light, this is done through repentance and faith.
Repentance (a change of mind necessitating a change in action) is wrought through "godly sorrow" which brings about a CRISIS OF CONVICTION in the heart. Faith is simply a "trusting in God" and the necessitated "yielding to God" due to the authentic trust. Thus the hearts of the truly repentance are in a yielded state to God whereby the Holy Spirit enters in and leads.
The second major lie is...
2. Abstract or Positional Salvation (Ye can sin and not surely die)
This lie twists salvation into being viewed as an abstraction as opposed to being a manifest state. This false view is usually supported by an appeal to "Substitution Models" of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Such substitution models are the atonement models of Satisfaction, Moral Government and Penal Substitution. All these models treat the death of Christ as effecting a counter balance to the forgiveness of sins.
Satisfaction - The death of Christ serves as a substitute for the defaced honour of God caused by sin. Jesus being the perfect sacrifice thus offsets the forgiveness of sin because God's honour is not undermined through the free exercise of mercy. Many on the Arminian side of the church promote this view.
Moral Government - The death of Christ serves as a substitute for the penalty of the crime of sin. If God were to freely forgive sin without a substitute being made then the importance of God's law would be undermined (ie. one could violate the law without penalty). Thus Jesus offered Himself in place of the penalty being instituted to demonstrate before the universe that God takes his law seriously. Famous preachers like Charles Finney upheld this view and it is pretty popular among many street preachers (ie. Jesse Morrell).
Penal Substitution - Jesus bore the literal guilt of the sinner, as a substitute, and was literally punished by God as a guilty sinner thus satisfying the wrath of God which was previously upon the sinner. Thus the sin of the sinner is "credited" to the "account" of Jesus. This view is generally expressed within the context of a "double accreditation" for not only is the sin of the sinner credited to Jesus but the righteousness of Jesus is then credited to the sinner. Thus God views the sinner through a LEGAL LENSE and pretends they are righteous. All Calvinists uphold this view and many Arminians also uphold it.
The above three substitutional views are lies rooted in the imaginations of men. Bible verses are ripped out of context and rhetoric is then used to support them.
These substitutional views all operate in a very subtle manner. What they do is destroy the notion that the Ministry of Reconciliation is premised upon INWARD TRANSFORMATION and replace it with an understanding that the Ministry of Reconciliation is premised upon Atonement. Thus one, under these lies, perceives they are saved because they "trust in a provision" (abstract) as opposed to being in an "abiding state" (ie. abide in me and I will abide in you/Spirit of life in Jesus Christ sets us free from law of sin and death).
The reason Jesus offered Himself to God, on behalf of the sinner, was to effect PERMANENT TRANSFORMATION whereby God could forgive past sins and such abounding mercy would never be a license to rebel again, because those forgiven would have no intention to offend again due to being totally transformed within (sin is purged once and for all). The cross is the means by which a sinner can approach God in an acceptable manner and receive mercy and a restoration back into favour with God.
Under a "substitional mindset" the sinner is TRUSTING IN A PROVISION as opposed to PARTAKING IN A PURGING PROCESS. Thus, even under views like Moral Government (where they teach the sin must stop because they uphold the ability of man - Original Sin is denied by those whom uphold Moral Government), an ongoing act of rebellion is permissible because the "one who rebels" can simply "trust in the provision" again and try to do better. THE ACTUAL PURGING OF WICKEDNESS IS COMPLETELY NEGATED. The root of sinning is generally overlooked and due to this "wordly sorrow" as opposed to "godly sorrow" is very subtly promoted. Please ask me questions if this does not make sense to you.
When Jesus walked on this planet He taught...
Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
The cross is not a substitute but an EXAMPLE. Jesus did not die in our place, Jesus died on our behalf in order that we might follow Him and die also. It is through US DYING that a "setting free from sin" is wrought for the root of iniquity in the heart is purged through the death of our old man (in repentance) and the body of sin is destroyed (that compels a sinner to sin) that we NO LONGER SERVE SIN. This does not mean temptation ends, it means that the wicked heart which ensures enslavement to the service of evil has been utterly destroyed in the true Christian, in its place is a NEW HEART upon which the law of love has been written.
Satan does not want people to understand any of this and very few people will because it all implies a truly NARROW WAY where one must be DILIGENT to enter into. You are not going to be popular if you truly repent and exercise a true faith, especially amongst religious people.