“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psalm 12:6–7
What is a hybrid? The term denotes the mixing of two different elements. This has been done with plants, animals, fuels and now, even cars.
The purpose of creating hybrids is to enhance the quality of the original; it is the process of taking the best of the originals. They are more vigorous than either of the species they were derived from.
For example, the mule, which is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, is strong for its size and has better endurance and a longer useful lifespan than its parents. However, mules are sterile, as are all plants and animals that are hybrids between two species.
The key sentence here is that they are sterile. Hybrids cannot reproduce.
How does this relate to Christianity? In a sermon one Sabbath the preacher mentioned the term, “Hybrid Faith” and brought out some important points regarding how some people want to create a hybrid religion. This prompted me to study more into the subject.
Hybrid faith, then, would be the combination of two different belief systems. For example someone who says, “I believe in Jesus Christ as my Saviour” and then adds, “but all religions lead to the same place.”
Or, when a person claims to be a Christian, but is not in harmony with the counsels given in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy. It is not genuine. Hybrid faith is a form of religion that embraces Jesus Christ, using His name, claiming to believe the Bible while mixing the traditions of man and using man’s human reasoning to measure Biblical truth. “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by Thy name, to take away our reproach.” Isaiah 4:1. The end result is a faith that is nothing but a mixture or blending of two totally different species—the word of God and the flesh of man. It is not “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6
Although the word “hybrid” is not found in the Bible, yet the concept is there regarding faith.
“So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.” 2 Kings 17:32–33, 41
But the truth is “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24
Regarding hybrid faith, a pioneer of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, R.F Cottrell, described it as “A kind of hybrid, obtained by crossing your own theory with the words of the text and other teachings of the Bible.” –Adventist Review and Sabbath Herald, May 23, 1865
A hybrid is sterile—it cannot reproduce. Consequently, hybrid faith is also sterile. It cannot reproduce.
Jesus gave a parable about a man who entrusted talents to his employees and then went to a far country (Matthew 25:14–30); when he came back he asked his employees to give an account of their talents. Two of the employees reproduced their talents—doubling them. The third employee had hybrid faith and his talent did not reproduce. It was sterile. He was cast into outer darkness and his talent given to another.
Hybrid faith is clearly seen in the Christian world, but is it found in God’s church? In God’s church, we teach that the way of salvation is to believe in Christ as our personal Saviour from sin; to allow Him to live in our hearts and be willing to let Him change our characters from sinner to righteousness. We believe that God’s measuring stick for salvation is the Ten Commandments. Yes, we teach; we believe, but what about practice? Do some practice hybrid religion as they did in Ancient Israel? Saying they fear the Lord, but worship their graven images?
The Christian with hybrid faith may speak much about loving God and people. Since this agrees with God’s word it is a deadly form of deception and can be so difficult to detect.
Here are a few examples of Hybrid faith:
1) The Lord says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. And then He gives us plenty of instructions on how to keep the Sabbath. “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD.” Isaiah 58:13–14. Although we believe in the Sabbath truth, yet, listen to the conversations of some people as they come out of church, sit at lunch, or on Sabbath afternoons. Do you hear people talking of the Lord? Discussing the sermon? Or are they speaking their own words?
2) The Lord says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” (Malachi 3:10), but some say, “I can’t afford to do so this month or I will not be able pay my bills.” Of course you cannot pay your bills unless you pay your tithes first. “There are many who urge that they cannot do more for God’s cause than they now do; but they do not give according to their ability. The Lord sometimes opens the eyes blinded by selfishness by simply reducing their income to the amount they are willing to give.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 484. Or the person with hybrid faith will give the Lord a handful of coins that they have left over by the end of the week, after they have taken care of their own needs and interests. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21
3) The Lord says, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.” Matthew 22:21. The Christian with hybrid faith will say, “The government is corrupt so I will not pay my taxes.” They use this argument as a justification to cheat on their income taxes. What government could be more corrupt than the Roman government in the days of Christ? It is sin to not be faithful with your taxes to the government.
4) The Lord says, “The true Christian will not desire to enter any place of amusement or engage in any diversion upon which he cannot ask the blessing of God. He will not be found at the theater.” –Messages to Young People, p. 398. The hybrid Christian will claim that the theatre is different today and there are wholesome movies so it is okay to go to the theatre. Or then they will not be found in the theatre, but wait until the movie comes out on DVD or on the Internet, and then they will watch it with a “clean” conscience. We should ask ourselves if Jesus would be willing to sit down and watch with us. If not, then should we watch? Would we even want to? To be somewhere without the presence of Jesus is a fearful thought.
5) A whole book has been written about what the Lord says regarding health laws (Counsels on Diet and Foods). There are many health counsels that the Lord expects us to follow so that we can have optimum health. The reason for so many counsels is because man has invented so many foods, and habits, that are not healthful (i.e. No eating between meals, no sweets that combine sugar, milk and eggs, no drinking with meals, etc.) The Christian who is hybrid will say, “Oh, it does not matter so much. God is not that particular about small breaches of health laws.” Is He not? How serious was the sin of appetite that placed Adam and Eve outside of the Garden of Eden? One piece of fruit wrongly indulged. How seriously did Daniel take the health laws? “There are many among professed Christians today who would decide that Daniel was too particular, and would pronounce him narrow and bigoted. They consider the matter of eating and drinking as of too little consequence to require such a decided stand—one involving the probable sacrifice of every earthly advantage.” –The Sanctified Life, p. 19, 20. How many adhere strictly to a “thus saith the Lord” in regard to the health laws? “Those who reason thus will find in the day of judgment that they turned from God’s express requirements and set up their own opinion as a standard of right and wrong.” –The Sanctified Life, p. 20. “You should never let a morsel pass your lips between your regular meals.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 180. One small crumb eaten between meals is condemned by God. Do not let a crumb keep you out of heaven.
6) The Lord says, “Love your enemies.” Matthew 5:44. The Christian with hybrid faith says, “I can love my enemies, but those that left our faith and are no longer in the church, I will ostracise them and have nothing to do with them. They are out of fellowship with God.” The Lord reproves this attitude from the members of His church. “In laboring with the erring, some of our brethren had been too rigid, too cutting in remarks. And when some were disposed to reject their counsel and separate from them, they would say: ‘Well, if they want to go off, let them go.’ While such a lack of the compassion, and long-suffering, and tenderness of Jesus was manifested by His professed followers, these poor, erring, inexperienced souls, buffeted by Satan, were certain to make shipwreck of faith. However great may be the wrongs and sins of the erring, our brethren must learn to manifest not only the tenderness of the Great Shepherd, but also His undying care and love for the poor, straying sheep. Our ministers toil and lecture week after week, and rejoice that a few souls embrace the truth; and yet brethren of a prompt, decided turn of mind may, in five minutes, destroy their work by indulging the feelings which prompt words like these: ‘Well, if they want to leave us, let them go.’” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, 18–19
The prayer of the Christian with hybrid faith is even very self-centred. They pray for blessings for themselves. If you study the prayer of the New Testament Christians, they did not pray for employment, healing, comfort, and money alone. They initially prayed for obedience, boldness to preach and speak the gospel, the furtherance of the Kingdom, wisdom, knowledge, grace, perseverance in suffering, courage, and power. King Solomon prayed for wisdom (1 Kings 3:9).
The believer with hybrid faith is often consistently late for church, or is always absent when there are church work days or missionary days. Yet they would never miss work or school. They honor their jobs, education, and responsibilities far more than they honour God.
The formula is: Flesh + Spirit = Hybrid faith. . . dead end. Unfortunately, those with hybrid faith are absolutely convinced in their hearts that they love the Lord and are on their way to heaven, spending eternity with Him. Often, when confronted with His Word, revealing their deceptions, some refuse to listen to Him, becoming enraged at anyone who shares His word. The truth is that a person with hybrid faith does not even know Jesus.
There are many more examples that could be brought out, however, we do not want to make religion legal by reciting, and focusing on, a list of rules that must be kept in order to receive salvation, or then we will be no better than the Scribes and Pharisees in the days of Jesus. If the Holy Spirit is invited into the heart, the Lord says, I will “put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” Hebrews 10:16. This article was just intended to help each of us to determine if our faith is genuine or hybrid. If it is not genuine, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to destroy our flesh.
The only hope is for the death of flesh. If it dies, then our faith is no longer hybrid—it is spiritual. No longer will we be thinking of what is the least I can do for Christ and still be saved. How much of the world can I retain? How much of the world is acceptable? The truth is, none of the world is acceptable. There is no salvation apart from a heart that desires above all else to obey God. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
“You say, ‘I have heard that we are not saved for our good works.’ No, but we will not be saved without them. You cannot depend upon your good works for salvation. We must have a living dependence upon a living God. And when there is a living connection with a living God, Christ abides in the heart by living faith, and the human agent works after Christ’s life. He is going to change our life and character that Christ reveals.” –Manuscript Releases, vol. 5, p. 36
THE TRUE CHRISTIAN
The true Christian does not simply “join” the church. They are “born” into it when they are born again. When we truly fall in love with Jesus we will want to know what is the most we can do for Him. Our daily prayer will be, “What must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30. No sacrifice will be too harsh or difficult. All sin will be given up with joy. “The heart must be emptied of every defilement and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now.” –Prayer, p. 118–119
“Go daily to the Lord for instruction and guidance; depend upon God for light and knowledge. Pray for this instruction and this light, until you get it. It will not avail for you to ask, and then forget the thing for which you prayed. Keep your mind upon your prayer. You can do this while working with your hands. You can say, Lord, I believe; with all my heart I believe. Let the Holy Spirit’s power come upon me.”—Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 531. AMEN
Wendy Eaton