When Faithfulness Is Called Wrong

Over the years, I have heard it said in different tones and different settings:

“They aren’t right.”

Sometimes it was mocking.
Sometimes dismissive.
Sometimes whispered like a warning.

It was said about my faith.
About my church.
About my family.

I heard it growing up from relatives who never attended church but felt confident critiquing ours.
I heard it in high school in a strong Baptist community.
When I entered the workforce, I was asked if we handled snakes. I was laughed at for speaking in tongues. It was called gibberish.

Now my kids are hearing it.

Their friends are telling them that their parents or grandparents say we aren’t right.

It is one thing to be misunderstood yourself.
It is another thing to watch your children carry it.

They did not choose this to be different.
They were raised to love Scripture.

So let me ask the question plainly:
How are we not right?

We do not have extra books added to the Bible.
We do not have our own private translation.

In fact, we have leaned heavily on the King James Version for generations. I personally appreciate modern translations as well, but we have never rewritten Scripture to fit our doctrine.

We believe wholeheartedly that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh.

So when we are told we are not right, it is not because we deny Scripture.

It is because we take all of it seriously!

---

This Is Not About Arrogance

Before I go further, let me say this clearly.

I do not question the sincerity of those who disagree with us. Many people who hold different theological positions love Jesus deeply. Many are kind, generous, and committed.

This is not about attacking them.

This is about obedience.

There is a difference.

---

Modesty and Separation

Where does the comment “they aren’t right” typically start when they don’t know us? Here it is, my wife and daughters are often judged before anyone speaks to them. Modesty is treated like oppression instead of devotion to our Lord.

Yet Scripture says:

1 Timothy 2:9–10 (NKJV)
“In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel…”

We are also commanded:

2 Corinthians 6:17 (NKJV)
“Come out from among them and be separate…”

Separation is not about superiority.
It is about consecration.

Holiness is not about earning salvation.
It is the response to salvation.

1 Peter 1:15–16 (NKJV)
“Be holy, for I am holy.”

We do not live distinct lives to be saved.

We live distinct lives because we have been saved.

---

Uncut Hair

The second part of that comment comes from the uncut hair of our women. It is mocked as outdated or merely cultural. But where does Scripture say it expired?

Paul wrote to Gentiles in Corinth:

1 Corinthians 11:14–15 (NKJV)
“…if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her…”

Please catch the importance here. Paul was not writing to Jews under the Law. He was writing to Gentiles in Corinth. Gentiles represent everyone outside the Jewish faith. In other words, the broader world.

His reasoning was rooted in creation order, not temporary custom.

Be careful! If you decide something was merely cultural, the burden is on you to show where Scripture says it no longer applies.

Otherwise, you are not interpreting the Bible.

You are editing it. And the Lord has a strong stance on that.

Deuteronomy 4:2 (NKJV) “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”

Revelation 22:19 (NKJV) “and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

---

One God

For those that know more about our beliefs, we are told we are wrong because we reject the term “Trinity” and instead preach the absolute oneness of God.

In fact, we are often mocked and called “Jesus only”. We would actually take it a step further and say we are “Jesus everything.”

Scripture declares:

Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)
“The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

And of Jesus:

1 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
“God was manifested in the flesh…”

To deflect on the Trinity, some respond, “It’s a mystery no one can understand.”

But Scripture does not leave it unsolved. Paul reveals the mystery:

1 Timothy 3:16 (NKJV)
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.”

The mystery is not left unanswered.
It is revealed. God was manifested in the flesh.
Jesus is fully God.

We do not deny the mystery; we trust God’s revelation.

---

Speaking in Tongues

We are often mocked for believing in speaking in tongues.

It is called emotional.
Manufactured.
Even fake.

But the book of Acts records it plainly.

When the Spirit was poured out in Acts 2, they spoke with other tongues.
When the Gentiles received the Spirit in Acts 10, they spoke with tongues.
When disciples in Ephesus received the Spirit in Acts 19, they spoke with tongues.

This was not a side note.
It was the sign that something had happened.

And here is something worth noting:

In recent years, even churches that once dismissed this experience are quietly seeing people filled with the Spirit in the same way Scripture describes.

The hunger for the supernatural has not disappeared.

It never does.

We are not clinging to something outdated.

We are holding to what the apostles preached.

---

Salvation

We are criticized for preaching repentance, baptism in Jesus’ name, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

But this was the first gospel message preached after the resurrection.

Acts 2:38–39 (NKJV)
“Repent… be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ… and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit…”

This was not centuries later.
This was not a council decision.

This was the apostles.

We did not invent this message.

We inherited it.

---

To My Kids

Kids, when someone says we are not right, remember this:

We are not trying to be different.
We are trying to be faithful.

You will meet sincere Christians who disagree with us. Some truly love the Lord and simply see Scripture differently.

You will also meet people who are confident but not careful. Not every loud voice is a studied one.

We even have disagreements within our own organization. That is part of being human. No group is made up of identical minds.

Treat everyone with kindness.

But never let disagreement intimidate you into silence.

Stand on the Word.

Live it fully.

---

The Real Burden

When you labor in prayer, build relationships with neighbors, and try to live consistently before coworkers, it hurts to watch people choose a version of Christianity that asks less of them.

Not because you want control.
Not because you want to win.

But because you believe Scripture calls us to separation from the world, not imitation of it.

It is difficult to see churches grow by looking trendy, relaxed, or culturally impressive while obedience to Scripture is labeled extreme.

Especially when you know the call of Scripture is not to blend in.

It is to come out.

So when someone says, “They are not right,”

Often, what they mean is:

“They take it too far.”
“They are too serious.”
“They refuse to loosen up.”

If believing all of Scripture is taking it too far, then we will take it too far.

Not perfectly.
But sincerely.