An ages-old plague infests modern-day Christians …

This ugly plague — so potent that it can result in spiritual death — first came on the scene when the devil slithered into the Garden of Eden as a snake and exposed Eve to it.

The plague is called “syncretism.”

Syncretism is the act of attempting to infuse into a belief system foreign ideas, to merge or “mix and match” various beliefs into a more amalgamated or eclectic way of thinking. At the beginning, God told the first humans what to believe and the enemy, the devil, has worked to get believers in God to make their thinking syncrestic instead.

That doesn’t work!

There’s a story about a New York family that bought a ranch out West where they intended to raise cattle. Friends visited and asked if the ranch had a name.

“Well,” said the would-be cattleman, “I wanted to name it the Bar-J. My wife favored Suzy-Q, one son liked the Flying-W, and the other wanted the Lazy-Y. So we’re calling it the Bar-J-Suzy-Q-Flying-W-Lazy-Y.”

“But where are all your cattle?” the friends asked.

“None survived the branding,” the rancher responded.

And none of us can survive a faith that adds to it beliefs foreign to what God has taught us.

Eve tried and failed. So did Adam. And the Bible is full of examples of how, throughout history, humanity has insisted on trying to infuse into God’s instruction to us other beliefs. But from the Old Testament to the final book of the New Testament, we are warned NOT to add to or subtract from the scriptures God has provided us …

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you,” Deuteronomy 4:1-2.

“When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them,” Deuteronomy 12:29-32.

“And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book,” Revelation 22:18-19.

Syncretism isn’t just a scourge for times past, but continues to plague modern-day Christians. Writing long ago, the Apostle Paul describes in vivid terms how many people today professing to be Christians suffer from syncretism …

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths,” 2 Timothy 4:3-4.

Syncretism is always destructive. For example, when we add to or take away from God’s teaching on human life, we wind up with people claiming to be followers of Christ who argue in favor of abortion, an atrocity that has resulted in the loss of 60 million unborn lives in the United States. When we add to or take away from God’s teaching on marriage and family, we wind up with people professing to be Christians who argue in favor of same-sex marriage, an idea that stands in complete contradiction to what the Bible teaches us about marriage. When we adopt foreign ideas about sexuality, we wind up with people claiming to be Christians while sexually active outside of marriage.

When we take the Word of God and try to infuse other ideas into it, we NEVER wind up with the will of God but, instead, quickly wander into sin.

Syncretism may at first appear to be a way for conflicting ideas to blend, but it always destroys.

Winter was coming on and a hunter went out into the forest to shoot a bear out of which he planned to make a warm coat. Eventually he saw a bear coming toward him and raised his gun, taking aim.

“Wait!” said the bear, “Why do you want to shoot me?”

“Because I am cold,” said the hunter.

“But I am hungry,” the bear replied, “so maybe we can reach an agreement.”

In the end, the hunter was well enveloped with the bear’s fur and the bear had eaten his dinner.

We always lose out when we try to compromise with sin. It will consume us in the end.

Scotty