The Brentwood church is a group of Christians who are striving together to serve Jesus Christ. We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, providing us with everything we need to know about life in God’s kingdom. The Christians at Brentwood regularly study together, pray together, and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord. We would be delighted to have you join us in these endeavors!
We come together for worship three times during the week for the purpose of praising our Lord and God and encouraging each other. (Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:25)
Commonly asked questionsA Moment with the Bible
Modern Gnosticism
Starting in the first century AD, Gnosticism grew from within Christianity and deceived Christians to follow an alternate “religion.” Gnostics believed that all people have an inner spark of the spirit within them that, if awakened, connects them to God. Gnostics claim that God told them that Jesus was just a good man and teacher in whom the “spirit” of Christ dwelt. Gnostics taught that matter is inherently evil and that humans should seek salvation from the material world through true “gnosis” or knowledge. Salvation from sin was a foreign idea to Gnosticism. Rather, Gnostics unleashed their passions and lived however they wanted to live. Christians were easily deceived by this heresy because Gnostics claimed to have the anointing of the Spirit just like the Christians – making it difficult for Christians to identify the truth. In AD 90, John wrote the epistle we know as 1st John in order to help Christians stand for the gospel they were originally taught.
When John introduces his letter, he emphasizes twice that he and the apostles “heard”, “saw”, and “touched” Jesus. The Gnostics were bashing the apostles’ testimony of Jesus’ character and teaching, yet had no verifiable evidence to back up their claims. Rather, they claimed to “know” all of this because the Spirit of God told them, and looked down on any Christian who did not follow them on faith alone. John did not pull the “inspiration card” and tell the struggling Christians to “just believe” him; instead, he laid out the firsthand testimony of the apostles.