Is it good to have an unshakable faith?

When others contest the doctrines of the "Iglesia Ni Cristo" by presenting scripture, often INC members do not respond with anything other than a statement about how they cannot be overcome because their faith is unshakable. Is it good to have such an unshakable faith?

The Bible teaches that we should always be willing to submit to scriptures that are presented to us and that it is unrepentant people who are unwilling to listen to his words.

Jeremiah dealt with false prophets.

Jeremiah 23:16 (ESV) - 16Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.'"

In Jeremiah 23, we see that there were false prophets. The problem with these false prophets was primarily that they spoke words that were not of God.

The prophets did not shake at the words of God.

Jeremiah 23:18,22 (ESV) - 18 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.
...
22 But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds.

We see that the root of the prophets' problems was not merely that they didn't speak the words of God, but that they didn't even listen to the words of God. If they had listened to the words of God, the would not have spoken false things! The same is true with false teachers in modern times. They teach false things because they are unwilling to listen to the words of God.

Jeremiah shook at the words of God.

Jeremiah 23:9 (ESV) - 9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me;
all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and because of his holy words.

Even though Jeremiah was not the guilty party, he shook at the words of God! Jeremiah knew that the words of God contradicted the false prophets and trembled at the thought of the punishment that would befall them. Instead of shaking at the words of God like Jeremiah, the INC members tend to boast about how the word of God cannot make them shake.

God's word should be heeded by all

Jeremiah 23:29 (ESV) - 29 Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

The message of Jeremiah 23 is obvious. We should listen to scripture when it is presented to us. We should not put our fingers in our ears and say "it will be well" as the prophets did. Everyone should be like Jeremiah: quaking at the word of God and submiting to its teaching.

Conclusion

INC members would do well to heed scriptures that contradict their doctrines and not be like the unrepentant false prophets. It is not appropriate to boast in an unshakable faith that cannot be corrected by the word of God.

The INC's official position is not to ignore scripture, but INC member's actions show the true fruit of the INC's teachings. When one is taught that the church is the authority and man cannot understand the words of God, the appropriate response becomes boasting in the church and not listening to God. It is better to be like Jeremiah, a broken and fearful man who submits himself to the teaching of God's word.