2010-04-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
I am led to continue writing about what God has to say about the messages of false prophets [teachers]. All of this can be compared to Christ’s words on judgment in MT 7: 1-29 to see how and why they are false. Let’s carry on with AC 20: 29-31, “I know that after I leave, fierce wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. The time will come when some men from your own group will tell lies to lead the believers away after them. Watch, then, and remember that with many tears, day and night, I taught every one of you for three years.” The meaning of this message is crystal clear and relates to MT 7: 15’s warning, “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.”
In a more practical sense, we need to understand some of those false teachings and how spiritually dangerous they are. From within, there are the Judaizers, a group of former traditional Jews who refused to walk away from the legalism with which they were reared. They claimed that a person was not holy unless they practice circumcision of males, remain faithful to the dietary laws of kashrut [kosher], and continued other legalistic practices of their upbringing. Christ invites all who understand what it means to the communion table. These people were trying to mix traditional Judaism with their newfound Christianity. Mixing of these two doesn’t work. A very wise Paul when he was writing to the Romans, made a point of telling the Judaizers to eat what they are comfortable with, but never to do anything that would hurt the faith of another [RO 14: 13]. These “wolves” could easily depart from the core beliefs of Christianity, trying to lead others with them.
Even more spiritually dangerous were the Antinomians. We must understand that “anti” means “against” and nomia means “the law.” They were a group within the Christian community who argued that since we are in the covenant of Grace, grace is given without license. They can do anything they want. Such is definitely not the case, even though our faith gives us freedom in Christ [JN 8: 31-32]. Paul argues in RO 3: 19-20, “Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God’s judgment. For no one is put right in God’s sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make man know that he has sinned.” When the capital “L” is used, it is limited to the Ten Commandments. Rabbis and other leaders within traditional Judaism combine the Ten Commandments with what they call the oral law. These are legalistic comments on the Ten Commandments and the addition of many other laws to keep, 613 in all to be exact. No one but the Lord Jesus is capable of that, but these Jewish rabbis, lawyers, and teachers don’t understand that. So the problem here is the addition of human-crafted “laws” to the divinely-conceived Ten Commandments. Knowing the Law alone does not bring justification, RO 3: 22-23, “God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all; everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
So far, we’ve looked at dissention from groups within the Christian community. Now, we must not forget the big elephant on the table from outside of it in Paul’s time. These were the “wolves in sheep’s clothing” called the Gnostics. Clearly, their leaders had evil agendas hidden with the presentation of a so-called alternative to Christianity’s beliefs. They taught that Christ was only a god who lost His sovereignty over earth when He physically died. Another “god” was then to be made known, probably one of their leaders. Their beliefs were carefully couched as a secret society to which only membership within it, would bring salvation. This appealed to mankind’s baser side, since we always seem to want what is held not readily available except to the select. Their main objective was to replace Christianity and to make it fail. Without correction and reseating on the ethic foundation of God’s teaching, members of all of these apostate groups would be going straight to their spiritual death.
I would be remiss if we didn’t look at some of the apostasies that vie with Christianity today. Witchcraft and all forms of the occult come to mind. Groups that teach that Christ is only the Lord of earth and that each planet has it own lord-all under a god called “Eloheim.” As a Messianic Jew, such a teaching is an insult, since the word “Eloheim” is the plural word in Hebrew for our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Another group teaches that there should be no blood transfusions, because that interferes with being made righteous-being covered with the blood of Jesus. People are allowed to die from necessary medical treatment withheld due to this belief. There are so many groups that pick and choose from the Bible certain verses and passages. Then they reject others. Some of these groups make interpretations that have nothing to do with the original context in which the verses and passages are written. They forget, REV 22: 18-19, which tell us clearly not to add or subtract anything from the prophetic words of the Bible. We too must remember the warning of 1 PET 5: 8, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before Your mighty throne with our heads bowed in reverence. You alone had the power, which You chose to give to Your Son, Jesus Christ, to equip those who love You with the power to do spiritual warfare against the evil forces and their leader, our adversary, Satan. You gave the Lord Jesus a huge job, the redemption of mankind [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. He obediently took humiliation and abuse, and went to the cross to die, taking our sins upon Himself [LK 22: 42]. He was innocent, and You knew it. Thus, after three days in hell, You used Your mighty power to raise Him to eternal life and have Him seated at Your right side in heaven. You also gave Him the right to share that power to be victorious in our battles with the evil one and his agents in His name-that same power that You used to raise Him from death to eternal life [EPH 1: 18-20]. Christ made it clear to us by His obedience to You that all we must do is to repent of our sins and believe in Him. By doing this, You made it possible for us to be saved, justified [deemed acceptable to You], and receive the gift of Your Spirit to dwell in us [RO 4: 3; RO 8: 14-16]. Because we have the Holy Spirit and live in Christ, we are given a hunger for Your word, a desire to know You better through prayer and sometimes fasting, and the discernment that this brings. If our wisdom and discernment is not entirely sufficient, You are always here listening to our prayers, including those to help us out of the predicament- that sly and duplicitous theology presented to us sometimes causes. We can always pray PS 51: 6 and PS 119: 125 with a sincere heart, knowing that You will help us to better understand and see it for the work of the evil one that it is. We must remember to turn to You first! We are eternally grateful to You for this protection, and we humbly ask You to always give it to us. We thank and praise You for Who You are and what You are always doing for us. In Christ’s mighty and holy name, we pray. Amen.
Next week, we’ll look at another of God’s comments on false teaching in 2 TIM 4: 3-4 upon the backdrop of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount words on judgment in MT 7: 1-29. Our God loves us, and will do whatever He can to help us remain walking on that “hard path that leads from the narrow gate” [MT 7: 13-14] to eternal life. It is not always easy to do this, and God knows that. However, PS 31: 3-5 gives us insight into what He can and will do for those who ask for it. “You are my Refuge and Defense; guide me and lead me as You have promised. Keep me safe from the snare that has been set for me; shelter me from danger. I place myself in Your care. You will save me, Lord; You are a faithful God.” There are times when we find ourselves in the pit of despair because there is confusion and doubt in our lives. Just as with other kinds of challenges we experience, the Lord is here for us. PS 40: 1-2, “I waited patiently for the Lord’s help; then He listened to me and heard my cry. He pulled me out of a dangerous pit, out of the deadly quicksand. He set me safely on a Rock and made me secure.” My own life is living proof of that, and I wouldn’t be here writing these weekly messages had He not pulled me out of a cult, saved my life physically and in every other way, and placed me among people who, by their example, show me how to be a better believer. Look back on your own lives and see if He hasn’t done the same thing for you. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn