Something that I have noticed lately in the Christian news world and society in general, is how easily people are deceived by the words of men. Do not get me wrong, I have been guilty of it and chances are, you have been guilty of it yourself. However, this does not make it an exception.
There are so many pastors and preachers out there who do a magnificent job of spreading the Gospel and the Word of Jesus, but there are also many who are nothing but wolves in sheep’s clothing. I am not here to judge and bash someone's teachings. I am here to remind you that Jesus is your one and only Teacher. I am here to remind you not to be so reliant on the word of man and instead, remain steadfast to the Word of our Lord.
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15 ESV)
It is so easy to get caught up in today's world. Thankfully, we are clothed in the armor of God from head to toe every single day. It is an armor that cannot be broken or dented.
Finally be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10-11 ESV)
Sad to say, the enemy has people within his tight grip to try and defeat not only Christ, but also all of God's children. If you want to stay strong and defeat the enemy in the midst of every curve ball he throws your way, prayer and God are the only two things that will help you accomplish that goal. The same goes for false teachings. The only way you can truly stay true to God's Word is if you approach The Almighty about it yourself. There is no way you can travel through this crazy world and try and muster up the strength yourself. It will not work.
One of the many ways the enemy tries to overcome the power of Christ and His followers is by using people on this earth to preach false teachings that go against the Word of God. Believe me when I say it is easy to fall for, especially when it is something that you want to here. If what you are hearing from someone is what you want to hear and sounds like a fairy tale, it is most likely wrong. What comes off as appealing to us is probably not from God.
For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Romans 16:18 ESV)
If Jesus preached the same message some ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified.
It is not our job to make assumptions and judgments about people who partake in false teachings, but it is our job to pray for them.
Sugar-coated preaching is dangerous for the soul.
Do not fall for it. The only way you are going to truly know if what someone is saying is true is if ask God about it and dive into the Word yourself. Go forth and do your own research using the Bible and the Bible only. As Christians, the only moral teachings we should be listening to and following are the ones that Jesus teaches us in the Bible.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 ESV)
My best advice to all of you is to check the Word of God every time you hear someone make a claim about the truths of the Bible. We cannot fall so easily for the word of man. If we want to be true followers of Christ, His words should be our only words.
Pray that God will give you a strong and sturdy heart as opposed to a weak, frail one that will only lead you down the wrong path in the end.
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. (Romans 16:17 ESV)
The more I read the Bible, the more I realize that there are so many false teachings in the church today. There are an abundant amount of so called “preachers” out there who are teaching “prosperity,” “name it, claim it” messages and spending a lot of their time tickling some ears. At first, this teaching will come off as correct because you are going to feel good hearing it. It is a message that it is known for advocating the idea that God wants the best for you and that He will give you everything you want, whenever you want it. Rarely to never does it include anything about Jesus, persecution, the cross, or self-denial. Instead, the prosperity gospel approach teaches about a life that is all about you and what God can do for you.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 4:3 ESV)
If a preacher, pastor, or evangelist, is not keeping their message solely on Christ, and does not address sin at its roots, they are not preaching the word of God. A feel good message does not mean a truthful message.
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers song you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed, And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1 ESV)
Beware of the prosperity gospel. Christianity is not about coming to Christ because He can fulfill all your needs. It is about coming to Christ because He is all you need. How would we feel if someone only used us for our right hand?
I am going to try to combat this as best as I can without coming off as negative here:
Following Jesus is not going to make you wealthy.
Following Jesus does not guarantee that you are going to be healthy.
The message of Scripture is not that, in following Him, everything goes right, but that He is enough, regardless of the outcome. It is not about what Jesus can get you; it is simply about Jesus alone. He is enough.
“This assumes that the glory of Christ is our highest treasure, not health, wealth, family or even life. So preaching must continually show not that Jesus is the means to prosperity but that he is better than prosperity.” -John Piper
This false teaching, which is probably the most common false teaching out there, defeats two of the main factors in following Christ: Self denial and being born again. If you are taking advantage of Christ just so He can give you better things, you are reflecting the very opposite of self-denial and taking up your cross. Life is about Christ, not us. Second, to pray that God will give you a better house, better financial support, better health, etc. only means that He is bettering what you had before. You did not change.
Ladies, Jesus did not come here to serve your unregenerate appetites. He came to give you new appetites. This is why it is called being born again. This socalled ‘prosperity gospel’ teaches that you keep your life the same, using God to make it better.
There is nothing right about this. Because if you do this, then you do not truly know Him...at all.
Now this is a very wide topic, as you can tell from me jumping around so much, so I urge you to look into this yourself and pray about it.
This is not a subject that is commonly talked about, and it can be a bit controversial. My intent for this article was for you all to remember that Jesus is your only teacher. It is easy to be deceived by men and the words they speak. I also wanted to share this with you because it has been a red flag waving right in front of me recently, bright and clear. I wrote this with hopes that it will give you some insight on what is really going on in the world. Again, I did not want to come off as offensive, but God laid did lay on my heart and has made the truth very clear in Scripture.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits the world, not according to Christ. (Colossians 2:8 ESV)
Remember:
1. Pray that God will give you an alert heart and attitude.
2. Do not let the words of man fool you so easily.
3. Any time you hear someone say something Biblically or about God, check it yourself from the Word.
4. Jesus is your ONE and ONLY teacher.
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