Category: False Teaching

He Was One of The World’s Richest! #9

Thursday, September 14, 2023

“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20 KJV).

He was “one of the world’s richest,” but now he is among its poorest!

Whether a costly bronze casket or a cheap cardboard coffin, whether a Mercedes-Benz hearse or a horse-drawn buggy, whether wearing a three-piece suit or tattered rags, billionaire and beggar alike carry nothing away after death. Both corpses go into the same earth, for neither is spared decomposition. The beggar lost what little he had, and the billionaire lost everything he had!

Hence, in the grand scheme of things, it is definitely more prudent to concentrate on acquiring a sizable spiritual bank account than a massive physical bank account. For example, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31). Once we trust Christ as our personal Saviour—that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—we get “in Christ.” We share His identity! Father God has made Jesus Christ our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption.

The ability to properly apply knowledge to life—we have it in Christ because He is our wisdom. A right standing before God—we have it in Christ because He is our righteousness. Holiness or being set apart for God’s purposes—we have it in Christ because He is our sanctification. Our being bought out of sin’s slave market—we have it in Christ because He is our redemption. If there is to be any pleasure, if there is to be any boasting, let it be that we are pleased in the Lord and see the worth only in Him. Instead of, “Look at what I did or look at what I have!” (works-religion!), true Christianity is, “Look at what Jesus Christ has been made for me and look at what He is to me!”

Here is wealth far, far beyond every scrap of precious metal and every specimen of precious stone….

He Was One of The World’s Richest! #7

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” (Luke 12:20 KJV).

He was “one of the world’s richest,” but now he is among its poorest!

Recently, I read the protracted (and pompous) obituary of a woman whose earthly sojourn was just under a century. Her many accomplishments had been laid out in great detail for everyone to notice and admire. From a large family, she attended college, obtained a degree, and became a schoolteacher. She joined a certain prestigious club. The lady liked to be at the center of attention, especially when hosting or attending parties. She and her husband went on many pricey vacation trips. They played sports at their neighborhood country club. She taught her children and grandchildren how to plan meals and properly set tables. Being wealthy, she owned real silverware, fine china, and crystal! She cooked magnificent dishes and loved books. Quite religious, she “strove to be close to God.” Deeply devoted to her works-religion denominational church for decades, she taught religion classes and volunteered to participate in various charitable events.

The above profile is commonplace. Billions of sincere people spend much time, energy, and money pursuing happiness in this world. They are under the (false) impression that, provided they believe and do what they wish, they will lead a full and significant life. Yet, we mature Christians wonder. While they amassed physical possessions, what spiritual riches did they acquire? They enjoyed education and books, but did they ever read and believe so much as a single verse in the Holy Bible? Though they taught their children this skill or that ability, did they impart sound Bible doctrine to them? While they made important social connections, did they know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour? They attended church services and busied themselves with religious affairs, but was it ever the Holy Spirit working in their life?

Dear friends, when we contemplate these grave questions, disconcerting truths come into focus. A life that society applauds now seems unimportant, a person who appeared wise and successful is now revealed to be foolish and a failure, and the soul who seemed to be prosperous was in fact eternally bankrupt….

Spellbound! #16

Sunday, September 3, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4). Having “itching ears”—an uneasy or restless desire or longing to hear something that pleases the ear—the professing church rejects rightly divided Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15) so as to believe, teach, and do what they want!

When advising the elders (church leaders) of Ephesus, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declared: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Acts 20:28-32).

After “marking,” or fixing our eyes upon, false teachers for the purpose of identifying and avoiding them—even if their message sounds good! (cf. today’s Scripture)—we are to then “mark” sound teachers so as to follow them. “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17). We protect ourselves from the “spells” of today’s false teachers (cf. Ephesians 4:14-16) by having a firm understanding of and faith in “the word of [God’s] grace” (Acts 20:32), the Pauline epistles of Romans through Philemon.

-FINIS!-

Spellbound! #15

Saturday, September 2, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

After giving us 16 chapters of fundamental grace doctrine—the entire Book of Romans—God the Holy Spirit wrote today’s Scripture to call to our attention the fact we should guard that information delivered us. If we truly (!) were thankful to Him for what He had taught us through our Apostle Paul, we would make every effort to maintain or uphold it, protect it from loss or alteration, and to never drift from it. Moreover, we would be vigilant regarding those who sought to pervert it.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” Paul asked us to “mark” (Greek, “skopeo,” as in “scope”) them. That is, “take notice of them, fix your eyes on them.” This is in contrast to, “Overlook them, pretend like nothing is wrong, excuse them.” We are to “avoid” those kinds of people, these who refuse to unite around grace teaching and who discourage others from gathering around it. Not only do they cause “divisions” (disunity, rifts, denominations), they create “offences” (Greek, “skandala,” as in “scandals,” or “causes of stumbling/fall/sin”) contrary to the sound doctrine we have learned from Paul (especially in Romans).

“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Provided here is the reason why we distance ourselves from false teachers. It has to do with the fact they are self-serving instead of Lord-serving. If we have chosen to do the Lord’s will, then it is ridiculous for us to sit under the “ministries” of those who have not. However, unless we have mastered sound Bible doctrine, we will be easy targets and fall into the error ourselves. Their elegant or fine words, and their praise-filled sermons, will seduce us.

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Spellbound! #14

Friday, September 1, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

Study the following “ministry” conducted in Samaria (central Israel, north of Jerusalem): “But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries” (Acts 8:9-11). Empowered by Satan, Simon worked miracles! He was “giving out” (saying, bragging) that he was “some great one.” The Samaritans were spellbound, considering him “Messiah” (thereby foreshadowing the Antichrist!). Simon used witchcraft to fool them, and they exclaimed, “This man is the great power of God!”

Re-read today’s Scripture: “…they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.” The “belly” symbolizes the heart or soul: a false teacher’s motivation is a self-serving “appetite” that must be satisfied. As a glutton in the physical realm obsesses over food, so a false teacher’s goal is to gain devotees. The person most vulnerable to such a “ministry” is someone who is “simple.” In Greek, it is “akakos,” literally “without evil.” The victim is unsuspecting, fearing no evil from others, and distrusting no one. That false sense of security is summed up as, “No one will harm me because everyone means well. All preachers and teachers serve God. It does not matter where I attend church or which denomination I join.” While it sounds harsh, this is a foolish, ignorant, or gullible person—and, when multiplied by two billion, Christendom’s tens of thousands of denominations form!

If we understand how today’s Scripture is taken from Romans, the most basic Pauline epistle, then a sure way to avoid falling prey to false teachers is to have a good foundation in grace teaching as furnished in Romans….

Spellbound! #13

Thursday, August 31, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

It is pleasant, lovely, or wonderful to the ear, but is it truly wholesome and beneficial to us? After listening to the Devil’s “motivational” speech, Adam and Eve literally learned the hard way: “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:6,7).

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening [hungry, greedy] wolves” (Matthew 7:15). This was Satan in the Garden of Eden—the façade of a friend, but the character of a snake. Pledging peace and prosperity, he delivered only strife and poverty; as opposed to knowledge, there was ignorance; instead of life, there came death. If you doubt it, just look around at society. Like the false teachers since him, he was a “well without water” (2 Peter 2:17), a “cloud… without water” (Jude 12). Rather than a source of life, he and his promises were utter disappointments. “Having a form [semblance, likeness] of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5).

Re-read 2 Corinthians 11:3,4. Now, verses 13-15: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” For far too long, church members have been negligent in realizing just how serious such spiritual dangers really are. Let us therefore be on guard….

Spellbound! #12

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

Read Matthew 15:1-9 and Mark 7:1-13. The scribes (Hebrew Bible copyists and teachers) and Pharisees (strict works-religionists) were influential leaders in Judaism. They were greatly agitated when they saw the Lord Jesus’ disciples ignoring the rabbis’ religious tradition of washing hands with a trickle of cool water. Christ countered by asking why they—the scribes and Pharisees—had ignored Father God’s commandments!

The “Corban [Gift] tradition” was a clever manmade invention to bypass the LORD’S orders. As opposed to honoring father and mother (see Exodus 20:12), including financially supporting them in old age, the rabbis granted a man permission to declare his wealth as a “gift” to God and the Jerusalem Temple, thereby freeing the man from the economic obligation to his parents. Of course, “God” was given all the credit—and these religious leaders embezzled “God’s” gift! Such kind of false teaching polluted Judaism and warranted Christ’s repeated condemnations (see Matthew 15:6-9,12-14; Mark 7:6-9,13). Judaism’s religious tradition continuously took precedence over the words of Almighty God—and the same applies to Christendom 2,000 years later!

Upon the rabbis’ urging (false teaching), the “Corban [Gift] tradition” seemed pious and noble from the son’s point-of-view. After all, he was reserving money for “God’s work” (ha!). In reality, he was violating the Fifth Commandment by dishonoring father and mother, and doing nothing more than funding the Devil’s ministers! “Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye” (Mark 7:13). The “Corban [Gift] tradition” was just one of countless examples of putting manmade ideas ahead of Divine revelation, transferring authority from God to men. Again, this practice plagues the professing church even now.

As pertaining to the Church the Body of Christ and this the Dispensation of the Grace of God, the Lord through our Apostle Paul alerts us to be on guard, watching out for self-serving religious leaders….

Spellbound! #11

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

“And he [the serpent] said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Genesis 3:1-3). Eve did not quote God verbatim (cf. Genesis 2:16,17). Actually, Satan did a better job repeating what God said!

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4,5). Only now—later in the conversation—did Satan contradict God. Furthermore, he suggested he cared more for Adam and Eve than God did! In effect, he proposed, “Eve, I want you and Adam to enjoy something God has willingly withheld from you! You can possess some ‘hidden’ knowledge and become your own authority!” Of course, Eve believed the lie and Adam followed her lead (verses 6,7; 1 Timothy 2:11-15). Creation has suffered ever since!

Read Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. Satan never said, “Thou art not the Son of God,” for his lie would have been obvious. Instead, it was, “If thou be the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3,6; Luke 4:3,9). Those hints of doubt were meant to cause Jesus to question His identity, and, to make Him prove Himself (which was unnecessary). Furthermore, the Devil even quoted some Scripture (Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10,11)—again appearing legitimate, benevolent, godly. The Lord Jesus was not tricked. Though biblical (Psalm 91:11,12), Satan was not dispensational.

Unless we are grounded in sound Bible doctrine, we will be overcome like Eve instead of overcoming like Christ. We must (!) remember today’s Scripture….

Spellbound! #10

Monday, August 28, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

One useful Bible study principle is “the law of first mention.” For instance, to obtain a summary of Satan’s “ministry,” we locate the Bible passage where he first appears. We now pay close attention to how the first false teacher methodically fascinated and manipulated his audience.

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1-4).

Note how this “serpent” was “subtil”—crafty, cunning, sneaky, or sly (Hebrew word translated “crafty” in Job 5:12 and Job 15:5). This creature confronted Eve (the first woman), aiming to move her from her Creator. However, it was not a blatant denial of God or His revelation. The serpent made no claims such as “There is no God” or “God has not spoken.” Rather, he took an indirect approach to challenging the LORD God and ruining His creation. According to our English Bible in Genesis 3:1, the first word Satan spoke in the Scriptures is “yea.” The “yea” is an affirmation, as in, “Indeed, hath God said?;” “Is it even so that God hath said?;” or “So hath God said?” Satan, admitting there was a God and that God had certainly spoken, pretended (!) like (!) he (!) agreed (!) with that God and that spoken Word of God….

Spellbound! #9

Sunday, August 27, 2023

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

Let us analyze these “good words and fair speeches.”

Christendom abounds with “scholars,” “outstanding authorities,” “experts,” “wise counsellors,” and a host of other people with impressive appellations—all using a passage of Scripture here and there, of course!—but do not be so sure everyone is telling the truth. For example, when a concerned Christian woman inquired about her granddaughter’s works-religion cult, the young lady reassured her, “But, Granny, they read the Bible at my church!” As long as they use the Bible, all is well—or is it? Quoting Bible verses does not automatically qualify a speaker or writer as a sound spiritual adviser!

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4). If this says what it means (it does!) and means what it says (it does!), then a false teacher could, in fact, talk about “Jesus,” “the spirit,” and/or “the gospel.” There is no outright denial of Scripture, just a presentation of Bible words with faulty definitions attached. The Bible’s concepts are not considered dispensationally—that is, as the Apostle Paul explains them.

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16). These false teachers “wrest” (twist all out of shape, distort, pervert) the Scriptures. Note well: they do not avoid or ignore the Scriptures, but use them!

Recall the “ministry” of the first false teacher….