Beware Of False Teachers
Even being a Pastor and speaking of sin every Sunday, I find the subtleness of sin surprising at times. The Bible describes the subtlety of sin as an insidious and deceptive force that masquerades as wisdom, freedom, or virtue rather than appearing as blatant evil. You see this in the way Satan approached Eve to sin in Genesis 3. You see the exact same thing as Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. I even discovered it in a simple television show last night.
The shows main character discovered he was born with a genetic abnormality passed onto him by his father that caused him to be born premature and develop a severe heart condition that would take his life within 10 years. His father blamed himself until the son said, “You are not to blame. This is just how I was born.” Pretty much true statements that most of us would agree with. There wasn’t anything either could do about this.
The next scene shows the daughter in the arms of her mother crying because she was taking the blame for her mother and father’s divorce because she is gay. The mother said, “You are not to blame. This is just how we were born and God doesn’t make junk.” And for just a second I said, “Hmmm” in thought.
Did you catch what the show’s writers did? If you agree with the first statement that one was born with a genetic abnormality without blame, then you must agree with the second statement that one is born gay without blame. In other words, since God doesn’t make junk we must accept both conditions as true.
I must admit, when I discovered this I was impressed. It sounds so logical to our modern human thinking. It sounds so unifying and loving. It sounds so affirming. It sounds so right until you lay it beside the truth of God’s Word.
We must always keep at the forefront of our mind that we are always susceptible to Satan’s manipulations because today we still live with a sinful nature or a sinful bend away from anything of God. Jeremiah 17:9 NIV, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Biblical deceit means our fleshly heart will mislead, trick, or hide the truth from us to gain an advantage or cause harm. It will take us right to the border of compromise, so it is just an easy step across. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a rumble-strip before going over.
1st Peter 5:8-9 NIV, 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Being sober minded in the Bible means having a clear, calm, self-controlled, and spiritually alert state of mind rather than just avoiding alcohol or drugs. It means being steady and watchful, resting your heart and mind on the truth of God’s Word and the character of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s probably more important to be sober minded when you think everything is going smoothly in your life. You don’t seem to be fighting any battles. Your life seems to be full of peace and prosperity. This has a habit of bringing in another deceitful characteristic – complacency.
Spiritual complacency is a state of self-satisfaction, spiritual stagnation, and a lack of vigilance where a person stops growing in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You begin to do the opposite of being sober minded. Zephaniah 1:12 NIV, “At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs (laziness, stagnation, and resistance to change), who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’”
We have an English word called, “entitled”, meaning to believe one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. The state or belief that one is owed or deserves something just because of who they think they are. You see this in the rich and famous that believe we should listen to their opinion on every topic simply because they are well-educated, well-traveled, and socially important.
The Nation of Israel felt entitled just because they were descendants of Abraham and deserving of His favor. That’s why they consistently needed corrected by God. It is also the attitude of many in the American church today. We are eternally saved, eternally rich, and eternally favored so let’s just coast until the end. If God disciplined His Old Testament people, what makes us think today He will not discipline His complacent sinful people today.
Matthew 7:15 TLB, “Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are wolves and will tear you apart.”
Randy Harwood, Pastor, Spokane First Baptist Church