Saturday, July 27, 2013

False Prophets and Their Motivation

The most basic need a person has is revealed to us in Proverbs 19:22a, "What a man needs is unfailing love..."  Whether a person realizes this or not, it is what the Scriptures teach us.  But we know there is an issue that gets in the way of our having this love that does not fail.  It's sin.  So what can we do about that?  God has set eternity in the hearts of men.  We know we are seperate from Him, and we long to be with Him.  But we find that the wages of our sin is death, or eternal seperation from Him.  We know that we don't have that unfailing love.

But what if there was a way to change that?  What if there was an answer?  There is.  And only one answer.

God chose to satisfy the demand of His justice and extend His unearned favor toward us through His Son Jesus. 

Almost 2,000 years ago Jesus, the Son of God, God Himself, the Creator of all things, chose to bear the penalty for your sins and for mine.  He chose to remove what seperated us from Him.  So He was crucified, not for His own sin, because He was sinless, but for our sin.  He died and rose again from the dead on the third day by the Spirit of holiness.  Romans 1:4, "who through he Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."  You see, it is because of a person's sin that that person is held captive by death when he dies.  But Jesus was able to rise from the dead because there was no sin in His own life by which death could hold Him.

He is waiting.  He did it for you.  All you have to do is ask for forgiveness and the gift of life.  And He will not turn you away.  At the moment you ask Him, He will take away your sin (that by which death could hold you down), credit His righteousness to you so that you also will rise from the dead, adopt you as His child, seal you by His Holy Spirit, and give you the guarantee of eternal life.  That's it.  That's all you have to do.  That's the only thing you can do.  That's the simplicity of the Gospel. 

This now brings me to the topic of this post: False Prophets and Their Motivation.

I can't say that I have dug real deep into the doctrines that some preach, whether religious or otherwise.  But I can say that through study of the Scriptures (the Bible), I have found in Scripture some very basic common denominators concerning false prophets and false teachings.

When someone is in the business of finding those who create counterfeit money, they don't study all of the counterfeit currency out there to do this.  They spend their time studying the real thing, and then what is counterfeit is noticable.  Then they are able to track down the counterfeiters and prosecute them.

God prosecutes counterfeit teachers and those who pass counterfeit teachings as well.  Without repentance, the sentence is far greater than what someone would receive for counterfeiting currency here.  Paul says in Galatians 1:8, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned."

You see, in the Scriptures, specifically in the Apostolic letters, we are told about the simplicity of the Gospel and what a person needs to do to inherit eternal life.  But in some religions and movements the teachings are different than what is taught in the Scriptures.  Why are there some who are willing to preach falsehoods to others (false prophets) and to hold those who follow them captive to their false teachings?  What is their motivation, and what is behind it?

Let's start with what, or who, is behind it.  Jesus said in John 10:10a, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..."  The devil is the thief, who comes to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you.  And the demons work for him.

1 Timothy 4:1 says, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith (the Apostolic teachings in the Apostolic letters) and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."

So the false prophets abandon the sound doctrine of the simplicity of the Gospel found in the Apostolic letters and teach things taught by demons who are out to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you.

What is the motivation of these false prophets? 

2 Peter 2:1-3a, "But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up."

So false prophets motiviated by greed will exploit you by teaching doctrines of demons who are out to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you.

How are demons able to destroy you?  Galatians 1:8 and 9,  "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.  As we have already said, so now I say again:  If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted (the gospel Paul is talking about here is the gospel taught in the Apostolic letters), let him be eternally condemned."  Demons are able to destroy you by keeping the truth from you so that you will not submit to the gospel and be saved.  By presenting a different gospel to you and making you feel and believe as if everything is okay, while you are presently under condemnation and don't realize it. 

There is only one way to be saved, and that's Jesus' way.  Through the simplicity of the Gospel taught in the Apostolic letters.  A person cannot be saved from judgement by following a doctrine that is contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures.  Whether a person follows the wrong way knowingly or unknowingly, the outcome is the same:  eternal condemnation.  Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death."

False prophets, whether religious or non-religious, by their greed seek to exploit you.  And they use doctrines of demons to do so.  Why?  Because they can't exploit you by using the truth.  Jesus said in John 8:31a, 32, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  The truth will set you free, but with their lies they can put you into bondage and keep you there.

False teachers strive to get your money, and the devil strives to keep your soul.  Jesus came to give you life, and life more abundantly.  False teachers disregard the Scriptures, especially the Apostolic letters that tell there is good news for you, and keep you from the Scriptures as well.  But you have a choice.  Read the Apostolic letters for yourself.  Ask Jesus to save you from judgement, and He will, keep your money and walk away from these false teachers.

How can we be sure we can rely on what the Scriptures say?

Hebrew 1:3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by the power of His word."  If Jesus' word had not been able to endure, all of creation would have ceased to exist.  So, the one who sustains all of creation by the power of His word has also been able to keep the true gospel from being lost.  He's holding you responsible to compare what you have heard with His word, the Scriptures.

What are some of the false teachings that contradict Scripture,  the reliable Word of God?


1.  Jesus is not God.

     John 1:1a, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
     John 1:14a, "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."
     Romans 9:5, "Theirs (the Jews) are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry
of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised!  Amen."

2.  Jesus didn't create us and all of creation.

     John 1:2, "Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made."

3.  There are many ways to heaven and many who can get you there.

     John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father
     except through me."

4.  You have to work or pay money to get into heaven.

     Ephesians 2:8 and 9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."
     Romans 11:6, "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer
be grace."

5.  There are those who are equal to God, or that Jesus is subservient to others.

     Philippians 2:9-11,  "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the Name
that is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father." 

And these are just a few. 

    





Thursday, July 18, 2013

The Stones Will Cry Out



Luke 19:37-40, When he (Jesus) came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen. 

"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" 

"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

The Scriptures tell us that there is nothing new under the sun.  Today, we see those who want God's children to be silent.  They have taken prayer out of the schools.  They have taken the Ten Commandments out of our courthouses.  They are on a crusade to remove anything that has to do with the cross of Christ, that which testifies to the suffering our Lord went through to purchase eternal life for those who would ask.  They want the children of God to stop spreading the Gospel and leading others to eternal life.  They want us to believe that the Bible, the Scriptures, are myth.

But, the stones will cry out.

As I was thinking about it today, archaeology cannot lie.  Archaeology must bear witness to the history that was there.  I don't believe there is any scientist or reasonable person who would deny that.

There is an arcaeological find outside of Jerusalem, the Palace of King David (1000 BC) that is proving out the Biblical accounts.  This is undeniable. 

http://www.ibtimes.com/king-davids-palace-discovered-archaeologists-israel-photo-1352231

Now, those who want to reject Christ and teach others to do the same, must find a different avenue.  This one of proclaiming the Bible to be myth has been proven wrong.

For those who want to look at the facts, the facts of the Scriptures and the facts born out in history and archaeology, Jesus is still waiting.  Ask Him, who died for you and then rose from the dead, to apply to you what He has done.  To forgive you of your sin and give you eternal life.  He will do it.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Identity Crisis

After dealing with some issues in my own life a few days ago, I believe the Lord put it on my heart to deal with what I see as an identity crisis in our world today.  An identity crisis among those who don't belong to Christ, and an identity crisis among God's children.  I will write about unbelievers first, and then about believers in the Lord Jesus.

Now, when I write about those who don't know Jesus, it will seem harsh, because in reality it is harsh.  One of the verses that stands out with me is Isaiah 66:6, "Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple!  It is the sound of the LORD repaying His enemies all they deserve."  It seems to me that when the time comes for the LORD to deal with His enemies that it will be so severe He will not even let His own children watch.  This is more than harsh.  This is terrifying.  It should not be anything anyone would want to face.  But some will face it.  Why?

When Adam and Eve disobeyed God they died spiritually.  They became separated from the Spirit of Life.  They became spiritually dead.  They became by nature objects of the wrath of God, worthy of judgement.  As a result, the whole human race became by nature separated from the Spirit of Life and objects of wrath worthy of judgement.    Jesus said to all of us in John 8:44a, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire."  I don't believe that when Jesus spoke this that He was wanting to insult or degrade.  I believe He was stating a fact.  We are the result of the work of Satan in the Garden of Eden that caused all of us to rebel against God and be separated from Him.  That is our identity.  It doesn't matter the color of our skin or our social or economic status.  Our identity is that we are of our father the devil facing judgement.  That's who we are.

But Jesus is the remedy.  He came for the purpose of providing hope where we have no hope, peace with God where we had no peace.  A good future when we had a horrible future.  He came to give us a new identity.

Jesus went to the cross for the purpose of receiving that judgement for us on Himself.  To pay the penalty for our sin and to take it out of the way so that it would be, before God, as if we had never sinned.  And then to credit us with His performance.  As God's Son Jesus never sinned.  That's why He was able to rise from the dead.  Death could not hold Him because He was sinless.  He took our sin out of the way and wants to credit to us His perfection.  Do you want that from Him?  Do you want Him to take your sin out of the way, credit His righteousness to you, adopt you as one of His children and give you a sure future with Him?  Ask Him right now and He will do it.  Romans 10:13, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  Then you will belong to Christ, and 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"  If you ask Jesus to save you from judgement, then you will become a new creation.  You will have a new identity.  You will then be a child of God, no longer facing judgment.

Now, for those of us who are already in Christ, who have already asked Jesus to save us from judgement, we need to come to more of an understanding of who we are in Christ.  I know that in my own life, and in the lives of those I talk to, we have a lot to learn.

I believe the sins and issues in our lives stem mainly from not understanding our identity and what God has done for us in Christ.  Below, I'm going to list some of the truths about us, and would like to encourage you, along with myself, to become well acquainted with these.  We have a lot of negative thoughts about ourselves and believe them.  We need to displace the untruths with the truth of God's Word.  Paul tells us in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 that the way to transform our lives (or to have victory over the sins in our lives) is to renew our mind.  We are new creations in Christ.  The things that used to be true of us are no longer true.  But before I list those I would like to deal with the most basic, foundational truth that you and I need.  That need is for a love that does not fail.  Proverbs 19:22a, "What a man desires is unfailing love;".

Will God's love ever fail you?  Is it possible to lose that position you have in Christ and as a result no longer be in a position to receive God's unfailing love?  Doesn't God say that He will meet all of our needs in Christ (Philippians 4:19)?  This is our most basic need, and I believe God has already fully met this need, forever, in Christ.  I know there are some who preach we can lose our salvation, but I don't believe the Scriptures teach this.  In Romans 8:37-39 Paul tells us that nothing in all of creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  I know there are some who would say, "except you."  I don't know if I would get into the habit of adding to what God has said.  It doesn't say "except you," in this passage.  In John 10:28a Jesus says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish."  I was reading online, "Eternal Security of the Believer," by Dr. Harry Ironside, So He says, “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” He puts no conditions around that promise, “They shall never perish.” The word “perish” is in the middle voice, so that if rendered literally in English, you would have to make two words of it, because we do not have a middle voice. The words “perish” and “destroy” are the same in Greek. “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never destroy themselves.”  So, since God promises to never leave us, since God says nothing in all of creation will be able to separate us from His love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, and since Jesus said He will not allow us to destroy ourselves, then what we have is God's love that will not fail us.  That is our most basic need that God has met for us in Christ.

So from that foundation we need to counteract the negative, untrue things about ourselves that we've been taught or the devil or the world system, or others, want us to believe about ourselves.  Now I'm going to list below some of the truths in Scripture about who we are in Christ, and hope that you, along with myself, will take maybe one of these a day and meditate on it.  And I believe that the victory we are hoping for in our lives will be seen as a result of our transforming the way we think.  And for those who have just asked Jesus to save them from judgement, these truths are true of you as well.  Meditate on them.  God has done a great thing in your life.

WHO I AM IN CHRIST

I am God’s child John 1:12

I am Christ’s friend John 15:15

I have been justified Romans 5:1

I am united with the Lord (one spirit) 1Cor.6:17

I am bought with a price; I belong to God 1Cor.6:19-20

I am a member of Christ’s body 1Cor. 12:27

I am a saint Eph. 1:1

I have been adopted as God’s child Eph. 1:5

I have access to God through the Holy Spirit Eph. 2:18

I have been redeemed and forgiven Col.1:14

I am complete in Christ Col.2:10

I AM SECURE

I am free forever from condemnation Rom. 8:1-2

I am assured that all things work together for good Rom. 8:28

I am free from any condemning charges against me Rom. 8:31-34

I cannot be separated from the love of God Rom. 8:35-39

I am established, anointed and sealed by God 2Cor. 1:21-22

I am hidden with Christ in God Col.3:3

I am confident that the good work He has begun in me,

will be perfected Phil1:6

I am a citizen of heaven Phil 3:20

I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a

Sound mind 2Tim 1:7

I can find grace and mercy in time of need Heb 4:16

I am born of God; the evil one cannot touch me 1John 5:18

I AM SIGNIFICANT

I am the salt and light of the earth Matt 5:13-14

I am a branch of the true vine, a channel of His life John 15:1,5

I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit John 15:16

I am a personal witness of Christ’s Acts 1:8

I am God’s temple 1Cor 3:16

I am a minister of reconciliation for God 2Cor 5:17-21

I am God’s co-worker (1Cor 3) 2Cor 6:1

I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realm Eph 2:6

I am God’s workmanship Eph 2:10

I may approach God with freedom and confidence Eph 3:12

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens Phil 4:13

Me

The lists above come from research done by Neil T. Anderson.  He has written several books, two that have been very helpful to me:  "Victory Over the Darkness," and "The Bondage Breaker."  Following are a few more that I have discovered in 2 Corinthians.  Search the Scriptures.  There are more that God wants us to discover.

God comforts you in all your troubles.  1:4

Our hope is firm in Christ.  1:7

God will continue to deliver us.  1:10

You will be boasted of in the Day of our Lord Jesus.  1:14

All of God's promises are yes in Christ.  1:20

God makes you stand firm in Christ.  1:21

God set His seal of ownership on you.
God put His Spirit in your heart to guarantee what is to come.  1:22

God always leads you in triumphal procession in Christ.  2:14

You are the aroma of Christ.  2:15

You are ministers of a new covenant.  3:5

You reflect the Lord's glory.
You are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory.  3:18

You are God's minister.  4:1

You carry the gospel of Christ.  4:6

You will be raised in the presence of Jesus.  4:14

Inwardly you are being renewed day by day.  4:16

God built an eternal house for you in heaven.  5:1

The Holy Spirit is a deposit to guarantee you what is to come.  5:5

You are in Christ.
You are a new creation.
Your old nature is gone.  5:17

God did this.
You are a minister of reconciliation.  5:18

You are an ambassador of Christ.
God makes His appeal to the world through you.  5:20

Jesus, though rich, became poor so that you could be rich.  8:9

God has richly blessed us.


Thursday, July 4, 2013

Heroes



Today we are honoring the fallen, and our independence.  Those who have given their lives so we can live.  We remember our soldiers who have given their lives for us at great sacrifice.  Their families also having sacrificed a spouse or a parent so that we could have our freedoms.  We remember the firefighters of the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew and their families who have sacrificed so that we could keep our lives, our homes, and our possessions. 

My wife and I watched a 4th of July parade today in Williams, Arizona where the Granite Mountain Hot Shot Crew was honored on several floats.  It brought a lot of tears.  We also saw a young lady who had what appeared to be cerebral palsy riding a horse, showing her courage in overcoming obstacles in her life as well as being an example to others to overcome obstacles as well.  To me, this was a day of recognizing heroes.  All of these people have lived honorable lives and some have given their lives honorably.  They should be honored by all of us.

I remember a man asking me once who I thought the strongest person in the world was.  He listed some names, and of course today I would add the names of the above to that list.  They all have shown great strength and courage.

But the strongest, most honorable, courageous person who ever lived would have to be Jesus, who deserves our greatest honor.  Colossians 2:13-15, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.  And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and the sentence for our sin is seperation from God for all of eternity.  Death.  After sentence was given toward us, Jesus stepped down from glory and paid the penalty Himself, for an undeserving creation.  He then rose from the dead by His own Spirit of holiness.  Having paid the sin debt of all who come to Him, He took away the power of the devil to rightfully accuse us for our rebellion against God.  For those who receive Jesus as their Savior, their sin is gone, He clothes them in His own righteousness, adopts them as His children, seals them by His Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of their inheritance in Christ, and gives them eternal life.

Jesus, the Son of God, carried the sins of the whole world on His own shoulders to the cross and paid the penalty for us so that we could live with Him forever.  There was no one else that was able to do that. 

So, in the honoring of the fallen today, let us not forget to honor the One who died for us, and then rose from the dead to save us. 

And if you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior, if you have never asked Him to save you from judgement by what He did at the cross, ask Him now.  Anyone who comes to Him, He will in no way cast out.