Given the inherent danger of deception and having come to grips with the reality that many will be deceived in the coming season, the paramount question we must answer is how we go about taking heed that no one deceives us. The sad reality is that if not for the slothfulness, indifference, and disinterest of many in the church today, this present generation would have the easiest time of any that came before it to keep from being deceived.
To say that we have the Word of
God at our fingertips is an understatement. There is, however, a difference
between having it near us and having it in us. The notion that if we download
enough Bible apps, we never open or read enough inspirational one-liners that
lean toward earthly wisdom rather than godly, it will keep us safe from
deception is yet another seed the enemy has planted while no one was looking
that has taken root and produced many fruitless trees.
If we’d bother to read the Word
of God and devote time to its study, the answer to how we can avoid being deceived
is clearly found therein.
Psalm 119:11, “Your word I have
hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
John 17:14-17, “I have given
them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world,
just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of
the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the
world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is
truth.”
Succinct, to the point, and
revelatory. The Word of God must be an ever-present reality in the life of all
believers, regardless of their station within the body of Christ. Studying the
Word, hiding it in your heart, and being sanctified by it is not something
reserved for leadership or those who teach and preach the gospel but for all
who desire to be anchored in truth.
The Word of God is the standard,
the plumb line, and the acid test for anything we might hear or anything we
might see. A sign or a wonder in and of itself is not confirmation that the
individual performing it is full of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. It’s
whether the person in question speaks the truth of God’s word boldly and if
what they assert is in harmony with the gospel.
A sign does not validate a false
doctrine; a wonder does not approve a false teaching. We cannot overlook the
conflict between a man’s words and God’s word because he’s been ‘mightily used’
no matter how hungry some might be for a sign. Jesus warned us beforehand. He
made it a point to remind us of this.
Matthew 24:25, “See, I have told
you beforehand.”
We are reminded that He told us
beforehand for two reasons: first, so that we might not be taken in by those
performing signs and wonders yet preaching another Jesus, and second, so that
we might have no excuse when we stand before Him on that day of days.
But Lord, his words gave me a
positive self-image, and he even pulled a rabbit out of his hat. How was I
supposed to know he would lead me down the path of destruction? Because He told
you beforehand what you should look out for and how you should gauge and assess
those who come in His name.
It’s easy for deceivers to
deceive people nowadays because they’re looking for an experience rather than a
relationship. Whether it’s entertainment, some bombastic sign replete with fog
machines and fireworks, or a newly minted secret teaching that, although
contrary to scripture, puts them in the special people’s club, it’s not Christ
they hunger for; it’s experiences.
But I thought you believed in
miracles, signs, wonders, prophecies, dreams, and visions. I do, but that does
not negate the fact that Jesus forewarned that in the last days, false christs
and prophets would rise up doing great signs and wonders. It does not negate
the reality that we must be vigilant and sober, taking heed that no one
deceives us. I get that balance is a difficult thing to achieve nowadays, where
everyone is polarized and must belong to one camp or the other, but my camp is
Jesus, and the Word of God is my foundation. If this offends, so be it. I am at
peace with choosing Jesus.
It’s easy to trick people when
you’re giving them what they want and not what they need. Whether it’s
validation or license to pursue the lusts of their flesh, a man-centered gospel
rather than a Christ-centered one, whenever you tailor your message in order to
suit your audience, you will be loved, adored, praised, and exalted. The only
problem with this is that it’s the name of Christ that’s supposed to be adored,
praised, and exalted, but why let the truth and details ruin the head rush you
get when the standing ovation you receive when you say God no longer requires
repentance goes on for minutes?
Yes, I know, everyone’s
generally good, with pure motives, and pure of heart nowadays, even though the
Word of God says it is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The
sad reality is that many Christians today reject the truth because they refuse
to allow it to change and transform them. We’re doing the devil’s job for him
by downplaying the need for righteousness, spiritual maturity, and a
well-grounded understanding of the Word of God.
The few who still insist upon these things, not because they
want to be contrarian but because they want to remain faithful to Jesus, are
singled out, marginalized, and demonized, not so much by the world as yet but
by those of the church who fear the good thing they’ve got going will be
jeopardized if the truth is allowed to be spoken.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
Posted on 23 June 2024 | 10:23 am
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