Tag Archives: watch out

PARTNERS WITH TRUTH

Bible Study, ,

Philippians 3:1-3 NLT
[1] “Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. [2] Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. [3] For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort…”

Part of Paul’s ministry, as  God’s people grew and matured in their faith, was to protect them from false teachers. God’s enemies showed up in many different disguises.

Some attacked openly. Unbelieving Jews and pagan Gentiles tried in every way to silence the church by every form of persecution. Rumours of outrageous practices like, for example, cannibalism based on Jesus’s words…

John 6:53 NIV
[53] “Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

…circulated, arousing suspicion and hatred. They thought they could exterminate the church by killing believers, one by one. It didn’t work.

“It was Tertullian, one of the Early Church Fathers of the second century, who really coined the term “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” He drives the point home hard in his Apologeticus, directly addressing the Roman Empire:

“We are not a new philosophy but a divine revelation. That’s why you can’t just exterminate us; the more you kill the more we are. The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. You praise those who endured pain and death – so long as they aren’t Christians! Your cruelties merely prove our innocence of the crimes you charge against us…”
https://media.ascensionpress.com
article,” Blood of the Martyrs is still the Seed of the Church “

Others used a far more subtle approach, introducing the poison of false doctrine into Paul’s message to upset and confuse relatively new believers.

Paul didn’t have a good word to say about such people. He called them ” dogs”. Now we wouldn’t degrade our beloved “fur babies” by using them in that context but, in Paul’s day, dogs were not pampered pets. They were a kind of vermin.

These false teachers were vermin. “They do evil. They are mutilators. They peddle lies.”

The best way to deal with lies is to know and hold fast to the truth. What is the truth? Paul outlined it for the Philippians believers…

1. Rejoice in the Lord.
Now, that’s a good place to start. When we rejoice in the Lord, our minds are preoccupied with Him, leaving no room for false ideas to take hold. Continually rejoicing in the Lord is a sure safeguard against the intrusion of spiritual poison into our minds.

2. Be aware of danger. When we venture outside of our homes, climb into our cars, and drive into the traffic, if we are wise, we will be vigilant about what other drivers do. We may be careful drivers ourselves, but others aren’t. Our safety lies in our obedience to the rules of the the road and in our awareness of potential danger when other drivers transgress.

So also in our spiritual Iives. We must know the truth in order to discern lies. As long as we stick to the truth that Jesus has done everything to save and sanctify us and that our part is to trust in Him, we will be safe from spiritual harm and deception.

“No confidence in the flesh”…that’s the key. Every time we add something to what Jesus has done and is doing to gain God’s approval, Paul said, “We have fallen from grace.”

Galatians 5:2-6 NIV
[2] “Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. [3] Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. [4] You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. [5] For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. [6] For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

This way of thinking, that we can add to what Jesus has done, is a serious departure from the truth, more serious than peripheral issues like, for example, eating or not eating meat offered to idols.

1 Corinthians 8:8 NIV
[8] “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”

So, Paul warns,, “Don’t lose your way by not being alert. Your safety lies in your faithful adherence to the truth. If you stay in the boundaries of God’s Word in faith and practice, no one will be able to lure you away from your security in Jesus.”

False doctrine is far more dangerous an enemy that persecution. Persecution drives us closer to the Lotd; false teaching confuses us and dilutes our faith in the truth. Faith in the infallible Word is our safeguard against falling from grace. Faith matters. Truth matters. Faith in the truth saves and secures us… therefore, we must hold fast to the truth to be safe.

AN EFFECTIVE EARLY-WARNING SYSTEM – 12

Christian Life, ,

‭1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT‬
[8] “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. [9] Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.“

Peter’s gems not only highlight our blessings, they also alert us to danger. He should know! After all, he fell hard because he failed to heed Jesus’s warning.
He knew how painful it was to get up and continue after a terrible failure. Only on hindsight did he realise that he had allowed himself to be ‘devoured’ by the devil.

Why do lions roar? They roar to protect their territory, and their females and offspring. “Stay away. These are my girls and kids. Leave them alone.” There are always young bachelor lions looking for an opportunity to drive out the ruling lion and take over their pride.

If a challenging lion wins the battle, he takes over the lionesses and kills his opponent’s cubs so that he can pass on his genes to the next generation.

Do you get the picture? Lions don’t roar on the hunt. They are ambush and stealth hunters. Roaring on the hunt woud blow their cover. They roar when they announce their possession of territory and family and when they have won their battle against a challenger.

I have pondered Peter’s simile and wondered how he saw the connection. Did he really know how lions behave? He had no TV to watch them hunt from his arm chair!

I’m starting to get the picture.

Satan is the arch deceiver. He wants us to believe that he owns us. He roars to protect his territory. He uses our failures to reinforce his claim. He lures us into sin through our ungodly desires, making them appear attractive.

When we sin, he pounces to devour us. He accuses us, “Now look what you’ve done! God’s finished with you! You see, I told you that you belong to me. You are in my territory, under my authority….” and the accusations go on, triggering guilt, shame, and fear.

So, Satan continues to devour us by driving us to despair, to give up on God because it’s no use trying to be good and to follow Him. I’m sure that we have all been in that place at some time in our lives.

What’s the solution? Peter gives us sound counsel.

  1. Be alert!
    It’s going to happen sooner or later. Our treacherous old nature will trip us up. When it does…
  2. Recognise the source
    Temptation to sin, and condemnation when we sin, is never from God. He doesn’t work that way. These are the devil’s tactics to lure us back into his domain. We must never accept condemnation. Guilt is the key to discern the source of our feeling bad.
  3. Stand on God’s Word

Fear says, “Devil, you are right. I am guilty. I have offended God. He has cut me off from Himself. It’s no use trying. I’ll always fail. I might as well give up.”

Faith says, “Devil, you are right. I am guilty of offending God, but… I have an Advocate who is my Defender. He died in my place to forgive me and remove my sin. I am not condemned. I am forgiven and restored by His grace.”

1John 2:1-2 NLT‬
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

  1. Suffering is not punishment but purifying

How often we think that our troubles are God-inflicted punishment for some wrong we have done. We blame the devil for our suffering and try to go after him with futile ‘praying-against’ prayers. Not so! Peter reminded his readers that believers everywhere were being persecuted for their faith.

From God’s perspective, trials and hardships are not punishment but tests to purify and strengthen our confidence in Him. Paul discovered that it was his weakness that qualified him for God’s grace. Instead of wilting under the ‘poor me syndrome’ (PMS!), stand on God’s truth that you are a new creation, belonging to Him, and He has made provision for those times when we do sin.

The ‘roaring lion’ is lying when he roars that we belong to him. We belong to Christ… forever, even if we are still imperfect. The ‘hunting lion’ is off limits when he seeks to devour us as prey. We are not his to hunt. He has no grounds to take us down. We have been bought with precious blood by, and are under the protection of ‘the Lion of Judah’. No wandering bachelor lion dare challenge Him or His pride.

So, dear brothers, and sisters, let’s heed the warning and stay protected in the boundaries of God’s promises, safe from accusation and condemnation, and becoming the devil’s next meal!

WATCH OUT!

Christian Life, ,

WATCH OUT!

“With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to His disciples. ‘Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.'” Luke 20:45-47 (The Message).

Why did Jesus issue such a strong warning to His disciples about the danger of coming under the influence of the religion scholars? These men had power because of their so-called ‘learning’ which they used to subjugate ordinary people and exploit them for their own ends.

When we examine His motive for warning His disciples, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Was Jesus jealous of their power? Was He trying to turn public opinion against them because of their opposition to Him or was He sincerely alerting His disciples to the danger of being impressed and coming under their influence?’

History would give His disciples the answer. Both their Master, and later they, would suffer at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus had no personal axe to grind with them. He knew them. He knew the depth of their hypocrisy that fooled ordinary people. He knew how dangerous their power was, how ruthlessly these men would use it to protect their own position.

John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834-1902) said, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely…” How true this is when we see what power religious leaders have over the hearts and consciences of people. Terrible things happen because of the use of this power – massacres like the Inquisition – when millions of believers were slaughtered by the Church in the Middle Ages, the Crusades – the slaughter of Muslims in the name of Jesus, the Jim Jones suicides, the Waco Texas, tragedy, and many more.

Jesus neither pulled rank nor used emotion to persuade people to believe Him. He had one weapon that was infallible – the truth. Real power lies, not in intimidation, manipulation, or domination, which are the ways of the devil, but in revelation. God’s intention is not to enslave by fear but to set us free by the knowledge of the truth. 

“To the Jews who believed in Him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” John 8:31-32 (NIV).

Jesus was so sure of the power of the truth of His words that He could say, “‘As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.'” John 12:47-48 (NIV).  

There is a sob in Jesus’ voice as He warns of the ways of the hypocrite. ‘Be careful,’ He said, ‘not to be taken in by the image they portray. The real test is in their fruit.’ Their fruit was fear, slavery to the rules and ritual they imposed on the people because they were the ‘educated ones’, but they distorted the understanding of God until He appeared as a slavedriver, not a loving Father.

Any spiritual leader who rules over people instead of connecting them to Jesus, is as suspect as the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day. Jesus’ warning is as relevant today as it was then. Whoever he/she is, should a Christian leader tie people to himself and his teaching and not to Jesus, he/she is suspect and dangerous. Stay away from him/her.

How can we identify them? Simply by measuring them against our infallible test – the Word of God, both Jesus, the living Word, and the Bible, the written Word. Jesus said, “‘Take my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.'” Matthew 11:29 (NV). Any yoke that teaches anything not of Jesus is a yoke of bondage!

UNITY – THE HALLMARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH

Bible Study, ,

UNITY – THE HALLMARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH

“Greet Mary… Andronicus and Junia… Ampliatus… Urbanus and Stachys… Apelles… Aristobulus… Herodion… the household of Narcissis… Tryphena and Tryphosa… Persis… Rufus and his mother… Asynchritis… Phlegon… Hermes… Patrobas… Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them… Philologus… Julia… Nereus and his sister… Olympas and all the Lord’s people with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” Romans 16:6-16.

Strange-sounding names! Real people! Paul knew a host of people, both men and women in the churches in Rome, well-known associates who had worked with him or who had served well in the churches he had founded or with whom he was closely associated. He was always quick to commend or show appreciation for his fellow believers.

When one thinks that this was a young movement in the Roman Empire – not even thirty years old, with no history except that of the Jewish people, which was their root, the maturity of God’s people in a hostile environment was amazing. They had to be, because there were few grey areas in the church.

O yes, there were always the false teachers who distorted the gospel and tried to lure people away. There were the gullible ones, who left the flock to follow them but to be a follower of Jesus was dangerous and not for the faint-hearted. His true disciples knew the risks, stuck together and supported and cared for one another, creating a tight-knit group across the empire called “the church”.

“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” Romans 16:17, 18.

Into this close fellowship crept those who were there for their own reasons. Paul was not shy to warn believers about those who sowed dissention and taught lies to confuse, cause division and lure people into following them. Jesus described these people as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” From the earliest days of the infant church, the apostles were careful to preserve the precious unity that the Holy Spirit had created in the beginning.

“All the believers were together and had everything in common… All the believers were one in heart and mind…” Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32a.

As the church grew and spread, there were the unscrupulous ones, always ready to do the work of their master, the devil. The apostles all warned the flock against such people. On his way to Jerusalem for the last time, Paul warned the Ephesian elders:

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that, after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” Acts 20:28-30.

How tragic that there are people who are so greedy and self-centred, in spite of hearing the truth, that they use unsuspecting people for their own ends.  Leaders in the church have a threefold responsibility – to protect love, preserve unity and promote contentment. Paul’s counsel was, “Be ruthless with those who cause division. Have nothing to do with them. Throw out the rotten apple from the box before it infects all the others.”

Why is this so important? Unity is the very glue of the universe. It is a reflection of who God is.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4, was the daily confession of the people of God. The constitution of Israel, the Torah, was an expression of and a mandate to preserve unity among His people because God is one. It is our mandate to maintain that unity in humility by love and mutual submission under the authority and leadership of God’s appointed leaders so that the church can be a reflection of God to the world.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE – DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

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DOOMSDAY DECEIVERS

“They asked Him, ‘Teacher, when is this going to happen? What clue will we get that it’s about to take place?’

“He said, Watch out for the doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities claiming, ‘I’m the One,’ or, ‘The end is near.’ Don’t fall for any of that. When you hear of wars and uprisings, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history and no sign of the end.'” Luke 21:7-9.

Every generation has its doomsday prophets and its reasons to believe that the end is near. Wars are one of them. But, if we are honest, has there ever been a time when there have been no conflicts in the world? Wars are not so much a sign of the immanence of Jesus’ return as a reminder of the nature of man. Jesus called it “routine history”.

Greed for money and power has driven men and nations into conflict since the beginning of time, from strife in the family to the two world wars of the twentieth century and, in between, the localized tribal struggles that result in genocide.

A far more subtle problem is what Jesus called “doomsday deceivers”. They are often unwittingly a tool of Satan. His most potent weapon is deception, and his tactic, distraction. These false prophets arouse fear through their Biblical misinterpretations and draw our attention away from our Master. They draw a following by their plausible explanations about what is happening in the world and what is going to happen..

Jesus’ earnest counsel: ‘Don’t pay any attention to them.’ Instead He gave us His take on the ‘end of the world’, watch and be ready! There is no question about the fact of His return. It’s the ‘when’ bit that bothers us but, if we heed His counsel, when He is to return should be of less importance than whether we are prepared no matter when it happens.

‘Watch’ does not mean resign your job, leave home and sit on a mountain waiting for Jesus to come. Jesus told us how to watch – be faithfully carrying out His instructions when He returns. Don’t get lazy or sloppy. You’ll be caught off guard.

“Be ready” does not mean holing up underground with enough provisions for a siege! It sounds funny but some of the latest books and movies portraying the end of the world give us that impression.

We have to turn to the Bible for answers.  Since the Bible is the story of a betrothal and a wedding, the answer to the question, ‘How can I be ready?’ is found in the imagery of Jewish wedding culture. I cannot go into detail here except to focus on the purpose of marriage and the interval between the betrothal and the wedding ceremony.

God intended marriage as a picture of the unity in the Trinity, and His purpose for creating man – that we would be one with Him. God’s plan for marriage is expressed in three words (Genesis 2:24), “leave…cleave…one”. Union of man and woman in marriage mirrors the essence of God’s image – “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

The purpose of the betrothal was to separate the bride from all other men in preparation for the wedding when she was joined to the bridegroom to become one with him. The interval between betrothal and the wedding had two purposes; the groom prepared the bridal chamber and the bride prepared herself.

Her preparation was reflected in the feasts God commanded His people to celebrate every year. They were a prophetic picture of Messiah, the Bridegroom who would win His bride by self-sacrifice, and the bride, who would make herself ready to become one with Him. In the interval between Pentecost, the last of the spring feasts and the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah) the people were called to do three things:

  1. Tephillah – prayer, not asking God for things but changing their awareness from self-awareness to God-awareness.
  2. Teshuvah – repentance, not from sin but returning to their original state of goodness; in other words, changing the way they thought about themselves to think God’s thoughts about them.
  3. Tsidaqah – acts of righteousness, practising generosity because it is the right thing to do as a duty towards God. Whatever we have has been given to us by God and we have a duty to share our resources because God has been generous to us.

Now consider this Scripture: “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

‘Hallelujah!                                                                                                                                              For our Lord God almighty reigns.                                                                                                    Let us rejoice and be glad                                                                                                                    And give Him glory!                                                                                                                                For the wedding of the Lamb has come,                                                                                          His bride as made herself ready.                                                                                                      Fine line, bright and clean was given her to wear.’

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Revelation 19:6-8 (NIV).