Every one of us (including me), needs to discern what is truth and what is falsehood on a continual ongoing basis. We MUST continually be submitting what we actually believe to the Holy Spirit and allow HIM to refine us. As a minister of the new covenant, I am mandated to speak truth alone. I must (on purpose) demand of myself this call.
Mark 4:24-25 (AMPC)
And HE (Jesus) said to them; be careful what you are hearing. The measure (of thought and study) you give (to the truth you hear) will be the measure (of virtue and knowledge) that comes back to you -- and more (besides) will be given to those who hear. For to him who has more will be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken from him (by force).
Some time ago a minister called our office, very disturbed. He said he preaches holiness and the crucified life in his church, and he did seem to have a true shepherd's heart. Then he said that some of his church members had attended some kind of special seminar - and they had come home ready to leave his congregation.
They told him, "God has brought us into a new revelation that has changed our lives. We heard things we've never heard before. We thought we were saved before, but now we know we weren't. Everything we believed about the end times was wrong. We have seen new truth."
"Pastor, you and your church are in error. Your people aren't even saved! You think you preach holiness, but we've discovered what true holiness is. Today, that same group of people does not even attend church anymore. There are so many new, strange doctrines, so many teachers with new 'revelation.' And they all seem to have a number of scriptures to back them up. No one is discerning what is of God and what is of Satan, what is foolishness and what is righteousness. New doctrines, new revelations, and new gospels are springing up almost daily. And it's going to get much worse. The Bible clearly warns that in the last days' strange doctrines will come forth - introducing another Jesus, another Spirit, another gospel!
The apostle Paul called together the elders of the church at Ephesus, and his final words to these beloved saints were: "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" (Acts 20:29-30).
Paul said he had one purpose, one goal, one desire - and it is the same desire all true shepherds must have: to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and present every spiritual child to Him pure, unspotted, holy and righteous, rooted and grounded in the Word. It is to see them stand before His throne with assurance, knowing you have given them the whole counsel of God...that they were not tossed about by every word of doctrine, not deceived by doctrines of demons...that they came through every test and trial with the Word of God hidden in their hearts!
My greatest joy in glory - along with Paul and every minister here - will be to hear each of your names called by the Lord, see you stand before Him overflowing with devotion and humility, and hear Him say to you, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
That truly is the one desire of my heart. And that is why I preach what I preach. If Paul were alive today and preaching from any pulpit, he would say the same thing to us tearfully every time he spoke: "Beware! An invasion is coming! False teachers and false doctrines will bombard you from all sides. They will introduce to you another Christ. They will not be of the Holy Spirit, but of another spirit. And it will not be the true gospel - it will be another."
Paul confessed to a fear he had about them: "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" (2 Corinthians 11:3).
So often, a good-hearted, solid Christian will hand me a tape or a book and say, "You've got to hear this teacher. The message is incredible, powerful! Everybody's talking about it." So I listen. And it sounds pretty good - anointed, new and fresh. But then the Spirit begins to churn inside me. Does this ever happen with you? As you listen, you feel an uneasiness - so you wait, and you keep listening. You say, "I don't hear anything wrong yet. But something does not sound right." And if you stay with it, suddenly, there it is - error. Unscriptural interpretations, fanciful dreams, man's own ideas, as if a mystery is being unlocked. But it does not line up with God's Word and it can happen to anyone.
Paul was amazed by how easily some of the Galatians were swayed: (Galatians 1:6-8). Paul was saying, "Don't be so gentlemanly and ladylike about it. If it's not the gospel you heard from me, it's not of God. It's accursed, rotten, deadly. It is serious business, and it will trouble you if you get caught up in it. So don't take it lightly. Don't bear with it, and don't be nice about it. Let the one who preaches it be accursed!" It doesn't matter if an angel appears and tells you the message is of God. It doesn't matter if you and your friends "discern" that it's all right. The Bible makes it plain: If it does not line up with Paul's gospel, it is of Satan, "accursed."
How shall we know then what is the true gospel, and what is accursed?
Let me say first that even the most demonic false teachers begin with warnings of false doctrine. They loudly and strongly warn against getting caught up in something, unlike Christ. Nearly every false teacher I've heard sounds of the loudest about false doctrine then proceeds to preach what is false. They spend much time persuading their hearers they are unlike false teachers - yet they're setting them up to hear their message.
Doctrine is not right simply because the teacher appears to be holy, good, pious and sincere. Throughout church history, the most damaging heresies have been taught by men who were considered good and sincere. That makes false doctrine all the more dangerous. Many a Christian has said, "But he is such a good man, so sober, so sincere, so loving." Indeed, a Christ-centered teacher will be holy, sober, and sincere--but the devil's "angels of light" will appear to be too. They will come as messengers of righteousness, truth, and revelation.
Paul says Satan tries to deceive us, just as he deceived Eve in the garden. He uses the same craftiness, the same deception: (2 Corinthians 11:3). Nothing has changed since then! The false gospel Satan introduced to Eve is the same gospel he promotes today--and all false gospels have the same traits in common. God did not leave this important matter to guesswork. He has made it very clear, and there are absolute clues to watch for, which expose the teaching as false:
1. Any Teaching That Undermines the Fear of God is Accursed - Of the Devil!
All false teachers have this one message in common: "Relax, God cant' be hard. He won't hurt you--He loves you. A loving God wants you to enjoy life." The enemy's trick is to move you away from the awesome reverence and fear of a holy God who judges sin. All false doctrine has this one aim--to undermine the fear of God in you.
Only the powerful, absolute fear of God kept Adam and Eve from disobeying Him. It was not their love for God, nor their daily communion. It was this: (Genesis 2:16-17).
But Satan came with a smooth message: "Ye shall not surely die" (3:4). This was a total perversion of truth - another gospel! Yet it was just what Eve wanted to hear. You see, something inside her resisted God's commandment. The Lord's restriction seemed too much of a yoke, and she chafed under it.
Satan knew this was in Eve, and he began to undermine the fear of God in her immediately: "Did God really say this? God is not like that. You have the wrong concept of Him. Do you think He will deny you knowledge and wisdom when He Himself is Knowledge and Wisdom? What kind of a God do you think He is? You surely will not die!" You may sit under strong preaching that seems like a heavy yoke. You may chafe under it and say, "I don't like it!" But don't be deceived: It is the very thing that brings you freedom, peace and joy. Yet still, you cry out within, "I can't serve God this way. I want liberty!"
There is teaching currently circulating in the charismatic movement about new liberty. It says, "Come sing and shout and speak in tongues--and then go out and live like the devil!" That isn't freedom. It's Satan saying, "You shall not die. God is not hard. He's too loving, too merciful." Satan found a gospel that suited the lust of Eve's flesh--and he'll find one to suit the itching ears of restless Christians!
I heard this week about a Pastor who came to our summer camp meeting and went back to his church and the congregation will not even let him say hallelujah. There are many that are totally devoid of the fear of God. They have never known anything about judgment. They've always had everything they've wanted. They say, "We want rock-and-roll," and their parents say, "don't upset them. Bring rock-and-roll into the church and give it Christian lyrics." Or, "they're going to have sex anyway, so let's give them protection."
There are many who do not know the fear of the Lord because pastors and parents have made God out to be the great appeaser in the sky. Only a handful of Christians today walk in holiness. Why? Because pastors are too weak to preach the gospel in the pulpit--and because parents are living double lives, and their kids know it! Some Christians have said to me, "You preach so hard. My answer is this: We are called to preach the Word with such power and authority that it will produce a constant fear of God in every hearer. Those who won't forsake their pet sins won't stay, because they will be offended. They will turn away their ears from the truth and will seek out teachers to cater to their lusts (see 2 Timothy 4:1-4).
God's Word says, "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6). Here is what I believe a true gospel message must produce in us:
1) A hatred for sin that allows no excuses or alibis. 2) A conviction for all spiritual laziness and compromise. 3) An inner knowledge that God does not wink at our sins. 4) A conviction that we will reap what we sow. 5) A righteous, holy fear of God. 6) A confidence that He will deliver us from every sin we hate and resist.
Are you uncertain or unconvinced about the need to walk in the fear of God? To end that once and for all, see Isaiah 11:1-3. This passage prophesied about One on whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest--One who would be given "quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." This passage is talking about Jesus! And if Jesus walked in the fear of the Father and delighted in it, so much more should we!
Beware of any message that breaks conviction for sin, that produces a spirit of non-vigilance, that doesn’t point you to the cross, or takes your focus off your redeemer, that eases you back softly and whispers, "All is well." All such tranquilizers are false gospels!
2. Beware of Any Gospel That Diverts You From Single-Minded Devotion to Jesus Christ.
Paul solemnly warns us that Satan will transform Himself into an angel of light--that he will raise up his own false teachers, all of them posing as ministers of righteousness.
Light represents truth, gospel, revelation. Satan will come using the lovely name of Jesus, and he will attempt to deceive even the elect: "Transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13). Think of the terror of such a thing! To face the last days under the power of false apostles, embracing a doctrine of the devil, being under the control of a false spirit.
"There is much talk about grace and heart-searching, but give me Christ! I seek not for promises, but Christ! I seek not for sanctification, but Christ! Don't talk of meditation or duty--tell me of Christ!" It sounds like pure devotion to Christ--a gospel that's centered on Jesus. But Jesus Himself tells us that not all who say, "Lord, Lord," will enter into His kingdom. Not everyone who throws around the name of Jesus will be preaching the true gospel.
We've made Christians appear to be a bunch of helpless cripples--no power or authority, bound by sinful habits, waiting around for a miraculous deliverance. There is no holy stirring against sin, no fear of God.
3. There Can Be No Devotion to Christ Without a Walk of Holiness
This is how all doctrine must be judged: Does it conform you into the likeness of Jesus Christ? You can't call a gospel pure simply because the teacher preaches against sin, or because Christ is referred to often. There is one sure test for true holiness preaching. It is found in 2 Timothy 2:19: "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
I feel as Paul must-have, a heart-wrenching cry to warn God's people of what is coming. There are great theological wars ahead. The whole charismatic movement will be divided into different camps, rallying behind their doctrines, teachers, and books, accusing each other of error and false prophecy. And all will believe they are defending the faith!
They won't be fighting the devil, because they'll be too busy calling each other heretics. It will be a time of great confusion, and unlearned Christians won't know who to believe.
Beloved, I want to fight the real enemy. And that enemy is out on the streets--and in our own hearts! I'm not going to argue over prophecy. I want to stand with any brother or sister who walks in the fear of God and whose heart is given in pure devotion to Jesus Christ.
We must get our eyes off teachers and evangelists, and become students of God's Word. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Don't look for an "approved" pastor or evangelist. You'll go to one man after another, and they'll all fail you until finally, you'll lose hope. Get your eyes off all preachers and onto Jesus Christ!
4. The True Gospel Is Concerned With Your Heart - for Out of It Come the Issues Of Life!
The Pharisees saw some of the Lord's disciples eating bread with unwashed hands, and "they found fault" (Mark 7:2). "For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders" (verse 3).
These men asked Jesus why His disciples didn't walk in this kind of "holiness." Yet theirs was only a ceremonial tradition. It was all outward, having only to do with acts of the flesh. Jesus answered them, "Well hath (Isaiah) prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (verse 6). Jesus said, in essence, "your teaching is all in vain. It doesn't change your heart. It's all show, words, phony deeds!"
He's saying to us in this, "If a gospel gives Me nothing but lip service and doesn't deal with the heart, don't waste time with it. True doctrine has to get to the issues of the heart." Jesus exposes the problem with all false gospels: They do not reach what defiles the man - they do not convict or change the heart. They offer a form of godliness, with no heart. "But these things which proceed from the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man" (Matthew 15:18).
Paul said, "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22). Don't tell me about the miracles in your church--the praise, worship, or how well the pastor preaches. No - tell me about a people who call on God out of the pure heart! Tell me that, though they've not yet arrived, they are being provoked in that direction. They're allowing God to search and try their hearts, to expose their sinful attitudes.
That's the true gospel of Jesus. It's a gospel that convicts the heart, deals with the heart and changes the heart! Is this the gospel being preached to you? Does it convict you of those inner, hidden sins? Evil Thoughts? Adultery? Fornication? Murder? Stealing? Covetousness? Wickedness? Pride? Foolishness?
If not, then find and stay in a church with a people where your heart is exposed, shaken - and changed for the glory of Christ!
Beware lest we stumble and fall from the grace HE has richly bestood on us.
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