The struggle for authority.
In every age and in every generation
there are men and women in every community who want to live, act,
and speak by their own authority. Some crave power for themselves,
and others simply reject any and all external authority in their
lives. Many more are a kind of mixture of the two.
It's unfortunate that we also find
such souls in the church itself (or at least so involved with the
church that they're considered as part of the body of Christ).
Sadly, it's even possible to find such people in even the
simplest, and least formal Christian gatherings.
But to reject the authority of God in
Jesus Christ is to reject life itself, as it is found in Jesus.
If we resist the Holy Spirit, we're lost. If we reject God's
right to teach us, train us, correct us and direct us, we will
never come to a genuine faith (trust) in Jesus Christ. And
without that trust in Jesus, we cannot know God.
Such men and women can sometimes fool
others (Christians and unbelievers alike) into thinking that
they're very godly, very spiritual people. Sometimes such
deceivers gather other people to themselves, becoming leaders over
religious groups, or even leaders among genuine Christians.
How can sincere believers be warned?
What signs should we look for?
I believe that the best and only real
defense for any of us is to have an active and meaningful -- as in
living -- relationship with the Lord Jesus in our own lives, to
have our faith firmly anchored in the God of the Scriptures.
Countless marginal or shallow believers have ended up joining
Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, or other cults. A person who does not
follow the principles of John, chapter 15 (abiding in Christ) will
fall away to some form of deception and/or delusions.
And by "cultic" I mean any group -- no
matter how "Christian" in their theology -- that tends to revolve
around the revelations and teachings of anyone other than Jesus
Christ Himself -- the Jesus that is revealed for us all in the
Bible.
And when they say to you, "Seek those
who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a
people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the
living?. To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
They will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry; and it shall
happen, when they are hungry, that they will be enraged and curse
their king and their God, and look upward. Then they will look to
the earth, and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish; and
they will be driven into darkness. (Isaiah 8:19-22)
Few genuine believers would stoop to
going to a medium or psychic -- at least not to one who announces
himself as such. But many have been snared by men and/or women who
refuse to speak and teach the words of God as we already have them
in Scripture. Such false prophets or teachers consult with
themselves, or may even consult with evil spirits for their
direction.
For example, where did Joseph Smith
and Brigham Young get the Mormon doctrines? Where did JW's
teachings really originate? Charles T. Russell? I believe such
doctrines come from the spiritual forces of darkness, and not from
men alone.
Did you notice what Isaiah said? In
Isaiah 8:20, he says, "To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light
in them."
And that warning serves us well today.
False teachers who claim to base their beliefs "on the Scriptures"
(and many do, counting on the ignorance of the majority) do not
speak according to the Bible at all. Men and women are setting
themselves up as spiritual leaders to the church who do not speak
according to the words and teachings of God as they have been kept
for us in Scripture.
Some claim that Christian no longer
need to embrace the teachings and principles of the Bible. They
claim to be bringing in a new revelation, an "updated" message
from God. And others simply twist the Scriptures around to try
and make them "prove" or support a false teaching. Either way,
deceivers who reject God's authority are not willing to speak the
pure message of God, or teach what He's clearly revealed to the
whole world in Scripture.
Not under Law but under grace.
It's true that we are not bound by the
Law of Moses, by a set of religious rules. Eternal life comes to
us by faith in Jesus Christ.
But we do have the rule of God Himself
over us, the law being written to our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
And the Lord will not direct us to contradict the true
righteousness He's already revealed in Moses and the prophets, and
by His own Son. What He called evil in ages past He will not start
calling righteousness today. (For example, adultery and murder and
stealing, and other sins of humankind are still sins, still wrong,
still evil.)
In fact, whatever exalts the human
self up and over the good of others is wrong, according to the
Lord -- in every generation of His revelation to humankind.
The result of false leaders should be
obvious to anyone. Men and women who are false to God will be
false in whatever they teach about God. And the result is that
more and more people (whoever follows after false leaders) will be
soon become ignorant of God altogether.
Just what we need: More darkness.
Amos talks about this, as one aspect
of God's judgment on those who no longer desire the truth. If we
reject the truth, we will soon lose contact with the truth.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord
GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And
they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the
east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and
shall not find it. (Amos 8:11,12)
(Paul also talks about this same kind
of pattern, but to a greater degree in Romans 1:18-32.)
We never need to worry about these
things, so long as we live our lives unto the Lord Himself -- and
not merely unto men.
Make sure you know the Lord Jesus
Christ, and not just a way of religious teaching and life.
Guarding your own heart and mind.
Walk closely with the Lord, trusting
Him, and trusting in His work of grace in your life. Good teaching
from godly leaders is certainly good, but pay close attention to
the Scriptures themselves -- in your own daily walk, reading the
Bible often and applying what it plainly says to your life.
Ask the Lord each day to open your
heart and mind to understand the Scriptures, and then write down
in a daily journal, if possible, whatever He shows you in the
Bible as you read it alone with Him. Then make sure that what
you've received really is a teaching of the whole Bible, and not
just a misunderstanding, or partial truth.
Share what the Lord is saying to you
with other believers in your family or fellowship, and allow them
to share from their lives with you. Don't be a lone ranger.
And if your group is walking totally
alone in your little pathway, contrary to what all other
Christians believe and accept, you may be straying from God
Himself. Examine yourselves -- in the light of God's Word in
Scripture -- to see if you really have what God is saying.
The Scriptures are important because
they give us the witness of a great host of believers, from the
beginning all through the ages, and down to the apostles
themselves. If our faith is the same as theirs, and in line with
what they share about God, His ways, and His Son, then we know
we're of the same Spirit. But if we are drifting away from the
Spirit that these other saints have known and followed, then we're
in for trouble.
God Himself is the one and only true
authority, and He's given all authority to His Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus is Lord of lords, and King of all kings. Let Jesus
rule your heart and mind. Don't allow anyone else to take that
place of Shepherding your personal life & family.
According to John's Gospel, chapter 10
(not to mention Psalm 23, and Ezekiel 34), you already have a good
Shepherd, one who laid down His life for you. What more should
anyone want? Let us all be sure to know His voice and follow Him
in all things.
It is good to have sincere Christian
teachers and leaders among us. But our highest loyalty must
always be to the God of heaven and earth. We will answer to Him
when this life is over. Why not follow Him and learn from Him
today?
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