Beware of the 'Lie-on's' Mouth!
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" (Galations 1:8)
Paul says this bold statement to the Galatian churches just verses after having laid out to them the core of the true gospel message, who is the "Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever. Amen." (Galatians 1:3-4)
So what is this "other gospel" all about? How do we discern whether or not we are being taught a false "gospel"? Are we accountable to God for having fallen prey to false teaching and erroneous doctrine? I believe that once we have been taught and saved by the true gospel of Jesus Christ, we are accountable to discern any false teachings that may pop up. Even if an angel were to preach to us a gospel contrary to that which we have been taught from the Scriptures, we are to deny it and hold fast to Christ alone for our salvation.
Romans 5:8-10 sums up the means of our justification -- and there is no work of our own included in this summation. Only the blood of Jesus saves us from the wrath of God. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." We are justified, or saved, only by His blood! Nothing else! That is the gospel of Christ which has the power to save!
God does not contradict Himself, nor does He deliver different gospels to different people. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) There is one gospel, one Saviour, one Way to heaven, and that is Jesus! He said it Himself better than I ever could in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
You can't get to the Father through baptism, serving the poor, saying prayers, or any other "good work". You can't buy your way into heaven, can't trust in anyone besides Christ, or even muster up your own faith to believe the true gospel. Even the faith to believe is given to you by God. (Acts 13:48) Salvation is purely a gift of God so that people cannot boast in themselves or receive any glory for what God has done by His grace. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Romans 11:6)
We know that the Old Testament was written for our instruction, so let us look to it for an example of what happens to someone who has been given a command by God, who receives a false revelation from a prophet who claims to have been instructed by an angel from heaven, and who forsakes God's command in favor of the false way. A man of God was sent to prophesy to Jereboam in 1 Kings 13, to tell him that God would raise up a king named Josiah who would purify Israel by burning pagan priests on the altar. After this man delivered the message God had given him, he began to follow the Lord's command to return home by a different route and refrain from eating or drinking. On the way, he was enticed to dine with a prophet, who told the man that an angel from heaven told him to extend an invitation for dinner at his house. The man of God betrayed the Lord and went to dine with the prophet. As judgement for having forsaken the command given him by the Lord, God sent a lion to slay the man and he was left dead by the side of the road. You would think that God would have slain the lying prophet who claimed to have heard a message from an angel! But, no! God slayed the man who fell for the lie! 1 Kings 13:26 says explicitly that "the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him." You notice that when the man received the invitation from the lying prophet, he didn't evaluate that it was directly in opposition to the command he had received from God. He did not consult the Lord before going aside with the prophet. He did what seemed right in his own eyes, what sounded good to his hungry stomach, and he paid dearly for that rejection of God's command.
So, how do we guard our minds and hearts against false teachings that have infiltrated modern Christendom? Truly, the majority of people who gather on Sundays and call themselves "churches" are in fact preaching false gospels that are completely contrary to the one true gospel presented over and over in Scripture. If these people do not reject false teachings and embrace Christ and His truth, they will pay dearly for that sin! They will suffer much worse fate than being killed by a lion! Christians must be Bereans! "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11) These Christians weren't taking Paul's word for it but were studying the Scriptures and comparing his words to those of God to make sure they were in alignment. They weren't trusting the opinions of others, tradition, gut feeling, or emotional response for their baseline of truth. They were using the Scriptures as their bedrock, their foundation for absolute truth! This we must do!
Don't trust what anyone tells you! Not your preacher, your teacher, your spouse, me, a commentary, the notes in your study Bible, a famous author, etc. Compare what is preached to the Scriptures and always rely on God's Word as the litmus test that reveals truth. God has the only authority for truth. "The sum of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." (Psalm 119:160) If your pastor preaches something contrary to God's Word, trust in God! If your best friend teaches you something contrary to the Bible, trust God! Even if an angel from heaven comes to you and preaches to you something contrary to the Scriptures, he is to be accursed! Do not listen to him! Study the gospel thoroughly so that errors are obvious! How will you recognize false teaching if you are not familiar with God's truth revealed in His Word? Pray for increased faith to stand fast on the truth, knowing that faith is a gift from above. Don't think you are strong enough to stand on your own, because you are not! Your battle is not with flesh and blood but with the forces of spiritual darkness in the heavenly places! (Ephesians 6:12) Pray for God to guard your mind with the helmet of salvation as you fight spiritual battles with the Sword of the Spirit which is His Word! Know your weapon well! Be familiar with the Sword so that you handle it accurately and skillfully! Would you go into a sword fight never having picked up a sword? Certainly not! "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
If you have fallen prey to the false teachings of wolves in sheep's clothing, repent, seek the truth of the Scriptures, trust Christ alone for your salvation, and come out from under the lies and into the glorious Truth. Study the Word and embrace Christ, "who died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4) May the Lord enlighten your mind to understand the Scriptures! (Luke 24:45)
Oh God! Glorify Your great name by revealing pure truth to Your people. Bring Your sheep out from amongst the wolves and protect them from false ways. Sanctify them in Your truth and guard their hearts in Christ Jesus.
Paul says this bold statement to the Galatian churches just verses after having laid out to them the core of the true gospel message, who is the "Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever. Amen." (Galatians 1:3-4)
So what is this "other gospel" all about? How do we discern whether or not we are being taught a false "gospel"? Are we accountable to God for having fallen prey to false teaching and erroneous doctrine? I believe that once we have been taught and saved by the true gospel of Jesus Christ, we are accountable to discern any false teachings that may pop up. Even if an angel were to preach to us a gospel contrary to that which we have been taught from the Scriptures, we are to deny it and hold fast to Christ alone for our salvation.
Romans 5:8-10 sums up the means of our justification -- and there is no work of our own included in this summation. Only the blood of Jesus saves us from the wrath of God. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." We are justified, or saved, only by His blood! Nothing else! That is the gospel of Christ which has the power to save!
God does not contradict Himself, nor does He deliver different gospels to different people. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) There is one gospel, one Saviour, one Way to heaven, and that is Jesus! He said it Himself better than I ever could in John 14:6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
You can't get to the Father through baptism, serving the poor, saying prayers, or any other "good work". You can't buy your way into heaven, can't trust in anyone besides Christ, or even muster up your own faith to believe the true gospel. Even the faith to believe is given to you by God. (Acts 13:48) Salvation is purely a gift of God so that people cannot boast in themselves or receive any glory for what God has done by His grace. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Romans 11:6)We know that the Old Testament was written for our instruction, so let us look to it for an example of what happens to someone who has been given a command by God, who receives a false revelation from a prophet who claims to have been instructed by an angel from heaven, and who forsakes God's command in favor of the false way. A man of God was sent to prophesy to Jereboam in 1 Kings 13, to tell him that God would raise up a king named Josiah who would purify Israel by burning pagan priests on the altar. After this man delivered the message God had given him, he began to follow the Lord's command to return home by a different route and refrain from eating or drinking. On the way, he was enticed to dine with a prophet, who told the man that an angel from heaven told him to extend an invitation for dinner at his house. The man of God betrayed the Lord and went to dine with the prophet. As judgement for having forsaken the command given him by the Lord, God sent a lion to slay the man and he was left dead by the side of the road. You would think that God would have slain the lying prophet who claimed to have heard a message from an angel! But, no! God slayed the man who fell for the lie! 1 Kings 13:26 says explicitly that "the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke to him." You notice that when the man received the invitation from the lying prophet, he didn't evaluate that it was directly in opposition to the command he had received from God. He did not consult the Lord before going aside with the prophet. He did what seemed right in his own eyes, what sounded good to his hungry stomach, and he paid dearly for that rejection of God's command.
So, how do we guard our minds and hearts against false teachings that have infiltrated modern Christendom? Truly, the majority of people who gather on Sundays and call themselves "churches" are in fact preaching false gospels that are completely contrary to the one true gospel presented over and over in Scripture. If these people do not reject false teachings and embrace Christ and His truth, they will pay dearly for that sin! They will suffer much worse fate than being killed by a lion! Christians must be Bereans! "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17:11) These Christians weren't taking Paul's word for it but were studying the Scriptures and comparing his words to those of God to make sure they were in alignment. They weren't trusting the opinions of others, tradition, gut feeling, or emotional response for their baseline of truth. They were using the Scriptures as their bedrock, their foundation for absolute truth! This we must do!
Don't trust what anyone tells you! Not your preacher, your teacher, your spouse, me, a commentary, the notes in your study Bible, a famous author, etc. Compare what is preached to the Scriptures and always rely on God's Word as the litmus test that reveals truth. God has the only authority for truth. "The sum of Your Word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." (Psalm 119:160) If your pastor preaches something contrary to God's Word, trust in God! If your best friend teaches you something contrary to the Bible, trust God! Even if an angel from heaven comes to you and preaches to you something contrary to the Scriptures, he is to be accursed! Do not listen to him! Study the gospel thoroughly so that errors are obvious! How will you recognize false teaching if you are not familiar with God's truth revealed in His Word? Pray for increased faith to stand fast on the truth, knowing that faith is a gift from above. Don't think you are strong enough to stand on your own, because you are not! Your battle is not with flesh and blood but with the forces of spiritual darkness in the heavenly places! (Ephesians 6:12) Pray for God to guard your mind with the helmet of salvation as you fight spiritual battles with the Sword of the Spirit which is His Word! Know your weapon well! Be familiar with the Sword so that you handle it accurately and skillfully! Would you go into a sword fight never having picked up a sword? Certainly not! "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
If you have fallen prey to the false teachings of wolves in sheep's clothing, repent, seek the truth of the Scriptures, trust Christ alone for your salvation, and come out from under the lies and into the glorious Truth. Study the Word and embrace Christ, "who died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4) May the Lord enlighten your mind to understand the Scriptures! (Luke 24:45) Oh God! Glorify Your great name by revealing pure truth to Your people. Bring Your sheep out from amongst the wolves and protect them from false ways. Sanctify them in Your truth and guard their hearts in Christ Jesus.
I wish that I had held to the Scriptures. It's awfully hot down here!
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