I have been disturbed lately by an amazing amount of talk about false teachers. In my circle at least and come to think of it way beyond judging by what I read it seems that there are a plethora of false teachers in all walks of Christianity. As one ex-politician (thank God) said recently, the Bible is just not relevant anymore for today’s society. People don’t want to hear about sin and repentance, about the list of things they want to continue to do and not be sinning. I understand, it is difficult to fit Galatians 5:19-21 into today’s thinking and it seems that there are more than enough well-known preachers who are willing to say, there – there it is not so bad. It keeps the seats full and the collection plate heavy at least. It seems that the traditional churches are dying while the Megachurches run by some of these preachers are growing….no wonder! Well, at least I have not heard of any of them being killed for not telling the people what they want to hear, in this country in current times. Jesus, however, led the way by telling people the Truth as did His disciples. I did some research into this and found 25 references to false teachers in the Bible, so it is nothing new. Isaiah and Malachi wrote of the problem in the Old Covenant and in the New, Paul was the most prolific as he was teaching mostly new converts and there were plenty who wanted them to go back to the law. Also, John in his Gospel and 1, 2, and Revelation dealt with it; Matthew warned of it and so did Jesus’ half-brother Jude. 25 references and am not sure I found them all. I have been studying 2 Peter recently and he, never one to mince words, tells it like it is. He calls them natural brute beast made to be caught and destroyed. Read 2 Peter 2 for yourselves. Is it any wonder we have come to this in our great county after inviting God out of our schools and homes and government? What are we doing to the generations behind us? In my experience, churches that I have visited and worked in have stopped reading the Bible for themselves and rely on the pastor to tell them what it says. Most of them have even been discouraged from bringing one to church, relying on overhead projectors to provide the truth. As a result, the people have a hard time finding anything in it. Bad idea! LIFE Ministries has been tasked with giving away Bibles and helping people learn to study them on their own. It is God’s plan.
LIFE does not meet tonight but if you are interested in joining us on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, we have a church service patterned after 1 Corinthians 14 where we study the Bible together and everyone participates.
Tomorrow is our fast day!!