The "Lion of Judah" company has excellent broadcasts, both for its clarity (it "tells it like it is"), and for its Scriptural proof. I normally would do "Cliffe's Notes," but they state the points perfectly enough that I didn't like to deviate from their statements. Enjoy.
We are warned in the Holy Bible time and time again to not fall for false teaching, the "doctrines of demons." But because people don't read Scripture enough today, they will be seduced now more than ever. I Timothy 4:1:
....the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons
Note II Peter 2:1: But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction
There are many of these heresies being preached in our day. Here are four:
1.Jesus is the Son of God, but he is not God
This is taught by the "New Agers" movement. They see Jesus as the greatest creature of God. They regard him as a great teacher--and nothing more. But this is not what the Bible clearly tells us. In John 10:30, Jesus says:
"I and My Father are one.”
For further proof, let's tie three Scripture verses together: In John 1:1 it says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
If you then ask, "What is the Word?" The answer is in two verses: John 1:14:
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
and Hebrews 1:1-3:
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person...
The Word is defined as an understandable expression of what God is. In the Incarnation, mankind was able to see God in Jesus, to see what God was like. The meaning of the phrase "express image" in Greek locks that concept in. It also says that Jesus was in at creation. No doubt, Scripture claims Jesus was God. I might add, we have misinterpreted the Greek word translated "begotten" over the years, which many of you might still have the wrong usage in an older Bible translation. The meaning of the Greek word was recently, by archaeological digs, just figured out. It has more of a meaning of "unique." God did not "beget" Jesus. As we see above, Jesus was with God in the beginning--i.e., Jesus was eternal.
This is not a minor doctrine here. What you believe about Jesus is literally a heaven-or-hell issue. You can be wrong about eschatology (the order of events of the future), or baptism. But you cannot be wrong about Jesus Christ. (A note: this is an excellent starting point for evangelists--"what do you think about Jesus Christ?") The Bible warns us of the danger of believing in "another Jesus Christ," thinking He's just a martyr, or prophet, or teacher. You're expressing "tolerance," right? But you're in danger of hell. The Bible is narrow. (See my blog, "The Narrow Gate."). You have to do business with Jesus; you must deal with Him. He forgave sins, an authority only God has (PS: not your priest). In Mark 2, Jesus forgives a man's sin. The Jews immediately picked up on that, calling it blasphemy--of course, they assumed Jesus was not God. Mark 2:7:
“Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
Only His righteousness will get you into heaven. If you think He is not God; THAT is blasphemy. Rejecting Christ's saving us on the Cross, which no sinful man can do, forces you to depend on our own righteousness when the day of Judgment comes. But that will send us to hell; it is woefully inadequate. Remember Romans 3:23:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
(PS: God doesn't Judge by weighing our good vs. bad; that is a fantasy. He demands perfection--only Jesus did that).
False teaching 2. We are gods
This was also popularized by the New Agers. But literally, it is as old as dirt. We read of Satan's temptation of Eve in Genesis 3:4:
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God
The false teachers reasoned that because we (the saved) are children of God, we share in His divine nature. They include the idea that since we have that "power," in the freedom of will that we are gods, we are in charge, we can plan, we can direct, we can control. There is enough truth to that that we easily believe the rest, that we are in ultimate control of everything. Unfortunately, we have warped this to include control in gaining material possessions. This stresses materialism--it makes us focus on getting money, fame, etc. This is "worldliness," the lustful ways of the world, which Jesus counsels to stay away from. See Titus 2:12:
...denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age
The lesson of the Scripture, driven home again and again, is, that our "control" is not true. God is in charge. What he sends us is always designed to benefit us. The false teachers say Jesus died so we can become divine and have all we want on earth. Truth is, Jesus died to save you from the flames of hell, which you deserve because of your sin and rebellion to God. Not very divine. On that final day, we will see millions of people who rejected who Christ really is, cast into a lake of fire. If you are careful to worship Christ as Lord, and live humbly, you will definitely appreciate what He did on the Cross--you will see how material wealth is meaningless and burned up--how it doesn't compare with heaven. This false theology attempts to equate us with God, a double blasphemy because it lifts us up, to pride, and it is disparaging to Him as the only sovereign King. We do not have divinity, either in birth or acquired in this life; only God has that. We get to heaven only by His righteousness. We don't have that, no matter what we call ourselves.
Toxic teaching #3 is:
3. All Roads Lead to Heaven
They say, in this day of worshipping "tolerance," that it is narrow-minded to say that Jesus is the only way to the Father. John 14:6:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
False teachers "explain" that that narrow doctrine was only for the disciples; the requirement was not for generalization to everybody. Well, how convenient. Nowhere is such a restriction on teaching even hinted at. If you get into that wishy-washy hermeneutics, you can cherry-pick Scriptures that you like, "that's for me," and Scriptures you don't like: "that doesn't apply to me." Sort of a Thomas Jefferson approach.
No, the Christian faith is dogmatic. It is uncompromising. It is non-negotiable. "No Jesus, no heaven." Jesus is unique--after all, He alone, among those who were on earth, is God. Buddha is dead; Muhammad is dead; Bhagavad-Gita is dead. Only Christ claimed to be God and had a resurrection to prove it. Any church or pastor (or even Oprah) who preaches this doctrine is a wolf in sheep's clothing. This doctrine has its roots in universalism. That belief is that ultimately, everybody will get saved. So we don't have to go through Jesus. Some may go through purgatory (not in Scripture), some may go through enough reincarnations, but they all get "cleaned up" eventually. Bull. We've only got one chance to make a decision and live it out; once we die, your final choice is locked in. No changes, no mulligans. We only get cleaned up by the blood of Jesus. Gory and old-fashioned, but God didn't make salvation easy on the mind to accept.
4. Prosperity Gospels
This theology says, once you're saved, God wants you to ask for what you want, and He'll deliver. It's based on Matthew 7:7:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
I don't know how many false beliefs and hurtful theologies are based on one lone Scripture, where people don't bother to compare with other relevant Scripture on the same subject. Let's look at Scripture in context. Consider the wording of I Timothy 6:8-9:
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition
It's obvious from these verses that we should avoid worldliness, which is the opposite of the prosperity gospel, which encourages it. As the saying goes, we "can't take it with us." Our desires for things of the world are inversely related to our faith in God as our Provider. John 15:1-6 teaches us that we must have an abiding, ongoing relationship with God to get to heaven. This is radical theology, seldom taught. But relationship with Christ wanes when we concentrate on the "rat race' and lusts of the flesh. The more that we dream of the prosperity gospel, we could be dreaming our way out of heaven and into hell if we immerse ourselves in the world.
Teachers of the prosperity gospel are more concerned about filling their churches than filling heaven. That gospel treats God as a genie in a bottle. But He is not your servant. Your relationship with God cannot be based on what God can do for you. The prosperity gospel makes people focus on treasures for this world, and not the next. But what does Matthew 6:19-21 say?:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Jesus does not say so at the time, but the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount is outlining what leads to heaven, and what leads to hell. People think how sweet these platitudes are. But they have a hard edge. The best parable with a hidden hard edge is the Sower. Here's some of the relevant passage in Matthew 13:
4. And as he sowed, some seed fell...7....among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Jesus, in explaining the Sower, says it is about the kingdom of heaven--versus the kingdom of hell. This is not Just An "Allegory," as some people complacently assume. This is more on how to end up in heaven or hell. Obviously it is vitally important. So please pay attention to vv.22ff:
Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”.
Here is a very important point: Of the four landing grounds of the seed, only One bears permanent fruit. The "thorns" failed.
Bearing fruit is necessary to reach heaven. This takes us back to John 15:1-6. I'd like to focus on vv5-6:
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire
What do you suppose the "fire" is, in this "allegory?" What sends you to hell? It's that you have not abided in Christ and borne fruit. Not bearing fruit means you are dead. Reaching to the other "allegory," does the prosperity gospel provide thorns leading you to unfruitfulness? You better believe it. Where is your treasure? (I have other blogs on this). We are to love God with all our heart, in the very first of the 10 Commandments. Too many people think these are 10 suggestions. They have God wrong; God will pay according to our deeds. Some deeds are fruitful for God; some are not. I feel it is necessary to remind you that our deeds are an outgrowth of our real faith. Let's believe in the Book of James too, which stresses faith with works (alive and heaven-bound). verses "faith" without works (hellbound). James is not taught properly; it is NOT contradictory to Paul, who teaches Faith. But when you read Paul, the necessity of fruit from works are there too. These two men can be taken together. Maybe it disagrees Luther or Calvin, though (another blog).
I trust that this blog will help you identify these fleshly theologies and stay away from them, under the pain of hell. Read His Word to help you avoid deceptive philosophy. That's especially important in these latter days.
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