November 10, 1998
If bad apples do not ruin the barrelful, they certainly make life miserable for the good apples. In our home, if I asked “who did it?” and one child lied, all were made to sit on the sofa until the guilty confessed. They told me their teachers did the same thing; if one student cheated, the entire class had to stay after school. In business, those who take home everything from pencils to expensive tools raise the cost of doing business. It affects their wages and the price of whatever that company produces.
Bad apples give religion a bad rap too. For instance, the French government took a good look at the activities of a certain group and denied them church exemption. They also slapped a lien on their property for $50 million including penalties and interest for past taxes. Obviously, something was wrong with this apple.
Even though it is unfair to assume every religious group or person is hypocritical or dishonest, Jesus did warn that people would claim to be Christian when they were far from it. These “wolves in sheep’s clothing” might talk the talk, but without faith, they do not live it out.
With a little help from the Bible, discerning people can separate true religion from false. This prevents being duped yet allows an honest exploration of genuine faith. Use these criteria.
False religions deify people. Acts 14 describes Paul and Barnabas healing someone only to have the crowd worship them. They protested, “Why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things (idols) to the living God, who made heaven and earth and the sea and everything in them.” Scripture clearly distinguishes humanity from our Creator. While He made us in His likeness, we are not God or gods. This lie echos Satan’s lie to Eve: “You can be as God . . . .”
Second, false religions demote God by denying His attributes: He is not holy, or not a God of love. Or, they claim many gods, or that God is in everything. They describe Him in human terms as if He does wrong or changes His mind. Although God took on human flesh when He came to die for our sins, He never stopped being God.
Third, false religions minimize sin. For them, sin either does not exist or is overrated. It has little to do with daily life and as long as a person does their best, a few sins will not affect their eternal destiny. God says otherwise. Only the first two people began life free from sin, and that did not last. Since then, He says we are born with a sin nature. The fact that children do not have to be taught to do wrong confirms it. Without His help, we cannot be righteous or obey Him.
False religions mess around with the Bible too. They change it, add to it, say it has errors and generally work on it until it suits their point of view. They interpret a different Jesus, a different salvation and a different Holy Spirit than the Bible describes. For them, Jesus is not God the Son, but rather a prophet or an angel or merely a son of God, just another god.
With that, they also dismiss salvation by grace through faith and replace it with a system of rules and leaders who dictate how to live. Most stop thinking for themselves. Many are ruled by fear and guilt. Further, reducing the Holy Spirit to an impersonal force leaves them without His guidance and power. To live right, Scripture must be interpreted and applied correctly.
Last, false religions are founded by a person or “prophet” who claims to be the only true spokesperson for God. This leader offers “revelations,” adding ideas to Scripture and claiming his way is the only true way. If you do not follow their organization (not Christ but them), you are without hope. Some go one step farther and teach that those who believe in biblical, historical Christian teaching are demonized.
A $50 million tax is staggering even for a large religious group. Yet who can put a price on the eternal cost of belonging to such a group? Without the truth of God’s Word, those caught in false religions stand in a dangerous place.
Showing posts with label false prophets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label false prophets. Show all posts
Monday, July 24, 2017
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Test for what is genuine .......... Parables 502
April 16, 1996
Modern pirates are not sailing the high seas in search of booty, instead they are filling their treasure chests with profits from the sale of plastic disks full of stolen information.
Pirated computer software is big business. Copyright laws have not prevented hackers from reproducing codes off entire commercial product lines. Then they crank out millions of authentic-looking copies and sell them all over the world as if they were originals.
Quality has always invited duplication. Swiss watches are the cliché imitation but copyists mimic every product that sells well, from soft drinks to mink coats. As for religion, for generations, the teaching and teachers of the Bible have been imitated.
In Old Testament times, false prophets sometimes outnumbered true men of God. Elijah was so disgusted with phony prophets that he challenged 850 of them to a contest. This led to a spectacular demonstration of the power of God. To show who was real and who was fake, God ignored the false prophets, but sent fire from heaven that consumed the water-soaked sacrifice offered by Elijah.
In the New Testament, Jesus warned His disciples that many would come claiming to be Christ. He called them wolves in sheep’s clothing. True to His warning, the first Century church discovered imitators in their midst. Since then, Christians have been warned to be alert to fakes but also alert to our own faith. We need to be certain we ourselves are genuine.
The Apostle John gave some guidelines to identify true believers. For one thing, authentic faith produces an authentic change in lifestyle. He writes, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
Whatever faith one claims to have, the biblical test is “walking in light” or being obedient to God’s will. People who trust God are willing to do what He says. A renewed attitude toward God and disgust with sin produces a like-mindedness with other believers. We enjoy being together in spiritual fellowship. John says phonies may join us but will not stay with us. They do not think the same way.
Biblical faith and walking in light are not the same as being perfect. Even genuine Christians make mistakes. However, as we confess our sin and strive to be obedient, God produces increasing purity. John says, if none of this is happening, we ought to question if we really are Christians. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Fakes cannot produce godliness because only Christ can produce Christlikeness. That is why John says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.”
Phonies may duplicate the classic look of the real thing but like pirated software or a fake Swiss watch, they look good only on the outside. The true test of authenticity is not labels or claims but rather a lifetime change of mind and performance.
Modern pirates are not sailing the high seas in search of booty, instead they are filling their treasure chests with profits from the sale of plastic disks full of stolen information.
Pirated computer software is big business. Copyright laws have not prevented hackers from reproducing codes off entire commercial product lines. Then they crank out millions of authentic-looking copies and sell them all over the world as if they were originals.
Quality has always invited duplication. Swiss watches are the cliché imitation but copyists mimic every product that sells well, from soft drinks to mink coats. As for religion, for generations, the teaching and teachers of the Bible have been imitated.
In Old Testament times, false prophets sometimes outnumbered true men of God. Elijah was so disgusted with phony prophets that he challenged 850 of them to a contest. This led to a spectacular demonstration of the power of God. To show who was real and who was fake, God ignored the false prophets, but sent fire from heaven that consumed the water-soaked sacrifice offered by Elijah.
In the New Testament, Jesus warned His disciples that many would come claiming to be Christ. He called them wolves in sheep’s clothing. True to His warning, the first Century church discovered imitators in their midst. Since then, Christians have been warned to be alert to fakes but also alert to our own faith. We need to be certain we ourselves are genuine.
The Apostle John gave some guidelines to identify true believers. For one thing, authentic faith produces an authentic change in lifestyle. He writes, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
Whatever faith one claims to have, the biblical test is “walking in light” or being obedient to God’s will. People who trust God are willing to do what He says. A renewed attitude toward God and disgust with sin produces a like-mindedness with other believers. We enjoy being together in spiritual fellowship. John says phonies may join us but will not stay with us. They do not think the same way.
Biblical faith and walking in light are not the same as being perfect. Even genuine Christians make mistakes. However, as we confess our sin and strive to be obedient, God produces increasing purity. John says, if none of this is happening, we ought to question if we really are Christians. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Fakes cannot produce godliness because only Christ can produce Christlikeness. That is why John says, “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.”
Phonies may duplicate the classic look of the real thing but like pirated software or a fake Swiss watch, they look good only on the outside. The true test of authenticity is not labels or claims but rather a lifetime change of mind and performance.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Tests for a true prophet .......... Parables 499
February 6, 1996
A friend was offered a $5000 advance just before Christmas. Amazed at this unexpected source of generosity, he wondered if God was telling him he would soon need some cash. The phone rang again. This time it was a sales pitch for a funeral plot!
This amusing story suggests we need to be careful about interpreting life’s situations as special messages from heaven. While God is involved in history, interpreting each of life’s daily events as prophetic messages can lead us astray.
Nevertheless, thousands of people want a handle on the future. Some plan their day around their horoscope. Some seek out fortune-tellers for predictions on everything from vacations to Vatican decisions. Few consider the fact that false prophets abound. Fewer realize there is a test to determine the legitimacy of prophetic claims.
In the Bible, the prophets and seers proclaimed the will of God. Sometimes their messages followed a pattern: If you do this... God will do this.... making it clear that God’s plan included conformity in the lives of those who heard it. Sometimes their utterances included accurate predictions of future events, events that always came to pass.
Not all who called themselves prophets loved and served God. Some were “false prophets.” They were in the fortune telling business but their messages were not from heaven. They claimed otherwise but God’s true prophets challenged their claims.
Jeremiah writes, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.’”
Jeremiah explains to the people: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
According to God’s Word, false prophets tell those who despise God that He will give them peace (inferring that their attitude against Him is okay). False prophets also say no harm will come to those who stubbornly follow their own way instead of His. Jeremiah says none of them seek the will of God or hear His word. Instead, they tell people reckless lies that will not “benefit them in the least.”
When the people asked how they could discern true prophets from false, God gave them these answers. First: “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.” A false message will be inconsistent with one basic truth of the Gospel — that we are under bondage to sin unless we turn to God and His saving power.
Second: “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams... announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.” This test acknowledges false prophets sometimes make predictions that happen but we need to test if their message will lead us toward God or away from Him. If it leads us away, then the messenger is not from God.
Third: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” This is the major test: EVERYTHING a prophet predicts must happen. Otherwise, he or she is a false prophet.
Our friend decided God was not talking to him through his unusual windfall. He didn’t buy a funeral plot. Instead, he paid his bills and purchased some special gifts for his family.
A friend was offered a $5000 advance just before Christmas. Amazed at this unexpected source of generosity, he wondered if God was telling him he would soon need some cash. The phone rang again. This time it was a sales pitch for a funeral plot!
This amusing story suggests we need to be careful about interpreting life’s situations as special messages from heaven. While God is involved in history, interpreting each of life’s daily events as prophetic messages can lead us astray.
Nevertheless, thousands of people want a handle on the future. Some plan their day around their horoscope. Some seek out fortune-tellers for predictions on everything from vacations to Vatican decisions. Few consider the fact that false prophets abound. Fewer realize there is a test to determine the legitimacy of prophetic claims.
In the Bible, the prophets and seers proclaimed the will of God. Sometimes their messages followed a pattern: If you do this... God will do this.... making it clear that God’s plan included conformity in the lives of those who heard it. Sometimes their utterances included accurate predictions of future events, events that always came to pass.
Not all who called themselves prophets loved and served God. Some were “false prophets.” They were in the fortune telling business but their messages were not from heaven. They claimed otherwise but God’s true prophets challenged their claims.
Jeremiah writes, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.’”
Jeremiah explains to the people: “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”
According to God’s Word, false prophets tell those who despise God that He will give them peace (inferring that their attitude against Him is okay). False prophets also say no harm will come to those who stubbornly follow their own way instead of His. Jeremiah says none of them seek the will of God or hear His word. Instead, they tell people reckless lies that will not “benefit them in the least.”
When the people asked how they could discern true prophets from false, God gave them these answers. First: “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity.” A false message will be inconsistent with one basic truth of the Gospel — that we are under bondage to sin unless we turn to God and His saving power.
Second: “If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams... announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, ‘Let us follow other gods’ (gods you have not known) ‘and let us worship them,’ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer.” This test acknowledges false prophets sometimes make predictions that happen but we need to test if their message will lead us toward God or away from Him. If it leads us away, then the messenger is not from God.
Third: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken.” This is the major test: EVERYTHING a prophet predicts must happen. Otherwise, he or she is a false prophet.
Our friend decided God was not talking to him through his unusual windfall. He didn’t buy a funeral plot. Instead, he paid his bills and purchased some special gifts for his family.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Making Genuine Predictions ............. Parables 390
October 5, 1990
An eighteenth Century author, Horace Walpole, quipped: “The wisest prophets make sure of the event first.” What Walpole didn’t define is exactly how a prophet can be certain his predictions will come true.
Some would be easy. I can predict the sunrise tomorrow and the sunset tonight. I can also predict winter and spring, even the change of coloring in the trees and very often whether or not it will rain.
Other predictions are not as easy. Picking future winners of football and hockey games or horse races is difficult. So is predicting where the wheel will stop or what numbers will come up when dice are rolled or cards shuffled. In fact, the difficulty is sufficient that a whole industry is built around the gamble.
Long range predictions are not any easier. Sometimes we look at trends and can safely say we are in for a recession or hard times or wars, but the specifics are yet to be seen and predicting them makes fools out of Jean Dixon and her ilk.
However, there were some seers who enjoyed outstanding success rates. These were the Old Testament prophets, men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and Ezekiel. Their remarkable predictions came true with a 100% success rate, leaving only two possible explanations of how they could be so sure of the future. The book of Daniel gives one example.
Daniel was a young Jew deported to Babylon along with many others from Israel around 586 B.C. There he claimed to have visions about a leader who would come against the Hebrew people and “abolish the daily sacrifice” and “set up the abomination that causes desolation.” This prophecy is described in such detail that few doubt it refers to Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Roman ruler who abolished the sacrificial system and desecrated the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
The problem is that Antiochus lived about 160 B.C. and Daniel about 605 - 535 B.C. If Daniel wrote it, as the book says (and as Jesus later affirms), how did he know of things that would happen several hundred years later?
Some say Daniel did not write this book at all. It had to be written after the predicted events actually occurred. In that way, the “prophet made sure of his events first” just as Walpole said he should.
The other explanation is what the Bible claims about itself: “All Scripture is God-breathed.... For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
The picture is God breathing His Word into men, like the wind blows into a sail, moving them in such a way that they wrote (in their own style) what He wanted them to write. The fact of God’s knowledge of all things, including the future, explains how Daniel could describe an event he had never seen. Because these men were dedicated to God in a faith-relationship, they understood that what He revealed to them was true. They may not have understood the implications of the Revelation (Daniel even asked, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”) but they did trust the One who revealed them. God had proven Himself faithful to them in the past; surely He would tell them truth right now, even truth about the future.
If we disregard God and dismiss any possibility of the supernatural, there is really no other way for a prophet to “make sure of his events first.”
Friday, September 19, 2014
Predicting the Future ..................... Parables 172
(July 5, 1989)
Those OLD magazines in the doctor’s office are pure entertainment... or have you noticed?
Have a look at the articles that deal with “coming” events. It seems everyone is a prophet. They already knew who will win the Presidential Election; who will win the Kentucky Derby; which hockey team will trade which player; if the Oilers will make the playoffs; and who they will defeat and by how much. Fascinating reading, especially after the elections, after the races, and after the hockey season is over.
Obviously, 100% accuracy they don’t have. In fact, some of them are so far off, one wonders where they got their assurance. But then again, most nonfiction periodical writers don’t consider their prophecies will be read six months later by someone with a sore stomach or a tooth ache.
In fact, we probably all make such self-assured predictions, based more or less on our personal preferences, but since no one records them for posterity, and unless someone makes a bet on it, we soon forgot how clouded is our crystal ball.
Newspaper, “prophets” fare a little better. Their articles usually wind up recycled or in the fireplace before the actual events disprove their predictions. However some, sports columnists in particular, must have red faces now and then. They are so sure— and so wrong — so often.
Maybe I’m getting cynical but it seems to me that predictions about the future, whether sports, politics or any other news story, are a total waste of time, effort and paper.
Why bother? Maybe some writers can’t wait until the thing is done and over with before commenting on it, or today’s news is old hat (television’s fault) so let’s discuss tomorrow’s?
One thing is for sure, no matter how gifted we are perception-wise, or how observant we are trend-wise, we are not very good at foretelling tomorrow or next week. There are just too many variables.
That is why fulfilled prophecy in Scripture is so astounding. What are the odds that an assortment of men, smattered over a few hundred years, could make predictions about the future and have all of them come true? Someone once said about the same as finding a certain five-dollar bill in a pile of fives three feet deep covering the entire globe. Long odds.
Have a look at these few examples. Zechariah wrote in about 520 B.C., “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and having salvation; lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
The event happened about 33 A.D. “... When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel! Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it...” (John 12:12-14).
Here’s another from Isaiah 53:9 about the burial place of the promised Messiah. “And they made His grave with the wicked — but with the rich at His death...”
Several hundred years later, Matthew tells how Jesus was crucified between two thieves (the wicked) and buried in the tomb of a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).
Every now and then, someone says the Bible is just an ordinary book written by ordinary men. But if evaluated by prophecy alone, TIME, LIFE, McLean’s, and Sports Illustrated are the ordinary books written by ordinary men. No matter how old the waiting room copy, the events predicted in Scripture ALWAYS happen exactly as the prophets of God said they would.
Those OLD magazines in the doctor’s office are pure entertainment... or have you noticed?
Have a look at the articles that deal with “coming” events. It seems everyone is a prophet. They already knew who will win the Presidential Election; who will win the Kentucky Derby; which hockey team will trade which player; if the Oilers will make the playoffs; and who they will defeat and by how much. Fascinating reading, especially after the elections, after the races, and after the hockey season is over.
Obviously, 100% accuracy they don’t have. In fact, some of them are so far off, one wonders where they got their assurance. But then again, most nonfiction periodical writers don’t consider their prophecies will be read six months later by someone with a sore stomach or a tooth ache.
In fact, we probably all make such self-assured predictions, based more or less on our personal preferences, but since no one records them for posterity, and unless someone makes a bet on it, we soon forgot how clouded is our crystal ball.
Newspaper, “prophets” fare a little better. Their articles usually wind up recycled or in the fireplace before the actual events disprove their predictions. However some, sports columnists in particular, must have red faces now and then. They are so sure— and so wrong — so often.
Maybe I’m getting cynical but it seems to me that predictions about the future, whether sports, politics or any other news story, are a total waste of time, effort and paper.
Why bother? Maybe some writers can’t wait until the thing is done and over with before commenting on it, or today’s news is old hat (television’s fault) so let’s discuss tomorrow’s?
One thing is for sure, no matter how gifted we are perception-wise, or how observant we are trend-wise, we are not very good at foretelling tomorrow or next week. There are just too many variables.
That is why fulfilled prophecy in Scripture is so astounding. What are the odds that an assortment of men, smattered over a few hundred years, could make predictions about the future and have all of them come true? Someone once said about the same as finding a certain five-dollar bill in a pile of fives three feet deep covering the entire globe. Long odds.
Have a look at these few examples. Zechariah wrote in about 520 B.C., “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and having salvation; lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Zechariah 9:9)
The event happened about 33 A.D. “... When they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, they took branches of palm trees, and went out to meet Him, and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel! Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it...” (John 12:12-14).
Here’s another from Isaiah 53:9 about the burial place of the promised Messiah. “And they made His grave with the wicked — but with the rich at His death...”
Several hundred years later, Matthew tells how Jesus was crucified between two thieves (the wicked) and buried in the tomb of a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).
Every now and then, someone says the Bible is just an ordinary book written by ordinary men. But if evaluated by prophecy alone, TIME, LIFE, McLean’s, and Sports Illustrated are the ordinary books written by ordinary men. No matter how old the waiting room copy, the events predicted in Scripture ALWAYS happen exactly as the prophets of God said they would.
Monday, March 10, 2014
False teachers ............................ Parables 090
Last week a lovely young woman came to my door representing a religious organization. She expressed concern for my eternal well-being and wondered if I was satisfied with my “religion.” I was impressed with her sincerity and her desire to please. She admitted that she did not have all the answers but was sure that if she studied more she would know whatever she needed to know.
This woman and others claim to teach from the Bible, yet I could see many contradictions between what she plainly said and what the Bible plainly teaches. Here are some of them:
THE NATURE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: I was told that people can and must please God. She said that God forgives but I had to do something to become righteous. I was also told that eternal life was a future condition and also attained by doing certain good things.
The Bible teaches that “there is not one righteous person, no, not one...” and that “there is not one just person that does good and sins not...” It says that “all our righteousness is like filthy rags” and even if we do the best we can, it “falls short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3, Isaiah 64, Ecclesiastes 7)
It also says God forgives - but not on the basis of what we do. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” Jesus Christ died so we could be forgiven. “It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy we are saved.” (Titus 3)
Also, when we believe, God imputes the righteousness of His Son on us. Any good that Christians can do is BECAUSE OF that imputed righteousness, not to earn it. (Romans 4, II Corinthians 5, Ephesians 2)
I John 5 says that “eternal life is in Jesus Christ” and anyone who “has Christ (that is, receives Him by faith) HAS life.” Eternal life is found in a person, and is a present possession of those who have Christ.
HOW TO COME TO GOD: I was told that the organization this woman belonged to was God’s only true organization. Without being a member, I would not be able to come to God. However, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14) Acts 4 says “There is salvation in no other name...”
THE NATURE OF JESUS: This woman told me that Jesus was a created being, not God. (Other false teachers say He only a man, or one of many in whom the “Christ-spirit” lived, or an angel, or one of many lessor gods.)
The Bible says that Jesus is the eternal “I AM,” the self-existing One. He is God who put on flesh to “pitch His tent” among us for a time.
He claimed equality with God, not just equality of purpose but equality of nature, or essence. He proved who He was by doing things that only God can do - controlling the elements, healing the sick, raising the dead, and forgiving sin. Yet He did these things in the limitations of human flesh so that He could fully identify with our struggles and our suffering. (John 1, Philippians 2, and throughout scripture)
This God-Man was put to death for our sins, buried, and by the power of His unchanging life, rose from the dead. After being seen 40 days by over 500 witnesses, He ascended in bodily form into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for those who believe in Him. (I Corinthians 15, Acts 1, Hebrews 7)
In the day that God will judge mankind, the books will be opened. Only the names of those who have the righteousness of Jesus will appear in the book of life. These will experience “no further condemnation.” (Romans 8) but “those who do not have Christ are condemned already because they do not believe in Him.” (John 3)
False teachers don’t wear a label that says - “Watch out, I am not telling the truth!” They are sincere. The best test is to measure what they say against the Word of God.
This woman and others claim to teach from the Bible, yet I could see many contradictions between what she plainly said and what the Bible plainly teaches. Here are some of them:
THE NATURE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: I was told that people can and must please God. She said that God forgives but I had to do something to become righteous. I was also told that eternal life was a future condition and also attained by doing certain good things.
The Bible teaches that “there is not one righteous person, no, not one...” and that “there is not one just person that does good and sins not...” It says that “all our righteousness is like filthy rags” and even if we do the best we can, it “falls short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3, Isaiah 64, Ecclesiastes 7)
It also says God forgives - but not on the basis of what we do. “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” Jesus Christ died so we could be forgiven. “It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy we are saved.” (Titus 3)
Also, when we believe, God imputes the righteousness of His Son on us. Any good that Christians can do is BECAUSE OF that imputed righteousness, not to earn it. (Romans 4, II Corinthians 5, Ephesians 2)
I John 5 says that “eternal life is in Jesus Christ” and anyone who “has Christ (that is, receives Him by faith) HAS life.” Eternal life is found in a person, and is a present possession of those who have Christ.
HOW TO COME TO GOD: I was told that the organization this woman belonged to was God’s only true organization. Without being a member, I would not be able to come to God. However, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me.” (John 14) Acts 4 says “There is salvation in no other name...”
THE NATURE OF JESUS: This woman told me that Jesus was a created being, not God. (Other false teachers say He only a man, or one of many in whom the “Christ-spirit” lived, or an angel, or one of many lessor gods.)
The Bible says that Jesus is the eternal “I AM,” the self-existing One. He is God who put on flesh to “pitch His tent” among us for a time.
He claimed equality with God, not just equality of purpose but equality of nature, or essence. He proved who He was by doing things that only God can do - controlling the elements, healing the sick, raising the dead, and forgiving sin. Yet He did these things in the limitations of human flesh so that He could fully identify with our struggles and our suffering. (John 1, Philippians 2, and throughout scripture)
This God-Man was put to death for our sins, buried, and by the power of His unchanging life, rose from the dead. After being seen 40 days by over 500 witnesses, He ascended in bodily form into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding for those who believe in Him. (I Corinthians 15, Acts 1, Hebrews 7)
In the day that God will judge mankind, the books will be opened. Only the names of those who have the righteousness of Jesus will appear in the book of life. These will experience “no further condemnation.” (Romans 8) but “those who do not have Christ are condemned already because they do not believe in Him.” (John 3)
False teachers don’t wear a label that says - “Watch out, I am not telling the truth!” They are sincere. The best test is to measure what they say against the Word of God.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Predictions ............................ Parables 084
“Top Ten Predictions for 1988"
It won’t be long before headlines like that march across magazine stands and through the racks beside grocery store checkouts. The current stable of soothsayers will be telling the readers their predictions for the coming year and those readers will hang on to every word. Some will maybe even plan their lives around such prophesies for 1988.
I suppose someone goes back to check the track-record of those who filled the same pages the year before. They would need to if they honestly wanted to publish the “top ten”, but I wonder about their evaluation system, if there is one. Would it stack up with the one God used for Old Testament prophets? Or would they even dare try God’s method for determining the “top ten” prophets for 1988?
Out of Deuteronomy 18:20-22 comes this: “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’”... and the response: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”
That doesn’t seem too difficult a test. Everyone makes mistakes. One might think that to proclaim something in the name of the LORD or just in your own name and then have it fall through would not be a big deal... but here is the kicker: “... A prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
That is not your average test. If the prophecy came true, the one who made it was allowed to live. If not, he was stoned to death. Pretty drastic isn’t it? That is why the prophetic books of the Old Testament have such impact. They were written by God’s top men, men who were 100% accurate. They only wrote what God actually did tell them to write.
God has His reasons for insisting on such accuracy. To say something is a message from God will grab a listener’s attention. His Words are not to be taken lightly. What He says is true, accurate, and reliable. When a false prophet claims “God told me...”, thousands of undiscerning people cannot tell the difference between those lies and God’s truth. Worse yet, most of them are as unconcerned about being led astray as the people who write and publish such nonsense are about doing it. It happened in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah and it still happens today.
When I see those magazines, and anything else that is a perversion of genuine prophesy, I am angry and grieved. God has recorded events that are yet to come and these can be trusted as certainties, but He also can be trusted even when we don’t know the future. We are not to put our faith in the words of some self-proclaimed experts. God said to Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy lies... and my people love it this way... But what will you do in the end?”
What indeed will anyone do? Christians sometimes think that because we are a minority, we are helpless, forgetting that God plus one equals a majority. Instead we often ignore the perversions, retreat into our spired buildings, and hope for the some judgmental fire from heaven.
What a sad commentary on the value systems of the people of God when the greatest measure of integrity we can muster is to look the other way rather than do something positive to counter false prophesies with truth and the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ, the greatest prophet of all, didn’t come to give us a detailed list of what will happen in 1988 or any other year, but He did come to give us is hope for eternity. We may not know what tomorrow will bring but we ought to know what will happen to us after we die and then tell others so they can have the same assurance.
Personally, I know enough about the future to make me realize how important it is to concentrate on the right now. God has given me plenty to think about, plenty to talk about, and plenty to do - TODAY.
It won’t be long before headlines like that march across magazine stands and through the racks beside grocery store checkouts. The current stable of soothsayers will be telling the readers their predictions for the coming year and those readers will hang on to every word. Some will maybe even plan their lives around such prophesies for 1988.
I suppose someone goes back to check the track-record of those who filled the same pages the year before. They would need to if they honestly wanted to publish the “top ten”, but I wonder about their evaluation system, if there is one. Would it stack up with the one God used for Old Testament prophets? Or would they even dare try God’s method for determining the “top ten” prophets for 1988?
Out of Deuteronomy 18:20-22 comes this: “You may say to yourselves, ‘How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?’”... and the response: “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”
That doesn’t seem too difficult a test. Everyone makes mistakes. One might think that to proclaim something in the name of the LORD or just in your own name and then have it fall through would not be a big deal... but here is the kicker: “... A prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
That is not your average test. If the prophecy came true, the one who made it was allowed to live. If not, he was stoned to death. Pretty drastic isn’t it? That is why the prophetic books of the Old Testament have such impact. They were written by God’s top men, men who were 100% accurate. They only wrote what God actually did tell them to write.
God has His reasons for insisting on such accuracy. To say something is a message from God will grab a listener’s attention. His Words are not to be taken lightly. What He says is true, accurate, and reliable. When a false prophet claims “God told me...”, thousands of undiscerning people cannot tell the difference between those lies and God’s truth. Worse yet, most of them are as unconcerned about being led astray as the people who write and publish such nonsense are about doing it. It happened in the days of Isaiah and Jeremiah and it still happens today.
When I see those magazines, and anything else that is a perversion of genuine prophesy, I am angry and grieved. God has recorded events that are yet to come and these can be trusted as certainties, but He also can be trusted even when we don’t know the future. We are not to put our faith in the words of some self-proclaimed experts. God said to Jeremiah, “The prophets prophesy lies... and my people love it this way... But what will you do in the end?”
What indeed will anyone do? Christians sometimes think that because we are a minority, we are helpless, forgetting that God plus one equals a majority. Instead we often ignore the perversions, retreat into our spired buildings, and hope for the some judgmental fire from heaven.
What a sad commentary on the value systems of the people of God when the greatest measure of integrity we can muster is to look the other way rather than do something positive to counter false prophesies with truth and the good news of the gospel. Jesus Christ, the greatest prophet of all, didn’t come to give us a detailed list of what will happen in 1988 or any other year, but He did come to give us is hope for eternity. We may not know what tomorrow will bring but we ought to know what will happen to us after we die and then tell others so they can have the same assurance.
Personally, I know enough about the future to make me realize how important it is to concentrate on the right now. God has given me plenty to think about, plenty to talk about, and plenty to do - TODAY.
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