Deception

We need to exercise discernment like never before. Christians can often be naive which we cannot afford to be. We need to weigh up what we hear, read and see.

Source: Bill Muehlenberg

We live in a time where not only the things of the world infiltrate the church but also false teaching is on the increase and often social media is used to disseminate it. We need to exercise discernment like never before. Christians can often be naive which we cannot afford to be. We need to weigh up what we hear, read and see. We need to ask ourselves some questions; Does it conform to the whole body of scripture? Does it sit right with your spirit? Does it accept the risen Christ and everything that that embraces? Not only is there a large amount of material on the web that is 'dodgy', you can find it on Christian TV channels as well.

God gave me a warning dream many years ago which said that I must not rush off to Christian events/meetings unless I have prayed about it and found out about the person or ministry leading the meeting. The dream warned about the severe effect on a person that deception can have even to the point of causing spiritual illness and spiritual death. In Matthew 7:15-16 Jesus himself said: ‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them’. In Luke 21:8 He also warns us to ‘watch out that you are not deceived’. There are further warnings in 2 Peter 2:1‘There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord’. 2 Peter 2:10 calls them ‘bold and arrogant’. 

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ‘For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve’.

Source: Inspirational Bible Verse Images - Knowing Jesus

The second area where we can be gullible and naive is about prophecy which again is important to weigh up and discern. 1 John 4:1 tells us; ‘do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world’ and remember that in 1 Corinthians 14, we are told that prophecy is to be weighed up by other prophets in the body. We don't live our lives in isolation; we have brothers and sisters in Christ and we can go to those who exercise gifts of wisdom and discernment, who hear God clearly. Finally, we should not forget what the Bible says about wolves in sheep's clothing which still applies today. We will always have wolves in sheep's clothing coming into our churches with one aim and that is to destroy the church, so be vigilant.

We cannot afford to be unquestioning and unobservant, accepting of everything. We have to spend time in prayer and be grounded in scripture and we have to be in relationship within the body of Christ.  As the days darken, we need to be aware of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.

Author: Muriel Allen

May God bless and enrich your life

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