Right Doctrine Is Important

Rightly divide the Word.  Whatever happened to that?  Folks don't seem to care about doctrine anymore.  It's like it's a bad word or something.  No one seems to talk about it much these days.  It's not touchy-feely, lovey-dovey enough.  We all just sort of agree to disagree like that's an okay thing to do.  Politically correct I guess.  You believe your way and I'll believe my way.  We all just need to get along and be nicey nice to one another.  Yes, we do need to be nice to one another.  In fact, we need to love one another within the church.  But, a part of loving one another is keeping each other on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life with God.  Having knowledge is a part of that.  No, not secret, esoteric knowledge.  Just plain, simple Truth type knowledge easily and clearly obtainable from the Word of God.  Just read the book! 

Satan is on the prowl deceiving everyone as he goes. 

1Tim. 4:1 (NIV) says, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."  Yes, it does say demons!

Verse 2 continues with, "Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 

2Tim. 4:3 says, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." 

Verse 4 continues with, "They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."  So we've definitely been warned that this is going to happen someday.  Well, guess what, that someday is now!

The Holy Spirit is clearly revealing here that in these latter days, there is going to be a falling away.  Not only a falling away from a personal faith in Jesus but also a falling away from scriptural truth. 

2Th. 2:3 says, "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way,...." 

Jude 4 says, "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you.  They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord." 

Verses 12-13 say, "These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm - shepherds who only feed themselves.  They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted - twice dead.  They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever." 

It's pretty clear here that we are talking about things going on WITHIN the church!  It's also pretty clear from tons of other scriptures that I'm not going to quote just now that we are indeed in the latter days right now.  So watch out for church leaders (pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.) who appear to be highly gifted and powerfully anointed by God.  Some of them will in fact do wonderful things for God and they'll even preach the gospel truth effectively BUT, later on, they will depart from the faith and ever-so-gradually turn to seducing spirits instead and to false doctrines.  Because they were formerly highly anointed and Godly, many Christians will continue to follow after their ministries just based on their earlier reputations. 

Many Christians will be misled by leaders like this.  They too then will fall away from the faith themselves because they will fail to love the truth (2Th. 2:10 - "...they perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.") and resist the sinful and worldly trends in these last days.

Mat. 24:5: "For many will come in my name, claiming I am the Christ and will deceive many." 

Mat. 10-12: "At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.  Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold."  This now distorted gospel made up of all these compromising preachers and/or teachers will find very little, if any, resistance in many of today's churches.  Sadly, this is already happening and has been for quite some time.  Pay attention.  It's all the more reason why we simply MUST carefully study and know the Word so that we will be able to recognize the truth versus a lie. 

All of this unbiblical teaching is, of course, being craftily directed by Satan, the great liar and father of lies himself.  Satan recognizes that the time is short and getting shorter every day.  He's busy running around like the madman that he is (except he's not a man) telling his demon buddies to speed it up, step on the gas.  "We've got to work harder and faster at opposing God's work while there's still time," says he.  That explains why the closer we get to Christ's second coming, the more intense it gets.  No wonder we see so much spiritism, the occult, demonic deception and even demonization in the world now and, unfortunately, in our own churches too!  We absolutely have to wake up and smell the coffee before we allow our own selves to be tricked. 

This stuff is going on WITHIN the church!  That is the horrifying truth.  That's why correct doctrine does matter.  It's critical to know the Word of God well and, even more importantly, to have a very close personal relationship with our Lord.  An intimate relationship with Jesus!  This is no time to be lazy; to slack off.  Instead, this is the time to study and to pray continuously about everything. 

How do I protect myself from this deception?  I'm not going to say it's easy because it's not easy.  No, it requires hard work.  We must be totally in line with the Word of God and in order to do that we must really KNOW the Word.  We must study it fervently.  We must think about it and talk about it with other Godly and mature believers.  Pray constantly.  Pray for God to protect your mind from deception.  To put a shield around your heart, your mind, your spirit. 

We must be obedient to the Lord.  Jesus said that his sheep would know his voice.  Learn to recognize His voice.  Pray and listen.  Spend plenty of quiet time in prayer and meditation on God's Word.  Do NOT practice any other kind of meditation.  Forget about so-called "Contemplative Prayer."  It's just another "New Age" thing that has crept into the church.  Go online and research it.  There's plenty of information about it out there.  Just be sure you're reading the right thing. 

Examine your friendships.  Who do you spend the most time with?  Make sure they are spiritually mature, Godly Christians who truly know the Word and who have "fruit" to prove it.  Desire the Truth, seek the Truth, make it your obsession.  Be careful who you listen to.  Don't accept everything you hear just because he or she is some TV "personality" preacher or teacher.  Not all Christian television is good.  In fact, a lot of it is deadly; dangerous.  Beware!  Be observant.

Be tuned in to the fact that there will indeed be many charismatic type persons with great appeal and even an apparent anointing who have been deceived themselves and are now far from the truth.  They may not even realize it themselves.  If you're not on your own toes, you too will be deceived.  Many within the church will be deceived because of preachers, pastors, and teachers like this.  They have been deceived themselves and have fallen for "the lie" and then they, in turn, will deceive many more after them.  Remember that Satan is sneaky, crafty, sly.  He's not stupid.  Just mixing a tiny little bit of error with 99% truth is all it takes.  Seek after God with all your heart.  Be obedient to Him.  Live righteously.  Never give up your reverential fear of the Lord.  Desire with all of your heart to do God's will.  Don't allow yourself to be tricked!  Study, pray and work at it.  Pray about this topic.  I'm sure God will answer your prayers and help you.  Ask for spiritual discernment.  We all need plenty of that.  Never give up.  It will be worth it all in the end!

Be diligent my friends.  Be diligent!