False Teachers – James Poitras

I believe in being cutting-edge! Finding modern ways to express the old path; that is cutting-edge and culturally relevant biblically. I want to be liberal enough to use new ways and conservative enough to stick with God’s solid, specific path.

Changing apostolic doctrine to accommodate the times is dangerous and not merely on the edge; it’s totally over it. It is unwise, senseless, ill-advised, and thoughtless. That’s not cutting-edge. That’s a cliff-hanger, at best.

I need to share a secret. It’s personal. It’s frightening. But, after all, blogs are meant to be revealing and personal. Blogs are like one’s personal diary in cyberspace. Let me get to the point. I’m terrified of heights. No cliff-hanging, diving off a mountain into the ocean, tight-rope walking, for me. None! Zilch! Ferris wheels are out of the picture. I’m not going up in the arch in St. Louis. I used to be terrified of walking across the bridge or those see-through glass-looking floors on the third floor of the mall. I’ve overcome my fear by simply staying away from what makes me fearful. Hopefully that makes me an overcomer.

In a spiritual sense I’m even more fearful of falling off some spiritual cliff. My heavenly flight will happen so fast I won’t even realize it. Anyways, I will be changed in a twinkling of an eye, and my fear of heights will be zapped for eternity.

It’s not the fear of going up that is dreadful. It’s the fear of abandoning truth for a lie that causes me and those that hear me to go down, down, down; if you know what I mean!

A wealthy lady interviewed three men for a driving position. She asked “How close can you get to the edge of the cliff without falling off?”

First guy: “Twelve inches.”

Second guy: “Six inches”

Third guy: “I’ll stay as far from the cliff as I can.”

He got the job.

Mark Wilson said, “When staying close to the cliff appeals more to us than staying close to Christ, we are trying to manage sin. Spiritual victory is never found along the fuzzy edges of compromise. God calls us to steer clear of the cliff altogether.”

False teachers are not only close to the cliff, they have fallen of the cliff.

My advice for one and all: Be cautious of the cliff!

photo credit: Jan Egil Kristiansen via photo pin cc

August 13, 2012July 9, 2012 by Jim Poitras Tags: Danger, Deception, False Prophets, False Teachers, Lies, Safety, Sin, Truth Leave a comment

Jude and Peter join forces to use similar phrases when captivating our attention concerning counterfeit communicators.

Various words come to mind when I think of counterfeit.

Phony
Fake
Imitation (of something genuine)
Insincere
False
Deceptive (made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive)
Forged
Bogus
Sham
Unauthentic
Fraud
Artificial
Unreal
Manufactured
Fabricated
Scam
Swindler
Truth-twisters
Hucksters

Everyone has experienced that violated, irritated, felling when experiencing a person encounter with a counterfeit. Chances are anyone reading this has been victimized by a con artist, perhaps, more than once. Most have received one of those “too-good-to-be-true” e-mails from a far-flung corner of Africa promising an inheritance of millions in exchange for a bank account number and a minimal collection fee. Let me say up front a rule of thumb is if it sounds “too-good-to-be-true” it probably is.

What is the purpose of a counterfeit product?

To imitate something
Produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product.

Of all the con artists in the world, the most damaging and dangerous are those that deal with religious and Christian deception. Charles Swindoll says that they appear “resourceful and real” but are “empty and deceitful” and offer “alluring alternatives” to the truth. He goes on, “Pretending to proclaim reliable information, they use the same words as believers but they are empty and deceitful. Claiming to offer answers and hope, they bring lies and despair.”

According to 2 Peter 2 false teachers:

Deceitfully present heresy;
Openly deny the truth;
Unashamedly model and teach ruinous, destructive, injurious, harmful ways.
a. Selfishly drowning in greed; changing doctrine to pad their bank accounts (2:3) More concerned with “nickels and noses.” (Mark O. Wilson).

These false teachers will be destroyed. Peter cites three OT examples to prove it:

The angels that sinned and are now imprisoned in Tartarus (which is the meaning of the word translated “hell”);
The world before the flood(Noah);
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

In each of these cases, the persons involved had a form of religion but not the true faith that empowers the life (2 Timothy 3:5).

Before Christ comes back, there will be a great deal of “religion” in the world, but it will not be true faith in Him. Peter also points out that God is able to preserve and deliver His true saints, as He did with Noah and his family, and Lot. Let’s stay true! It’s the least we can do!

photo credit: Chris Yarzab via photo pin cc