One of My Favorite Christmas Carols

We all have a favorite Christmas carol.  I have several and it's hard to pick just one.  But with the state of the world, the pain and suffering, and the worrisome anger and hatred that plagues our country, one comes to mind. "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day" is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I present the poem:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Wow. He wrote it when our nation was being tried to its very soul: the Civil War. Longfellow wrote it on Christmas day in 1863.  

For America, this war had turned into a nightmare.  Divisions were everywhere: brother against brother, family against family, region against region, race against race.  Even churches divided against each other, over slavery and racial equality.  The number of wounded, dying and dead were overwhelming, and in the years to come, would come to be almost unbelievable to that generation.   

Was this a sentimental, "God is on our side" kind of poem that appears when major conflicts arise?  No, I don't think so.  Isaiah speaks of a Child to be born to us, in familiar words (thank you, Mr. Handel!):

"For a child is born to us, A son is given to us; And the government Is upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace." (9:6) 

A child--one of us.  A son--a member of the family.  But He is not just a precious child, and beloved son... He is the Ruler of the universe and of mankind.  Only He can promote a sustainable justice and mercy, due to who He is.  Who is He?

• "Something wonderful, admirable, a miracle of God" who will "devise, guide, purpose"
• "the strong" and "one true God" 
• "the everlasting, perpetual" who is the "God of His people" 
• "Ruler, keeper, governor" of "completeness, soundness, welfare, peace"  

Wow.  This is why, at the end of the poem, the bells, like the angels flying in the skies over the heads of the shepherds, could ring out such exuberant praise.  God has not vacated the throne of the universe, despite all the madness going on around us.  

So, this carol, echoing out of the past, stills extols the glory of God.

We need to do so as well.

Merry Christmas, dear readers.

Satan's Logic, Part II

Satan is a master of deception, and those who follow him have bought into his lies.  We use the word "deception," or say that such false teachers and their followers are "deceived."

What does "deception" mean in Hebrew?  According to Vine's, its basic meaning is "deceit, deception, malice, falsehood."  Also in Vine's, Eliphaz in the book of Job, says, "Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return." (15:31)

Let's go to the Greek.  The word means, "that which gives a false impression, whether by appearance, statement or influence, is said of riches...of sin..."  (Vine's)

Vine's cites 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 as indicative of the definition: "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."

Vine's also cites Colossians 2:8:  "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces [or the basic principles] of this world rather than on Christ." (footnote from BibleGateway)

Other words cited by Vine's is "a bait, snare" "wandering (from the right path)" and "'self-deceit,' a sin against common sense," and "leading into error, to seduce."

Wow.  Let's summarize the meaning of deception:

• lie
• malice
• worthless
• false impression
• "signs and wonders that serve the lie"
• unwillingness to love the truth
• human traditions of thought 
• a bait
• wandering away from the right path
• self-deceit, ignoring common sense
• "leading into error"

Why does deception work in the first place?  We look back today at the Nazi era and say, "How terrible.  The people were so deceived.  How could they believe Hitler?  He was so obviously evil!" Ah, hindsight.  But watch the films of his speeches carefully, as the camera scans the crowds, whether at a rally or at the Reichstag:  the people are utterly enthralled.  Swooning, screaming, Seig Heiling every few seconds...the enthusiasm comes through those black and whites images even today.

Why?  The simple answer is Hitler offered the German people what they wanted.  He explained the catastrophic loss of World War I.  He claimed the Communists and the Jews at home had  undermined the war effort at every turn, and thus were traitors, deserving severe punishment. He offered a nationalism that boasted the racial superiority of the German people to counter the degradation they felt after being blamed by the Allies for the war and then having to pay for it. He proposed a plan for a German that was pure, shiny and bright:  all inferiors would be removed, and Germany's borders would expand, allowing it to rightfully take its place as the world leader.  

In other words, Hitler appealed to the pride of the people.  

Pride is Satan's domain, and it is an open door that he slithers into and begins working to further his agenda of destruction.  He, as Jesus powerfully defined him, is a thief who comes in to "steal, kill, and destroy." If you want a simple definition of World War II, I can't think of a better one.  The theft,  murder and killing, and the destruction of that war left 58 million dead.  It also included industrialized murder on an unprecedented scale that still defies imagination.

Pride in human beings allows Satan to create a predatory pack that releases all the is evil in us.

Let's explore Jesus' definition of Satan a little further. I hike the mountains in my Idaho home, and see lots of evidence of drama going on when the sun goes down:  bones, fur, hooves scattered about or tucked under a thicket; a single small skull, sometimes with a small amount of fur still upon it; a single bone, long separated from its skeletal cohorts. 

Whoever took the animal (coyote, mainly, sometimes wolf or bear) had to first steal the prey away from its herd. Then to silence its screams and get to work, the predator killed it.  Then, in an orgy of feeding, the prey was dismembered, its bones left in chaos.

That is what he tries to do to us.

That is what he tries to do to the Word.

That is what he tries to do to the Son.  

Satan appeals to our pride to separate us from the truth of God.  God has revealed Himself in His Word and in His Son.  Both get targeted, questioned, dissected, reinterpreted, and redefined beyond all recognition.  Once unrecognizable, it's easy to discard the Word and the Son, for they have no longer have any meaning.  The truth is replaced with "your truth."  Biblical "bones" are scattered on  the hills of cultural irrelevancy.

Look at it this way.  You cannot deceive me if I pursue the truth with vigor and wherever it leads.  If I weigh the evidence, looks carefully and sets pride aside, then the lie will fall flat.  Whoa!  There is the key element: pride being set aside.  I can't be deceived if I am not trying to gain something from whatever is before me.

Lies work because the liar and the "liaree" equally want something.

If I tell you God wants you rich, and all you have to do is give me money, I am appealing to your pride that says you can gain wealth with little effort, and that God is all about you.  You are special as you follow my ministry.

If I tell you I have a new revelation, I appeal to your pride that you now have new or unique knowledge; you are superior to those who don't possess it.  You are special if you follow my teachings.

If I entertain you, all in the name of Jesus, I appeal to your pride that your church is progressive and cutting edge; that new is always better than old and that lots of people involved means God's blessings.  Don't bother with small.  Or simple. You are special because you belong to a happening church.

Feeling special is balm on an insecure heart; a heart that doesn't know the Father as deeply, and a heart that longs for something.  Satan loves that "something."  He will counterfeit it for he knows that that "something" is unbridled fellowship with the Father, Son and precious Spirit.

That "something" will be a lie, an error, ignoring common sense, and a rushing head long into something that is worthless.  Eventually, you will be left marred, angry, broken or deeply ensnared.  That is the point of Satan's logic: because in the word "believe," the word "lie" tucked in.

But in "believe," with a careful look, is the word, "live."  Take out the need to "be" in control, and take out the "e" (ego) and you find Jesus: He is our Immanuel, the One who is God with us, and who brought us His way, His truth and in His life.
 

  

Satan's Logic, Part I

Trust me.  Satan uses logical thought in order to seduce us.  Satan uses our emotions to confuse us.  He wants us in a situation that is contrary to God and eventually leads us away from God altogether.  Satan targets God's people and misleads them any way he can.  One of his favorite tactics is to use a biblical idea, and lace it with a lie.   

We are looking at false teachers, whom Satan uses to further the confusion.  If such teachers were completely batty, most people would say, "Oh, that person is clearly mentally ill.  There is no rhyme or reason to their ramblings."  Exactly.  Incoherence would not win someone over.  But if the person presents neatly logical ideas, makes an appeal to our emotions, and sets our pride in motion, we can become quickly ensnared.  The ideas contain just enough truth to woo us into thinking the overall teaching is sound. 

Think about the some of the ideas around Christianity that echo from churches, stadiums, seminaries, and online:

1. It's all about you!
2. God wants your best life!
3. Let's not call it, "sin" but a mistake, a poor choice; that word is too dismissive!
4. What are your felt needs?  We are here to minister to them!
5. Your happiness is the goal of  life.  How can we help?
6. Jesus is your Life Coach.  Bring Him in and your life will be so much better!
7. Ask Jesus anything, and if your faith is strong, He will grant you your prayer and more!
8. Heaven?  Yes.  Hell?  Well, that's such a negative way to think about God.  Emphasize the positive. 
9. God's will is so inscrutable that whatever happens, happens.  You are powerless to change it. 

OK.  Isn't there some truth laced into these statements?  Yes, but the Word is not completely compatible with these statements. 

What does the Word say?  "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God." (John 3:16-21)

Statements 1-5:  God does love each and every one of us.  But it's not about you and your life here, it's about your life in eternity.  We are here for only a short while.  Have we fully surrendered to the Son of God?  Or does our will recoil at the full surrender that following Jesus requires?  Do we downplay our sin, the cost that Jesus paid, and how we just can't help ourselves?  Or is it not sin at all?  Have we assigned a new word that sounds more tolerant and loving, not recognizing that sin and death are our greatest enemy, and keep us from the presence of God, now and for eternity?  Our primary need is for the salvation offered by Jesus Christ.  All other needs are secondary.  We were created to walk in fellowship with God--it is only when we receive Jesus that we find our true purpose in life.  Everything else is gravy. 

Statement 6:  Jesus is the Savior, the Blessed Redeemer, the Son of God, the great I AM.  Anything that makes Him just a bigger us, is an affront to His majesty.  He is to be loved, clung to and revered, yes and yes!  But if we make Him less than He is, so we can relate to Him, we have failed to honor Him.

Statement 7:  God is not at our beck and call.  Your faith pleases God, but we live in the light of His will and love.  We pray requests and not answers.  God know our hearts and its desires, but He may not take us where we want to go, for we don't always know what is best for us.  He loves us, but He does not indulge us.  He is working on our character every day and in every way; our prayers may be a hindrance to us walking in a more mature way in Him. 

Statement 8:  Hell is real, for if people live rejecting God in this life, the afterlife will be no different.  Downplaying hell as being incompatible with a loving God fails to understand a fundamental truth:  We choose our afterlife's location based on whether or not we choose Jesus.  John 3:16-21 is clear on that.  The ultimate sin is our unbelief and loving the darkness of our will over the Light of the World.  If we choose darkness now, then darkness will be our eternal home.

Statement 9:  We live in a war zone.  Pure and simple.  The day Adam and Eve sinned was the day they handed over this planet to Satan, for he is called the "prince of this world."  But:  Jesus is still the King of kings.  He is superior in every way over Satan.  But ascribing the results of living in a war zone--tragedies, pain, suffering, loss and disease to God's will fails to understand the fallen nature of all of creation.  Only God can rescue us, and use the tragedies that befall us to bring beauty out of ashes.  But as along as we remain here, the bombs will fall on the just and the unjust.

Now, while there is truth in all of the above statements, I sincerely believe they fall short of the purpose for which we were created: to glorify God.  Are all of these ideas from Satan?  No.  But let me use an analogy here to clarify my point.

We have all seen frozen lakes.  The frozen top of the lake seems akin to concrete:  sturdy, unbreakable and if you choose, you can walk across it.  Invariably, in every movie where there's a frozen lake, a truck/person/horse/car manages to break through a seemingly impenetrable surface.  The fear of falling into freezing water is real; the fear of not being able to find the hole and being lost under the ice is even more terrifying.  Sometimes help arrives; other times, the person is lost. 

The breaking of the ice is not pleasant, but the cold water beneath is the real danger, and how long someone is in that water can prove lethal.

My point?  Lots of ideas seem perfectly biblical; there is enough Scripture to make them appear "impenetrable" to analysis and evaluation.  But when the real trials of life hit people, the ideas that  believers stand upon prove thinner than they appear to be, and cannot support the weight of tragedy, suffering and loss.  The "ice" breaks, and down into the frigid water the people fall. 

Now, the danger is the longer they cling to biblically unsustainable ideas, the more likely their faith will freeze (become inert) and eventually die.  It wasn't on the surface of their lives that the ideas were suspect; it was in the deep waters of soul-shattering challenges just how weak the ideas really were. 

It is in the cold waters that Satan lurks.  He is the coldness and death underneath unbiblical ideas.  The lie under the surface is not evident until a person is desperate for answers and the ideas fail to provide them.  A person's heart grows increasingly cold and through the dark waters comes the whisper,

God has left you here.  He has failed you.  He actually ordained this, and as you suffer, rejoice in His loving will.  Loving will?  Not.  He is distant, cold, and hard to figure out.  So why bother? 

That is the whole point of a biblical idea laced with a lie: It is to lead you into dark waters.  Your faith starts to freeze and your walk with Jesus disappears underneath the ice. 

I have been told so many seemingly biblical ideas over the years only to watch the proponents move further from God, not closer.  The Bible is light and truth and points to Jesus, who is Light and Truth.  God's whole enterprise is to conform us to the image of His Son.  That takes deep intimacy and love.  The only way that kind of intimacy and love can grow is staying in Him and His Word, and letting the Spirit lead you away from the dark and into the light. 

False teachers are Satan's tour guides, who lead us out into the wilderness, and claim the frozen lake's surface will hold.  They disappear when we fall in and start to thrash around in the frigid water.  Why?  Because the Bible is not truth, but a tool to use for their own aggrandizement. 

Next time, we will unpack how Satan is very logical, and uses just enough of God's Word to derail us from the truth.  We will look at how false teachers benefit from being Satan's soldiers in the war against our soul. 

But Who's Watching the Shepherd?

"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears." (Acts 20:28-30)

Wow.  Nothing like Paul to make a sunny day cloudy.  We trust our pastors.  We assume if they are following Jesus, as we are, they are confessing their sins, seeking Jesus every day and want to grow deeper in Him.  So, reading Paul feels almost disloyal to the pastors and teachers we look up to and trust.

But that is the point.  The wolves know the sheep stick together and desire to belong to a flock that is vibrant and loving.  The wolves know the sheep love Jesus, and are trusting those who call themselves Christians.  They also know that leaders have a special place in the heart of the sheep.  We expect the world to not be trustworthy; they don't have a regenerate heart.  So why wouldn't the sheep trust the one who is leading them?  

We trust our shepherd because he's out ahead of us. He is further up the road than we are.  He has studied the Word more than we have; he knows more of the Bible, its history, language and meaning than us; he is called to his position by God; he serves Jesus with his whole heart; his sins are not hidden but confessed; he is accountable to other shepherds; and he genuinely knows and loves his Lord and His Word.    

Does that mean he is better than the sheep?  No.  He is a brother in Christ, and just because he leads us doesn't means he is better than us--the same Jesus that lives in him and empowers him, lives in us and empowers us.

Paul, as a pastor, experienced first hand the snarling of the wolves throughout his ministry, just as Jesus warned anyone who followed Him would: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also...  (John 15:18-20)

Jesus is addressing the Pharisees specifically in these verses, but notice one thing: The Pharisees were of the same faith as Jesus.  They studied the same Torah; they went to synagogue and knew the prophecies regarding the Messiah.  But their fangs came out when Jesus taught the multitude.  He exposed their pride, their jealousy of Him, their twisting of the Scripture and their self-righteousness, all parading around in the name of His Father.  

The greatest fear a false teacher has is exposure. Jesus did that.  Paul did that. We must do that if the Holy Spirit calls us to speak truth in love to an erring brother.  

Paul, in these verses from Acts is speaking to the shepherds themselves--wisdom that needs to be heeded.  But, we as sheep can ask ourselves, "Is our shepherd aligning with God's criteria?"

1.  "Keep watch over yourselves:"  First things first. Is our shepherd making sure his behaviors and teachings match his Lord and the Word?  Is he earnestly seeking to remove the log in his eye before he even attempts to remove the speck in one of the sheep's eye?  

2.  "and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers:" Is our shepherd genuinely looking out for his flock and not using them to fulfill some hidden agenda?  Is his ministry one of edifying the saints, or is it to edify himself at the sheep's expense?  Is our shepherd called and commissioned by the Holy Spirit?  Does his attitude toward the Body of Christ display his commitment to the One who called him?

3.  "Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood:"  Jesus paid a dear price for His bride.  His blood flowed down a cross to cleanse her and array her in white garments.  Does our shepherd love the bride as well?  Does he fully understand that the bride is Christ's and not his?  Does he serve the Lord with a love for others, a willingness to stand on the Word and every success, every victory he ascribes to Christ alone?

4.  "I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock:"  Does our shepherd understand how angry the world is with Jesus, and how a shepherd is as much wolf chow as a sheep?  He is not exempt from temptation.  He is not exempt from struggles.  Does our shepherd humbly understand that because a shepherd leads a flock, he may be the first to go when the wolves start to pick off its members?  Because of that, our shepherd needs to be vigilant about his walk in Christ.

5.  "Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them:"  Has our shepherd picked a godly group of men who watch over him and who themselves follow the Lord without compromise?  Is he accountable to them, confessing sin, seeking prayer and being teachable?  If he has to choose between an erring brother and his walk in Christ, will he compromise and allow the brother to continue?  Does he know the Word well enough to know when the truth is being twisted in order to justify some unbiblical action, and will not stand for it, either in himself or in someone else? 

6.  "So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears:" Paul never stopped praying for the shepherds who oversaw the churches he planted, for he knew the wolves never rest.  Does our shepherd pray for the safety, sanctity and souls of his sheep, as well as for himself?

It is hard to keep an evaluative eye upon your shepherd, because you want to trust him.  You want to be free to pursue Jesus under his leadership.  

But if any of the above criteria is repeatedly violated, you must ask the hard questions: Why am I still under this shepherd's leadership?  Is he meeting an emotional need of mine, at my spiritual expense?  Am I comparing him to others out there, and because his failures are not as egregious as others, I keep making excuses for him?  (The standard is Jesus, not other shepherds.) Am I afraid that friends and family won't understand, so I keep everyone happy by ignoring how my shepherd is not aligned with the Word?  Am I afraid of offending the shepherd and unwilling to face his anger, I remain silent?  

Being a shepherd is a dangerous, beautiful, amazing and serious calling.  

Being a sheep is a dangerous, beautiful, amazing and serious calling.  

Jesus and Paul prayed for those who lead and for those who followed.  We must do the same.    

False Teachers: Success Ain't Blessed

"Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

That's a rather sobering statement from Jesus. Don't we want others to see our light and bless our Father in heaven? "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 5:16)  

But the key word here is "everyone."  The world has its standards for success and the Kingdom of God has its; so, if the world thinks you are all that and a bag of chips, the question must be asked:  What did you compromise?  Did you tone down the idea of hell?  gay marriage?  God's wrath?  (just to name a few).

Did you act as if Jesus were not the only way?  That the Bible is good here and there, but has some really outdated ideas?  That the church needs to be more modern in how it approaches the culture?

It's easy to forget the holiness of God in our rush to be relevant.  

It's easy to forget He is the Lord of the Universe and our Savior who laid down His life for us in our rush to make Him a cosmic Buddy.  

That's the point that perhaps Jesus is making.  If everyone likes you, you have offered a different version of who God is--one who appeals to our human nature and who doesn't challenge us to our very core.  One who doesn't call out our sin, who minimizes it and makes us feel good about ourselves.  

But the Word of God says differently: we are sinners, in need of a Savior. The Word of God is just that--if it were the Word of Man, it would be no problem getting everyone on board. 

But Jesus knew how quickly the tide of public opinion could turn when Truth collided with hardened hearts: "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man." (John 2:23-25) 

Signs and wonders caught and held the attention of the crowd.  But Jesus knew that a deep, heart-felt commitment was essential in following Him; the signs confirmed the message but they were not the message.  In fact, Jesus taught the end times would be especially perilous, for "false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." (Matt. 24:24)  

Jesus was talking about counterfeits.  Satan can counterfeit the work of God, and he does it all the time.  There is power in pagan practice; if there were not, the followers over the centuries of various gods, goddesses and cults would have not believed so strongly. 

People want to see what they believe in; thus, a false teacher, with Satan's power, will "show" the people what they came for: to be shocked and awed by the display of power.   

In fact, the demand for signs and a show of power caused Jesus to refer to this as "adultery": 

"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.'

"He answered, 'A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  (Matt. 12:38-39)

Do you see it?  If we are looking for anything or anyone other than God Himself, we are committing spiritual adultery.  That is why false teachers are so seductive.  They promise no effort--we just come, sit down and watch the spectacle.  We are amazed.  We hunger to see more and more.  Our heart lusts for a display each and every time, and like a husband who looks at other women and commits adultery in his heart, we are not faithful to God.  We are faithful to our craving for excitement.

False teachers know how even God-fearing Christians can be taken in.  Jesus reminds us in Matthew 24:24 that false teachers will have power (but not from God) and the ability to deceive even those who follow Him.  A false teacher leads the unsuspecting down a road to a spiritual affair, with all the counterfeits of spirituality that Satan can muster:

Satan can quote Scripture.

Satan is powerful and knows just how to wow us.

Satan knows our weakness for the easy road, and if he provides it, we willingly go down it. 

Satan knows how much we love the Lord, and if he can convince us that we can serve Jesus and the world, with no damage to the relationship, he will.

So, if even we can be duped, is there no hope?  Is the Body of Christ just a collection of unsuspecting sheep who are scheduled to be guests at the wolves' next banquet?

"And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."(Malachi 3:18)  Getting duped by a false teacher is not the unforgiveable sin.  But, once we see the incongruity between that person and the Word, between what that person says and does, and how the Word is reinvented to accommodate the sin that this person proposes we adopt, we must walk completely away.  

In other words, once we see past the smoke and mirrors, and realize that this teacher is false and is serving Satan (even if the person doesn't realize it) we need to speak the truth in love, if this is possible.  If not, we need to stick to the truth in our love for Jesus.  

Faith is not easy, comfortable or quick.  Faith requires the burden of knowing His Word, and using it constantly as the measuring stick for what others teach.  

A false prophet appealed to the fleshy nature in his listeners when he told them that prophets like Jeremiah were not right in saying that God was calling down doom on His chosen people for their egregious sins.  But judgment came.  

A false prophet loves to take a few verses of Scripture, build a whole theology and then teach how his or her interpretation is the only correct one. 

False prophets use their supposed power to benefit themselves primarily, with signs and wonders to keep their followers coming back for more, and for giving the "ministry" more. 

Even the world can be amazed by a false prophet, and gain respect and support.  When the hard questions are asked, the false prophet always has a rather nebulous answer, offends no one and so maintains a presence in the public limelight. 

Eventually, the line is drawn in the sand:  Jesus made it very clear that a student is not above His master; if people hated Him (and they did, enough to put Him to death) can we expect anything less?

Let me end with Jesus' words on how we will not be popular and well-loved by the world if we follow Him:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." (John 15:18-20)

A False Teacher's Resume

Nobody ever shows up and declares, "I am a complete and utter fake."  No.  The person either:

1.  Knows that what they say and do is false, but enjoys deceiving others (a liar)
2.  Believes what they say is true even when faced with contrary evidence (a deluded person)
3.  Believes the ends justifies the means (a pragmatist with a twisted morality)
4.  Needs the approval of others to function (a broken person)
5.  Has two agendas: appear upright to others but cultivates a sinful life (a hypocrite)

It is hard to tell which kind of person you are confronting here.  The common denominator is a level of deception, either to oneself, to others or both.  But if we understand the person's true motive, does it really matter?  Deception is deadly to one's faith, walk in Christ and maybe even their salvation.  Deception was at the core of Satan tempting Eve:  "Did God really say?" (Gen. 3:1)  This was not a mere inquiry to the nature of God's instructions to Adam and Eve.  It was a loaded question, designed to lead Eve down a path of questioning the truth of God and then to deceive her about the truth of God.

Satan's tactics have not changed:  deception and death are always the endgame.

But sometimes we are mystified about what is driving the person to teach and behave the way they do. Our feelings are not always a good indicator, for even if our feelings are positive, we are still stepping into the lion's den.  Or maybe our intuition says, "Red flag!" but we talk ourselves out of it, for we feel guilty seeing this person in less of a positive light.  Or we know the Scripture so well, we can clearly identify when the teachings are wrong, but we like the person, and so we don't know how to approach them to correct their error. It's easy to castigate a false teacher on TV, but when you are faced with someone who actually believes that person on TV, it's another matter.

Again, let's go to the Word, and see what it says about false teachers.

Jeremiah 23:16: "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.'"

"False hopes" is a perilous form of deception, for when those hopes are too delayed in coming, or don't appear as if they ever will come, then a person's faith is rocked, maybe even shattered.  But that is Satan's goal.  He doesn't want you to simply be disappointed.  He wants you to ultimately reject God. 

Prophets spoke in God's name; so if what they said didn't come to pass, it would be very simple to equate God's word with a lie.  But Jeremiah is saying that just because someone claims to be a prophet, does not make them one, even if what they say seems right.  (If the words were so obviously wrong, no one would regard the prophet as such, and would cease to listen.  There will be just enough truth to give credence to the prophet's claim, but enough lies to deceive the listeners.) 

Deuteronomy 18:18-22 sets the standard:  "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name. But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.”  You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 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, so do not be alarmed."

There.  If the prophet is deluded about on whose behalf he speaks or is manipulating others, it matters not:  He is deceiving the people as to what God would have them know.  If a "word from the Lord" leads to a wrong action, wrong belief, or to the start of a person falling away, God is just in His wrath against such a person who perpetrated the lie.  

Prophesy is still a part of the picture in the New Testament: "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,  to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines." (1 Cor. 12: 7-11) [emphasis mine]

Look at the word "prophecy" and its meanings as outlined by Strong's:   

Old Testament:  "a discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; esp. by foretelling future events"

And when the New Testament writers spoke of the prophets in the Old, here is what they meant: "of the prediction of events relating to Christ's kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions pertaining to it, the spirit of prophecy, the divine mind, to which the prophetic faculty is due"

So, if the OT prophets were ultimately speaking of Christ, then there can be no lies tainting their words.  Hence, the utter strictness of God's standard in Deuteronomy 18.

If the NT writers saw the OT prophets as speaking of Christ, they accepted their utterances as truth, for only truth can point to the ultimate truth:  Christ Himself.  He even said that He was Truth itself.  

That is why deception is so dangerous, for it leads us away from the truth and from The Truth.  

Satan steals us away by leading us away and he doesn't care who he uses.  His goal?  To destroy and kill us. (John 10:10)

Spiritual Warfare: Why Do People Fall In With False Teachers?

Excellent question.  The word "cult" is offensive only to those on the inside; if you are on the outside, it's a comforting word that allows you to pridefully declare two things.  First:  "I wouldn't be so stupid or naive to join such a group."  Second: "Why do people stay in such groups when they find out that it's wrong?"   

Fair enough.  From the outside.  How you respond to such a revelation that this group is wrong, cultic and you need to leave depends how deeply your needs are being met, and whether you think you can leave that all behind. 

False teachers tap into deep scars, wounds and needs that maybe no one knows about.  They exploit that connection with you.  How do they know?  They do, for their knowledge is coming from the one they serve. 

If God reveals a hidden wound in someone to you, the last thing a Christ-like person would do is exploit it, manipulate it or use it to meet their needs. 

Satan can reveal things to people, too. 

For me, the pastor that I was taken in by tapped into my daddy wound.  I never had approval voiced by my father.  I was an excellent student, obtained a Masters in college, and had a successful marriage.  He never took me aside and said, "Well done."  It was only on his death bed did he express an appreciation for who I was.  But forty-five years of craving approval had done its damage in how I saw myself. 

This pastor made me feel special, complimented me and made me want to please him.  I went out of my way to do so.  He returned the favor and let me do a bunch of different things in the church that I love to do:  teach, lead worship and participate in Bible studies.

After a year of this, and my self-esteem bolstered by all this attention, things began to change.  I was no longer invited to do certain tasks.  He would shut me down in front of others with disparaging comments.  Instead of growing angry, I would question myself:  What did I do wrong?

The point of no return was when I told him I felt God was calling me to a church plant.  I had served for eight years in this church and almost two under him.  The time was right to move on. 

The reaction was swift and severe.  He became emotionally distant from me.  He told me not to tell anyone for fear it would be depressing to the church.  He blamed me for some changes that were not my idea.  I finally went to his house to make amends.  He was so angry, I could feel it emanating from him.  I tried to make small talk and his wife walked out of the room.  WHAM: He let me have it.  I couldn't get a word in edgewise and I gave up.  He finished and I left, feeling even more stupid, for others had warned me not to try to reconcile with him. 

People who loved me figured him out long before I did. 

It's taken a lot of pain, time and love from the Lord and others to get a hold of why this went so wrong.  Now, if this pastor had started out mean, then I would have left immediately.  One of the church members, who left way before I did, said, "Either he is the most spiritual person I know, or he is a fraud." 

I saw things early on in him that raised flags for me, but I wanted to believe that this man was sent by God and would help me grow. 

He did.  I grew in a lot of knowledge of the Word.  I explored the area of spiritual warfare under his leadership.  But I also learned that wolves will eat salad for a long time before they clamp their jaws on you.

This man had great teachers and he was able to share their teachings with us.  But after a year, his  well ran dry.  Left to his own devices, he started recycling the same basic messages over and over.  He didn't seem to have the vibrant life in Christ that he presented when he first came to our church. 

His teachings became less and less predicated on the Word and more on his personal practices.  He opened the Bible less and less.  It became more and more about him. 

That was the undetected problem at the very start of our relationship:  He was centered on himself.  He was happiest when his needs were being met; when you ceased to meet his needs, you were discarded.

So, what did I learn about why people fall in with false teachers?

A false teacher will meet your deeper needs: Perhaps you are looking for a daddy-figure; a strong man; a kind man; a compassionate leader; a buddy; a good friend; a knowledgeable teacher or an inspirational Christian, who seems to have it together.  Or, yes, all of the above.  That teacher will be there for you. 

A false teacher will make you feel special, unique, chosen:  You will receive such positive affirmation that you will begin to act and feel better about yourself than you have in a long time.

A false teacher will have strong Biblical knowledge, but it will have other elements blended in:  These other elements will raise a red flag, but because the teacher's Biblical knowledge is the larger percentage of what is taught, you ignore the flags.  You are hungry for the Word, and thus you will sift through the teachings.

A false teacher has an answer to every question:  Even if you sense it is not all Biblical, you enjoy the confident glow around such a leader.  Your own questions don't seem so pressing; you bask in the glow of someone who has figured it out. 

A false teacher will make you part of his family:  Your church will have a strong sense of community, and you are placed smack-dab in the middle of it.  Others will not be in the middle with you, but that's OK.  The teacher makes you feel part of an inner circle, and you feel safe and valued there. 

A false teacher will appear successful, happy and in control:  In a world of just the opposite, a leader that emanates these qualities is refreshing.  You want to be a part of this!

A false teacher will have an "us versus them" mentality:  You are so glad to be a part of the "us" that you do wonder why the "them" don't see life the way the leader does.  You are concerned for them, but feel a deep sense of pride to be an "us."

A false teacher will soon confuse you by acting differently than before:  You will seek to correct the problem; after all, everything started out so good.  If something went wrong, it's you.  The leader has it all together, after all. 

A false teacher will have reasonable explanations for the inconsistencies that eventually arise:  The leader, unbeknownst to you, has well-rehearsed reasons for why things go wrong; you just see this as the leader being very confident in the face of problems.

A false teacher will have reasonable explanations for why other people cannot get long with him:  This will cement your bond with him; you determine that you won't act this way, therefore you will not be cast aside.

A false teacher will have reasonable explanations for why things start to fall apart, people leave and what was once a vibrant community comes tumbling down:  Actually, the facade of a vibrant community comes down.  Whatever was real was small; the unreal, the manufactured, the manipulated was the stronger element, and the truth comes out eventually. 

A false teacher doesn't want the Truth; he wants his truth:  That's the great divide.  Truth as revealed in the Word, or a truth created to keep a person in control: that is where the rubber hits the road.  You have to make a decision in face of such compelling evidence about the foundation upon which the leader has built. 

Now, briefly take these points and enlarge them.  These are why so many cults flourish.  These are why so many people, even faced with compelling evidence that what they believe and who they follow are not in line with the Word, still carry on. 

I have learned a lot during the past few years.  Instead of standing Pharisee-like and excoriating followers in thus and such cult, I get it.

The Holy Spirit led me out.  For that I am grateful.  My prayer is that He will lead out those still caught in the net. 

I will next focus on what the Word says about false teachers.  I have sat in church for over 40 years and have never heard a pastor preach on how to detect  false teachers.  I sadly had to go through the school of hard knocks to understand the danger and damage such a false teacher can cause.