Scripture Reading: 2 Peter 2:1-9
The posts I have been writing have been behind in their delivery to you. Partly this is because we are doing some home repair and it takes more time and energy than I have either of. When done I am wiped out. However the reading for this week grows out of the repair project. I am currently laying a vinyl square tile floor in a basement. The process is rather simple and two fold. Spread the glue evenly with a small notched trowel, and then lay the tile taking care to fit one up against the other so there is no gaps. Well, its the first part of the process I refer to today. The glue is like Elmer's school glue but it is not ready to be adhered to the tile until it gets clear and tacky. Once clear anything stuck to it stays to it.
The humorous part is in the beginning I spread a large area of glue not thinking to get back to the corner I needed to start laying tile in was now impassable. Not thinking the glue was that sticky I put my foot down in the center of the area to get the first row started and I was firmly planted in the glue! Yes I got out but it took a lot of strength to rip my shoe from off the glue. What I had done is sort of laid out a large scale Fly Paper trap in which I caught myself in.
All this to say that there is a lesson we all can learn from my mishap when we look at the subject of false doctrines. It is a known fact that the unbelieving world is drawn to some weird religion that does not contain the full doctrines of God, but rather mixes in enough truth with a lot of lies. People seem to think that what the teaching says is good and they get involved a little, a little more, then they find themselves trapped in it. Even people who profess to know Jesus Christ as Saviour can be trapped as we find in today's reading.
So subtle and yet so dangerous is the destructive nature of false doctrine.
So why is it so attractive and why do the unbelieving world seem to go after it.
Well, of course there are so many religions out there, many of them claim to be part of Christendom, yet all have a common flaw, they deviate from the doctrines of Christ particularly in the area of salvation or the deity of Christ. So in knowing this we cannot answer every person's desire to follow after them but we can say for sure that the Devil is behind every plot to take a person's eyes off of Christ and place them on a cheap substitute. When this is accomplished, the unbeliever, not knowing better has thought he or she has found peace because the folly they believe makes rational sense. False doctrine thrives on the basis of appealing to the human intellect. Man reasons if he can understand it with the mind it must be okay. They feel confident in what they believer because there is a bit of religion mixed in, but not enough to challenge them to know the Lord (if at all) let alone be convicted of sin. This all inclusive tolerance is the bait in many cases. Man wants to feel okay about himself and yet he or she cannot have this feeling when we are faced with Christ. The difference is that Christ offers true hope from sin's penalty, Satan puts off awareness of the consequences of sin, judge for yourself the better course to follow.
For the unbeliever, the first steps in the sticky glue of false doctrine begins lightly and seemingly innocent. Someone shares a piece of literature with them, or, some philosophy on TV arouses their curiosity. Later on the real dissatisfaction in their souls shows up more vividly and because they are soaking in false teachings they figure that there may be some help. So they go to a friend or meeting and believe some more lies. They do this not because they are stupid, but simply because they are being taught a worldly appealing story which agrees with a worldly mind that fails to mention the Truth. They find out that the teachings they are apart of do not satisfy and they keep going deeper into them to find that satisfaction of the troubled heart. Like any narcotic, the more they get involved the more they desire. What is happening is that their minds in place of being enlightened, is being darkened to something that has them assured that things will be alright somehow in the end. No need to talk of Christ, in fact Christ may not be necessary they think. They never want to face up to sin. They never take a stand on much if anything. They seldom see their false teachings as pertinent but as sort of an nice addition to their lives (providing everything is going ok). Finally and sadly, persistence against the Truth of God in the form of reliance upon the false doctrine seals over the heart with an eternally condemnable glaze. They go about either passionately believing a lie or non chalantly claiming a religion that does nothing for them except give a sense of belonging to something that is only made known at weddings and funerals. No matter what the angle or interest, the result is the same, condemnation for rejecting the Christ as Saviour and Lord, for some meaningless belief.
The tragedy is that even Christians can get involved in false doctrines. Its not always that they go after some sort of strange religion, but it can be simply deviating from what God says and incorporating their own ambitions and selfish notions to pacify some lifestyle or habit. In fact most Christians fall into false doctrines very subtly and very gradually. Peter reminds us that false teachers come in silently and begin to work in such a manner that they are hardly recognized. Satan knows that a believer will not look at a full fledged falsehood for it brings up too many flags. So the gradual desensitizing route is the way.
I am reminded of what Paul says in Romans 1:16 about not being ashamed of the Gospel. Though virtually no Christian would not admit to be ashamed of Christ, some would admit of being bored or lacking in Christ. Thus they open their minds up to doubts and questions such as: "Could there be something more than the Gospel? Could there really be peace in some other person other than Christ? Maybe the Scriptures are errant and all this could be a fairy tale." A wandering believer will start wandering towards the traps of Satan, thus rendering them ineffective. He or she does so because they have become discouraged and disillusioned. Some may ask then, "Does this doubtful curiosity turned wandering away indicate that the person is not really a Christian?" This is a big question that cannot be answered by mankind, save only in the understanding of the words of Christ in Matthew 7:18-21 "...by their fruits ye shall know them." One point we can all agree on is that a true believer will eventually never find any satisfaction in worldly ideals or teachings.
The goal should be if we know someone is overcome with false teachings, we must go to them, if possible, and help them understand the Truth from error.
Whenever we take our eyes away from Christ, there is only one place they can go, the way of the world. The world's teachings and its ways look attractive because they are attractive to the flesh we live in. If we war against the flesh, it is a mark of true identity in Christ.
So what do we do as an individual if we realize ourselves stuck in false teachings?
1. Confess our desire and pathways as sin before the Lord
2. Renew a desire to get into the Word of God and put away all connections you
have had to the false influences.
3. Ask God for a daily awareness of His presence.
Have you been ensnared if only slightly in worldly philosophies or teachings? Forgiveness and restoration is always available for the asking. Be on guard because no one is exempt from the temptation of going astray.
Dear Lord, as the world gets darker around us and we become sometimes discouraged, help us to persevere and be preserved from the trappings of false teachings that may on the surface seem appealing, but on the whole is destructive. Help us Lord daily to desire to live for You and be a living testimony for others. Forgive us when we stray and put within us a new desire for Godliness as unto Your praise and Glory. Amen.
Please forward this on to a person that it may help.
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