Be Not Deceived
Colossians 2:8
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ.”
There is a tremendous amount of deception in the world today. It is a prevailing menace which runs through all of society at large and, shamefully, even reaches into the Church.
As the nineteenth century drew near its close, Salvation Army founder William Booth warned, “The chief dangers that confront the coming century will be: Religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and Heaven without Hell.”
We cannot say whether William Booth was a prophet or not, but this quote, at least, absolutely rings true, because this is exactly what has happened!
Booth’s warning of “Christianity without Christ” was referring to a form of religion that would become detached from the saving work, the redemptive blood, and the transformative power of our Lord Jesus Christ — and that is largely what we have today.
We are living in a time of hollowed-out religious practice, where the trappings of Christianity may remain, but a life-changing relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is rare.
Many churches today do not even resemble the traditional churches of years ago, but are rather now more like unto theatres where people go to be entertained, or social clubs where people go to meet new friends and neighbours.
The apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 that “in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves . . . having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…”
We believe this describes most modern churches quite well. And it grieves this preacher to say it, but it does seem to be these very same churches that tend to be the largest churches — by far! People flock to them in droves, while the humble churches preaching God’s truth, whether it is socially acceptable or not, are becoming smaller and smaller, and struggle to keep their doors open. But be not deceived. Let us not forget how the passage ends, “…from such turn away.” Amen.
We read also in 2 Timothy 4:3-5 that “. . . the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things…”
In these passages we are warned to be alert, and to guard ourselves against deception.
In speaking of the last days, Jesus warned His disciples in Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22, that “false Christs” and “false prophets” would arise, and show great signs and wonders; so much so that “…if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”In the Greek text here, the term “false Christs” is one word, pseudochristos, which is a compound word from the words pseudo, meaning erroneous, false or deceitful, and christos, meaning anointed, from which we have the word chrisma, or anointing.
The term “false prophets” is also a compound word, pseudoprophetes, which incorporates the Greek words pseudo and prophetes, prophetes being a prophet or inspired speaker.
Does any of this sound familiar? This sort of thing abounds today!
So many people follow after what they call “the anointing,” and I don’t even think that it enters into their minds that they may well be following after false Christs or false teachers, and chasing after signs and wonders. May God help His people to discern what is real and what is fake.
In closing, we encourage the reader to stay in the Word. Know what the Bible says. Know it inside and out. When federal officials are trained in spotting counterfeit notes, they are not trained to recognize the fake notes, for there are so many variations. They are trained to recognize the real thing. That way, they will know immediately whether a note is real or fake, because they have been trained to recognize the genuine. So know what God’s Word says.
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:11
And remember, when looking for a church to attend and support — don’t look for the church that is closest to your house, look for the church that is closest to the Bible.
