But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2 Peter 2:1 NAS)
The New York Times reported on December 27, 2009 that a young man, the son of a prominent Nigerian banker and former government official, was charged for trying to blow up a transcontinental airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day. According to a cousin of the suspect who spoke to the press during an interview, there was no sign of radicalism in the young man while he was growing up in Nigeria, though he was devout.“We understand that he met some people who influenced him while in London,” where the suspect studied engineering, said his cousin. “He left London and went to Yemen where, we suspect, he mixed up with the people that put him up to this whole business.”
All of us know the dangers of mixing with the wrong people and being under the influence of teachings that mislead or are incorrect or untrue. The Bible mentioned about false prophets and false teachers who in the last days will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1). Followers of such teachings likewise will face destruction if they unwittingly persist to practice the teachings of such heresies.
As Christians and followers of the Lord, therefore, we must be careful not to fall into the influence of false teachings (Matthew 24:4, 11, 13), be wise to examine the things that are being taught to us (Acts 17:11), and be equipped with the correct and true teachings of God's Word. Besides studying and learning from the word of God, we must also constantly examine ourselves to look into the mirror with unveiled faces to see if we reflect more and more the glory of the Lord as we are being transformed in the image of God through the listening and yielding to the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).
Like the dangers of being under the influence of false teachings, destructive heresies and extremism can be used as tools by the devil to misguide us into following ways that lead us to deny the Lord (2 Peter 2:1). We must therefore constantly cultivate a listening and discerning ear towards the Holy Spirit while we learn and study the Word of God. We must also always be on our guard against 'savage wolves' who will come in among us and not spare 'the flock', but will speak perverse things to draw us away from being disciples of the Lord (Acts 20:28-30).
Dear Lord, help us always to listen to Your Holy Spirit to discern the right from the wrong teachings. Lead us Lord in Your ways that we may not deviate from Your teachings or be misled to let down our guard against falsehood to turn away from You. Keep us focused on You Lord that we may not be veiled from the truth into choosing to listen to teachings that sound good, which end however is destruction. Remind us Lord to constantly examine ourselves and look into the mirror to see if we reflect the glory of Your image more and more each day, to listen and to yield to Your Holy Spirit.
Thanks for your insightful commentary on this event. Having read what many bloggers have written about this misguided young man, I appreciate even more how you handled the topic.
ReplyDeleteExcellent devotional for these days. Wonderful reminder to me to keep a watch on my life and influences!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Edmond. Thank you for this post which reminds us to be constantly on our toes, lest the enemy creates devises which are heretical. It is so important to be yielded to the Holy Spirit so that He can lead us to all truth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the stimulating blog.
ReplyDeleteThere is much confusion among Bible-believing Christians, because so many pastors have not learned the original languages of scripture and do not even see the importance of knowing them. However, the Bible was not written in the English language, but in Hebrew and Aramaic in the Old Testament and in the Koine Greek in the New Testament, so the meaning of words being translated from one language to another often causes a problem in interpretation.
ReplyDeleteWithout pastors having a knowledge of the original languages of scripture, much false doctrine is being taught, and many cults have developed through a misunderstanding of what the scriptures actually say. For example, the Koine Greek has a tense for verbs called the AORIST tense that we do not have in our English grammar that can refer to something that occurs just once as in Acts 16:31: “BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” The verb ‘believe’ is in the aorist tense and means ONCE AND FOR ALL. Without knowing that the aorist tense was used by God the Holy Spirit who is the author of scripture, many people are under the false impression that they can lose their salvation. There is also a PERFECT tense which indicates continuous action of the verb BELIEVE, and it says we must keep on doing something, as when Jesus told His disciples to keep on believing in His Word.
I agree with you, Wes. There are lots of misinterpretation going on today, and without the knowledge of God's Word in its original meaning and form, many are misled into heresy. May God help us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in our discerning the right from the wrong as we continue to seek the understanding of His Word.
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