Good Morning Friends,
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful
workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself
masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants
masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions
deserve.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
You can’t always tell what’s in a book by its
cover.
There are some persuasive people who look good
on the outside. It’s tempting to listen to them and accept what they have to
say as true based on their appearance of having it all together. There must be
a more objective way to determine whether something is true or not.
Jim Jones looked good on the outside. He talked
about God. He preached about community and caring for each other. But inside
there was something horribly wrong with him. What was seen was a mask that
obscured the deeper things in him -- at least for a while. Eventually, the
cover of the book came off and Jones was revealed for what he was -- but too
late for many who followed him.
There are preachers who will tell you things
that sound good and appeal to what you want to hear. God wants you to be
wealthy and healthy. You’ve just got to name it and claim it. But read on in 2
Corinthians 11 and you’ll see that God didn’t make Paul’s life a cakewalk. Much
of the time he was poor. Much of the time he was being abused. Is it Paul who
didn’t understand what was available to him, or the preachers of prosperity who
have it wrong? What they say sounds good, but it is wrong.
So, how do you tell whether the messenger is
true or false? There must be an objective truth by which you can judge. There
is! The Bible is the objective truth that will unmask those whose message is
not true to God. Don’t accept everything you hear just because it is cloaked in
“religious speak” or because it sounds good. Satan is great at putting on a
mask to fool you. Check it out against the truth God has clearly revealed in
the Bible.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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