GULLIBILITY

Spotting Counterfeit Claims

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

Ephesians 4:11-15, ESV

Amidist all other pursuits that we have on this earth, knowing God is the most important achievement that humans can strive for in their lifetime. Granted, not everyone is called to focus on the word of God all day and to teach the things of God as a profession. All of mankind, however, are urged to seek the face of God diligently throughout their lifetime. The call to seek the face of God may seem like a burden to some and an option to others, but it is an absolute necessity for survival.

The most important payer in Scripture is known as the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9). Everyone who wants to be covered by the God of Israel, is not only invited, but called to know God. This prayer is a command because it will save your life and the life of your children. It is an invitation to see the Creator’s glory. No other religion invites people to know the entity that they choose to serve. None! You will find this invitation only in the Judeo-Christian faiths.

Yahweh calls his people to love him, but he does not expect a nonsensical love based on empty ideologies. In order to truly love someone, it is naturally necessary to make a sincere effort to know that person. This requires more than assenting to their existence, instead, it is a call to really know who they are; their likes and dislikes, their heart, their character traits, what is important to them, as well as what pleases them. This is real love. When we take the time to know God, we begin to get a glimpse of his glory that is based on Truth, not on fantasy, wishful thinking, or a misguided set of beliefs.

Jesus’ disciples knew that this was a serious requirement for salvation (John 14:6). It is a requirement because it keeps the seeker from being swayed by false doctrine. False doctrines have been infiltrating the purity of the faith since the serpent’s successful misdirection to Eve and then Adam in Paradise. The seeker is vulnerable to all types of religious teachings that will mislead the unsuspecting. Paul warns about the intentional schemes of those who go to great lengths to draw seekers away from worshiping the Creator and instead, point the focus to some other false religion (Eph 4:13-15; 2 Tim. 3:5-7). Those who are easily misdirected are the ones who Paul claims are prone to be tossed about like anchorless boats in a restless body of water.

The Warning

Jesus also warned about not having a solid foundation based on the knowledge of the one true God (John 8:41-43). Without understanding who you are putting your faith in, you will cave like a house of cards when life gets difficult. Many people withdraw from their faith communities and from attending church when something traumatic happens in their life. They build their hopes and understanding on shifting sand. This is why it is important to attend a Bible believing church that teaches the absolute Truth about God. The God who is considered, countercultural by those who know the difference between the God represented in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and the god of this world (John 8:44, 12:30-32).

Believe it or not, there are professing “Christians” out there who find the absoluteness of the Creator highly disturbing. They prefer a ‘personal’ god that they can control as they fashion this entity based on their own desires and the whims of the current culture. This is a New Age religion type of ideology that has been on the rise since the 1950’s when textual criticism claims began to infiltrate the culture. Furthermore, the belief in the corruption of the Bible can be correlated directly with the rise of religious institutions watering down the Gospel, in their effort to resist becoming controversial. The God of the Bible has always been controversial and countercultural, and as long as satan continues to rule in the hearts and minds of the majority, it will remain that way.

When religious leaders believe and teach that the Bible is a corrupted document, it sends a message to the congregation that the word of God can be left up to one’s own interpretation. This heretical messaging has been incredibly destructive to the purity of the Christian faith. It has led to church decline, and an impotent theology. It is the main underlying factor in entire denominations becoming apostate and is the reason that the modern-day Christian looks nearly identical to their secular counterparts around them. This is the type of religion affectionately (diplomatically) called progressive “Christianity.” I personally would leave off the Christianity, but we will go with it for now.

Misguided

The Judeo-Christian Bible is the special revelation given to humanity in order that people come to know who their Creator is and his steadfast love for them. It is also where people learn about their enemy, the devil, and his battle for every soul ever born (Gen. 3:14-16). It is the most important book any human will ever hold. The book of James echoed the writer of Matthew as he begins with a promise and a warning. For those who trust wholeheartedly in God, they will be blessed. On the other hand, for those who do not fully trust in God, they will live in frustration as double-minded and will not be blessed by him (Matt. 13: 56-58; James 1:1-8).

Paul warns people about how a lack of knowledge will lead to following those who claim to have “secret knowledge” and various forms of mysticisms that are designed to draw people away from God (2 Tim 3:12-14). This is a dangerous place to find oneself as it is the devil’s territory filled with angst, deception, and confusion. The Bereans knew this and would check everything that Paul spoke about comparing it to the Word of God, which, incidentally, would have been the Tanakh in the first century (Acts 17:10-12). Otherwise referred to as the Old Testament, which should never be discounted as inconsequential.

Never, ever forget that we are at war for our lives and the father of deception has a vast army hard at work for our mind and our very soul (John 8:44; Eph. 6:10-12; 1 Pet. 5:8). The consequences for not being grounded in the word of God are severely life-altering both in this world and in eternity. Do not allow yourself to be tossed around by every hollow philosophy, (Col. 2:7-9) take your Creator seriously and seek his face while he can still be found (Is. 55:6). The only way to recognize counterfeit claims is if you take the time to know the God found in the Judeo-Christian Bible. Diligence in knowing Truth must begin with the real thing. If you want to learn how to push back with evidence for the reliability of the Bible check out my book; Under Investigation: Has Critical Scholarship Exposed A Corrupted Bible?” Do not allow yourself to be gullible and easy prey for the enemy.