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 he Bible bears with it a warning. Why? Because there is now a massive deception in religion! This is the warning of our Lord Jesus Christ stated in Matthew 24:4-6—
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”
It is no longer surprising if somebody would come to teach you about Shinto, or Bahaula. We are already warned that many preachers would come bearing the name of Christ, and shall deceive many. In fact, considering the history of mankind, according to statistics, it is in our time that thousands, and perhaps millions, of the so-called preachers have appeared. And they are all preaching the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if we are going to analyze the warning in the prophecy of Christ, He said that, many shall come in his name. However, they bring only His names, but not His doctrines.
This is the reason why we often hear them say, “Just accept Christ as your Lord and Savior, and you will be saved!” As simple as that! They use Christ’s name as a front, not God’s teachings, which are, supposedly, of greater importance. In line with that, this is what II John 1:10-11 says—
“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrines, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God-speed. For he that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”
This is a warning coming from St. John. He said that, if anyone comes – be him a man, or an angel – but he brings not His doctrines, that person should not be paid attention to. They should not even be greeted. And whoever accommodates him becomes a partaker to his evil works. Perhaps this warning is already sufficient to caution us – that we should be forewarned of those people, especially in our time when many will come, bringing the name of Christ, but not His doctrines or teachings.
Now, what could be the main objective of these people? Why will they grow in number? Of course, there is a reason! But, what could be the reason behind the rise in number of these kinds of preachers, who do not teach the truth, but instead, mislead and deceive many? In I Timothy 6:9-10, it says—
“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which some coveted after, they have erred from the faith …”
The love of money is the primary reason why many of our fellowmen have erred in their faith. Are you aware that competition in business becomes stiffer because of the love of money? The same thing is true with religion. That is the reason why a lot of religious organizations have appeared right now. The love of money is the root of all evil. In his desire to be rich, man has fallen to destruction and death. What has given birth to wrong religions? Obviously, they are brought forth by the love of money. For this reason, we must not play deaf and blind in matters of faith. For all we know, the religious organization that we are affiliated to is money-oriented! Go out of your way to find out if the pastor that is leading you is just desirous to enrich himself. If that is the case, then, your salvation is at risk. To prove that there are, indeed, preachers who mislead his followers, let us read Romans 16:18—
“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Therefore, there are really deceivers, but of course, nobody will admit that he is one. Instead, through their good words and fair speeches, they are able to deceive the hearts of the simple/naïve. And this is something that does not surprise us anymore. Naturally, nobody among them would admit that he is a deceiver; otherwise, he would not be able to fool anybody anymore. A cheater who has a bronze will not tell that what he has is just a bronze. Definitely, he will claim that it is gold. And that is exactly what St. Paul is trying to tell us. They will not admit that they are liars and deceivers, and by their good words and fair speeches, they will succeed in deceiving the hearts of the simple.
Can you consider now that what they do is a form of service to God? Is that what you call service to Christ? According to St. Paul, they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but only their own belly. They think only of personal interests and personal gains, but they do not let others know of their real motive. In fact, this is what Micah 3:11 says—
"The heads thereof judge for coward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among you? None evil can come upon us.”
Even during the early times, there were already deceivers in religion. And the prophecy said that, their heads and priests will judge according to reward and gains. They all have the same intention, and that is to amass wealth and money. Yet, they will still lean upon the Lord, and claim that no evil shall befall them. But that is not true. The truth is, they are just preaching because of money. And this prophecy has been coming to mass, very extensively, right in our time. So, beware of them. Let us fervently seek for the truth. God is giving us a reminder in Isaiah 56:10-11—
“His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand; they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.”
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Bible
The
Way to Salvation
