Good morning,
I think most of us are
joyfully aware of the biblical truth that states, “you will know the
truth and the truth will set us free.” (John 8:32) But when we check
out the full story we see something very different happening to the
people listening to what Jesus was telling them. They claimed to be
followers of Jesus, but were very quick to argue with Jesus about what
it meant to follow him. That same reaction was still very much a part
of the church that formed after the Lord died and rose again as proof of
the truth he had been teaching. The early apostles found that their
ministries to these new followers of Jesus were constantly being
challenged by false apostles eager to get as many followers as possible
to follow them away from Jesus. These false apostles were especially
effective because their ministry had the power of Satan supporting them
with special skills and “biblical truth” that had the right twist to
turn people away from Jesus to following their “special insight.” Their
eager followers became people trapped by a lie based brand of Bible
truth.
The apostle Paul took his
approach to these lying leaders from the Lord Jesus himself. He made no
attempt to befriend them or to take a “gentle Jesus” approach to these
people who were leading people away from truth to an eternity of loss
and pain. These false leaders may have been the bright lights of their
day. writing and speaking far and wide about how to be successful
instead of obedient. They used biblical words with their own ungodly
definitions and trapped their followers into following the wide road
that led straight to hell. That kind of leadership is sadly very much a
part of the church world today. We as church leaders are surrounded by
all sorts of industrial strength, success oriented seminars and
programs that use business principles and carefully crafted programs to
turn us away from walking by faith in a Holy God. Any teacher that
tells us that following their system will make us successful followers
of Jesus is living the life of a false apostle. Following these liars
won’t set us, or anyone else following us, free to live as Jesus taught
us. Paul’s final point is very important. Their success based truth
will lead to the flames of hell for both teacher and follower. It’s the
Just Judge, the Lord Jesus himself who will see to it that they are
paid in full for their wicked work.
II Corinthians 11:13
These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who
disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised!
Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder
that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked
deeds deserve.
Roy Wisner
