Beware Of False Teachers
I have no doubt this is an important message for someone in particular today, because of how the Lord brought it about. I was all set on a topic for today’s post and had already done quite a bit of preparation for it, but when I started working on it, it just didn’t seem right and I felt “blocked”. So I moved on to something else I had been considering, but the same thing happened. After repeating that process with several different possibilities I finally decided if I wasn’t comfortable with something in my spirit, I just wouldn’t post anything today. Then, at the end of a conversation with one of the FAM members, she casually mentioned that she just read something in the Bible we had discussed recently, and as soon as she said it, I knew that was the topic the Lord wanted me to write about today. Unfortunately, addressing the existence and dangers of false teachers in our midst is not an easy or popular topic, but since I’m certain it is what the Lord wants, here goes! And I think the best way to address it is to share how dramatically the Lord brought it to my attention, and then let the scripture speak for itself.
When the Lord first made it very clear to me that He wanted me to write a book about taking a stand for marriage, I started doing the necessary research and was totally blown away by some of the opinions I found on the internet and heard from what I considered respected preachers and teachers, because so many of them appeared to be so contrary to what the Bible actually teaches, including the words of Jesus himself. While writing the book, when it came to addressing the issue of why false teachings concerning marriage, divorce and remarriage are so prevalent in the church today, which I believed (and still do) was because so many people in ministry and church leadership are themselves divorced and remarried, I was struggling to find a way to present my opinion without sounding judgmental or like I was trying to promote and justify MY own opinion by discrediting others. At that point, I hit a serious mental block and decided to get away from it for awhile to clear my head.
Later that morning, I was going about my business, not thinking about anything in particular, when just like once before (at a very difficult time in my life), I heard what I considered pretty close to the audible voice of God, and I heard Him say “as a dog returns to it’s vomit.” As you might imagine that just about blew my mind and it made absolutely NO sense to me at all. I knew it was something in the Bible which I was pretty sure meant we tend to return to our sin like a dog returns to its vomit. But I couldn’t figure out why the Lord was telling me something like that, soI kept trying to figure it out while I was doing whatever I was doing, and then I felt “compelled” to go to BibleGateway.com and look up the scripture. There were two referenced verses; the first one was in Proverbs and the second one was in 2 Peter. I read both verses, as I usually do and then decided to read the second verse in context, which usually includes the verses before and after, but inadvertently ended up on the next link, which was the entire chapter of 2 Peter 2. So I just started reading the whole chapter, which is all about false teachers misleading Christians by teaching false doctrines. It took a little while for it to sink in, because my first thought when I read it was that the Lord was answering another question I had been researching for another book I was contemplating, and which I had been engaged in serious conversations with some of my friends about. And that was the often debated question of whether or not “once saved, always saved”, but after reading it a few times, I realized what the Lord was really showing me, even though it might seem to address the other question as well.
Now, with all of that in mind, read 2 Peter 2:17-22, and imagine how I felt!!! Talk about being on a spiritual high…I was on one, because it said These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” And here’s the entire chapter of 2 Peter 2. I couldn’t believe how the Lord brought me to that particular passage of scripture just to help me write my book! I was not very familiar with that passage, and had no idea that the verse about dogs returning to their vomit had anything to do with false teachers, so it was very exciting and probably something I’ll NEVER forget!
So as we stand against the gates of hell and the rest of the world for the restoration of our marriages and families, we must avoid being enticed by the promises of freedom offered by anyone teaching that there’s nothing wrong with getting divorced or married again once we’re divorced…NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE! Since standing for marriage restoration is far from easy and we often get tired and discouraged, it doesn’t take much to fall into the trap Satan sets to snare us as 2 Timothy 4:3 warns, because it says For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. Unfortunately, few pastors, preachers, teachers and church leaders today have the courage or conviction to resist scratching so many itching ears and take a strong stand for what the Bible so clearly teaches about marriage, divorce and remarriage instead. And that’s most likely because it’s VERY unpopular and could even jeopardize their livlihood, since so many people in their churches and congregations and among their families and friends are in second or subsequent marriages, and quite often just because they weren’t happy in the first marriage and met someone else they thought would make them happier. I don’t know if it’s a term anyone else ever used before, but I consider that “situational interpretation”, and as Hebrews 13:8 tells us, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. And His word NEVER changes, even if our circumstances and situations do! So what we believed when we first made a decision to stand for our marriages has not changed. God didn’t give us a word about standing for our marriages and then take it back, but once we stop reading and studying the Bible for ourselves, and praying for the Lord to guide and direct us, we fall easy prey to the work Satan so easily accomplishes now through false teachings so dominant in today’s Christian churches. And then we’ll be deceived and try to justify ignoring what Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, which is “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Dear Lord, I have no doubt this message is for someone in particular today, so I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit, their heart is touched and that you will give them the grace and wisdom to continue standing for the restoration of their marriage and family in faith and obedience to you. In fact, I’m certain that will happen, because you wouldn’t have led me to write this as you did today unless it was for just that purpose. Thank you, Lord, for loving us so much that you are always with us and always working in our lives and on our behalf to bring us into the awesome and glorious plans you have for us and our families. Help us to keep our eyes on you, Jesus, and not on our circumstances or what the rest of the world does or says, and protect us from the influence of false teachers. Please give us the courage and strength we need and the encouragement you know we need from time to time. For as your word tells us, without you we can do nothing, but with you ALL things ARE possible. Fill us with the power of your love and bless us with great faith and peace and joy that passes all understanding. We love you and give you all praise, honor and glory. And it’s in the name of Jesus we pray and give thanks. Amen.