A Caution

A Caution
Jesus said,
Many will say to me  on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:22,23.
We as Christians live in parlous times. There are those outside the church who would want to see Christ’s message proven wrong. There are even those, extremist, terrorist and others who would want to see the death of all Christians. These people have been around since the dawn of Christianity.
At the same time however there is what I would say is a more dangerous group lurking within Christianity it’s self. These are men and women who claim to be Christians but are not following the teachings of Christ. Men and women who are twisting the teachings of Christ for their own gain. These too have been around from the start of Christianity. The apostle Paul writing to Timothy states.
“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.  
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 2Timothy 4:3,4.
It can be very easy to see the threat to our faith by those outside our faith. It however is not that easy to see the threat from within.
A lot of times these false teacher will say they believe in God. They will even lie and say they truly believe that Jesus is the Son of God the Saviour of mankind. But in their heart they do not believe this. They will quote scripture both in context and out of context.
They are out to deceive the believer into following them quite often for personal gain or for power.
That is why I urge all Christians to read their Bible. To study the scriptures. To pray, pray, pray, that God will show them the right path and person to follow.
To find a good church that is following the teachings of the Bible. Beware of those who over emphasise money. Every church and ministry needs money but it shouldn’t be the focus of the ministry. They shouldn’t be constantly spending a great deal of time asking for money.
Remember the apostle Paul said,
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:19.
If the ministry is of God, God will supply its needs.
Beware of churches or pastors that ask you to follow them blindly or refuse to answer any question you have no matter how seemingly insignificant.
Remember there will be differences in minor interpretations but there should never be on the core issues of the Christian faith.
The apostles creed while not written by the apostles gives the core beliefs that all true Christians can believe in.
The Apostles Creed
1.I believe in God the Father the almighty maker of heaven and earth
2. I believe in Jesus Christ God’s on and only Son, our Lord and Saviour.
3. I believe Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary
4. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate; That He was Crucified, died, was buried. That he descended in hell.
5. I believe He rose again on the third day from the dead.
6. I believe that he ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
7. I believe Jesus will one day Judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost
9. I believe in the Church which is the communion of the saints,
10. I believe in the forgiveness of sin.
11. I believe in the resurrection of the body.
12. I believe in life everlasting.
These points are not negotiable. They are the core of what all true believers in Christ believe.
To the Christian reading this. I would ask, Are these your core beliefs?
I would ask have you accepted Jesus as the Lord and Saviour of your life? Or, have you only given intellectual consent to Jesus?
Jesus said to Martha,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world,” John 11:25,26. 
Dear reader do you believe this?
Please think about it.

A Caution

A caution to Christians,
The apostle Paul writes,
“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.  
  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” 
                                                                                                         2Timothy 4:3,4
Even Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
                                                                                                                    Matthew 7:21-23.
We live in a multi-media world. At the press of a button we can see pastors and evangelist from anywhere in the world. There are so many that it can be hard to tell if these evangelist are truly living life the way God intended them to live.
It can be hard to determine if they are teaching right.
Many are stringing together scriptures that may sound right but are not necessarily so. As a result we need to be on our guard.
We need to study the scriptures the person is using to see if it is in context. If it is not we need to look again at the person. Perhaps he or she made a simple mistake. It happens.
Still when we find something wrong we need to dig deeper into the teachings of the person. Look at other sermons and things they’ve taught. See if wrong teaching is a pattern or not.
Ultimately the bible is the final authority when it comes to Christian teaching. Everything that is preached from the Bible should be taken in context. If a person is not preaching the word of God in context then we shouldn’t be supporting them.
According to the apostle Paul we have the right to judge those of our own faith. Paul stating,
"What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 
                                                                                               1 Corinthians 5:12,13   
I’ve heard pastors use the defense “don’t come against the elect of God”. That may be true but the question I ask is “If the person is not preaching correctly from the word of God, is he or she God’s elect?”
It is God’s job to judge those outside the Church. We however as Christians have the right to determine if someone claiming to be Christian is teaching correctly.
My point today to all Christians reading this is be on your guard. Study the scriptures for yourself never simply take the word of a pastor or evangelist. They are not perfect and from time to time do make mistakes.
The important thing however is when found in error that the person admits the mistake and corrects themselves.
That they turn back to the word of God and preach it correctly.
As Christians it is our duty to also follow the teachings of Jesus and the apostles to the best of our ability. So that others may see Jesus in us and want what we have.
The apostle Paul writes,
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 
                                                                         2 Timothy 2:15
The writer of Hebrews states,
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 
    Hebrews 12:14.
Please think about it.