Thursday, June 28, 2012

Love And Pray For False Teachers!


2 John 1:6-11 - And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.  Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.  Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.  Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work. 

Love and truth…they really do go together. John’s letter to this sweet lady was a warning to her..not to entertain those that did not teach the truth.  His warning is just as relevant to us today…for a quick google search produced the fact that around 4, 300 different faith based groups were in existence worldwide. My eyes quickly told my heart that the world had way too many religions that did not base their beliefs on God. And that does not even begin to address the problem of all the ‘so-called’ Christian religions that twist the truth that I have come to believe in the Bible. John is saying that we need to be very careful…that we study and know the truth….and then teach that truth in love to others. He is telling us to never accept any doctrine that is based on a twisted version of what God left us to live our lives by.

For me…that means any religion that does not base itself on the whole Bible…is sending out false teachers….deceivers….  and according to John…they are anti-christs.  That really blows my mind…all these faiths that have rewritten the bible…or added to it….have twisted the truth….so that it is not the truth anymore…it is a false doctrine…that will fall when Christ comes back to claim his children. They have been deceived so completely that they believe…even live out the lies they have told to others. We must be careful to screen any doctrine…any sermon we hear…any book that we read…any conversation we have with friends …very diligently ..to see if what they said is contained in the book God left for us to live our lives by.

John also uses the term love in this command…for love helps us to react to these false teachings in a way that does not damage our own faith. John said to watch out…and not lose what you had worked for…to love the person…not what they believe….to love the heart that has been deceived….and pray that God open a door for them to learn and accept the truth.  John said not to entertain them…get caught up in useless debates about doctrine….just to love them…and pray for God to  clean out the false teachings that twist their minds and hearts. Pray that God send the right people into their lives to model the truth and live what the bible teaches every day.

Father…help me today to love past the boundaries of false religions in prayer. I pray that you begin to uncover the false teachings in the minds of all who have been tricked into believing anything that is not contained in your Bible.  Help me to recognize any false teacher that tries to pull me away from the truth. Thank you God for the bible you gave me to read and study and live my life by.  Help me to be a model of what it teaches to all that I come into contact with.  God…raise up special people that can go out and teach these truths in love to the massive crowds of people who have been tricked into believing a false doctrine. Oh father…how they are lost….and many are people I know ….students …colleagues…. even family.  Help me to know how best to share your love with them…without confrontation…and learn to commit them to prayer…for you to work in their hearts. Amen.




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