1. Most Christians are Vulnerable
The greatest spiritual war of all time, which has raged continuously since creation and which is coming to its climax in these last days, is TRUTH vs. DECEPTION. Satan’s first sin was lying to Eve. This initiated the fall of mankind, and consequently the death of all mankind. This is why Jesus called Satan both the father of lies and a murderer from the beginning. “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” (Jn. 8:44 NKJ).
All of the horrible consequences that have plagued mankind ever since the fall of man and curse upon creation, which Scripture refers to as “the casting-down of the world” (καταβολῆς κόσμου – see blog post by this title), are the result of Satan’s lies, Eve’s being deceived, and Adam’s failure to stand for God’s Truth regardless of the cost (Gen. 3:13-19). The lies and deceptions have been compounding ever since, as is mankind’s resistance to God’s Truth. Because of this, the final outcome for the vast majority of mankind is to be destroyed in the Lake of Fire since they willingly believed lies and lived by them, or were willfully ignorant, thus turning a blind eye to God’s Truth. The fate of the vast majority of mankind has already been declared by God, permanent destruction (Psalm 37; 2 Thess. 1:9-10; Rev. 20:12-15).
Of course, Christians, who said the “sinners’ prayer” and attend some church think they are immune from deception and that they are fine. Yet Jesus warned that many or perhaps most of His own followers will fall away in the last days and be condemned, in large part due to deception (Matt. 24:9-13). The parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1-12) seems to indicate that perhaps half of the Christian population will not inherit the Kingdom of God, since five were wise and five were foolish. Which category do you fit into? How do you know? Those who are wise in their own eyes will find themselves among the foolish who had no oil (Prov. 12:15; Prov. 16:2; Prov. 21:2; Prov. 26:12; Prov. 30:12; Isa. 5:21).
The fact that there are so many different Christian denominations, with the leaders and members of each thinking that their church has the correct version of Christianity and all others are deceived, ought to concern any perceptive Christian who has an ounce of common sense. What if some other denomination is right and yours has a great deal of its important teachings wrong? This alone proves that most of the Christian world is deceived on many important points of doctrine.
Deception is the singular enemy which we as Christians must resist and defeat if we expect to be among the “overcomers” of Revelation who will inherit the promises in the seven letters and avoid the doom of the vast majority of mankind. We are heading into the last days; there is tribulation coming which both Daniel and Jesus said will far surpass anything in history (Dan. 12:1-2; Matt. 24:21-22). Relying on your church and your pastor is going to get you nowhere because most of them are the ones who are unknowingly parroting many of the deceptions.
If you do not want to be among the “foolish virgins,” the solution starts with self-examination, honestly and humbly seeking to discover if you are deceived on very important things which perhaps might mean the difference between being an overcomer or becoming like those in Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV). “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
So who are the Christians most susceptible to lies and deceptions?
- The lazy and willfully ignorant who do not bother to pursue truth
- The proud who are wise in their own eyes
- Those ensnared in sin and seeking to justify themselves
- Those pursuing the things of this world
Go to: 2. The Testing of Your Faith
5 thoughts on “1. Most Christians are Vulnerable”
Amen and amen to all that you wrote pastor Tim!
Those last 4 bullet points are really important. 1 Timothy 5:7-8 says that we ought to exercise ourselves toward godliness. As a guy that’s into fitness I can testify that it takes effort and discipline to exercise and work out every day. We ought to apply the same kind of dedication (or even more so) in studying our Bibles and saying no to wasting time with endless television series or movies (the things of the world) that are unprofitable.
Your excellent book, The Time of the End, really added an urgency to my Christian life knowing that the time is short indeed. Thank you pastor Tim for still taking the time and effort to minister to us through your writings.
God bless you!
Renier
Thank you, Renier. That was very encouraging.
Eph 6 tells us to put on the full armor of God if we are to defeat Satan’s flaming arrows. Unfortunately putting on the armor means were are preparing for battle but Christians, including at times myself, have become complacent and stagnant and allowed our armor to get dusty. Todays “itching ears” teaching is leading us down the broad path. Jesus said whoever wants to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. Here in American this couldn’t be any easier. If we cant do that here we are certainly doomed. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness!
To help insulate our faith from the coming deception(s), we must ensure that our pursuit of truth is more than academic, i.e., establishing a “bulletproof” orthodoxy. We must understand that such an orthodoxy will not properly be revealed without an associated orthopraxy. It is the wisdom gained through putting the truth into practice that has, in my experience, led to needed discernment, and to the Scriptures being opened to deeper understanding.
All of this is predicated on allowing the breath of God to work in our hearts, developing the “fruits of the breath”. Works without the right heart, are as filthy rags. But out of a good heart will flow good works. We must humble ourselves so that our hearts are as our Lord’s: filled with love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. Out of this heart can only come good fruit, and wisdom.
During the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord taught that it was out of a bad heart that bad actions come. Murder comes from a heart of hate, and adultery from a heart of covetousness. So, we must truly begin with a new heart.
This last Sunday, we gathered and discussed the meaning of having a “good heart”. We discussed the needed fruit of the breath of God, and the question was asked: “When others grieve, do we truly grieve?” “When others rejoice are we truly happy for them?” “Do we care for orphans and widows?”
It is without this good heart that those who prophesy, and cast out demons, and do many other wonders will hear those terrible words: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” “Not everyone that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
It is a life devoted to following in the footsteps of Jesus, preaching the Good News to the poor, comforting the sick, encouraging the outcast; it is the life in the habit of sacrifice that will be better prepared for the coming deception(s) and trying times.
We know that “much study is wearisome to the flesh (Ecc12.12)”, and that “knowledge puffs up (1 Cor 8.1), but the weariness and hubris that can come with study is tempered and even focused when associated with good work.
The time is near:
“And that, knowing the time, that now [it is] high time to awake out of sleep: for now [is] our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. (Rom 13:11-12)”
Good words, Michael!
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