TRUST NO MAN
TRUST NO MAN– THERE ARE MANY DECEIVERS AMONG US
There are many deceivers among us! Who are they? It’s not the people outside of the Church, many who don’t give a hoot about God. They don’t care about Christians enough to want to bother with us. As a matter of fact, they would rather have outspoken Christians to shut up and stop rocking the boat.
Seriously, the enemy of the Christian is not OUTSIDE, but INSIDE the Church. Our enemy is INSIDE the local assembly, religious organization or denomination, or local and /or national religious affiliation with all those who are ‘professed’ Christians.
There are imposters among us, even as I read this morning’s newspaper editorials. This is what a religious leader wrote in regards to same-sex marriages,
“My understanding of a loving, compassionate God supports the basic right of all loving couples to have the full benefits of marriage.”
Just recently another person pictured in her religious garb, criticized a Roman Catholic Bishop who spoke against same-sex marriage. It will likely be legalized in our state in a coming special session called by the governor. Legalizing civil unions has been just a stepping stone to same-sex marriage, in essence legalizing sodomy and unnatural sex which is an abomination to God. We have come full circle from the days of Noah.
DECEPTION- Sign of the Last Days
Apostasy has been gaining momentum and the numbers of the faithful are dwindling by an exodus of those who have compromised and adopted the world view that “society has changed and so must we”. Christendom is in a stupor, in denial, in ignorance of the deception that has crept into the church, the deception that Jesus warned us would occur as a ‘sign’ of the last days.
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
For many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ; and shall deceive many. (Mt 24:3-5)
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. (Mt 24:11)
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2Tim 3:13)
Who is warning us against DECEPTION, how it will take place; and who is responsible for the DECEPTION?
DESCRIPTION OF THE DECEIVER
The Bible states that Satan is our adversary. He has many evil strategies and uses human agents who work for him to destroy our faith and turn Christians away from God.
All of Satan’s agents can be distinguished by certain traits. (Gen 3:1; Eze 28:15, 17)
- They are very charismatic, articulate and persuasive, but are false teachers;
- They are intelligent and cunning;
- They are masters of mind control, and can convince you to believe lies.
So who are these deceivers in the Church?
- They are often highly recognized leaders or televangelists within the Church.
- They are theologically trained and know the Bible, but depart from the truth by teaching another gospel!
- They do not warn others of God’s forthcoming judgment and wrath, about the Endtimes, and of repentance and Hell, but present soft messages of love, brotherhood, and prosperity.
THE GREATEST DANGER IN THE CHURCH
The following are gifts to the church:
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. . .” Eph 4:11-14
Pastors Under Fire
The greatest danger in the Church today are self-serving pastors who are not serving God and teaching obedience to His Word. They do not believe in the inerrancy of the Bible and have compromised God’s Word to their own liking. They are deceived, and deceiving; some may have started out with a genuine calling of God, but are no longer following the lead of the Holy Spirit and now have given in to following the world view, which is contrary to God’s view and the Bible.
It is interesting to note that in the New Testament, the word ‘pastor’ is mentioned only once, with his job description as underlined above.
In the Old Testament there are only 8 references to ‘pastors’ and 7 are used in a very negative way, all found only in the book of Jeremiah. This was during a time of great apostasy and forsaking God, like today. Jeremiah said the pastors did not acknowledge God, did not have a personal knowledge/relationship with God, and mishandled the Word of God. The pastors and prophets both sinned against God. They did not speak words from God, and they did things that were not profitable.
The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. (Jer 2:8)
When God is forsaken it is because of the failings of those in leadership and in spiritual authority. In Jer 10:21, it states:
For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. (KJV)
For the shepherds [of the people] have become like brutes, irrational and stupid, and have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him or required Him [by necessity and by right of His word]. Therefore they have not dealt prudently and have not prospered and all their flocks are scattered. (AMP)
Words of Judgment on Pastors:
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. (Jer 22:22 KJV)
The wind [of adversity] shall pasture upon and consume all your shepherds (your princes and statesmen), and your lovers (allies) shall go into captivity. Surely then shall you be ashamed and confounded and dismayed because of all your wickedness. (Jer 22:22 AMP)
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. (Jer 23:1)
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. (Jer 23:2)
What kind of pastors does God want for His people, the sheep of His pasture?
The 8th reference to ‘pastor’ refers to the pastor God desires:
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. (Jer 3:15)
A similar scripture is Jer23:4:
And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
During the Millennium God will choose pastors whom He will entrust with teaching us His Ways perfectly; we will have complete knowledge and understanding and have no fear of being deceived or confused with conflicting doctrines and teachings as are rampant in the church today.
In conclusion, don’t look to man, but to God and His Word for the Truth. Everyone, including the new Pope is imperfect in his human judgment. Anyone who deviates from the Word of God is a deceiver, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, an instrument of Satan, to weaken the church, scatter the sheep, and take them to Hell with them. Keep a close eye on your Pastor and what he’s teaching you, to see if it lines up with the Word of God- TRUST NO MAN.
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. (Jer 17:5; 17:7)
Links on DECEPTION: ALSO SEE TAB BAR- ‘DECEPTION HOTLINE’
https://heulu.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/deception-in-the-midst-of-the-church/
https://heulu.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/sounding-the-shofar-the-enemy-in-our-midst-introduction/
https://heulu.wordpress.com/2013/01/19/sounding-the-shofar-the-enemy-in-our-midst-satans-subtility/
Posted on September 24, 2013, in Enemy in Our Midst, Hearing From God And His Word, Sounding the Shofar eBook and Related Posts and tagged Deception, Deception in the Church, False pastors and false prophets, False teachers and false gospel, Jesus' Warning of Deception, SIGN of the Last Days, TRUST GOD AND BELIEVE HIS WORD, TRUST GOD AND NOT MAN. Bookmark the permalink. 9 Comments.
God's Enduring Love 
Liz-
Nice work. You will get a little opposition from any who paid attention to your statement that ‘the pope is imperfect,’ as many think ‘ex cathedra’ means he is God. For God’s sake, even the alleged first pope (Peter) had to be set straight by Paul in regard to his prejudice.
By the way, had the catholic church chosen their ‘head’ as Paul, they would be more credible, ie, Paul had no wife, and he was the chief instrument used by God in the issuing of the New Testament. Granted, this monstrous imposition still would be wrong, but at least we know Peter had a wife, surely disqualifying him.
But we know there is only one HEAD, who is infallible, and He is the Lord Jesus. He surely is the example you write of, as the chief pastor cares for souls. I will disagree with you though when you say these other pastors ‘know’ the bible. They ‘seem’ to know the right phrases, the verbage in which they can ‘connect’ with the simple and wayward, but ‘knowing,’ I’m not convinced. In the spirit of the Lord’s observation, ‘if they had KNOWN…..they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’
Perhaps you mean they know in the sense that they are familiar; like a man taking a detour on a road, knowing shortcuts, etc. I am a familiar with a man who as you suggest, knows the bible, and he is proficient at bringing another gospel, leaves Israel out of the promises of God, knows not the purpose of the church, nor does he know of a full and free salvation through a perfect Saviour. So in this regard, does he really know the bible?
I’m sure you agree here, just adding some color.All the best.
Hi Robert,
I always appreciate your comments, adding color as you say. Yes, many think they know the Word, but lack the clarity and understanding without revelation by the Holy Spirit. That goes for us, too. We have to also learn line upon line, precept upon precept. Most of all we need to be teachable, humble before God and man and this is where the separating will take place, where one day The Lord will set apart the wheat from the tares, sheep from the goats, true believers from the make-believers, God-pleasers from the men-pleasers and lovers of God from lovers of the world. God bless you!
It’s all good, but John here not Rob-
I’m SO SORRY, John! I got your name mixed up!!! How did I do that?! Made me think of my cousin who calls me by my sister’s name sometimes. And you are not at all like Robert who also is a believer!
Thanks for following my blog; you are very kind.
Thanks for your like of my post; you are very kind.
So true. And thank you for stopping by!
Excellent post. I found that quote by the “religious leader” early on to be a pretty concise summary of what is wrong with too many pastors and teachers in the church today. They rely on “my understanding” of God and try to force His Word to conform to their understanding; and, they focus on a loving, compassionate God while ignoring the parts of Scripture that say that He is holy and just.
They also seem to think of “meek and mild” Jesus, the peace and love hippie, but forget that He showed quite a bit of assertiveness to clean the temple and called the religious leaders a “brood of vipers” and hypocrites.
We have to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, believe in His whole Word, and realize all that He is. When we focus on only one or two of His attributes, we’re headed for heresy.
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