Do you know how to watch out for people who pretend to be Christian leaders but really are not? Do you know how to be on guard for such deceiving people?

by Rev. Jack Richards on December 23, 2022

SEARCHLIGHT 

Do you know how to watch out for people who pretend to be Christian leaders but really are not? Do you know how to be on guard for such deceiving people? 

SCRIPTURE 

For there are men who have surreptitiously entered the church but who have for a long time been heading straight for the condemnation I shall plainly give them. They have no real reverence for God, and they abuse his grace as an opportunity for immortality. They will not recognize the only master, Jesus Christ our Lord.   Jude 4   J.B. PHILLIPS  

SPOTLIGHT 

The story is told of a little boy who appeared to be lost during the Christmas shopping rush in a very large mall. He was seen standing in an aisle of a busy department store crying, “I want my mommy.” Many people passed by, giving the unhappy youngster nickels and dimes. Finally, a clerk came over to him and said, “I know where your mommy is, son.” The little boy looked up with his tear-drenched eyes and said, “So do I… just keep quiet!” 

This little boy had learned early in life how to deceive. Who had taught him? How did he discover his ability to scam? Was it a parent, sibling, or friend? Obviously, he was very capable of convincing people to have pity on him. Why were people not able to detect his deception? There are so many questions that can be asked when something like this is uncovered.  

Something similar was being experienced by the believers to whom Jude wrote his letter. They were being deceived.  Somehow people, who appeared to be Christians, had become an integral part of the Christian church family Jude is addressing. They had crept into the Christian community with the intent to mislead. The author was quick to point out that they were deceivers teaching false doctrine. Why the believers were unaware of what was going on is unknown. These deceivers had convincingly established themselves as trustworthy people who should teach in the church. The believers were not aware of what the deceivers truly stood for.         

This should cause concern for all believers. It has been said that spiritual danger in the church is far more serious than spiritual danger in the world. How can believers beware of deceivers? In a previous devotional based on 3 John, I entitled it “Believers Avoid Deceivers.” John had serious concerns about Christians being misled and deceived by people who appeared to be Christians but were not. It is possible for people to appear to be born again but not truly be born again. How can believers beware of deceivers? 

A believer is someone who is Godly. He/she is not perfect but does give evidence of wanting to be holy. In the Scripture text above, Jude said that the intruders who had wormed their way into the church were irreverent. They had ungodly, illicit desires which they justified as being acceptable. They taught that God graciously accepts sinners. How true that is! However, their so-called repentance did not lead to Christlikeness. They taught and practiced “shameless sin” by twisting the grace of God. These subtle, impious deceivers claimed to have received pardon but rejected holiness. [see Jude 17-19]   

A believer is someone who becomes born-again by coming through the door rather than climbing through the window. Jesus Christ declared, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” [John 10:9 NKJV] When someone acknowledges Jesus Christ’s divinity and humanity, he/she indicates that Jesus is the door to salvation. Jude said that the deceivers denied who Jesus is and what Jesus did. He was not really 

the Sovereign Lord God but only a step in life’s spiritual journey. Read how the Apostle John spoke about this in 1 John 2:22,23.  

BELIEVERS BEWARE OF DECEIVERS. Deceivers appearing to be believers will try to infiltrate churches in order to influence true believers away from the core tenets of the Christian faith. How can they be spotted? Understand that they do not want to be identified. A spy does not tell government officials who he is and what he wants to do. A scam artist doesn’t say, “Hi everyone, I am here to scam you!” Someone who is deceiving you does not want you to know that. The reason for the deception is to blend in and not stand out.  A deceiver wants people to believe he/she is someone who they really are not. The deceiver holds hidden ulterior motives. 

How can you be on guard for deceivers? Can you get ready? How can you spot whether a church leader is authentic or like the little boy asking for his mommy? What can you do to prepare? The test for identifying an authentic Christian begins by asking a person three questions:   

  1. Who is Jesus Christ [what does he/she believe about Christ’s divinity and humanity]? 
  2. Who is Jesus Christ to you [does the person describe his/her personal salvation identifying the necessity of Jesus being the resurrected Savior and Lord]?  
  3. How is Jesus Christ changing your life [how does the person describe his/her pursuit of holiness]? 

SOMETHING TO DO 

Write out your answers to the 3 questions mentioned in the above paragraph. For further reading check out 2 Peter 2.

SOUL TIME PRAYER 

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe You are the living God who came into this world to become like me so that You could pay the price for my personal salvation. Thank You! Help me to become alert and aware of listening to or reading books by false teachers. I do not want to be wrongly influenced. Thank you for giving me Godly men and women who are leading my church. Help them. Bless them. AMEN!

Tags: new, believers, testament, jude, beware


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