“Watch out for false prophets”

1 John 4: 1-6


Today’s reading deals with false prophets and the false teachings that they profess.  Specifically, 1 John deals with an early form of Gnosticism that was threatening the church.  According to my study bible the central teaching of Gnosticism was that spirit is entirely good and matter is entirely evil.  One of several errors that flowed from this teaching was the denial of Christ’s true humanity.  One branch of Gnosticism (called Cerinthianism) claimed that “Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left him before he died”.  Thus, John writes in 1 John 4:2:  “ ² This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”


The church has battled false teaching since its earliest times and the current age is no exception.  We are encouraged to arm ourselves against false teaching by knowing what we believe.  This involves reading/studying God’s word and being taught by those we can trust to be true to the faith.  It is why we take our children to Sunday School and have them go through the confirmation process.  It is why our pastors encourage us to read the bible daily and be involved in some type of bible study in addition to Sunday worship. 


Jesus knew that the church would face threats from false teachers.  He addresses this in Matthew 7:15 (Sermon on the Mount) where he states:  “Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  In Matthew 7:24 (Sermon on the Mount) Jesus talks about the importance of knowing his teaching, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”  


In 2 Timothy 4 Paul issues a warning to his younger partner regarding false teachers and false doctrine.  He writes:   “ ³ For the time will come when people 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. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”  Pretty good advice --- for Christians in 2019!

The Word Became Flesh

At times I can be very cynical, and I suspect many people can be too.  And who can blame us? Look at how we sometimes respond to each: “The check’s in the mail”. “I’ll get to it tomorrow.” “Yeah, I knew you might have problems with that.” And so on and so on ….

 

Logos is Greek for Word

Today’s reading is John 1:1-14. The Old Testament is full of God’s promise of a savior. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Ezekiel, Elisha and others speak of the Messiah. Even Moses hinted at the Messiah 1500 years before he came. In today’s reading we learn that God kept his promise. The Word became flesh!

 

Our savior Jesus Christ, true man and true God, put aside his heavenly crown and lived with us on earth. He became one of us!

 

Jesus

He ate, he bathed, he bled, he wept and he smiled. He healed people and fed them. He suffered and died for our sins. He even rose from the dead and came back to earth. He finally ascended into heaven!

 

Yes, we humans can be cynical, but there is proof that God kept his promise. The Word became flesh. Many, many witnesses saw Jesus and what he could do. Some of these witnesses put pen to papyrus to leave an historical record of his life. We are blessed because we can read these eye witness accounts!  

 

Rarely did Jesus speak for himself; he let his actions speak for him. Angels announced his birth. John the Baptist testified about Jesus. God let it be known Jesus was his son when John baptized Jesus. After his death, angels announced Jesus resurrection, and sure enough, Jesus appeared to his disciples in his resurrected body.

 

And after his ascension, his disciples went here and there testifying what they had witnessed.

 

Even though we have historical records, it is difficult to believe that the Word became flesh. Fortunately for us, Jesus sent a counselor, the Holy Spirit, to us. But that is a different topic.

 

Yes, the Word became flesh. And because of it, we celebrate Christmas.

 

Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

The Sky is Falling

Acts 24:10-16

 

 

^“I do admit this to you: I worship the God of our ancestors by following that Way which they say is false. But I also believe in everything written in the Law of Moses and the books of the prophets.”      Acts 24:14 GNT

 

In the children’s story Chicken Little, the lead character of the same name, went around telling everyone that “the sky is falling” because an acorn had fallen on his head. He truly believed this was the case and acted accordingly, but of course he was seriously wrong.

 

Like Chicken Little, Paul had an event happen in his life that got his attention. On his way to Damascus, Jesus struck him blind with a bright light. As a result, Paul went around telling everyone about Jesus. And now, defending himself before Governor Felix, Paul claims to believe in the same God and the same Old Testament as those men who were accusing him of wrongdoing.

 

If Paul truly believed the same as his accusers, why is there such a dramatic difference in their lives?

 

God is at work in each of our lives to draw us to Him, to mold us into His image and to serve Him. How has He got your attention? What version of an acorn or a bright light has He used to accomplish this? How has God spoken into your life? And most importantly, how have you responded?

 

You may have heard the saying, “A man is only as good as his word”. The same is true of God, and God is always faithful to His word. That is why Paul trusted Him before Governor Felix. That is why we can trust Him.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”        Jeremiah 29:11

 

God is faithful and because of that, His Word can be trusted. It was true thousands of years ago. It is true today for you and for me.

 

So, how indeed have you responded to the acorns and bright lights in your life? Do you run around saying “the sky is falling”? Or do you trust in the Living God of the Old Testament like Paul did?

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2024%3A10-16&version=NIV;GNT

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Acts.24.10-Acts.24.16

 

 

Joel 2:1-11

I have to admit that I do not remember ever reading the book of Joel before, but I am wondering now why not?  I think too often I live in a dreamland, better known as denial.  There is some tough stuff in this book; some in-your-face reality that is very difficult to swallow.

When I read this text I feel like things are going to get so much worse before they get better. I know they will only get better when Jesus comes.  Reading this book helps me to understand how tough the prophet's job was, how difficult it must have been to have to keep telling people the cold hard truth.  I have lived so much of my life as a people pleaser I would never have been a candidate for prophet.

I am realizing that God is shaping each of His children for this position though; preparing us to be courageous to tell someone like it is, when they really need to hear it.  Someone has to have the courage to tell the world about the locusts; as Joel 2:1 says, "Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand—"

Yes, Joel's message is a stark contrast to the way we prefer to view the world and our place in it, but it is always better to know the truth and let that beacon light the path to tomorrow than to stumble around blindly in the darkness.

Read Joel 2:1-11 text here from Biblegateway.com.