Dear SanLo Community, an update for the week of February 5, 2012…
Thank you to Pastor Brian Tekawa for the message from Acts 19:11-41, “True Religion”. The main point of this passage is beware of false teachers. We are continuing our study in the book of Acts, a study of the beginnings of the church after Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven. An obstacle to church growth that plagues us even today is false teaching. The question is, “How can I identify false teaching?”
The Reverend Jim Jones was the founder and leader of the Peoples Temple, best known for the November 18, 1978 mass suicide of 909 Temple members in Jonestown, Guyana. Over 200 children were murdered at Jonestown, almost all of whom were forcefully made to ingest cyanide. He created a false religion through false teaching using the Bible inaccurately and the results were disastrous. False teachers are not a new phenomenon, Paul encountered powerful false teachers during his third missionary journey through Asia Minor.
God opposes false teachers. They have led countless people away from the truth of His Word. Counterfeit “Christian” teachers teach a false religion which glorifies oneself rather than God. Paul warns Timothy about false doctrines as he writes to him. 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires.”
False teachers are like the Jewish exorcists and the seven sons of Sceva. They saw the influence of Paul and the miracles they were performing and tried to copy them in an attempt to please people by appearing to have special powers of healing. They used magic, trickery, and sleight of hand, hoping to keep or take away the influence of Paul and his companions. When the sons of Sceva tried to exorcise a man of an evil spirit, even the evil spirit recognized the imposters and humiliated them. Acts 19:15-16, “And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” “And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Today there are many false teachers who take some truths of God and use it for their own benefit. It is true that God can remove evil spirits, heal the sick, and restore souls but in His power not ours. A popular message that appeals to thousands is the Prosperity Message because it “tickles the ear.” The Prosperity Message says God’s people have the right to good health and wealth. The prosperity message “tickles our ears” because the a preachers and teachers of this “religion” promise in God’s name that you deserve and will have good health and be rich if you have the faith to believe God desires this for you. Those who promote the Prosperity message have also turned it into a multimillion dollar business, as did Demetrius and others like him who profited by making shrines of Artemis for people to have and worship. Acts 19:25, “These he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.”
Prosperity Message preachers say: “God didn’t create you to be average or poor.” “If you are struggling financially, then you have not got the victory.” These teach that perfect health and wealth are rights of Christ-followers. Basically they are saying if you don’t have health and wealth you have weak faith. No wonder people hate religion. False teachers have caused disappointment and false hope through their teaching. False teachers stray from the Word of God as their resource and therefore preach inaccurately God’s message. It is a huge problem that angers me and should anger you too. Many thousands, even millions, have been misled from the true message, the true religion of the Bible. Jesus is the Way the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but through Him. Paul understood the obstacles to true religion when he wrote Ephesians 4:11-12, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” Paul wrote this letter because he understood how much influence the Artemis had in Ephesus. Ephesus was famous for the temple it built for this Greek goddess. The temple was so ornate, massive, and beautiful it was ranked among the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul wrote to the Ephesians to encourage them in their faith and for them to live courageously in the Way of salvation despite the huge influence of Artemis. He warned them to put aside all distractions and false teachings and instead focus on encouraging one another in the body of Christ.
God has called pastors and teachers to lead His people. Remember it is God who performs powerful things and it is God who saves people not you or me. Our place in His plan is to proclaim the message of Jesus, God does the rest. Remember – “Just because something has a label doesn’t mean it’s real.” How can we identify true or false teaching? By knowing Jesus through His Word.
Have a blessed week in the Lord,
Stan, for SLZJCC