There are some who will say that it does not matter what we believe in the various teachings/doctrines as long as we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. While this may seem true and certainly of most importance, there is a real danger in not realizing that a False Teaching can lead you down a path that can eventually cause you to forsake Jesus Christ and His teachings.
1Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some WILL DEPART FROM THE FAITH, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
Paul now lists a couple of examples. These are only examples and not an inclusive list.
3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
The point is that in the last days people are going to "Depart from THE Faith." This is serious business! Now let's examine how or why this can occur besides what Paul listed above and what Paul said in Hebrews about a sinful life leading to Apostasy.
2Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like cancer. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort,
18 who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past; and they OVERTHROW the faith of some. NKJV
It is interesting to note that these two people were teaching that "The Resurrection" had already occurred. This is just a small part of Eschatology and yet....it was dangerous enough to cause the faith of some to be "overthrown". What does overthrow mean.
From G303 and the base of G5157; to overturn (figuratively): - overthrow, subvert.
To overthrow or subvert is liken to destroying. So think about this. A little piece of doctrine dealing with End Time stuff was sufficient enough of a False Teaching that it could and did overthrow/destroy the Faith of some. Consider this below.
1Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. NKJV
Satan and his Demons are going about trying to destroy CHRISTIANS. Notice that this warning is given to Christians. Why? Because Satan does not need to waste his time going after the unsaved as he already has them. He knows that Christians can forfeit their Salvation otherwise he would not waste his time.
Jesus said in the last days that
Mat 24:12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Mat 24:13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
The LOVE of many in the Greek is actually "the love of THE many. The word "love " here is "AGAPE" this is the love for God/Christ. Jesus said that the majority of Christians love for God will wax cold. This is not something hypothetical but a certainty. The majority of Christians are going to "fall Away" from the faith and commit Apostasy. This is a forfeiture of their Salvation...permanently.
Paul said the same thing in 2 Thess. 2Thess 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless THE FALLING AWAY comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
The phrase Falling Away" here means APOSTASY. A divorce of one's faith in God. Divorcing from God. An utter rejection of Christ.
The point here hopefully will be seen by all. Challenge what you believe and don't get all upset and bothered when someone challenges your beliefs. It could save your life one day!
Look at what Jesus said about those who challenged some who claimed to be Apostles.
Rev 2:2 "I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those WHO ARE EVIL. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and HAVE FOUND THEM LIARS. NKJV
Strong words here from our Lord but true words. You see, Jesus knows that He only picked 12 Apostles and yet there are those even today who claim to be Apostles of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that they are liars. Let no one deceive you my Brothers and Sisters.
So I hope that you can see why I am so passionate about getting Doctrines correct! If something we believe is not correct, it may be serious enough to lead us down the wrong path and the end of the path....well...if we get to that point...it's too late. For those of you who think that you are just too strong and so convinced that you are right....well...meditate upon these scriptures.
1Cor 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
2Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
2Tim 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
4 and they will turn their ears AWAY FROM THE TRUTH, and be turned aside to fables. NKJV
Statistically speaking, Jesus and Paul both said that the majority of Christians are going to fall away from the Faith and perish. This means that the majority of those Christians sitting in the Churches will fall away. This means also that the majority of Christians who are on Christian web sites will be among that majority. So let us pray that none of us will be among them but let us not be so sure that we become so haughty that we think it is impossible for any one of us to be in that statistic.
Do you see why I am so passionate about seeking God's truth and try to get others to do so even if it means ruffling a few feathers? If I didn't love you all I wouldn't be tough on you sometimes. This is the end game. No time to waste.
I believe in a post trib rapture and the only reason I argue against the pre trib is concern for my brothers and sisters. Let me give you one scenario where this could really get ugly if you have it wrong.
The Bible tells us Satan will come disguised as an angel of light. What if there is no pretrib rapture and Matt 24 is right. Jesus says there that first the Antichrist will be exposed before He returns and that is half way through the tribulation period. It also says when we see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel we will know we are close, or in the middle of it, depending on translation. This abomination is Satan as the Antichrist, in the temple in Jerusalem claiming to be Jesus.
He stands in the temple working incredible miracles that our generation has never even dreamed of, telling everyone to gather their families and come to him so you can all fly away together. The Bible warns against each and every one of these things happening, I am not just making them up off the top of my head.
Millions upon millions of good decent Christians will flock to him and receive his mark....after all the bible says God will mark His people as well, and he will quote scripture to you, ask Jesus.
Once they have received the mark they have no chance to repent, the Bible is clear, they are condemned, forever.
The above scenario was taken from the bible in various places where Christ warned againstend time deception. This is the reason I get passionate sometimes when discussing this subject. I don't want to see my brothers and sisters deceived and perish. I love all of you and beg you to read your prophesy, we are in that time.
Two important things might save you if you still believe pretrib and I am right.
1)Jesus comes after the Antichrist has been exposed, not before.
2)You will never see Jesus in your physical body. (In a moment, the twinkling of an eye, we will all be changed) Prior to meeting Christ, we will all be changed to our Spiritual biodies.
Great post, Walter. Someone else has already spoken my mind... well PART of it, anyways. lol
"Anyway, it is definitely amazing how much twisted truth there is out there. There's enough that I'm constantly worried I might be in some of it without realizing it...but we have to remember that that is the state of mind we should be in. To be so hungry for truth that we're always searching even after we think we've found it....just to make sure."
The one thing I want to add is... I can tell you are passionate about protecting against false doctrine. I can tell you love others on here. I do want to paint a picture, though. In that same way that you are trying to protect against false teachings, we ALL are trying to protect against false teachings. I think the hardest part about all of this is realizing that sometimes you are gonna be wrong. Personally, it's hard for me to just swallow my pride and admit that I misunderstood something in the Bible. I'm getting better at it, but the pride is what keeps me from testing MYSELF to make sure I'm still in line. I appreciate being challenged by ALL of you... really. Thanks, Walter.
Where is the Court of Final Appeal? Where or who do you go to for the Final word on what Scripture is telling us...on it's Interpretation...on it's meaning? You would think that the Author would know what he was saying? You would think that The Church would know what was "meant" by that verse of Scripture (you would think that at least within the first 100 years that all this would be "settled"). Also Christ gave the Church The Holy Spirit to Insure that The Full Deposit of Faith would remain intact and He told The Church to "...hold fast..." and "give to trustworthy elders".
My point is ...by reading what was written about Church Doctrine in those first 300...400 years and the discussions by leaders in The Church...you will have "Qualified Teachers" that heard The Word from either The Apostles or from those taught by The Apostles. You can claim that The Church went into error "immediately" yet by reading these letters one gets a different point of view.
Scripture warns of personal interpretation. Scripture tells us the "The Church" is The Pillar and Foundation of Truth. Satan uses are Higher Thinking and Thoughts to decieve us. Me, personally...I do not depend on my "Own" interpretation of Scripture when it comes to Doctrine. I believe what The Church has taught for almost 2000 years. You can see what has happened once we were allowed to "make our own" interpretations. 30,000 different churches...all based on Scripture. All Brothers and Sisters in Christ...bickering and beating each other up...while satan laughs and Jesus sheds a tear.
Jesus' final prayer was "that they be One in Him...as He is One with The Father". At one time we were One Voice...now we are splintered and fractioned and running around "chasing our tails" because of our Egos and Brilliant Minds.
Folks...we are children...we are Sheep...we are blind! I would rather "follow" the Early Church and believe them than what Man trys to tell me now (today).
Acts 26:22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come:
I still believe quite firmly...that the bible is the only authority. Going to fallible men for interpretation of the bible is like building your foundation on the shifting sand. We are supposed to build on the rock of God's word...and the truth is in there if you remove your own will to interpret and allow the bible to interpret itself...comparing scripture with scripture.
Almost said some nasty things! Cattle! I'm doing better already! Thanks!
A person can have many false doctrines and still be saved.
That's why people will say that all that matters is that they believe.
They problem with that is that just believing is not a complete formula for salvation. A person can believe in Jesus Christ and still be lost. Many people have a head knowledge of God, which is not a heart knowledge. In fact, they have never actually been born again. I like to use the term "born again", since most people recognize that term as an experience and realize they have never had such an experience. Then, you can begin to witness to them because they need to be saved.
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe�and tremble!
You can find scriptures that show a person actually stating to a person or people that all they need to do is believe. The problem is in not taking that scripture literally enough. In fact, the people who originally heard those actual words were saved by believing. You have to take into account who they were and what they had already done. In most accounts you will see that they had already done many things in attmpting to get to God or they exhibited behavior that indicated to the speaker that their heart was in a condition, which allowed them to be saved at that time. A person who's heart is in the right condition and is acceptable to God at the moment can be saved by believing. A person who is simply saying they believe but has not actually been born again is still lost. A person can say they believe, actually believe that they believe, but be deceived. That person is still lost. When a person is born again, they will believe, because they know that God did something to them. What God did was to regenerate that person's heart. When God regenerates the human heart, that person has awareness of what God did because they experienced the event. Salvation is not something you do, although you will do and did do many things in an effort to get to God, but something that God did to you.
We have met before I believe either here or perhaps Christianmingle?
When the scriptures are giving warnings about falling away from the Faith and the dangers of False Doctrines that can lead a person down the wrong path that could lead to Apostasy,...these warnings are given to Real Christians, not people who have a mere mental assent. These people are Born Again and some False Doctrines are serious enough to cause one to eventually Forfeit their salvation.
