Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [218] Beware of false teaching

Todays devotion is written by Mike Loveridge

Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

 

As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him.

 

And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

1 John 2:18-29

 

In these verses, John brings us a warning that has been a problem since the beginning of the Church. John points to the fact that in his day there were false teachers and in the centuries that have passed since John wrote this letter the number of false teachers has only increased, along with their influence. The internet is a great tool for good, but it can also be used for evil and one of those evils is false teachers using it as a platform to spread their false teaching. So far, John has told us of the conflict between light and darkness and love and hate. Here John brings out a third conflict and its between truth and error. It is not enough for a follower of Christ to walk in light and love, they must also walk in truth. 

 

John brings us this warning is stark terms. He calls the time in which they live the ‘last hour’ and the false teachers ‘antichrists’. The term ‘last hour’ reminds us that since the death and resurrection of Jesus the beginning of the end has started. We know for certain that one day Jesus will return and that has been the case since He ascended. God, through Jesus, shone light into the darkness and revealed His salvation plan. We now live in the light of the gospel and are in the ‘last hour’ before Jesus returns. There is nothing more that God must do for the salvation of sinners. So, the last hour began at the point of Jesus’ ascension and is still continuing today and with every day that passes we are one day closer to the day Jesus will return!

 

John points out three characteristics of a false teacher. 

 

1.     They depart from fellowship

Firstly, they depart themselves from fellowship with other believers, instead choosing to go solo. This is the first and often easiest thing to spot. The New Testament commands believers to meet together. The Christian life is not one that can or should be lived alone. When we go it alone, our thinking and theology goes wayward. We need other Christians and godly church leaders to keep us on track. True followers of Christ know their need for fellowship and seek it, not run from it. 

 

2.     They deny the faith

The second characteristic is that they deny the faith and by that I mean that they deny who Jesus truly is. The key question in Christianity is, “Who is Jesus?” C. S. Lewis said that Jesus is either mad, bad, or God. A true follower believes Jesus to be God. That is the only way to be saved. False teaches will often phrase it to sound like they believe this to be true but when you listen carefully you find its not. John points out in these verses that if you deny the Son you also deny the Father, so it is a very important question. Who is Jesus to you?

 

3.     They lead others astray

Not content with turning their back on God themselves, false teachers then seek to lead others astray with them. John reminds the true followers that it is important to know the truth which they heard in the beginning and to cling to that. As we listen to Bible teachers, preachers, read books and listen to worship songs, these are all places we learn theology and false teaching can easily slip in. We need to constantly be asking the question, “Is this in-line with God’s inerrant, true, unchanging word?” And you can only answer that question if you have first spent time in God’s word, learning the truth. 

 

John’s desire through this letter is that true followers may know their future is secure with Christ. And so he finishes this second chapter by urging his readers to continue in Christ, to run the good race and to cling to truth so that when we see Him face to face we can be confident and unashamed. What an amazing thought that we can stand before our creator God in that way one day! But don’t forget to do the hard work now of knowing God’s true word and clinging to it. Don’t let false teachers lead you astray. 

 

Prayer for today

 

Heavenly Father,

We thank you that you have given us your word, the Bible, and that through it we can learn who you are and who you want us to be. May we daily desire to spend time with you in your word. Thank you that we have your Spirit of discernment within us and when we encounter false teaching may you reveal it to us and enable us to cling to the truth. 

 

Thank you for the assurance of salvation we have and for the hope and joy we have in the knowledge of meeting you face to face one day as our living Father. Help us to live for your glory and honour. 

 

We ask all this in Jesus’ name,

 

Amen

 

Song for today

 

You can listen and sing along here.

 

1 Teach me thy way, O Lord; teach me thy way!
Thy guiding grace afford; teach me thy way!
Help me to walk aright, more by faith, less by sight;
lead me with heav’nly light; teach me thy way!

 

2 When I am sad at heart, teach me thy way!
When earthly joys depart, teach me thy way!
In hours of loneliness, in times of dire distress,
in failure or success, teach me thy way!

 

3 When doubts and fears arise, teach me thy way!
When storms o'erspread the skies, teach me thy way!
Shine thro' the cloud and rain, thro' sorrow, toil, and pain;
make thou my pathway plain; teach me thy way!

 

4 Long as my life shall last, teach me thy way!
Where’er my lot be cast, teach me thy way!
Until the race is run, until the journey’s done,
until the crown is won, teach me thy way!

Photo by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash 

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [217] Daily Light

 

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [216] Tell the Truth

Today's blog was written by Martin Davids a member of Manor Park Church

Tell the Truth

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”

A shocking piece of research

You’ve all seen them.  Those messages that come up on your phone or social media feed usually with some shocking heading like “Local man finds treasure in his attic” or “Remember this famous actor – you won’t believe what they look like now.” They are called ‘click bait’ for good reason and we tend to ignore them.  Well one did catch my eye and it was about lying.   A recent study conducted by a major university discovered that the majority of adults cannot engage in a 10- minute conversation without lying at least once. Actually, the study found that the average adult lies approximately 3 times in any given 10-minute conversation. And since most adults engage in about an hour and a half of conversation per day, that averages out to almost 25 lies a day. With a little calculation we can figure out that 9,125 lies are told by one person every year. If that same person lived to 70 years of age, they would have told over 630,000 lies.

The ninth Commandment

We are nearing the end of a study of what is referred to in the Old Testament as
the Decalogue, or as it is more commonly known today, as the Ten Commandments. These so called “10 commandments” or “ten words”, found in Exodus 20 provide us
with a general overview of the MORAL law of God which is contained in the pages of the Bible. And today we’ve come to the 9th commandment. And perhaps there is no other imperative given to us in God’s moral law that is more convicting to us as followers of Christ than this particular command. And that’s because no matter who you are, or how old you are, or how far along in the Christian life you are, each and every one of us as human beings struggle daily with this piece of divine instruction.

In Exodus 20:16 God speaks to us these soul piercing words, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”. The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Q&A 77-78 tell us that, “The ninth commandment requires us to tell the truth and to maintain and promote it…” and that “forbids anything that gets in the way of the truth or injures anyone's reputation.”.

You see, the 9th commandment is a call for you and I, as Christians, to tell the truth. You and I are called to speak the truth. We’re called to promote the truth, to write the truth, and to defend the truth. For the Christian, our calling in life is to be men, women and children whose word is our bond.

The Scriptures are full of imperatives, reminding us and exhorting us to be known as truth tellers! Zechariah 8:16 tells us, “These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbour; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace.” In Ephesians 4:25 the Apostle Paul tells us, “Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbour,’ for we are members of one another.” We are reminded by Solomon in Proverbs 12:22 that, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight..”. And Jesus Himself told His disciples in Matthew 5:37 to, “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”.

The effects of the fall on human nature.

Brothers and sisters, as Christians, you and I are called to be truth tellers. We are called to be those who are honest and trustworthy in all circumstances. As Christians, our word is to be our bond. This is such a convicting command because, this command runs absolutely contrary to our sinful, fallen human nature. You see, because of Adam’s fall all the way back in Genesis chapter 3, we are by nature, not truth tellers, but truth suppressors. In our natural fallen condition, we do not seek to promote and maintain the truth, but instead we seek to stamp it out.

As the Apostle Paul reveals to us in Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”. Jesus Himself spoke to those who rejected the truth about Him by saying to the unbelieving Pharisees in John 8:43-44, “Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”. We know, when we search our own hearts, that by nature you and I are not truth tellers, but truth suppressors.

Summing it up

Remember that research that I started with -how many lies the average person tells a day?  As Christians men, women and children, may that never be able to be said of us! Because you and I have been given a brand-new nature. You and I have been transformed by God’s grace into a brand new creation.
We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
You see as Christians, we are called out of a life of lying, deceit and deception into a life of honesty, trustworthiness and integrity. In fact, how can we point people to the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6) if our very word cannot be trusted? What does the 9th commandment require of us? It requires us to tell the truth and to maintain and promote it…and it forbids anything that gets in the way of the truth or injures anyone's reputation. In essence the 9th commandment reveals to us that our word is to be our bond.

Prayer for the day.

Our Father

We come to you as Isaiah did, as men and women of unclean lips – who live among a people of unclean lips.  We confess that all too often we have allowed lies to be spoken by us an we ask your forgiveness.  Make us a people who are known to be truth tellers.  That our speech and written word will be an example to the watching world that we are followers of He who is “The way the truth and the life”.

We ask in the name of Jesus

Amen.   

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

 

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [215] Daily Light

 

Daily Devotions for Difficult Days [214] Avoiding Worldliness

Todays devotion is written by Mike Loveridge

On Friday, we looked at the issue of love for the world and how it is incompatible with a love for God. The two are distinct opposites and should not co-exist. Yet we know living as Christians is a tough challenge when the temptations and desires of the world constantly surround us. Today we are going to look at how we resist and avoid loving the world. 

 

Some Christians would say that the best way is to take the example of the Amish and establish set apart Christian communities and shut out the world. I don’t believe this is the answer. A well-known phrase within Christian circles is, "Be in the world, but not of the world". It refers to what Jesus said as recorded by John in his gospel, John 15:19 and John 17:14-16. This concept is also talked about later in the New Testament by Paul (see: Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:1). 

 

The first step of resisting worldliness it to know who we are. When we put our faith in Jesus we are freed from the slavery of sin and we are no longer ruled by Satan, but we submit to God. As Christians we are free from living the way of this world because it is no longer where we find our identity or value. Now as children of God those things come from God. This is why John, before telling believers not to love the world, reminds them of who they are. John calls them little ones, by which he is indicating our membership in God’s family that we gain entry to through Jesus. The very fact that we are part of God’s family, sharing His nature, ought to discourage Christians from becoming friends with the world. However, although we begin as little children that is not where we are to remain. Just as we physically grow from children to adults we are to grow spiritually. As we grow spiritually, we become more like Jesus and less like the world. We see the world for what it truly is and the desires for the world wain in comparison to becoming like Jesus. 

 

The second motivation John gives us for not loving the world is a reminder of where the world is going. The world, John says, is passing away. The things of this world are temporary and fleeting so why trust in them? The Bible tells us that God is the same yesterday as He is today and as He will be forever. When you put your trust in Jesus you have an everlasting hope and joy. Why ever settle for something that will spoil and perish. 

 

These reasons are all good in theory but how as believers do we practically avoid falling into the trap of worldliness?

 

Increasingly, I admire the faith and godliness of my Grandad. As a child growing up, I used to sometimes think he could lighten up a bit but in hindsight his desire to grow in his likeness of Christ day by day is a lasting memory of him. His devotion to the word of God was amazing and his faith in God encompassed every aspect of his life. With every decision he took, in the small things as well as the big things, he asks the question, ‘What would God want me to do?’ This is a lesson for us, to avoid worldliness. The first step is to have a personal, intimate relationship with God so that He is the first place we turn not the last. 

 

We now live in a culture of 24/7 entertainment. We can spend weeks watching films on Netflix, days reading fiction books, hours trawling through social media. All of these things alter and effect the way we think about the world and what is right and wrong. If we want to avoid worldliness creeping into our lives, then we need to ensure that we spend time deepening our relationship with God. That comes through reading the Bible and prayer. As we do that, it is God’s word that shapes our thinking not the world. It will be God’s will that shapes our actions not the world. When God’s word loses its priority in your life you start a slippery slope towards worldliness and away from God. 

 

This is the reason that a sabbath is important. As humans we don’t just need physical rest, we need spiritual rest. It’s a day to focus on God and put aside the distractions of this world. Taking a sabbath day reminds us of our need for God. It’s a day to unplug from the world and to prioritise God. It’s a day in which we should be reminded of who God is and that He is in control of our lives. It’s a day a week in which we reorder and check the priorities of our lives. 

 

We have to question everything to ask if it is beneficial and edifying to our lives and walk with God. God intended us to enjoy life but within His design. He wants us to laugh and have fun but not at the expense of our relationship with Him. So, as you choose a film, pick a book, listen to music, select an outfit, ask the question, ‘Is this how God would want me to spend my time?’ We are called to be in the world so enjoy the amazing gifts God has given us but use them to point you back to God rather than draw you away from Him.

 

Finally, when we are born again, we are born into a new family. We have brothers and sisters in Christ so use those who have grown from little children to adults to help you grow. That will mean sharing your life and being open and honest with others, but it will be worth it as in love they seek to point you to Christ and away from the world. 

 

As Christians, we are God’s workmanship created for good works that God has prepared for us. So, we cannot hide away and live in Christian bubbles. God wants us in the world to bring light into the darkness, to seek to transform the culture we live in for God’s glory and honour. If the light disappears, darkness takes over. But as we seek to be light in the darkness, we need to constantly check the darkness isn’t putting out our light.

 

If you want to explore this topic more, I recommend two books:

·      Worldliness: Resisting the seduction of a fallen world by C J Mahaney

·      Plugged in by Daniel Strange

 

 

 

Prayer for today

 

Loving Heavenly Father,

 

We ask today that you would show us where we are loving the world and not loving you. Thank you that you sent your Son into this world to save us. May we be so captivated by your love that the desires of this world grow increasingly dim in comparison. 

 

We ask that today you will use us to shine you light into the darkness around us. Give us boldness and courage to speak of you to those we know who don’t yet know you.

 

We ask all this in Jesus’s name,

 

Amen

 

 

Song for today

You can listen and sing along here.

 

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move
A the impulse of Thy love
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee

 

Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only for my King
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee
Take my silver and my gold
Not a might would I withhold
Take my intellect and use
Every power as You choose

 

Take my will and make it Thine
It shall be no longer mine
Take my heart, it is Thine own
It shall be Thy royal throne
Take my love, my Lord I pour
At Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee

 

Here am I, all of me
Take my life, it's all for Thee

Photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash