False teachings Archives - My Manna

Crumbling Edge

MyManna — Mon, 05 Dec 2016 22:00:32 +0000

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” Romans 16:17.
Africa’s Victoria Falls produces a cloud of mist that is often heavy enough to impair visibility.

Once a man was walking the path that skirts the giant gorge, and he noticed a sign on the rim but could not make it out.

Not wanting to miss whatever it might be noting, he slithered and slid through the mud out to the very brink only to read the message:
“Danger! Crumbling Edge!”

As Christians, it can sometimes be easy to unwittingly miss the danger you’re in until you’ve gone too far.

This is especially true when it comes to right and wrong ideas of God.

You flip through the channels on TV at night and come across a preacher whose message sounds great at the beginning.

But when you really understand the kind of Gospel he’s preaching, you realize it may be very different from what the Bible teaches.
Sadly, many once-faithful followers of Christ have built their house on this “crumbling edge” of mistaken faith, and their whole spiritual life has fallen out from under them because they forgot to stand on the high ground of biblical truth.
So if you find yourself tempted to walk out into the heavy mist of dangerous doctrine where things may not seem as they should, watch out for the warning signs!

Stay grounded in the truth of Scripture.

Recognize when what’s being taught is not what the Bible teaches.

When you do that, you can be sure you’ll build your faith on the solid rock of good doctrine and not on the crumbling edge of bad theology.
Ask God to give you wisdom to discern between biblical and unbiblical teaching.

And when you do hear false doctrine, flee from it and cling to the truth of the Bible!

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Make sure it's not a trap!

MyManna — Fri, 20 May 2016 22:00:35 +0000

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16).
Nature provides us with an illustration-
– that closely parallels the insidious tactics employed by our adversary.
According to scientists-
Artic polar bears feed almost entirely on seals.
To enjoy such a meal-
– they sometimes resort to a cunning bit of trickery.
If the hole through which the seal gets his food is near the edge of the ice-
– the polar bear will take a deep breath and swim under water to its exact location.
Remaining below the surface-
– he will then make a tiny scratching sound, imitating a fish.
When the charmed seal hears this, he dives in for a quick supper, only to find himself suddenly entrapped in the huge, hungry embrace of his predator.
God has sent us forth as sheep among the wolves.
There are so many theories disguising themselves as godly.
We’re hungry for that meal.
But we must be wise enough to make sure it’s not a trap!
Keep reading and studying the Word of God!
Pray and ask Him to reveal His truth.
The enemy loves to tempt us with a ‘treat’ so he can devour us!
Don’t take anyone’s word but God’s!

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Validating a ministry

MyManna — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 16:00:24 +0000

Monday, 28 December 2015

“There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Peter 2:1).
What comes to mind when you hear the terms false prophets and false teachers?
Many people tend to thing of-
– Eastern mystics and gurus,
– the spokespersons for non-biblical religions or
– dynamic cult leaders…
– people who are recognizably outside the boundaries of the Christian church.
But the apostle Peter devoted an entire chapter in one of his letters (2 Peter 2) to false prophets and teachers who operate within the church.
False teachers may operate in our churches disguised as workers of righteousness.
Notice that the lure of false teachers is not primarily their doctrine:
“And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned” (v 2).
What does Peter mean by “follow their sensuality”?
He is talking about Christians who evaluate a ministry-
– based on the outward appearance and charm of its leaders.
They say:
“He’s such a nice guy”;
“She’s a very charismatic person”;
“He’s a real dynamic speaker”;
“She’s so sweet and sounds so sincere.”
But is physical attractiveness or a syrupy personality a biblical criterion for validating a ministry or a teacher?
Of course not!
The issue is always truth and righteousness .
A Christian leader should be identified by-
– his commitment to the truth, the Word of God,
– his righteous and holy life, and
– his servant’s heart and simple life style.
“Dear God, keep me from playing to the grandstand; I want only to live for You. Keep me accountable as a person of truth, righteousness, and love, ever fearful of discrediting Your name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
(PR)

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So be a student!

MyManna — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:00:42 +0000

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock” (Acts 20:29).
The story is told of an inspector who worked for the counterfeit department of currency.
His job was to detect the false currency from the real.
When asked if he spent a lot of time handling and examining counterfeit money, he said no.
He spent so much time handling the real thing that he could immediately detect the counterfeit.
The best way to detect what is false is to know what is true.
And I believe that if you have a good working knowledge of the Bible-
– then you will be able to detect the false rather quickly,
– because you are so familiar with the genuine article.
I have found that people who are into false teaching don’t seem to go out into the culture and win people to their convictions-
– because they are so weird.
Instead, they come into strong, growing churches and infiltrate their ranks, saying things like-
“Hey, do you want to get into the real deep things of God?
Do you want to really get into heavy-duty truth?
Then come over to this little meeting we are having.”
They go about their deception in a clandestine, secretive way.
The apostle Paul warned about false teachers who would creep into the church:
“For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).
We need to be equipped.
We need to be prepared.
We need to know the truth-
– because when we are conversant with the Word of God,
– we will recognize when something weird comes along.
We will be aware that it does not jive with Scripture.
So be a student of the Word of God.
(PR)

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