Damnable Heresies...

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ( 2 Peter 2:1)

The Apostle Peter warned us, that just as there were false Prophets who led the congregation astray, time and again, in the Old Testament, in our times we would have their counterpart, false teachers.

God’s people can only live on Truth, “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by everyWord that comes from the mouth of God…”. Therefore false prophets are devastating. They are the “blind guides, leading the blind into the pit”, which jesus warned us of.

Peter went so far as to call their teachings “Damnable heresies”! This is how serious the situation really is, a matter of heaven or hell. To believe for instance, that Jesus is not God, or somehow less than God, is a mortal sin. One cannot go to heaven believing such a lie.

To go after the “Word of Faith ” teachers and accept the premise that we are all “little gods” made in the Image of the only true God, is to forfeit one’s soul forever. One cannot expect to go to heaven believing the serpent’s lie in the garden, that “ye shall be as gods”.

It is very difficult in this day and age of moral relativism, for people to understand that a person can be damned for holding to a wrong belief. But it is true. It is a sin to hold the wrong belief about the person of Jesus Christ.

Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (2 John 8-9)

People operate under a basic assumption that as long as one is “sincere” , it doesn’t matter if you are off on your beliefs about God, Christ, Salvation, it really doesn’t matter. That in itself is a deception. All of the Apostles of Jesus insist that we hold fast to the teaching of Christ, and never depart from it.

This is why Jesus appointed “…Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists Pastor’s and Teachers”, to safeguard the flock which he purchased with His own blood.

To the apostle Peter, the false prophets of the Old Testament, have their counterpart in the false teachers in our time. The Greek word for “false teachers” is “Pseudodidaskaloi”. Pseudo (false) teachers, , bringing in a false Word.

Jeremiah exposed the False prophets in his day, by the Holy Spirit, and vividly described the very essence of what it means to be a false prophet;

I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness; they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah….They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. (Jeremiah 23:14, 17)

I cannot find a better description of a current false doctrine , absolutely enthralling churches around the world, and leading millions of the blind into the pit of hell, assuring those who should have no assurance, and running interference , blocking out the very conviction of the Holy Spirit which otherwise might have snatched souls out of the fire.

I speak of Unconditional Security, also known popularly as “Once saved, always saved”. We will look at some of these issues in the days ahead…

The essence of a false teacher or prophet is this, they give false confidence to people who do not fear God, assuring them in some way that they don’t have anything to fear, that they are right with God (when they aren’t) and they tell people that in effect despise the LORD, that they still have peace with God.

I cannot find a better description of a current false doctrine , absolutely enthralling churches around the world, and leading millions of the blind into the pit of hell, assuring those who should have no assurance, and running interference , blocking out the very conviction of the Holy Spirit which otherwise might have snatched souls out of the fire.

I speak of Unconditional Security, also known popularly as “Once saved, always saved”. We will look at some of these issues in the days ahead…
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

Jeremiah, Catholic chapter six, Protestant verses thirteen to fifteen,

as authorized, but not authored, by King James

Word of Faith teaches you are little Gods. They teach since Christ rose from the dead and was “born again” you too are born again and can be like God. You can speak health and wealth into existence. Failure to do so is only because of your lack of faith. The best way to show your faith? Of course is to plant a seed offering.

R.C. Sproul wrote a little pamphlet entitled "Can I loose my salvation?", and both he and John MacArthur have talked about it in numerous sermons. Conceptually, it is both deeply complex and, at the same time, simple. It is this dance of the complex and that which is straightforward, that leads to the confusion onto which, false teachers cling to find their relevance.

As I understand it, salvation is a sovereign act of grace. We bring absolutely nothing to the table. ALL the glory belongs to God. This is at the heart of the Doctrine of Election. That none are drawn to Him, but those which He hath chosen. That we cannot even, of our own volition, choose Him. We are that dead (see Jeremiah) in our sin.

Further, if I understand the doctrine of election correctly, all who are drawn to him in repentence (ask for mercy) are forgiven. And all who are justified (forgiven), will be sanctified (a process). And all who are sanctified, will be glorified in that day. But how will you know if you are, or anyone is? This is what we all must be asking ourselves. What kind of soil are we? Are we the 'good soil'? Was this coming to Him for forgiveness a real act of the heart demonstrating that we have been given a new heart?

Ultimately, we are called upon to 'examine ourselves' that we are in Christ. It is a deeply personal examination. It is our responsibility to do that examination. I think the short version is the veracity of the cry for mercy. That is : Does it embody the hurt, the shame, the guilt, one feels when one really thinks about how evil one is, or has been. If you ask for mercy with this in mind, He promises to grant it. Trust in that.

I cannot find a better description of a current false doctrine , absolutely enthralling churches around the world, and leading millions of the blind into the pit of hell...

Amen. It's the apostasy and iniquity we were warned to expect in the latter days, IMHO.

Simply read Christ's instructions to the seven churches at the beginning of the book of Revelation, chp 2-3, any who doubt this to be the case.

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