Secretly Introduced

Wednesday, November 07, 2012, 6:17 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me this morning with the song “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Peter 2 (NIV 1984):

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping...

They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Destructive Heresies

A heresy is “an opinion or belief that contradicts established religious teaching, especially one that is officially condemned by a religious authority” (Encarta). In Biblical terms, a heresy would be a belief or teaching that directly contradicts the revealed word of God in scripture, in particular under the New Covenant relationship between God and his people, and would be “officially condemned” by God himself. See Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV 1984):

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”

So, what is the gospel they first heard and accepted? Jesus’ first sermon was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” And, at some point he added, “Believe the good news!” Peter’s first and second sermons called on the people to repent of their sins, for the forgiveness of sins, and for them to turn to God. Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. He said if we want to hold on to (save) our own lives (our lives of sin) then we will lose them for eternity, but if we willingly lose our lives (die to sin and self) for him, we will save our lives for eternity (see Luke 9:23-24).

John, in 1 John, makes it quite clear that saving faith follows Jesus Christ/God in obedience, does not continue in a sinful lifestyle, and loves others with God’s love. And Paul made it quite clear in Ephesians 4 that coming to Christ means abandoning our former lives of sin, being transformed in heart and mind (the working of the Holy Spirit) and putting on our new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness (see vv. 17-24). All this is the working of the Holy Spirit of God and of God’s grace in our lives, as we cooperate fully with that work. Even the ability to believe is a gift of God’s grace.

Two Extremes

I see two extremes of this “heresy” at work in the Christian faith and practice. One is legalism, which adds external requirements to our salvation, such as having to follow a certain set of religious practices or rituals, customs, or traditions of men. These can include the requirement for attending a religious service on a Sunday morning once a week or else we are accused of not assembling ourselves with other believers, or we are accused of not participating fully in the body of Christ. The scriptures under the New Covenant do not require that we keep one day holy over another, but it does not forbid it, either, for those who feel it necessary for themselves, as long as they are not adding that burden onto other believers who have been set free from such requirements.

And, there are many more such external requirements of men that are being passed down from generation to generation that are considered holy and sacred when they are not. Some of them have to do with customs and traditions of men, and others have to do with religious practices and rituals instituted of men that people consider sacred. Yet, Jesus Christ (God) does not dwell in buildings built by men, and institutions of men called “church” are not in themselves “church.” The sanctuary of God is not in a physical building, but is in the hearts of believers in Jesus Christ, and we can now worship God in spirit and in truth 24/7 regardless of location or day of the week. We can meet with the body of Christ anywhere, anytime. The early church met daily and from house to house and in the temple courts.

The other extreme of this “heresy” that I see in today’s church is that of a diluted gospel that is only half-true and is thus a lie, and its purpose is to attract the world to the “church” (institutions of men), and so it is watered down to make it more attractive and palatable to its listeners. They teach, either by commission or omission, that Jesus Christ does it all and nothing is required of us – no death to self or sin, no repentance, no obedience - and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, suggesting he is pleased when we sin.

They reduce the response to the gospel to nothing more than a prayer of acknowledgement of being a sinner, of what Jesus Christ did for us in dying on the cross for our sins, and of our need for Jesus to save us, and to give us eternal life with God and a home in heaven. Yet, nothing is said of the need to turn from our sins, to be transformed into new creatures, and of our need to walk humbly in obedience to Jesus Christ, dying daily to self and sin. So, for those who adhere to such a false gospel, they are given a false hope of eternity with God and are left in their sins. That is no hope at all, and it surely is not the true gospel and is thus “heresy” of the worst kind, because it sends people straight to hell on the hope of heaven. Oh, how wrong! They are promised freedom from the penalty of sin, but they are not taught that true freedom is freedom from slavery to sin, which is why Jesus Christ died.

The False Teachers

So many people think of false teachers as those in extreme or cultic religions, yet they exist in vast numbers within our evangelical churches in America and often go unnoticed. They are liars, deceivers, actors and manipulators who prey on the naïve and new believers, in particular. This passage of scripture says they have left the straight way and have wandered off to follow the ways of wickedness. They mouth empty (of the truth of the gospel), and boastful words, and they appeal to the lustful (fleshly) desires of sinful human nature. This speaks volumes of what is going on in many of our institutional churches today, which have turned to the ways of the world to attract the world, but to what? - A cleaned up version of what the world has to offer, but not to Jesus Christ or to the true gospel. The true gospel is an offense to those who are perishing because it smells of death (see 2 Co. 2:14-16).

Not only that, but it says here that they (the false teachers) had previously escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but they allowed themselves to be entangled and overcome by the corruption of the world all over again.

“They are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’” (2 Peter 2:20b-22 NIV 1984)

Many will Follow

I am continually amazed at the number of professing followers of Christ who follow after these false teachers of the gospel, many even after being confronted with the reality that they are listening to and/or are adhering to a diluted and thus false gospel.

“For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Co. 11:4 NIV 1984).

Though most of today’s passage is directed against these false teachers of the gospel, there are many, many scriptures which rebuke followers of Christ for putting up with false teaching, warning them to come out from them (unbelievers) and to be separate, and to follow the way of truth; and to expose these evil practices and lies of Satan instead of ignoring them and/or even supporting them (see Eph. 5:11-12).

Where are You?

So, where are you today? Are you presently teaching or adhering to a false gospel of men, whether on the extreme of legalism or that of liberalism? Or, are you in the word of God daily, studying what it teaches, searching out the scriptures, praying, obeying, and seeking God’s face to know the truth? Or are you content allowing a man (or a woman) to teach you what God’s words says, and thus opening yourself up to the possibility that you may be following cleverly invented stories (lies) of men, disguised as truth? Or, are you a seeker of truth?

This passage of scripture should serve both as an encouragement and as a warning to us to make sure that what we are following and believing is indeed the truth of God’s word, so we know we are not buying into, supporting and maybe even passing along a false gospel to others. It should also serve to encourage and to warn us against continuing to follow false teachers or a false gospel after having become knowledgeable of the fact. We need to come out from them (unbelievers) and be separate, and we need to start following the truth and rejecting and exposing the lies, so that we are not deceived and led astray and so we don’t lead others astray, too. For what fellowship is there between light and darkness? And, we need to put our complete faith in Jesus Christ and in the true gospel.

Jesus, I am Resting, Resting / Jean Sophia Pigott / 1845-1882

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power,

Thou hast made me whole.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

O, how marvelous Thy goodness,

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings:

Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting ‘neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth’s dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father’s glory,

Sunshine of my Father’s face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting,

Fill me with Thy grace.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.