By Smooth Talk and Flattery They Deceive

Romans 16:17-20 ESV

 

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

 

Those Who Cause Divisions

 

I know that I must sound like a broken record, but it is a very serious situation the church is in today here in America. So much of the church has gone the way of the world and they have turned the gatherings of the church into a marketplace to be marketed to the people of the world. And so many of them have altered the meaning and the purpose of the church and they have diluted the gospel to appeal to the people of the world.

 

And so “church” gatherings are nothing more than businesses of men being run by men and their marketing schemes, in many cases. For they are a blend of the world and the true church and big business and the state and church denominations. And the Holy Spirit has been silenced or pushed out in favor of books and movies written by mere mortals who are blending the Scriptures in with humanistic philosophy and with foreign religions.

 

Therefore, they have also diluted and altered the gospel of Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable to the world and to human flesh. So, they have largely removed God’s requirements for repentance, obedience, and submission to him as Lord and Savior. And they are teaching that we can keep living in sin and still have our sins forgiven and still have the hope of heaven when we die. And they put God’s stamp of approval on this.

 

And this is creating obstacles to true faith in Jesus Christ which promises forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God to the believer in Jesus who repents of his sin and who walks in obedience to the Lord. Thus, many people are professing faith in Jesus Christ, convinced that all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future) and that heaven awaits them when they die while they continue living in deliberate and habitual sin.

 

Contrary to the Doctrine

 

But this is contrary to the doctrine that we all should have been taught, if we were taught the truth that is in Christ Jesus which says to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (see Ephesians 4:17-24).

 

This is contrary to the teachings of Jesus when he said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For, he said that if we save (hold on to) our lives (of living in sin and for self) that we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives (die to sin and to self) for the sake of Christ, then we will live with him for eternity (see Luke 9:23-26; cf. Romans 8:1-17).

 

This is contrary to the teaching that says that the grace of God instructs us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, which are the works God prepared for us to walk in (Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:10).

 

And it is contrary to the teaching that says that by faith we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him now free from our slavery to sin and now free to become slaves of God and of his righteousness in the power of God. And it is contrary to the teaching that says we must forsake our sins and follow Jesus in obedience if we will inherit eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10).

 

Wise to what is Good and Innocent to what is Evil

 

Not everyone who calls himself a pastor or a preacher or a minister of the gospel is of God. Many charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing and the deceived are filling church pulpits today and are teaching and preaching and writing books and are producing memes on social media in the name of God but which are contrary to the divine nature of God and to his written Word.

 

They know how to manipulate and to sway people to follow them and their lies for they are clever deceivers and charmers who by smooth talk and flattery deceive the hearts of the naïve and those who want to embrace the lies, for the lies give them permission to keep on living in their sin. They claim to be servants of God but they do not serve God but their own fleshly appetites.

 

So, we need to wise up and realize that not everyone is who he says he is, and not everyone who calls himself a minister of the gospel is one. And we need to be those who test the Spirits in prayer and in the study of God’s word in context to make certain of who is teaching the truth and who are the ones who are teaching and spreading lies. For we need to be aware that evil is being spoken of as good, and good is being spoken of as evil today.

 

Therefore, we need to be students of the Scriptures so that we can discern evil from good, and so that we can see, by the Spirit, these subtle lies which are being inserted into the gospel so that we can reject them and so that we can call them out so that others do not believe them. For we need to be telling people the truth of the gospel as opposed to the lies and we need to be exposing the lies so that others do not follow the lies but so they believe and they follow the truth.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

He Touched My Mouth  

 

An Original Work / June 13, 2012

Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9

 

Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His throne,

High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!

The earth is full of His glory.

“Woe to me,” I cried,

“I’m of unclean lips.”

 

My Lord touched my mouth

With His cleansing pow’r;

Removed all my guilt, paid for by His blood.

He asked, “Whom shall I send;

Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

Before I was born, God set me apart;

He appointed me to His servant be.

I said, “I don’t know how to speak.

I am but a child.” Then, the Lord replied:

 

“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’

You must go to all and do what I say.

Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”

My Lord touched my mouth;

Gave me words to say.

 

https://vimeo.com/114929183