majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in 2 Corinthians 11:13-16,
"For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as
apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an
angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade
as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions
deserve."
Paul spoke these words about those who were preaching "a Jesus other
than the Jesus we preached", brought "a different spirit from the one
you received" and came with "a different gospel from the one you
accepted". It is not difficult to see, and you don't have to look far,
to know that those who do these things are here among us and very
active these days. Just turn on the television, the radio or visit a
church just around the block from you and there they are. Denying the
deity of Jesus Christ or performing fake miracles or dispensing what
they think passes for the Holy Spirit (whatever it is, there is
nothing "holy" about it) or denying the gospel message of salvation by
faith or simply inventing strange and foreign doctrines and theologies
through a twisting of the Scriptures. These folks were around in
Paul's day and, as nothing has changed, they are around today with
millions following them. The following they garner provides an
appearance of acceptability, they engage in all kinds of "good works",
feeding the children, helping in disasters and all, but make no
mistake about it, "Their end will be what their actions deserve." It
is all, very simply, evil. They have perverted the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
This is what strikes my heart this morning. The writer of Hebrews
tells us that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God, Hebrews 10:31. Where these folks have brought in
multitudes of followers, have filled their ministry's bank accounts,
have taken their message across the nation and to other countries,
they will nevertheless face the wrath of God Almighty. God has chosen
to allow these people to pursue their activities in this life, just as
he did in Paul's day, but their judgment is coming. How frightful is
that? Far be it from any of us to find ourselves on the business end
of God's wrath. Although these folks appear to be doing "the Lord's
work" they will be facing the wrath of his anger and receiving what
their actions deserve.
Whatever happened to the concept of the fear of the Lord? As I watch
these folks and think of what is coming their way, the dominant
thought that comes to my mind is, don't they realize what they are
bringing on themselves? Fame and fortune may be theirs in this life,
but how short sided that is! An eternity is awaiting us all. Paradise
or a fiery lake of burning sulfur...
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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