Friends, I have a serious message for you today! I must get this point across.
It is very heavy on my heart, and this burden will not be lifted until I have finished this blog. It is about us as believers being easily deceived.

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:3

I attended a church where the congregation was taught, and believed, that: 1. there is no such thing as sin, and we are all born good, 2. we can choose to live in heaven or hell during this life, 3. since God is life, it means we are already whole, lacking nothing, and 4. we (all people) have a Christ nature, and every person has the potential to express the perfection of Christ, and 5. they are not focused so much on the death of Jesus as on his life, because he did not relieve man of the necessity of working out our own salvation, but his example and teachings show people the way.
These teachings are FALSE!
As this congregation was being led in ‘prayer’ down the river of consciousness by their pastor, I was worshipping Jesus and praying in His powerful name over the deception that these people so easily believed.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
1 John 4:1

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.”
2 Corinthians 11:13-14

I had a woman pastor tell me the other day that we are all born children of God, and that all we need to do is use our free will and obey Him. She said, “We are not born sinners, but are born into a sinful world. We learn how to sin. That’s nurture vs. nature. We are not adopted by God, because we are all already His children.”
This teaching is FALSE!

My heart is just sinking into despair as I read and write these words! This is a version of what the world’s pastors, those that are deceived by the lukewarm lies of our enemy, are teaching us!

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Matthew 7:21-23

How can we know what is the truth? How can we protect ourselves from an untruth, a lie that sounds close to what we believe, and is more relevant to today’s thought? Is it possible to know what is THE truth and not a white-washed, glossy, soft teaching?

“Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
John 18:37-38a

The truth is: Jesus.
The way to get to know and understand Jesus: The Word of God.

The only way to prevent this deception and accept false teaching of weak, worldly doctrines from happening to you is to be reading in the Word of God every day. Pray before and after, asking that the Holy Spirit stir in your heart and mind what God is saying to YOU within those words. Compare this to what you’re being taught or what you read in social media, or what the world expects you to believe. In the Word of God is only truth. He will reward you with wisdom as you glean from it.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

Just know that one day the evil one and his minions will have to pay for their actions. This is written down in black and white, and has been foretold for millennia:
“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
Revelation 12:9

Our time for understanding followed by action has come!!
Pick up your Bible. Pray. Read it. Pray. Act on it.
We as followers of Jesus need to know what His purpose was and is, what His teachings were and are, who He was and is, and what He asks us to do as a result.
Do not let the wishy-washy ways and watered-down beliefs of some christians mislead you or cause you to stray from the truth of the gospel.
It might have a negative effect on your life, just as it did on the serpent’s.

Food for thought: Questions to ask yourself:
Do you believe the Bible is 100% factual or has many metaphors?
Do you believe that we are all born sinful?
Do you believe that God would send good people to hell?

Fun facts: 1. Telling the truth can improve your health. 2. 60% of people lie at least once during a10-minute conversation. 3. People are more likely to believe a lie if it supports what they believe about our world.

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – The Negative of a Snake in the Lake.