Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer is a beautiful expression of dependence on the Lord and His truth, and I thank God for the hunger for holiness and discernment that runs through it. It is right to thank Him for His light and truth to lead us, for drawing us to Jesus, for opening our eyes to believe in Christ, for faith in His blood that cleanses from all sin, for the healing accomplished by His wounds, for His resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit who gives life and helps us.
You asked how God guards us from deception, whether by the Word, by prayer, by faithful preaching and teaching, by gathering together, by fellowship and by praise. The answer is that God uses all of these. He sanctifies us by His truth, and His Word is truth. When that Word is handled carefully and rightly, when we give close attention both to our lives and to what we teach, when we continue in prayer and in fellowship with other believers who walk in the light, and when we test what we hear, we are kept from being led astray. Staying in the light together, with no hidden sin or hidden deception, is one of the great protections God has given.
Scripture warns us often about false prophets and false teachers, and the warnings help us know what to watch for. They do not come wearing a label. They come looking like sheep, and that is why Jesus said to beware of them. One of the reasons they are so deceptive is that they often speak much that is true. If everything they said were obviously false, no one would listen. Their error is mixed with truth, which makes it harder to discern.
God has given us ways to recognize them. One test is whether what they claim to speak in the name of the Lord actually comes to pass. If it does not, we are to mark that. Another mark is the use of persuasive, empty words to exploit people, and a repeated emphasis on money. Scripture says they will make merchandise of people with feigned words. A further mark is the message itself. They offer false security and comfort people in their sin instead of calling them to repentance and to Jesus, who alone is our hope of salvation. They say what people want to hear, often with great promises, and keep them from taking seriously the call to holiness.
The most important test is what they teach about Jesus Christ and what fruit their ministry bears. We are told not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out. The central question is whether they abide in the doctrine of Christ, that Jesus is God come in the flesh, one with the Father, the Son of God who alone saves. Whoever does not remain in that teaching does not have God, while the one who remains in it has both the Father and the Son. Any teaching that presents another Jesus or another gospel, or that suggests we can rebel against God's commands and still live, is not from God. Those ideas have their source in deceiving spirits and their consciences become hardened to the truth.
In contrast, solid teaching unfolds the Word plainly, calls us to turn from sin, and shows itself in a life that matches the message. That is why we are urged to hide the Word in our hearts so we will not sin, to keep watch and pray so we do not enter into temptation, and to ask the Father to keep us from the evil one. He is able to keep us on a path of increasing clarity and to perfect what concerns us. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, and yet Scripture also says we do not have because we do not ask. It is right, then, to ask Him for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord, for a pure heart, for separation from what defiles, and for obedience made complete in the fear of Him.
I join you in praying for what you have asked. May the Lord wash and sanctify you by the water of His Word, keep you from sin and from temptation, guard you from false believers and deceivers and from every lying doctrine, and restrain evil according to His purposes. May He grant you contentment in place of greed, help you walk in the light as He is in the light, keep your whole body full of light with no dark part, and give you grace to stay alert and to stand before the Son of Man. May He teach you to fear Him, to be wise and to win souls and lead many to righteousness, and may the peace of God guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus as you continue in fellowship, in the Word, and in prayer.
You asked how God guards us from deception, whether by the Word, by prayer, by faithful preaching and teaching, by gathering together, by fellowship and by praise. The answer is that God uses all of these. He sanctifies us by His truth, and His Word is truth. When that Word is handled carefully and rightly, when we give close attention both to our lives and to what we teach, when we continue in prayer and in fellowship with other believers who walk in the light, and when we test what we hear, we are kept from being led astray. Staying in the light together, with no hidden sin or hidden deception, is one of the great protections God has given.
Scripture warns us often about false prophets and false teachers, and the warnings help us know what to watch for. They do not come wearing a label. They come looking like sheep, and that is why Jesus said to beware of them. One of the reasons they are so deceptive is that they often speak much that is true. If everything they said were obviously false, no one would listen. Their error is mixed with truth, which makes it harder to discern.
God has given us ways to recognize them. One test is whether what they claim to speak in the name of the Lord actually comes to pass. If it does not, we are to mark that. Another mark is the use of persuasive, empty words to exploit people, and a repeated emphasis on money. Scripture says they will make merchandise of people with feigned words. A further mark is the message itself. They offer false security and comfort people in their sin instead of calling them to repentance and to Jesus, who alone is our hope of salvation. They say what people want to hear, often with great promises, and keep them from taking seriously the call to holiness.
The most important test is what they teach about Jesus Christ and what fruit their ministry bears. We are told not to believe every spirit but to test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out. The central question is whether they abide in the doctrine of Christ, that Jesus is God come in the flesh, one with the Father, the Son of God who alone saves. Whoever does not remain in that teaching does not have God, while the one who remains in it has both the Father and the Son. Any teaching that presents another Jesus or another gospel, or that suggests we can rebel against God's commands and still live, is not from God. Those ideas have their source in deceiving spirits and their consciences become hardened to the truth.
In contrast, solid teaching unfolds the Word plainly, calls us to turn from sin, and shows itself in a life that matches the message. That is why we are urged to hide the Word in our hearts so we will not sin, to keep watch and pray so we do not enter into temptation, and to ask the Father to keep us from the evil one. He is able to keep us on a path of increasing clarity and to perfect what concerns us. He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion, and yet Scripture also says we do not have because we do not ask. It is right, then, to ask Him for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord, for a pure heart, for separation from what defiles, and for obedience made complete in the fear of Him.
I join you in praying for what you have asked. May the Lord wash and sanctify you by the water of His Word, keep you from sin and from temptation, guard you from false believers and deceivers and from every lying doctrine, and restrain evil according to His purposes. May He grant you contentment in place of greed, help you walk in the light as He is in the light, keep your whole body full of light with no dark part, and give you grace to stay alert and to stand before the Son of Man. May He teach you to fear Him, to be wise and to win souls and lead many to righteousness, and may the peace of God guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus as you continue in fellowship, in the Word, and in prayer.
