False Prophets

How important is it to God for us to stand against the false prophets? Should we rather be silent, or should we speak against them?

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NKJV

“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 NKJV

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord , if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

God takes it very seriously, and so should we. The wrath of God is being poured out against them and they are storing up wrath for the day of judgment.

Romans 2:5 NKJV

But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Jude 1:4 NKJV

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are to be separated from the world.

Deuteronomy 18:10-14 NKJV

There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or  one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord , and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.

Expose them and have nothing to do with them for those who are not sent by God are sent from Satan, and he only comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

Ephesians 5:11-13 NKJV

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

Today

It is never too late for us to return to God. His call is constant, His love unfailing, and His forgiveness complete. He simply desires us to turn to Him with our whole heart. The price is already paid for every sin we have ever committed, and all we have to do is trust Him to perform according to His Word.

The hardest thing for us to do is to see our self for who we really are. So many of us are so calloused and disillusioned that we think we are just fine without Him, but we aren't. Our depravity is deep, and permeates every aspect of our lives. Before we can turn to God with our whole heart, we must realize we need Him. We must see our shortcomings and failures for what they really are. They are wretched, damaging, and hurtful to everyone around us, yet alone our selves, and there is nothing we can do of our own accord to change them. If there were, we would not need a Savior and Jesus would not had to have given His life to redeem us.

If God is calling you, tugging on your heart, do not let the guilt and shame of the realization of the thing you have done keep you from turning to Him for healing. He forgives you, He loves you, and He already knows all that you have done. Today can be the day of your salvation. Today can be the day that you are set free from all of the pain, guilt, shame, and failure. Today you can turn to the Lord, call on His great Name, and trust Him to do what we cannot do of our own accord.

Think about it. Does it hurt bad enough yet? How much more must you, and more importantly your loved ones, endure before it does hurt bad enough. There is no short cut. There is no other way. There are more "self-help" programs and ideas in the world today than ever before, and the violence and divorce rates continue to climb at exponential rates. If the world had the answer, this would not be. There is one answer, and one name which we can be saved from our great depravity. Jesus of Nazareth, God come in the flesh to His people to offer life, and life more abundantly.

Is Telling the Truth Judging?

There is such confusion on this topic. The general consensus is that if you offend somebody, then you are judging them. This is a lie. If somebody gets offended, it is not because you have judged them. Let us look at simple application.

If I tell lies, then I am a liar. That is simple truth. If a person tells me that it is not alright to lie, and that I should be honest, such truths do not present judgement from them. These are simple truths. If that person proceeds to condemn me for being a liar, then they are passing judgement on me. It is true that if I have lied, then I am indeed a liar. After all, if you lie once, then you are a liar. Whether it is justified in our eyes, a "white-lie", an omission, or a "bold-face" lie is completely irrelevant.

Another example would be if I was committing adultery. If I am with my friend, who knows that I am being unfaithful to my wife, and he tells me that I am in the wrong for what I am doing, this does not imply that he is judging me. Because my friend loves me and wants the best for me, he is telling me the truth. He is right. I should not be cheating on my wife and having an affair. He loves me enough to tell me me the truth.

However, an outside person may attack me out of anger and not love. Whether they have a vested interest in my wife, or whatever their validation is in the situation, they feel they have the right to condemn me. This is judgement and not truth. It is true that I am an adulterer and cheater, but the consequences, extent, and/or impact of these truths is not for someone else to depict to me.

We must speak truth to people. If it offends someone, that is because they feel guilty. That has nothing do to with being judged. In fact, that means the Holy Spirit is bring conviction within them, and has nothing to do with the speaker. Here is another example. If someone is speaking to me and telling me how it is wrong to cheat on your wife, there is nothing wrong with this conversation. He is more than welcome to speak as he pleases. In fact, if I am faithful to my wife I might find myself agreeing with him throughout the conversation. However, if I am a cheater I will be offended by his discourse and may end up wanting to defend the stance of an adulterer.

If I have nothing to defend, then what is spoken will not offend. However, if I have something to defend, if I am wrong and I know it, then I will be offended. If I feel attacked because the person has such strong feelings on a subject, and this is something I do, then I will be offended. A person can only be offended if they take what is being spoken personally. If what is being said is not about us, then how can it offend us?

We must speak truth, which is not judging, but we must bring truth and light into the world.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
- Matthew 5:14

But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.
- Ephesians 5:13

If we speak truth, as we are commanded to, then we will offend. There are no two ways about it. If we are cowardly, and afraid to offend, then we are not able to be salt or light.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
- Matthew 5:13

TRUTH WILL OFFEND!! DON'T THINK IT WON'T. IF WE ARE NOT OFFENDING PEOPLE, THEN WE MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER HOW MUCH WE ARE ABIDING IN TRUTH. AS WE ARE LIGHT AND SALT, BEARING THE TRUTH, LET US DO SO IN HUMILITY AND MEEKNESS. DO NOT FEAR BELOVED. BE STRONG, BE COURAGEOUS, FOR THE LORD IS WITH YOU.