“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” Matthew 7:15
Isn’t this such a beautiful quote and such a good summary of a Godly woman? This morning a friend of mine posted this and I thought it was so nice. I had never heard of Margaret Dyrend Nadauld before and after doing some research found out that she was a big mover and shaker in the Mormon Church. I was duped! I got tricked! In all my biblical knowledge and church attending I was caught in being not discerning. When I first read it, I thought it was great and true. Don’t get me wrong… all of these attributes are true and probably things I could learn from. The danger comes in when there is no foundation and when it strays from the Word of God. I am not an expert at this and as much as I would love to give you tips and tricks to avoid false teaching, I can’t. All I can say is be careful where you get your information, make sure scripture is specifically referenced in the text or talk, know the bible, and move through bible study in an expositional way; instead of jumping around and reading isolated verses at a time and a blurb on someone else’s interpretation of it.
John MacArthur said it so perfectly in his sermon “The Danger of False Teaching “You see, the people of the world love false teaching as opposed to the truth because it’s all a part of the system to which they belong. Do you understand that? I mean, the whole world, as my grandfather used to say, is divided between the saints and the aints. And the saints love the Word of God and the aints love the word of Satan, and the whole system of false religion is the word of Satan. They’re the children of the devil. They buy the line of the devil. They operate on the world, the flesh and the devil. So give them a religion that’s Satanically inspired, they’ll buy into it. It will go like wild fire, like gangrene….And what does it demand? You remember…you see what it demands, diligence, or excellence. It demands a desire to be approved by God not men. And it demands that you be a workman, a craftsman, that you know your craft, that you have the kind of preparation that allows you to study. We’re craftsman who handle the Word of God, we better be….The danger of false teaching, it ruins the people who listen…it shames the people who teach…it increases ungodliness…and it spreads like gangrene. Fifthly, it overturns the faith of some…it overturns the faith of some.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, I still like this poster. I know it is a quote and not intended to be a sermon. But I still wouldn’t put it up in my daughter’s bedroom, or teach this to her as encouragement. Why? Because it was written by someone outside of the faith and who believes and follows a different bible and a different Jesus. While I think it is fine to read it and appreciate it for what it is, don’t Deuteronomy 11:18 this one. 🙂 False teaching is a slippery slope. I don’t want to become familiar with hearing nuggets of bad truth or callused to teachers from false religions. I want to cling to God’s Holy Word. If my hands are full of God’s Word I can’t grasp anything else. If my Heart is strengthened and filled with God’s Word, nothing can fit in or penetrate. That is how I want to be.
Proverbs says so much about sin and false teaching like don’t go near her door (Proverbs 5:8), and that only evil and wicked people listen to them (Proverbs 17:4), The safe and conservative thing is to throw this poster out and burn it, just because it is a slippery slope and false teachers are so severely warned against in scripture. If that is what scripture says, I know there is safety and blessing in adhering to it.
How does that apply to interpersonal relationships though? I’m sure you’ve got lots of friends and family who aren’t the sort of Christian that you are, so how do you decide how to listen to people? Must get tricksy.
I suppose I think that one of the nicer attributes of the different faiths around the world is how often you encounter thematic commonality. I don’t think it has to be so binary as Satan-lovers or -haters..particularly when so many of us don’t even believe he exists. :/ I’d rather just exist in the most peaceful world possible, and if I’m making it less so I’d like to think it’s my fault rather than the devil’s.
Sorry if I’m sounding contentious–I’m not intending to, I just don’t understand things sometimes.
Hi Lanna!
I read your comment and think it to be a great question. How do we know who to listen to? After all, not knowing the answer to that question can potentially put your life at risk, and at the very least cause you to alienate people and cost you friends.
The best way that I have found is to trust the one that is only truth and can only give us truth… God himself. The only way we know what He has to say has been revealed through His Word, the Bible. Without going into the overwhelming scientific evidence to support its historical accuracy and the overwhelming evidence to support its innerancy and trustworthiness or in fallibility, for now I will just say it takes a powerful being to discern all truth.
1 John4:2-3 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.
It’s very simple any who proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ (we are dead in sin and at war with God; it is not that we sin, but that we can do nothing but sin; but God demonstrated His love toward us in Christ that if we repent and turn from our wicked ways; He will save us, because God looked on Him as Me and punished Him for my crimes and now God sees me as His son, not because of our merit, but His grace, and we are passed from life into death to live with Him) are those who we should listen to. The rest are feeding half truths and lies. I believe that it is not a coincidence that all faiths share a common theme, It scares me as to how every lie does contain some part of the original truth. Beware!
It is not as simple as Satan lovers and haters. But it IS as simple as Christ lovers and Christ haters.
Know I say this out of compassion and a spirit of empathy, because and it is confusing and there are so many philosophies. However there is only 1 kind of Christian those who do Believe and follow the whole Gospel (see above), and those who do not, and the world will be divided to life and to death on These grounds.
1 John 5:19-21, “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
Much love to you, hope it clears things up a bit, and that we can still be cousins 🙂