Lying Lies and the Liars Who Lie Them

Christians today are leaving the “faith once delivered to the saints” in droves. I have never seen the like. People are abandoning their place in the True Pharisee Church and joining the “mixed multitude” that celebrates the spirit of compromise so prevalent in carnal Christianity. Why are people deserting their dedication to the higher calling to be a sacred remnant? In a word – false teachers. The influence of evil teachers lures many weak God-fearing Christians into the clutches of conciliation with the world instead of practicing Biblical Separation. Let me state up front that it is the duty of every good Pharisee pastor to do the following:

• Identify false teachers by pointing out every single error in their ministries.
  
• Avoid these deceivers at all costs. Don’t buy their books. Don’t listen to their tapes and CDs. Don’t tune into their radio or TV broadcasts.
  
• Educate your church members about why they need to avoid them as well. Spend a significant portion of every sermon naming names and pointing out the error of their ways. Follow up with strong cautions against having anything to do with these non-Pharisee purveyors of deceit 
  

This column is too small to list all of the popular deceivers but suffice to say that if they are on the television, radio or are being sold in a Family Christian bookstore, the chances are pretty good that they are false teachers. The Bible says that man is a liar -- "with their tongues they have used deceit" (Romans 3:13). Paul proclaimed, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." Jeremiah says man's heart is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). It should be abundantly clear that all men are liars. It is only by God’s grace and my superior spiritual fortitude that my fellow Pharisee pastors and I have overcome this egregious human flaw. Generally, if someone who is not a sound Bible-believing Pharisee says something then it is most likely a lie. If a Pharisee says it, then it is most assuredly true.  

Even more dangerous than the lies that theses false teachers tell, is their spirit of deception. Many folks are taken in by their apparent sincerity and seeming devotion to God. But see what the Bible says about such teachers: "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works" (2 Cor. 11:13-15). A calculated deception on their part is that they appear to be honest, truth-loving folks. These spiritual hustlers are not going to come to you and say, “I am a liar and am trying to deceive you.” Instead, they will try to convince you of their earnest dedication to the Lord and how much they love God. Undoubtedly, some of these folks may be sincere but they are sincerely deceived if they hold to false doctrine.  

And this is the greatest danger of false teachers: they lie. They lie to others; they even lie to themselves. Of these Paul said, "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13). This is even more insidious than their lies to us. It is one thing for them to try to deceive their followers but they are lying to each other and believing one another’s lies. They are deceived by their own deception. What’s worse, they are so deceived that they don’t even know they are deceived. Unlike us wise Pharisees who have had our eyes opened to the Truth of God’s word, we are under no delusions that we are deceived. We know the Truth and we know with utmost certainty that we know the truth. False teachers may think they know the Truth for certain, but they lack the discernment we have to recognize that they are thoroughly deceived by their own error. 

Every good Pharisee knows and teaches that God demands that His people separate from false teachers. The Bible tells us, "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Romans 16:17,18) Let me illustrate the depth of their perversion and dishonesty. False teachers would say that our strict practice of separation fosters division and that we are the ones Paul is warning against in this verse. The truth is that Pharisees are not the ones who cause division by separating from false teachers. Because false teachers insist on teaching their heresies, the Bible forces us to separate from them. They are causing the division by not holding to the truth like us good Pharisee churches. 

And why should Christians be so concerned about being lured into falsehood? It is because the stakes are so high. Just look at the cost to Christians who mingle their pure faith with those who would sprinkle just a tiny little bit of error into it:

• They lose their part in the Bride of Christ – this relegates them to being mere “guests” at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb mentioned in Revelation 19. This is a loss of heavenly status making them nothing more than second-class believers in God’s coming Kingdom. And those of us who are True Christians recognize that status in this life and are forced to treat them as the carnal Christians that they are. It is our job to “leave Issachar alone because he has joined himself to idols” in a manner of speaking. Shunning second-class carnal Christians is how we help maintain our purity of faith.
  
• They lose their influence with God – God stops listening to their prayers after they corrupt their faith with the world’s error. And not only does he stop listening but he also stops answering prayers. One of the chief causes that Christians don’t get their prayers answered is that they have an impure faith that countenances corrupting convictions instead of maintaining their doctrinal purity. So not only do they lose blessings in the life to come but they lose them here on earth as well. “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you” the book of I Corinthians tells us because they lack the doctrinal purity God requires.
  
• They destroy their testimonies – These Christians who fail to dot every i and cross every t correctly have no real influence in the world. They are unable to evangelize successfully. They stick out like a sore thumb to a world that is desperately craving doctrinal purity. The trouble is that they are also prone to lead the unbelieving into the same error they have fallen into and are giving reassurances to people that their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life when really they are consigned to eternal fiery torment. Absolute doctrinal purity is an essential for entrance into heaven and those who don’t have it will be sorely disappointed in the Day of Judgment when they are denied admittance to the Kingdom.
  
  

Every good Pharisee should make sure that they maintain a pure faith by listening only to Pharisee preachers, reading only Pharisee authors and going only to Pharisee churches. We all know better than to attend any church that is not of the Pharisee denomination but we sometimes forget that para-church ministries are every bit as evil and insidious as their denominational counterparts. This is why good Pharisees don’t send their dollars to World Vision, don’t attend Promise Keepers rallies, don’t work with Habitat for Humanity, and never listen to Focus on the Family.


Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10 (NIV)
Gamaliel/rjp

 

- posted by rick @ 9:27 PM