Don't Get Lost Along The Way

A lie is not effective unless it sounds like the truth. None of us are stupid. If someone was to tell you that you could win a million dollars by writing a letter to Santa you are not going to believe it. But if someone were to tell you that you could win a million dollars by entering a contest you would believe them. You don't know anything about the contest but you know that there have been similar things that have happened in the past so you believe. It may be a complete scam where people are just gathering personal information from people who enter but you believe the lie in the hopes of winning a million dollars. The lie has the appearance of truth.

We live in an age of lies in the guise of truth. Some lies have been with us for so long that people don't even blink any more, it is simply accepted. The whole earth is being won over by fine sounding arguments, especially in the West. We seem to have "sucker" written all over us. If a famous actor states it as truth we gobble it up. When scientists state it as fact we treat it as a given. We are like sponges, sucking up whatever is offered to us, and passing it on to our children. Our society is falling apart put we hold on to the lies as a captain holds on to his sinking ship.

Followers of Jesus have no excuse. We have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit so truth is always in front of us. When something is stated as truth in the world we are able to test it against God's truth and all lies are revealed. It should be simple accept that the Word of God is under attack and has been for years. Many people are "interpreting" it to meet their own agenda. They want it to be more popular to the world, to be more attractive, to be accepted in certain circles. It is nothing new. Even in the age of when the Word was being given there were attempts to manipulate it. This is the reason Apostle Paul wrote:

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. (Colossians 2:4)

Paul worked tirelessly to get the truth into the hands of Jesus' followers. He warned time and again that there were people who wanted to twist the Word and use it to manipulate people. Paul worked to keep people on course but he warned:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. (1 Timothy 4:1)

This is happening just as much in the Church as it is happening in the world. It is the reason we should take head to Paul's warning to Timothy:

Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

Most of us know better than to pass on those silly stories that we receive in our email but do we know enough not to pass on lies about God? Are we sponges or do we hold up to the Word of God what we are being taught? Do we know the Word well enough for ourselves to recognize a lie? Are we paying attention to the Spirit so we are not led astray? Too many of us seek the council of men over the council of the Word. Too many are being led back into rebellion by lies dressed up as truth. But we are without excuse.

Make it your purpose this new year to spend more time in the Word of God and less filling your mind with lies. Make it your purpose to check your doctrine, making sure it is truth so that others will hear the truth from you and not something watered down. We are not here to fit into society. We are here to carry the light of Jesus Christ into the darkness. Don't get lost along the way.