If a preacher or any Christian who is giving their testimony isn't eloquent or dynamic enough in their speaking, it is easy for people to tune out, or to think that they mustn't really know what they are talking about!
In film school, we learned that "the medium is the message." In other words, most people do not care WHAT is being said, but HOW it is being said.
And so, Paul warned the church to be wary of those leaders who sounded and looked really good, but what they taught was deceptive and would lead them astray...
(2 Corinthians 11:12-15) But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
From this we see:
- Satan can disguise himself to look like an angel of light (2 Cor.11:14)
- Satan's servants can disguise themselves to look righteous while actually being false teachers of deception (2 Cor.11:13-15)
Personal experience: all truth is God's truth! But a lot of false religions and cults are built on partial truths, taking bits from God's words and using them, while distorting and twisting the rest of it.
Like - "love your neighbor!" A cult could adopt that as one of their own beliefs. So then when someone comes along and hears that message, they might say, "Yes! That sounds so wonderful! That is so true! Therefore everything this particular group teaches must be true!"
But then as they get deeper into that cult, they slowly learn that whatever their leader says - has to be obeyed! And if the leader says, "In order to prove your love to your neighbor, you must have sex with me..." The followers are either so deceived and brainwashed that they do not recognize the lies, or by then they feel so trapped that they are too afraid to escape.
And most often when people do escape cults, they find that they cannot trust anyone or anything, and so, become very skeptical of anything deemed "truth".
Today's takeaway: a deception that churches can easily fall into is believing that God's grace is a free pass to sin. So all they focus on is God's love and any other fluffy teachings they can muster up, by choosing to only teach the "feel-good" Bible verses.
I've also seen the opposite reactions in some churches. They fear that if people hear about God's grace, then they will start to live in sin. So they very quickly talk about being judged for our sins when we stand before God. These are the type of churches who become legalistic in their attempts to maintain control of the congregation. This is also deceptive teaching.
As believers, we do need to know that when we sin - there will be consequences to these actions while here on earth. But as believers, we cannot lose our salvation, and we will not be judged for our sinful deeds - because these have all been forgiven and God chooses to remember them no more...
(Romans 6:1-23) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:1-2) Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
(Romans 8:31-39) What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Hebrews 10:10-25) By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”
He then says,
17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
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