True Christianity Vs. the World’s Deceptions

True Christianity Vs. the World’s Deceptions  Kelly Durant 7-7-24

 

Colossians 2:6-8

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

 

2. Haven’t you always wondered about cults? People who follow a leader so much so that they will die for them? A few cults emerged in the past decades and centuries, but what about the cult mentality today? Are people any different today in blindly accepting any information the world feeds them and then they are fanatical to promote it? Do we see people today following illogical, radical, and destructive ideologies? A resounding, yes! The world has gone in the way of hate with riots and burning all in their path just because they don’t get their philosophy, laws, agendas, politics or person in power! 

 

What comes to most minds when we think of unChristlike worldly deceived people (as in Col. 2:6-8) are the radical terrorists who are willing to kill their own selves so they can kill a few others as well hoping to impose their way by fear tactics! It is a clash of religion, politics, and philosophy as they classify as enemies those who disagree with them. The practice of having a radical dedication to a perverted leader or ideology, a rudiment of the world, has been around ever since the formation of empires and monarchies, such as the case of Egypt, Babylon, Rome, and the rest. Could it be people are the same today and are blindly enslaved supporting erroneous leaders and precepts presented to them by the perverse powers of this world? Sadly, yes! 

 

What causes people to become loyal to an evil power and cruel positions? To me the answer seems very obvious: any person not worshipping the true God Jehovah and His Son Jesus Christ will always have their worship directed to another, and that almost always is for a demon or a political authority! Most all governments claim to have some supreme spiritual power connected to them, so the common people get deceived easily as they have no discernment being blind to the depth of the evil they follow. Evil is always masked to the ignorant masses as a noble cause of ‘social justice’. Helping the poor, or defeating an oppressive race or power, is often the subject to entice a person to malignantly label and hate another. Next, loyalty to an evil entity ensues and destruction is carried out in word and in deeds! 

 

3. People that become radical and worship despotic leaders are often forced or bribed into it. Usually, the punishment for not hailing the current Cesar as your god is severe, such as disenfranchisement, blackballing, or even execution. Under Communist regimes, under theocracies, and under all dictatorships, which covers most all of the world throughout time, the punishment is imprisonment or death for not respecting and worshipping the governing authorities and their senseless rules. When you are converted with Jesus, you no longer desire these traditions of the world and these abusive pollical systems.

 

In Nazi German, Adolf Eichmann devised a psychological system (with electric shocks) in which people were willing to harm others if only by being pushed by voices from peers to do so. He discovered that people would over-ride their common sense, violate their own principles of morality, and do horrific damage to another human being, and all it took was an outside person egging them on. And we know what horrors the Nazis accomplished! Today we have the same type of evil climate influencing our people today and the evidence of this is seen by all the violence and hate coming out of the news outlets and rioters. Colleges no longer debate including all ideas and philosophies which should include Christianity. They vehemently discriminate against Biblical moral principles, so the result is Satan’s practices incrementally keep on dominating. We need God’s traditions, not the destructive divisive ones of man! 

 

This is the world, and the people of the world that we know will always go along with the most animalistic and carnal of human emotions which includes vices, hate, envy, violence, and pride.  So, what do we do about these influences and those affected by them? We must resist and expose evil with God’s truths, ‘Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye(we) have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving’. Pray to not get your emotions played upon! Because these people have no moral or logical arguments, they use emotions!

 

4. If you are a Christian you are aware that you are in a battle (we express it as a “war cry”) to not conform to this world, but rather we are transformed by the renewing of our minds in Christ. (Romans 12:1, 2) The verses that speak the loudest about this are found in Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 

How is the way of the rulers of darkness of this world? The world offers us leaders participating in all kinds of perversions, liberalism, thievery, and abuse of power. The leaders of the world will do whatever it takes to keep their position and power, even killing anyone exposing their injustices and exploitations. In our country we witness this! So, our concerns are against these dark spiritual powers that rule in this world. Jesus offered us the kingdom of God as a way to free those captives with Jesus Christ!

 

And this leads me up to churches and sects that are spiritually oppressive as well, the ones that are compromised in their traditions and practices. We should be concerned to expose and resist those that are leading others to hell instead of to heaven by their practices, doctrines, and philosophies. They appear authentic but they are not!

 

5. It is sad that as much good as our Salvation Army church offers that there is always a majority group of people that will come and go and not appreciate the goodness, the holiness, and the blessings they could obtain if they would stay and learn of God’s love and then start doing their part for God and others. The deceptive notion is that one can take all you want and never ask yourself if it is moral, fair, or pleasing to God. People often manipulate sympathy and have souls unconverted.

 

Just think how many people have taken advantage of the Christian systems throughout the years, they come for material gain, which God gives to share, but then they take things and run trying to be sure they will not have to have any commitment to anything. Sadly, these types of people could have many more blessings learning God’s Word, but they miss the mark. They are deceived to believe they do not need God. 

 

Those that take ‘what they can’ attitude reminds me of Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of stew! His father had a big blessing planned for him but before he would receive it, he despised it and offered to trade it away cheap for just a bowl of stew with his brother, Jacob. What an expose of the mentality and disloyalty of some people today as they prefer the material over the spiritual! What short sightedness, unthankfulness, and poverty! Do you see it? How people deceive their own selves? Also, self-deceived persons are easily deceived by another!

 

6. How sad it is that today in the world there are a lot of people that expect you to just do things for them, that you should just give them things, just because you are considered to be compassionate, and you owe it to them. I grew up learning that everything you get you must earn and work for. Didn’t Jesus compare serving God to working in the harvest?  (Lk 9:29) How ludicrous to think one deserves a reward or payment for nothing in return, to reap where you have not sewn.

 

What is disappointing about the vain deceit and attitudes of the world is how so many ignorant people disrespect the church and the honest Christians serving God. Imagine, being a part of one of the largest most effective charity in the U.S. and a majority of the people instead of wanting to share in the work of God are actually mocking God when they just take again and again thinking they never need to be thankful, faithful, honor God and be pure in heart to give back and help someone else. The deception to not honor God is from Satan’s vain deceit! 

 

Notice as well the contrasts between the humble and vain churches that deceive. Here people can contact the Officers/pastors to visit and talk with them when the please setting a time. But damaged by the world Christians often prefer the mega church pastors where one can hardly ever get to consult with the pastors when needed. Deceived by the world’s bad examples of the practices of Christianity these people think that if they can talk to the big shot, then they must not really be in a valid elite place. Yeah, right! Unavailable wealthy pastors with private jets and ‘feel good’ messages are the condemned hirelings Jesus warned us about! (See John 10)

  

7. The deception being taught in several churches today is philosophy, vain deceit, the traditions of men and good advice, which is not straight from the Word of God! People have become spoiled to believe their sacrifice for God is to have to show up to church on Sunday and give money. Worshipping together should be taken as a blessing but love must be practiced everyday 24/7 or our Christianity is in vain.

 

Vs 8 ‘Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ’. Apart from all things already mentioned, the traditions of men are the repetitive meaningless rituals, and this is what is killing people from worshipping God in “spirit and in truth”. Many are leaving the church, and this is why! Some indeed want His Spirit and truth and if they are not getting it…it is either the pastor, the people in the flock, or the doctrine at fault. May the Lord help you and me to be free from error, too much tradition, and modern-day practices of deceptions!

 

Christianity is a lifestyle of love, obedience, and service, not a feel-good club where one gets supported by the members no matter your sins and disobedience. So many bad examples exist that many people deduct that what Christianity is…is a self-serving entertainment club!

 

8. So for us that have studied God’s word, those of us who know better, it is on us to be the role model of what a true loving Christian is! I beg you, ask God if your faith is real? Ask yourself, am I deluded by my own ideas of what church and the practice of faith is all about? If you study God’s word you will learn the truth and not be deceived.

 

We must fight against deceptions, we should expose wrongdoing by the people of the world and by the people in the false churches. Only by doing God’s will can we provoke others see the light that we are proclaiming holiness, the opposite of them! The evil out there is real!

 

All people without God are first deceived by something or someone. It takes a miracle of God and the Holy Spirit power to wake up a person, so they see the reality of their spiritual poverty and their need for Jesus and His healing love. Pray for your friends and relatives to ‘wake up’!

(See 1 John 4, to try the spirits!)

 

9. And now for your conviction to be on guard I will leave you with a William Booth quote: "I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be .... religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell."

 

You and I, being aware of Satan’s devices, must be aggressive and defend the real faith of Jesus Christ. We are in a spiritual battle that is getting more and more intense as each year goes by. Pray to be God’s instrument! Will you save souls from the deceptions of the world? Will you expose this world’s deceptions so others can see it is either God or the Devil one is serving? Do it for Jesus and the salvation of souls, He expects it of you!