Who Are You Like When You Go To Worship?

Lk 15:1-2 - Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2 Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."  NASU

• Some Came To Listen 

You will notice that the tax collectors and sinners were coming to LISTEN to Him. What was Jesus going to say this day that was going to help change the lives of these tax collectors and sinners? Jesus will say on numerous occasions what we should be doing with our ears - Matt 11:15 - "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
 
Let him hear! In other words, we should be paying very strict attention when one is teaching the Word of God. Is it the truth or is this a lie? The New Testament warns us very plainly that not everyone who teaches the Bible is from God. 

• Some Came To Mislead 

Jesus said it this way in Matt 24:11 - "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many."  There were going to be many false prophets and their purpose is very clear that is to mislead you. Well, one has to ask. "Where am I trying to go?". The answer naturally would be we are trying to go to heaven. Where is this false prophet or teacher trying to lead me? I think you know the answer to that.
 
The apostle Peter said it this way in 2 Pet. 2:1 - But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
 
Peter gave testimony that it was true "false prophets" did come in among the people and destruction was the end result. When you read the NT you will notice that the apostles John and Paul likewise talked about "false prophets and teachers".
 
If you will remember when the devil was tempting Jesus in the wilderness he quoted the Word of God to Him. I have been a Christian for over 48 years and I can tell you I have heard a lot men and women misquote the Bible and I have even read more false teaching in books. 

• Some Of The Misleading Teachings 

Have you ever heard or read about the "Swoon Theory"?  In this theory Jesus didn't really die at His crucifixion. He simply went into an unconscious state when He was laid in the tomb. While in the coolness of the tomb He was able to be resuscitated. Therefore, He didn't really die for our sins nor was He resurrected.
 
Have you ever heard of the "Hallucination Theory"? The "hallucination theory" claims that Jesus' disciples all had "hallucinations" of Jesus being resurrected. In other words, they only thought they saw a resurrected Jesus.
 
Dr. Gary Collins says, the big problem with the "hallucination theory" is that no two people ever have the same hallucination.  In this situation we would have all the apostles plus more than 500 Christians (I Cor.15:6) who say they saw the resurrected Jesus. Therefore, over 500 people would be having the same "hallucination". I find it easier to believe the truth than lies.
 
There are many people who promote "false teachings" from the Word of God. I can only say this, "It is your duty to check for yourself what you are hearing to know if it is the truth or not".
 
I had one person tell me that water in a believer's baptism doesn't mean water. Years ago when I first became a Christian I would try to share with them how it did mean water and show them Biblical examples of people getting baptized.
 
In Acts 8:38-39 - And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away;…"
 
Now if they want to read that passage and tell me that the water is not water all I can say, "Is that is not my problem." There argument is with God not me.
 
If someone wants to believe the wrong things about baptism I leave them with, "Tell me how that works out for you". Paul said in the book of Philippians, "…work out your salvation with fear and trembling;…"
 
You will notice Paul says, "your salvation…"  You are responsible for getting yourself to heaven and I am responsible for getting myself to heaven. If you want to believe everything you hear without checking it out for yourself that is totally up to you.
 
Think About These:
 
There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
 
People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe. Andy Rooney

Stay Pumped, 

Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word