Every day, all around us, people are in process of being led astray by false teachers, false teachings, and clinging to false hope. The New Testament warns in every book of the importance of not allowing oneself to succumb to these prevailing influences.
There are many dire warnings throughout the New Testament concerning false teachers. Jude had the aim of writing a letter of encouragement with the tone being positive and the theme being the common salvation believers shared through Christ. But, he writes instead in vs. 3-4, “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, which long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is striking how quickly after the inception of Christianity that false teaching and false teachers spread like wildfire. However, it makes perfect sense when you consider that Satan knew he could be most effective if nipping Christianity in the bud before it really took off.
In the modern world with radio, television, the internet, books, magazines, email, etc. people are still being led astray by the evil one. He is influencing this world in wicked ways and leading it down paths previous generations of people could never have fathomed in their wildest dreams. But the basic truth is still valid that John so appropriately stated in 1 John 5:19 “And the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” If John wrote those words 2000 years ago, it is no less true today.
This world is made up of scores of nations, organizations, political parties, factions, institutions, etc. But, in the most ultimate sense, there are only two realms. There is the realm of God and the realm of Satan. Neither the realm of God nor the realm of Satan have changed since the dawn of time, nor will this change until the events prophesied in Revelation come to pass when Satan is cast into the lake of fire. Satan’s current realm is identified as “this world” in Scripture, and John tells his readers rather bluntly that the whole “world” lies under its sway. Therefore it is reasonable to expect this worldly manner of thinking and subsequent actions out of those who are a part of that which is Satan’s realm - the territory he “sways.”
Examples are all around us. When we see the God-given institution of marriage under attack by those who consider marriage equality to be anything they claim it to be; when we see unborn children killed and discarded like refuse so the “already born” don’t have to be inconvenienced and can go on living “their” lives “their” way and continuing their promiscuous sexual behavior; when the rights of criminals are elevated above those of the victims of their crimes; when mass murder is blamed on the tools used (guns) and not the depraved people pulling the trigger; when the nobility of work is downplayed in favor of cries for entitlement benefits then we know the world is turned upside down. This may seem new, but it is not. These are simply some of the latest manifestations of the infallible truth this world lies under the sway of Satan.
The prophet Isaiah, wrote to the eighth-century B.C. Israelites of God’s coming judgment on their immoral and idolatrous lifestyles. His words are particularly pointed in 5:20-21 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” He could have just as easily made a speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol this afternoon and quoted verbatim what he wrote nearly 2800 years ago and it would have been spot-on accurate! What about even further back in time? In the days of Noah, about 2400 B.C. and right before God destroyed the earth with a worldwide flood, God gave the reason for this cataclysm. In Gen. 6:5 we read “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually.” The problem of evil is literally older than the hills!
For a person to come to Christ as Savior, it is not as simple as coming to a firm decision as to how you will spend Sunday mornings from this point forward. It is a matter of which of the two “realms” you will henceforth be a part of. Will it be the realm of God or the realm of Satan (this world)? Interestingly enough a person is automatically a part of this world, unless or until, he/she expresses sorrow for their sinfulness and identification with the world and receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. God’s Son, is the only bridge from one realm to the other. John 14:6 tells us He is “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” and that “No one comes to the Father except through Him.” The good news is that we can come, but the bad news is that the sway of Satan in this world is so strong and he has been so clever in crafting his deceptions that, the vast majority of people, have been fooled by him and will continue being fooled right up until their earthly death. Romans 1 speaks of how mankind “Became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to become wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man.” (Rom. 1:21b-23a) In the eyes of the world, serving itself is job one!
John ends the epistle of 1 John with the appeal “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (5:21) The problem for mankind is that he has made idols out of nearly everything and in his mind has always found a way to justify doing so. The culture described in Romans 1 is the one which has become submersed in idolatry. At its core, idolatry is ascribing honor to something God alone deserves. For instance, in this culture, sex has been made an idol instead of worshiping the God who gave sex, as a gift to mankind. Money has been made an idol instead of worshiping the God Who gave the gift of money. Physical beauty is worshiped as an idol instead of worshiping the one who gave the gift of beauty. Whatever good gifts God has given, mankind has eventually found a way to abuse, distort, and pervert.
To a world immersed in false hope, idolatry, and rejection of its Creator and firmly in the grasp of the evil one, John writes “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20) During the days of creation, God brought order out of chaos and in this world, through Jesus Christ, He is still forming order out of the chaos!
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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