Beware of false prophets,
who come to you
in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they
are ravenous wolves.
You will know them
by their fruits....
Not everyone who
says to Me,
'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom
of heaven, but he who does
the will of My
Father in heaven.
Matthew 7:15,16a,21
We are told to test our preachers and teachers by their fruit. We are to test preacher or teacher by their fruits and by the fruit of their doctrine. A preacher or teacher may have beautiful personal fruits and yet have a doctrine that if worked out all that is to be found is a doctrine of the Devil and the fruit of that Devilish doctrine will be seen in the fruit of the disciples. The opposite may be true where their doctrine may be sound and their personal fruits are rotten. When a person's eyes have been taken off Jesus Christ then a pious pretense will change the focus on to themselves; the light of God will become the darkness of Satan: "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1John 1:7). The fruit of the Spirit is expounded upon more than the gifts of the Spirit. Unfortunately, many churches focus on the gifts of the Spirit as most important when it is the fruit of the Spirit, or the fruit that is derived from the gifts of the Spirit that should be highlighted in the Church and in people's lives: "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit...I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:1,5). ONe huge danger in the Church today, especially those Churches that highlight spiritual gifts is that of contemplative worship: that is, to empty oneself in meditation, a supposed Higher Christian Life, a movement that teaches a method of holing oneself up in secret contemplative thought and to be alone with God. There are times for private prayer, not an emptying of one's mind, to attempt to drag down from heaven the kingdom of God, rather a private time to communicate with God. To become associated in communication with God, prayer is necessary, and Bible reading for the Bible holds the universal facts of how we are to live and worship God.
Labels! Everything seems to have labels, we even label wars; i.e., Desert Storm, with its own music, we brand events, people, and we wear labels. One label worn by some is that of our testimony, we live it, we wear it as some badge as though this is a sign of Christianity, but Jesus never used the the word, testify, He used the word to confess. Those two words are not to be confounded for it is easy to testify, it is harder to confess: "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Many wear the label of spiritual gifts, and even state that they raise the dead, heal people of inflictions and diseases, just buy a cloth, or note, or something of that holds special powers, even they speak in some gibberish, unintelligible tongue, or do good works, for these things are done so as to testify of who they are; a Christian. Jesus does not speak of such things, we are to confess Him, and then wear the badge of our confession, and our confession is known by our works, those things that proceed because we confess our Savior Jesus Christ. Our lives must bear evidence of our confession in every detail. Many preach of those things that are supernatural, euphoric and exciting and speak that the devils are subject to them and teach that others can have this subjection of devils as well; but this is not what Jesus commends, for it is our relationship with Him that is our confession, our badge, our life, it is our relationship with Him in our public, private life in every detail. It is demanded that we live as His disciples. Many talk about their religion, the works that are supernatural, and they talk much about the Devil, but it is not the Devil that hinders our confession so much, to hinder us spiritually, it is our inattention, and our not living intentionally for our Savior. It is our understanding of the Bible and the requirements laid out for believers in the Bible that come from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that make the Bible and its teaching to be real in our lives.
We will be tested, by things of this world, the flesh, and the Devil, and the only way we can stand the test is if we are founded on the Bible, it is the Bible that is our foundation, our ground. We don't just appreciate the sayings of Jesus, we convert, not that conversion saves us, but conversion is necessary and our salvation comes only by the free gift of faith, we are regenerated by God, that gives us the power to choose Him and once that we have chosen Him by the power of the Holy Spirit He will preserve us: "who are kept by the power of God, through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time..that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire,may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1Peter 1:5,7).
Yes, to wear this badge of your true confession to our Savior Jesus Christ will label you as fanatical, but it is not to be fanatical over things that are practiced by many Churches that are fanatical but not Scriptural. We are fanatics because we live according to God's word, we apply His principles in our lives, those things that are in opposition to the world, but are healthy for those who are being drawn to Him. What is your foundation? Do you hold tight to those things, those teachings that are fanatical and seemingly supernatural, or are you simply confessing Jesus Christ, living according to His word? It is those "sign" gifts that are so importantly displayed in many Churches as though these "signs" are the badge of true Christianity. Are they? The next blogs will examine those "sign" gifts Scripturally. We began by looking at the Church located in Corinth, the city, the customs, the people, and the from that examination we find the reason why Paul had to address many misuse and practices that were being performed by the Corinthian Church that were as labels of Christianity but were not taught by God's Word.
Then the righteous will shine
forth as the sun in the
kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears to hear,
let him hear!
Matthew 13:43
Our Savior has all authority--Rejoice
Richard L. Crumb
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