We’ve lived through a time where people took countless precautions to guard themselves from a virus that swept the globe. People naturally try to protect themselves from danger. They wear seatbelts while driving, they keep fresh batteries in their smoke detectors, and more and more, people are trying to be cautious about the things they consume. And these may be wise measures to guard against physical harm and illness, but they are insufficient to protect you against spiritual detriment.
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in Jn. 17:3, and it reads – “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Eternal life is equated to knowing none other than the true God of heaven, and it is found through none other than the true Jesus Christ. But many times over, a spiritual plague has also circled the globe that distorts the image of the one true God and His Son. Heretical opinions and viewpoints are like a virus with many variants. They infect more speedily than any physical illness, and because they distort the only means to eternal life they are more deadly than any pandemic. A mask won’t protect you from heresy, hand sanitizer won’t save you, and a vaccine against it cannot be created by man. We are all susceptible to contracting heretical views of God and Christ, and they are all around us.
Sadly, there are many in our day who have given up on church fellowship altogether out of fear of the physical virus. They are still cruising along through life, but they are doing so without the safety belt that fellowship with the saints provides. They have thrown spiritual caution to the wind, for the sake of their physical well-being. In Acts 20:28 the Apostle Paul instructs the ministers saying – “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (NASB) God’s ministers are called to guard the flock, but they will have great difficulty doing so for those who have left the fold. Let’s remember what these ministers are called to protect the flock against. It is not physical illness, or physical danger, or physical harm – It is from heretical and spiritual carnage that they strive to protect you from. The Apostle Paul continues in Acts 20:29 – “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.”
The members of Christ’s church are in constant danger from the heretical savage wolves (who speak perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves – Acts 20:30). We can’t rid the world of the danger of heresies, but we can take precautions against them. Like a smoke detector that needs fresh batteries to ensure the alarm will sound when you need it, we all need constant refreshing in the truth. We need to constantly sit under the sound teaching of the Word, so that when we hear something false about the true God, and His Christ, sirens will go off in our minds. We also need to be more careful about the things that we spiritually consume. Literature abounds about what physical foods can be harmful for us to consume, and it is common for people to adjust their diets accordingly. But when it comes to spiritual foods people are a lot less discerning. Unfortunately, many people have traded the pulpit at church on Sunday, for sermons and programs they can find on the internet or on the television. Sadly, many of these are the very mediums where heresies are streaming into our homes and our minds. Surely, there are good things out there – But you need to know that the vast majority of what is out there is not what will lead you down the narrow road, and through the narrow gate.
The many wolves out there twist the message about the true God and the Gospel of His Christ so much, that if you constantly consume what they have to offer, you will find yourself consumed by their heresies in the end. O, don’t be like those who take every precaution to guard their physical lives, but neglect their precious souls. Don’t be ignorant to Satan’s schemes, but rather recognize the danger and devote yourself to the safety only found in the consumption of the truth.
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