Are You Deceived

• Hebrews 6:4–8- “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”

• 1 John 2:19- “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

2. Application

1. Again, Satan is out to deceive you at any point of belief in your life. Not simply major points of life, but minor ones as well. We must be so careful with our lives, our minds, our souls. Theology is not casual, nor marriage, nor your job, nor your recreation. “The Son of Man came to save people from their suicidal love affair with possessions (and every other idol) and to lead them into a kind of impossible obedience that displays the infinite worth of Jesus” -Piper.

2. Can we list some false teachers? False gospels? Get serious. T. D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar. Cults. A works gospel. A knowledge gospel. A Universal Gospel. The Social Gospel. Easy-believism. Bonhoeffer defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” Any tolerance of error regarding God’s revelation is a direct form of dishonor to Him. “For Thou hast magnified Thy word according to all Thy name” (Ps. 138:2) -MacArthur, Recently, however, while recovering from knee-replacement surgery, I decided to sample some of the current fare on TBN. From a therapeutic point of view it seemed a good choice: something more excruciating than the pain in my leg might distract me from the physical suffering of post-surgical trauma. And I suppose on that basis the strategy was effective.

3. Watch for slow slides and points of no return such as losses, heartbreak, suffering, theological missteps, in ourselves and others. Community is so important here. As a church we identify false doctrine, watch over each other, care for one another, and see the slips before there is a fall.

B. What do we make of it?

1. Lack of salvation. Perseverance of the saints. Distinguish between long-term, backsliding, forsaking. “Faith that fizzles before the finish was faulty from the first.”

2. Stop lying to yourself. Larry Layfield. Weep/PRAY

3. Warn/Evangelize

A. Closing illustration: The final question on the Sharing Jesus Without Fear: If you were wrong according to the beliefs you just affirmed, would you want to know it?