Chapter 56
GOD’S WAY OR MAN’S WAY
Matthew 15:13-14
We begin our study with the following prayer,
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Father we ask You to please open our eyes, our ears and our hearts so we can truly see, hear and receive Your instruction. Holy Father please do not allow us to be only hearers of Your Word but please move upon us and cause us to be doers of Your Word. We ask this so that Your light, the light of the Holy Spirit, will shine through us and thus bring glory and honor to Your holy Name.
Amen
INTRODUCTION
We begin our study by reading the following verse from the theme of this chapter. Specifically, let us read from,
Matthew 15:13
[13] But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
To better understand the meaning and depth of what Jesus said in the above verse, it is best that we first review the context or setting under which He gave it. To accomplish this we will briefly review what was covered in the previous two chapters, which are chapters 54 and 55.
Let us recall that after the Pharisees and the scribes accused Jesus’ disciples for transgressing the traditions of the elders by their eating with unwashed hands, Jesus responded by making three major observations.
First, Jesus told the Pharisees and the scribes that they transgress God’s commandment to honor their father and mother by teaching the people to first obligate their finances for the support of the Temple and its ministers. By so doing this many people were not able to provide for the needs of their elderly father and/or mother. To refresh our memories let us read from,
Matthew 15:1-6
[1] Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, [2] “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” [3] He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? [4] For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.” [5] But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— [6] then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
Following this explanation of how the elders of the Jewish faith had transgressed God’s commandment with their traditions, Jesus made His second observation by pointing out that their actions and state of their hearts were previously foretold through the prophet Isaiah. To read what Jesus quoted to them let us now read from,
Matthew 15:7-9
[7] Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: [8] ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. [9] And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.””
Jesus’ third observation was made after He finished quoting Isaiah to the scribes and Pharisees. This time He addressed the issue of eating with unwashed hands. To read what He said let us go to,
Matthew 15:10-11
[10] When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: [11] Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Upon hearing all what Jesus said, the Bible tells us that the Pharisees and scribes were offended. We know this by reading what the disciples said to Jesus after He finished responding to the accusations made by these Jewish elders. To read what Jesus said we go to,
Matthew 15:12
[12] Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
Jesus responded to the disciple’s observation with the following statement,
Matthew 15:13
[13] But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
In other words, Jesus is teaching us that whatever was or is not of God will eventually be rooted up and destroyed. To expand upon this a bit more we will,
1. Review two Old Testament examples of what God did to root out that which was not planted by Him.
2. Quickly review the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
3. Review two New Testament exhortations that parallel the Old Testament examples of how God will uproot those things that are not planted by Him.
4. Close by reading God’s instruction to us on how to handle those who are trying to plant man’s ways within the church instead of His ways.
With the above introduction in mind let us now begin by reviewing,
TWO OLD TESTAMENT EXAMPLES
The examples we will review of how God rooted out those things that were not planted by Him are: (1) The use of unauthorized fire for the burning of incense, which is indicative of how man has a tendency to replace God’s commands with his own ways and (2) The defilement of the Old Testament Temple with foreign and/or strange gods.
We begin with the example of,
UNAUTHORIZED FIRE
When God instituted the Ceremonial Law He gave very specific instructions and commands on how the Israelites were to implement and perform the various sacrifices, festivals and Temple activities. In addition, He gave instruction for the fire that was to be used for the Table of Incense and the burnt offerings. To see this let us first read about how the Table of Incense was to be built and where, within the Temple, it was to be placed. To do this we begin by reading the specific instructions God gave for the
Construction of the Table of Incense
To do this let us read from,
Exodus 30:1-6
[1] “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. [2] A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. [3] And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. [4] Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. [5] You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. [6] And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you.
Notice that the Table of Incense was to be set before the veil in front of the Ark of the Covenant on top of which was the Mercy Seat.
As we read the Old Testament we find that it was upon the Mercy Seat where God’s Presence resided (Exodus 25:22). In the New Testament we discover that the burning of incense was symbolic of the people’s prayers to God (Revelation 5:8). Thus, the picture we have before us is that the Table of Incense was placed inside the Holy Temple right in front of the veil or curtain behind which was the place where the Presence of God resided. The incense, symbolic of the people’s prayers, was offered to God upon this altar.
With this in mind let us now read God’s specific instruction for the,
Use of the Table of Incense
To do this we continue reading from where we left off and read from,
Exodus 30:7-10
[7] “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.[8] And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. [9] You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. [10] And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … Each morning Aaron or his successor of the High Priesthood was the person to burn the incense, which represented the prayers of the people of Israel. Also note that this was to be done when he tended the lamps that were within the Temple.
8 … Aaron or his successor was also instructed to burn incense at twilight. In other words, day and night the incense was to be kept burning.
9a … Only authorized fire was to be used for the burning of the incense.
9b … Only incense was to be burned upon the Table of Incense. In other words, the Table of Incense was to be dedicated for the burning of incense, which was the symbolic offering of the people’s prayers.
10 … Because sinful man would be performing the burning and handling of the incense, once a year atonement was to be made for the purification of the table.
Let us now read God’s command for the
Burnt Offerings
For this study we will limit our reading to,
Leviticus 6:8-13
[8] Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [9] “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering: The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. [10] And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen trousers he shall put on his body, and take up the ashes of the burnt offering which the fire has consumed on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar. [11] Then he shall take off his garments, put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. [12] And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. [13] A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.
Notice that throughout the above set of Scriptures the Lord repeats over and over again that the fire was not to burn out. Specifically, the priests were to be sure to always keep the fire on the altar burning.
In reflecting upon the fact that God instructed the priests to not offer strange fire upon the altar of incense and that the fire on the altar of burnt offering was never to be extinguished, the question arises as to why not let it go out? I believe the answer to this question is that the fire to be used on the Table of Incense and the Table of the Burnt Offering was the fire God sent down from Heaven.
To see this, let us recall that after the Temple or Tent of Meeting was built, along with all of its furnishings, Moses consecrated Aaron and his sons to be priests for God. Immediately after their consecration Aaron and his sons offered the required offerings for the people. When they completed this task God sent fire down from Heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. This incredible event is recorded for us in,
Leviticus 9:24
[24] and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
I believe this was the authorized fire to be used for the Table of Incense and for the Table of the Burnt Offering. Thus, the fires on both tables were never allowed to be extinguished. Specifically, no other fire was to be used for the burning of incense or the burnt offerings.
Unfortunately, it was not very long after this event that Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, decided to take matter into their own hands and use ordinary fire in their incense lamps. To read this and what happened let us go to,
Leviticus 10:1-3
[1] Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. [2] So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. [3] And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke, saying: ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.’”
So Aaron held his peace.
Let us notice the following verses,
1 … Nadab and Abihu completely disregarded God’s specific commands to not offer strange or unauthorized fire before Him. Instead they did whatever seemed right to them. In other words, they chose not to follow God’s ways but did their own way, which is man’s way.
2 … As a consequence God rooted out the fire and those who were attempting to establish their own way of worshipping Him.
3 … God must be recognized and regarded as holy. In addition, He must and He will be glorified.
Our second Old Testament example is that of
FOREIGN OR STRANGE GODS
When God gave the Ten Commandments He was very clear that we are not to worship or follow after strange gods. In fact, this was the first commandment He gave to Moses. To read what He said let us go to,
Exodus 20:1-6
[1] And God spoke all these words, saying: [2] “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. [3] “You shall have no other gods before Me. [4] “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; [5] you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, [6] but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Unfortunately, it was not too long after God gave these commandments that the nation of Israel began to slip away from their pure and undivided worship of God and fell into idolatry. Over the years the Old Testament tells us that they strayed further and further away from God. They even polluted the Temple with their many handmade idols. Finally, God anointed Jehu, the son of the Jehoshaphat, to be king over Israel. God also commanded Jehu to root out the evil. To see this let us read from,
2 Kings 9:1-10
[1] And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. [2] Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. [3] Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” [4] So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. [5] And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” [6] Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. [7] You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel. [8] For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. [9] So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. [10] The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.’” And he opened the door and fled.
Let us notice the following verses,
1-6 … Elisha, a prophet of God, sent one of the prophets to anoint Jehu to be king over Israel.
7-10 … God through the prophet told Jehu to root out the evil from Israel. In particular he was to root out King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, who were the ones who were extremely instrumental in enticing Israel to worship and follow Baal and other false gods. In addition, he was also to cut off all of Ahab’s sons.
Further in the Old Testament, specifically in 2 Kings 10:1-30, we find that Jehu was obedient to God’s command and wiped out King Ahab, Jezebel, their sons and all the followers of Baal and other false gods. In other words, God, through Jehu, rooted out all those who were attempting to replace Him and the worship of Him with man’s false gods and forms of worship.
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
With these Old Testament examples in mind we now come to the message and warning for us. However, before we go into this let us quickly be reminded that we are no longer under the Old Testament covenant of sacrifices, feasts and Temple services. When Jesus Christ came He extended to us God’s Grace and Mercy. To see this let us read the following excerpt from the Gospel according to John.
John 1:14-17
[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” [16] And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. [17] For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
To expand upon this new covenant that God the Father has extended to us through Jesus Christ let us read the following excerpt from Apostle Paul’s letter to Titus.
Titus 3:3-9
[3] For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. [4] But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, [5] not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, [6] whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, [7] that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. [8] This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. [9] But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless.
Let us notice the following verses,
3 …All of us at one time or another were following and obeying our own selfish desires and foolishness.
4-6 … God the Son, Jesus Christ, came to save us from our sins and foolishness. He came not because of any acts or works of righteousness that we may have performed. No, God our Savior came because of His love for us. In other words, God loves us so much that not wanting us to spend eternity in Hell; He mercifully came to this earth as a man to save us from eternal punishment. So that our sins would be forgiven Jesus went to the cross to be crucified. He died, was buried and rose again to life. In other words, Jesus Christ made atonement for us to God the Father. In addition, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and the sacrifice He made to save us from our sins He also sends God the Holy Spirit to live and dwell within us. It is God the Holy Spirit who washes us and renews us to a new life in Jesus Christ.
7 … Now that we are justified or made righteous by God’s Grace (which is His unmerited favor towards us) we became heirs of eternal life with Him.
8 … Since we have been made new in the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit we are to be careful to avoid sin and give ourselves to acts of righteousness. To expand upon this a bit more let us read the following excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Romans.
Romans 6:13-14
[13] And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. [14] For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Now that we have fresh in our minds the essence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ let us now move on to the issue of those who pervert and/or accept a perversion of this Gospel of God’s gracious gift and mercy. Thus, we will now explore
TWO EXHORTATIONS TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO GOD
To do this we will explore,
1. The issue of a false worship or gospel.
2. The issue of preaching and/or accepting a counterfeit Jesus.
We begin with the issue of,
FALSE WORSHIP AND/OR A FALSE GOSPEL
In the New Testament the Holy Spirit condemns those who teach others a different or non Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ. This may include but certainly not be limited to a teaching that insists we must follow the law and its demands, such as the Law of Foods, circumcision, observe holy days, etc. to be saved. To receive a flavor of how God views this type of teaching let us read what the Holy Spirit, wrote through the hand of Paul, to the church in Galatia. By way of background the church in Galatia had been inundated by various teachers of the law stating that to be saved one must comply with the demands of the law, such as they must be circumcised. God the Holy Spirit’s view of this is clearly revealed to us in,
Galatians 1:6-9
[6] I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, [7] which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. [9] As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Let us notice the following verses,
6 … The Apostle Paul was stunned at how quickly some people in the church of Galatia were turning away from the pure and simple faith in Jesus Christ and what He accomplished for them upon the cross. As we will see later in the letter to the Colossians some of these people were including in their worship and teachings various works of law and methods to try and justify themselves before God. In essence, this type of teaching and action attempts to take away the glory God has in extending to us His Grace and Mercy. To see this let us consider what the Apostle Paul said with respect to his teaching and behavior. To do that let us read from,
Galatians 2:21
[21] I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Let us now return to chapter 1 of Paul’s letter to the Galatians and review verse,
7 … The Holy Spirit tells us that this type of perversion is not new. However, these type of errant teachings are designed by the evil one to pervert and nullify the Gospel (meaning the good news) of Jesus Christ.
8-9 … Notice what God the Holy Spirit says about those who teach or accept such things. Specifically, He says they be accursed, which is the rooting out. This type of teaching or doctrine along with its consequences is so serious that the Holy Spirit emphasized the point by repeating it two times.
With the above condemnation in mind let us read the following exhortation to remain steadfast in our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Colossians 2:16-23
[16] So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, [17] which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. [18] Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, [19] and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. [20] Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— [21] “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” [22] which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? [23] These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.
Let us notice the following verses,
16-17 … We are not to be enticed into serving or complying with the Old Testament Ceremonial Laws. Let us not forget that in the Book of Hebrews we are taught that these laws were shadows or a foreshadowing that pointed to the arrival of Jesus Christ.
18-19 … Let us be careful to not be enticed to try and make ourselves holy by pretending to be humble. We must never forget that we are sinners and it is only through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit are we made truly humble. Only the Holy Spirit and His fruits coming from within us is what puts to death our sinful nature. Nor are we to worship or pray to angels under the false notion that we are not worthy to worship and pray directly to God. Let us not forget that only Jesus Christ is our mediator or High Priest between us and God the Father. Consequently, in prayer and worship we, in Jesus’ name, are to come directly to God the Father. It is noted that by trying to go to God the Father through any other person or being is not only an insult to Jesus Christ and the sufferings He went through for our sake but it is also a rejection of God’s commands and ways.
20-21 … In other words, now that we have been born again in the Holy Spirit, are we still trying to comply with worldly or earthly traditions, such as do not touch, do not taste or do not handle to boast before God the Father on how good we are that we did not do these things?
22 … Remember, these things such as what we should or should not eat or what we should or should not drink, etc. are all according to the elementary teachings, traditions and doctrines imposed by man.
23 … We must never forget that all these manmade traditions are of no value to set us right before God the Father.
The above was an exhortation of what not to do. Let us now continue our reading in Paul’s letter to the Colossians and read what we are to do and the promised reward. It is given in,
Colossians 3:1-4
[1] If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. [2] Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Let us now move on to the issue of
STRANGE GODS
As we did with the problem of false worship and/or a false gospel let us read what the Holy Spirit has to say to those who attempt to bring into the church a false or a counterfeit Jesus. To do this let us go to,
2 John 7-11
[7] For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. [8] Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. [9] Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. [10] If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; [11] for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.
Let us notice the following verses,
7 … Anyone who denies the fact that God the Son, Jesus Christ, came in the body of a man is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8-9 … Whoever does not remain faithful to the Bible’s teaching about Jesus Christ, that is who He truly is and what He has done for us, does not have God.
To be sure that we correctly understand this teaching let us read the following excerpt from what Jesus once said to some of the Jews who believed in what He taught (John 8:30-31) but did not recognize or accept who He really was/is. Because they felt He was committing blasphemy, not only did they not accept the fact that Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God, but these Jews were determined to kill Him (John 8:37). The passage of interest for this study is when Jesus told them they were doing the deeds of their father, the devil. To read what He said let us go to,
John 8:41-47
[41]You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” [42] Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. [43] Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. [44] You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. [45] But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. [46] Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? [47] He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Let us notice the following verses,
41 … After Jesus told the Jews who wanted to kill Him, that they were doing the deeds of their father, they responded by saying that God was their Father.
42 … Jesus told these same Jews that God had sent Him and that if God was their Father, then they would love Him. This is the same today. All those who claim that God is their Father should and would love and adore Jesus Christ who is the second Person of the Holy Trinity.
44 … Jesus also told these Jews that their father was really the devil and their desire was to perform the devil’s will. In other words, He was identifying them as an antichrist. Again, this is that same for today.
45-46 … Jesus also told the Jews that He had spoken the truth and that no one could convict Him of sin. Jesus then said: “If this is so, “Why then do you not believe Me?””
47 … Only those who are of God hears God’s words. I believe the Bible also teaches us that not only those who are of God will hear God’s words but those who are of God will also speak His words. In other words, those who deny Jesus Christ from coming in the flesh and those who pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ are from the evil one and are an antichrist.
Let us now return to 2 John and expand upon verse,
10 … The Holy Spirit tells us to not receive, that is listen to or accept, teachings contrary to the Biblical teaching of Jesus Christ.
11 … Those who greet those who instruct or teach about a counterfeit Jesus participates in that evil work. In other words, they are either inadvertently or consciously condoning, or accepting and/or promoting a false and strange god.
Just as God sent Jehu to root out or destroy those who basically destroyed the Old Testament Temple of God and the people with the worship of false gods, He will also destroy those who destroy the New Testament Temple of God, which are the born again believers in Jesus Christ. To see this let us read from,
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
[16] Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? [17] If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
CLOSING
After reflecting upon what we have already covered, the question arises as to: “Is there anything or any action we should take against those who are teaching a false gospel or a counterfeit Jesus?”
Jesus gave us the answer to this question when He spoke to His disciples about the issue of the washing of hands. His instruction for them and now for us is provided in,
Matthew 15:14
[14] Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
Now the God of peace be with you all.
Shall We Pray?