March 28th Daily Devotion

20 Feb March 28th Daily Devotion

 A SERIES OF DEVOTIONS BASED ON PETER’S SECOND LETTER  

FALSE TEACHERS – PART I

2 Peter 2:1-2 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”

Today’s devotional verses address the need for you, a Christian, to be observant and discerning. They say, “there will be false teachers among you.”  There are no conditional words.  There are no might’s or maybe’s.  There will be false teachers in the world.

The deviousness of false teaching is normally it enters into the church and among Christians “secretly.”  Satan is behind false teaching.  That should be of no surprise to you in that the Bible says of him, “he is the father of lies.” (John 8:44)  He was so bold as to misquote, misuse, and twist God’s word in his temptations of Jesus in the wilderness.  He is not above doing the same with you.

The challenge with false teaching is it often makes a lot of sense to the human mind.  It can be logical and practical.  It only changes, adds, or deletes a few of God’s words.  How could that matter?  Well, it does.  Adding the word not to a sentence changes the whole meaning.  Saying that something is your responsibility when in truth God is in charge is a sin against the First Commandment.

Satan works through false teachers to deflect, misrepresent, and cause you to question.  When it comes to God’s word and ways, the writer to the Hebrews points out how critical your faith is as opposed to your common sense or intellectual abilities.  Hebrews 1:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 1:3 says that it is by faith that we understand what God has done and does.  Hebrews 1:8ff illustrates through the life of Abraham how  by faith you trust in God and make decisions that make no intellectual sense.  So, St. Paul said, “For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So, we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:7-9)

Prayer:  Lord, grant me the gift of discernment to enable me to recognize false teachers and their destructive heresies.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Speak, O Lord, Your servant listens, Let Your Word to me come near;

Newborn life and spirit give me, Let each promise still my fear.

Death’s dread pow’r, its inward strife,

Wars against Your Word of life;

Fill me, Lord, with love’s strong fervor That I cling to You forever!

Oh, what blessing to be near You And to listen to Your voice;

Let me ever love and hear You, Let Your Word be now my choice!

Many hardened sinners, Lord, Flee in terror at Your Word;

But to all who feel sin’s burden You give words of peace and pardon!

Lord, Your words are waters living When my thirsting spirit pleads.

Lord, Your words are bread life-giving;

On Your words my spirit feeds. Lord, Your words will be my light

Through death’s cold and dreary night;

Yes, they are my sword prevailing And my cup of joy unfailing!

As I pray, dear Jesus, hear me; Let Your words in me take root.

May Your Spirit e’er be near me That I bear abundant fruit.

May I daily sing Your praise, From my heart glad anthems raise,

Till my highest praise is given In the endless joy of heaven.

(LSB 589)