Don’t Trust People Who Tell You These Things

in this life you will encounter many people who claim to preach the truth some are trustworthy some are genuine disciples of jesus who desire to help you grow in your faith and lead others toward god others however are not to be trusted the bible warns us of false prophets and apostles they are called names such as deceitful workmen and wolves and sheep's clothing at first glance these people seem legitimate they look modest they sound genuine they say and do all the things a religious person should in matthew jesus even warns us that such people may perform signs and wonders to lead others astray these people look like god's servants on the outside but on the inside they are far from him their motives are selfish their hearts are darkened instead of rejoicing with the truth they compromise on god's word to suit their own needs and as part of their ruse they twist scripture to appeal to the desires of the flesh they tell us exactly what we want to hear they cherry-pick the parts of scripture they like and gloss over the rest they like to downplay the seriousness of sin focusing on the favor of god and ignoring the judgment of god but everything they say is a lie satan uses these kinds of people to trick the unsuspecting into turning away from god they speak with the authority of true disciples of christ but their message is destructive their message is the opposite of the gospel so when they tell you it's okay to sin every now and then don't trust them when they tell you your anger problem is fine or your lust problem isn't a big deal don't trust them test their word against the word of god and if there is any deceit to be found run as far away as you possibly can the bible is the ultimate authority on how we should live our lives it is the only absolute truth in this crooked and perverse world so when you see people twisting god's word to please the ears of their audience expose them warn your friends and family against them fight misinformation with truth using scripture as your mighty weapon always be careful who you accept as an authority and who you allow to influence your worldview and lifestyle don't give them power that they don't deserve instead trust in jesus the author of all truth he does not deceive those who seek him he does not entice people with earthly rewards because eternal life is better than anything that this world has to offer psalms 40 and 4 says blessed is the man who makes the lord his trust who does not turn to the proud to those who go astray after a lot there are some people we just can't trust no matter how convincing how conniving how appealing they may seem but we can trust in jesus for he will never let us down every now and again we need to have a reality check and i don't know about you but have you ever had the sense that god is giving you a reality check perhaps everything in your life has been good and all of a sudden a storm comes out of nowhere but it's god's way of reminding you that you still need him regardless of how well you're doing you still need jesus first peter chapter 4 verse 17 to 19 says for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of god and if it begins with us what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of god and if the righteous is scarcely saved what will become of the ungodly and the sinner therefore let those who suffer according to god's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good don't you find this to be thought provoking don't you find this to be a reality check for every christian man or woman we all know that there will be a day of judgment with the lord we all know that there is a book of life we know that there is a day where all of our works will be tried by fire but what challenges me about this passage of scripture in 1st peter 4 is the location of where god's judgments begin verse 17 says for it is time for judgment to begin at the household of god for judgment to begin you mean to tell me that we the church are judged first god's judgment begins with us this to me shows that god is just his judgment isn't simply reserved for those who reject christ but even those who are in the church it's a reality check [Music] judgment begins with those who confess to be christians now how many of us are ready to be judged you would think that since we are active christians in the church we would always be ready for god's judgment but i am of the opinion that if god were to cast judgment on us in this very moment many of us would simply not be ready we wouldn't be prepared the bible points us to the danger of being scarcely saved yet in the church meaning that too many people are professing christ but they are barely saved matthew 7 verse 21 to 23 says not everyone who says to me lord lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven on that day many will say to me lord lord did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then will i declare to them i never knew you depart from me you workers of lawlessness the people who say lord lord are people in the church but jesus is saying although you're in the church although you know the lingo and the mannerisms when judgment day comes do you have me in your heart there is no room for hypocrisy in our lives as believers we have to be completely loving and living for god in order for us to spend eternity with him so the question is how many of you in the church have a genuine love for jesus christ how many of us are genuinely saved and on the other hand how many are fake but claim to be genuine god is aware that there are some among us who are imposters and hypocrites so judgment has to begin in the church and i wonder what will be the fate of hypocrites in the church the people who put on a mask and pretend to be something they are not the people who claim to know and follow jesus but they behave in a way that counteracts the lord the bible says in matthew 6 verse 1 beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them for then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven verse 5 and when you pray you must not be like the hypocrites for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners that they may be seen by others truly i say to you they have received their reward now by no means should you be under the impression that we are the ones who can judge and determine a hypocrite because ultimately it's an issue of the heart and only god knows the heart but we must examine and judge ourselves in a way to make sure that we are not the hypocrites spoken of in the bible so the message here is to check your heart we're given clear commands to follow all throughout the bible and if we are in christ we should be fully committed to being obedient the bible says that all who love god must also love their brothers and sisters how many of us would be found wan