Unmasking the flesh and evil spirits of false religion in pseudo ‘Christianity’
We would not have a large portion* of the New Testament if it were not for an alarmed epistle writer – Paul, James, John, Jude, Hebrew writer, Peter – who felt it necessary to correct, rebuke, and instruct people seeking to follow Jesus Christ.
The New Testement shows clearly that Satan sought from the beginning to infiltrate the believers by working through their natural intellects, biases, and feelings. These are all components of what the New Testament calls the flesh.
Jesus in John 6:63 said “It is the Spirit which gives life. The flesh profits nothing. …”
Paul wrote in Galatians 5:20 that heresies are a work of the flesh.
Jesus said in John 10 His sheep follow His voice and they flee from strangers.
Paul said in Romans 8:14 as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the [true] sons of God.
Paul spoke for God in Galatians 5 and Romans 8 when he commanded all who are true Christians to walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh.
The New Testment shows that from the beginning people seeking to follow Christ were sinning, developing false doctrines in the name of Christ, heeding “strangers” and not following the Master’s voice. Many were using their flesh in the teaching, understanding and practice of the faith as they understood it,
They were not walking according to the Spirit (Gal 5, Rom 8).
They were walking according to the flesh – but like as not they were blithely unaware, or even supposing they were following Christ more excellently.
Indeed, Paul spoke of “false apostles” in 2 Corinthians 10 and 11 who were underming his credibility and teaching.
John also documented in First John the Gnostics and Docetic heretics who were undermining his teaching.
Degradation of the Church Prophesied
The New Testment ultimately prophesies that the church will experience corruption. This is the establishment of the false church Jesus warned of. There is a true church of a few true believers and a false one of many who are in the faith to get from God what they want while not giving Him what He wants.
The New Testament prophesies false teachers arising from the Christians of the first century. It says there will develop an unhealthy and perverse relationship of mutual codependency. Two clear indicators are in warnings Paul gave to Timothy:
2 Timothy 3 – 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
2 Timothy 4 – 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
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In 2 Timothy 3:13, Paul speaks of the false leaders he projects will only “grow worse and worse.” He never says the church will right itself, or come back to the right way. He says the deceivers are themslves deceived. They thus believe they are speaking God’s word when they are not and they will “deceive” the people. in 2 Timothy 4, it the prophecy gets darker. Paul says the people will want the deceivers to deceive them – even if they do not realize it.
Paul says they will lose their heart and taste for the truth of God. Paul says “they will not endure sound doctrine [teaching].” Paul says they do so “according to their own desires” – meaning they elevate their own will ahead of God’s will. They will “have itching ears,” says Paul. And they will “turn [their] ears away from the truth” and instead begin to follow fables – made up stories in the name of Christian faith and practice.
This scenario Paul prophesies means the Christian faith is redefined. It began before the ink was dry in the New Testement.
Indeed – and again: A goodly portion of the New Testment was written because of sin and subversion of the true faith.
The flesh which seeks to follow God – even naming the true God – lacks ability to correct itself because it is off the reservation, as it were. They are straying sheep who heed the voice of strangers over the Master. Or, just as likely, they were never truly sheep. This is a subject of great debate. The New Testement indicates either scenario may be the case – some false sheep never came to God, others left Him by going back to the flesh.
Galatians 3 – 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
In any case, the flesh is the gateway for evil spirits of false religion to work. This God says abundantly in the Bible.
Common traits of false religion in the name of Christ include:
- The people are followers of fellow human beings, not Jesus (Gal 1:6,5:8, 2 Tim 3:14)
- The leaders say to obey Jesus because it will be good for you – appealing to service of self over Christ. (And – while it is true service to God is rewarding, off-base teachers will overtly or subtly cross the line into making converts who are only opportunists and self-serving people pretending to love God and obey Him, or at best doing so sporadically or on their own terms.)
- People are brought into the faith to get from God what they want.
- Galatians 5:20 says the flesh is the wellspring of all false teaching.
- False religion in the name of Christ is a work of the flesh – the mind, and sensibility of the natural person detached from the guidance of God. It is a broad way posed as the narrow way.
- False religion in Christ’s name uses the Bible out of context and paints narratives the undiscerning buy into.
- False religion capitalizes on the innate and dire need of all humans to be saved, and to have peace with God.
- It promises them this some other way than the narrow way Jesus said few find while posing as the true way.
- It offers sinners what God promises to those who love Him while they do not love Him. (Jesus said those who love Him keep His commandments and many do not keep His commandments, and may even teach against them)
- False religion in the name of Christ promises lost sinful humans what they want while partially or completely depriving God of what He wants and commands.
- False religion in the name of Christ can never produce the fruit God says is a proof of the true faith.
- False religion in the name of Christ serves humans over God while blindly declaring it serves God.
- False religion in the name of Christ changes the terms and conditions of the faith, then people act as their own lords and judge themselves whether they are keeping the faith as they define it or not.
- False religion is aided and abetted by evil spirits of false religion which were prophesied would get worse and which were already present and manifesting in NT times.
- False religion is known by its undesired fruit and the manner of spirit a person who follows it is of.
- It can never bear the fruit God calls for
- Its teachings give excuses for why the fruit never comes and they say this is normal when it is not at all
- It poses as faith in God when it is really unbelief
- It was Jesus who from the beginning gave veiled warnings of all these phenomena.
Jesus warned but few heard Him
Matthew 7 – 13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate anddifficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. …
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
- “Many” do not know God.
- God does not know them as His people.
- Many will expect to be received but will be rejected as practicers of lawlessness
Matthew 24 – 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. … 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. …
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
At the end of the age “many will follow” “many” false Christs and false prophets [and teachers therefore].
The many follow the strangers.
Jesus is prophesying that in the time preceding His return, there will be a vast industry of poepel buying and selling the nae of Christ in hope of salvation.
Luke 13 – 22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up andshut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
Other NT prophesies of corruption beginning in the First Century
1 Timothy 4- Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,
Note – the “latter times” was from the first century. Paul’s several wranings to Timothy were to Timothy and the peopel under Timothy’s oversight. Paul told Timothy to “watch” and be vigilant because the subversion was already underway and would get worse.
2 Timothy 3 – 1But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! … 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. … 13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Note – This speaks of “men” in the church, not the world at large. It is a given sin is in the world. Paul says these have “a form of godliness but denying its power.” That speaks of pseudo disciples. Paul tells Timothy “from such people turn away!” This means they are apostate while declaring themselves as possessing godliness. God does not tell a man of God to turn away from sinners, but to pray for them and reach to them.
Jesus spoke of this phenomenon of those false folllowers of God. ( Matthew 12 – “34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? …”)
2 Timothy 4 – 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
2 Peter 2 – But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.
Acts 20 – 29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.
Luke 18:8 – I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
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*New Testment epistles prompted by and written to correct sin and the work of devils in the church:
1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, 1 John, 2 John, Jude, Hebrews, and Chapter 2 and 3 of The Revelation.
About the image: The graphic says “I love me” – and this is true when self is on the throne of one’s heart while claiming to serve Christ. A key characteristic of false religion in the name of Christ is it serves self ahead of God while claiming the opposite is true. There is a mainstream way that is “broad.” Jesus prophesied it and said “many” would take it all while lulled to sleep, feeling assured they were on the narrrow way that leads to life.
