Daily Devotional WK 19 Day 105 - TJTP Day 35 - 05/05/24 - “Be Careful of False Teachers”

Author: Missionary Jamie Hoffman 

Author: Missionary Jamie Hoffman

“Be Careful of False Teachers”
 
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.”
2 Peter 2:19-21

Devotional:
One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might may not sin against thee.” I have learned over the years that my spiritual growth and development is directly tied to me reading and studying the word of God regularly. On the other side of that same coin, when I don’t study the word like I should, I become spiritually weaker, short-tempered, and more susceptible to the temptation of sin. That is why it is so important that Bible study is not just something I incorporate once or twice a week, it has to be literally my “daily bread.”

I don’t know about you, but the more I study the word of God, the more His word transforms me. The word of God to me is like a mirror. It reveals to me where I am spiritually and how far I still have to go. The word will correct, convict, renew, strengthen, and change you if you let it. Today’s scripture warns us against false teaching. It specifically is addressing believers who know the word, and yet have been carried away by the lies and the deceptive tactics of the enemy. The scripture lets us know it is much worse for those who believed and have fallen away from the faith than those who never believed at all. That is why it is so important that we ask God to give us keen spiritual discernment and spiritual wisdom to understand when we read, study, and listen to His word.

Technology has made teaching and preaching even more accessible than it has ever been through social media apps and live streaming. Not to mention the three or four churches less than a mile apart in most neighborhoods. However, with that, we realize that unfortunately, everybody is not teaching and preaching the unadulterated infallible sound doctrine of the Holy Bible. That is why we have to be diligently aware of what is real and what is fake. If it lines up with God’s word, it’s real. If it adds to or takes away from God’s word, it’s fake.

Prayer:
 Lord, help me hide Your word in my heart that I may not sin against You. Give me spiritual discernment and wisdom to understand as I read, study, and listen to Your word. Amen.