This video is one of my favorites. It is a refresher course in the true gospel and the price that we are asked give. It is really not a price as much as it is a means by which we become perfected children of God. Suffering should be no surprise to us as Jesus as well as Paul taught that it would accompany all true believers. I hope that this re-awakens that same spirit in you as it did in me.
False Prophets (Matt 7:15-20)
These verses are directly related to the previous verses on the wide gate and broad way. Here Jesus warns of false prophets. From Jesus’ time till now they have existed and still exist today. These are people who claim to be speaking about the things of God when, in fact, they are deceivers. So, outwardly they appear to be like sheep, but inside they are ravenous wolves. So how can we tell the difference? These wolves are people who have an extreme appetite or hunger for wealth and power. Although they appear to be driven by Biblical teachings, they are really driven by greed, wealth, and power. Many such wolves have been fooling naive believers with their false performances for generations, but eventually their true motives are revealed.
Jesus tells us that we can know them by their fruits. Sometimes this gets a little tricky because they are very good at their sheepish disguise. We must look for love not in their words or even in their deeds, for both can be imitated, but in their character (this is their real fruit). It is their character that is faulty because it is like bad fruit from a bad tree. Even if it looks good, it is rotten to the core. Rest assured that their reward will be justly deserved for all the deception that they have spread.
2 Peter 2:3 (ASV)
3 And in covetousness shall they with feigned (false) words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.
The King James and American Standard Version are closest to the proper Greek interpretation of this verse in Peter. We can see the fulfillment taking place today where churches are concerned more with the production of their service than its content. Believers have been turned into merchandise. Making money off the Word of God in books, movies, and speaking engagements have priority over the real teachings of Jesus. Let us remember how much Jesus charged for his teaching—nothing! As a matter of fact, Jesus paid the ultimate price for us to listen—his death on a cross. But over the years of my experience I realize that this is all that they have. They do not have any real understanding of Jesus and therefore can’t teach what they themselves do not know. They would be far better to be quiet sitting in the pews listening than to be preaching from the pulpit.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (KJV)
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
Paul warns us as he warned the Corinthians to be careful of appearances. Many false prophets will appear to be apostles of Christ even to the point of looking like angels of righteousness. It is one thing to preach about righteousness and another to be righteous. But God will not be fooled by them and they will suffer a righteous judgment by their own words.
The Wide and Narrow Gate (Matt 7:13-14)
How then do we enter into God’s kingdom? We must enter through the narrow gate and difficult path. It is a narrow gate in the sense that we must accept the teaching that not all religions will get you there. Even the Pharisees who practiced Judaism and the Law of Moses will not automatically be accepted into God’s kingdom. This doesn’t mean that we must be perfect in order to enter. Rather, it means that not everyone will be allowed in simply because they perform the correct rituals, say the correct prayers, or be sanctioned by some religious authority. This goes against many pastors and theologians today who want us to believe that the gate is wide and inclusive of everyone regardless of their beliefs and conduct. It is true that Jesus speaks about a wide gate and broad path of inclusion, but he tells us that those who travel on that road will end in destruction. The narrow gate and path are the only ones that lead to life and few will find it.
2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Scripture tells us that Jesus wants to include as many as possible, but they must enter through the narrow path into the narrow gate. These are not those who are already righteous, but those who truly want to be righteous and recognize that true righteousness is in him (Christ) alone.
In these verses Jesus is teaching us that there are many who will fall into error. There are many false religions that may sound great, but are deceiving many. There are even many pastors who have extracted some Biblical truths only to mix them with human psychology or philosophy in order to create a deceptive form of Christianity that has drawn many people into to their churches.
The narrow gate also refers to the idea that we must enter God’s kingdom as an individual and not as a group. This gate only has enough room for one person to pass through at a time. We don’t enter into God’s kingdom because we are members of the correct church or denomination. Each of us will stand before Christ as an individual, naked, and stripped of all religious identity. We cannot assume that just because we are with the crowd or the majority that we are on the correct path. Jesus actually teaches that the opposite is true.
The term “narrow path” is actually translated from a Greek word that means narrow in the sense of being very difficult to pass through. This narrow path implies that life will be a struggle for believers as we live in this world. The world will resist us because it resists true holiness. It is a difficult path because our family and our friends may reject us. We may lose are jobs and some may lose everything that they have including their lives on account of God’s kingdom. But although it is a path of struggle, it is the only one that will eventually lead us into God’s eternal kingdom of peace and holiness.
In this sermon Jesus certainly didn’t bend his truth in order to recruit followers. In fact, he made it very clear that those who were willing to follow him better prepare themselves for this difficult path. This path hasn’t changed simply because we now live in the 21st century. If anything, it is getting more difficult to live such a life since Jesus’ teachings are becoming more obscured by a Hallmark imitation of his truth.
The Philosophical Trend of the Church
During the early years of the Christian church many of its theologians and bishops were influenced by their training in philosophy when they began to create the doctrine of the church. It was at this time that Tertullian (c. 160 – c. 225 AD), a polemicist against heresy, made the comment “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”
His concern was that theology was becoming based too much upon philosophical ideals and not enough upon the Scriptures—what he called the Rule of Faith. He considered philosophy to be a form of paganism and something that did not mix well with faith. He did, however, use the tools of philosophy in his argumentation, but did not base his beliefs upon them.
The pattern that Tertullian saw in the late 2nd century existed throughout the history and development of the church. We can see the influences of both Plato and Aristotle in the thinking of the church fathers as well as many theologians to follow. This pattern continued during the time of the Enlightenment when philosophy seemed to be at its heights. And we still see this pattern continue through Modernism and into the Post-modern world.
These various forms of philosophy have had a dramatic and lasting impact upon the church’s theologians that extended into the beliefs of the church itself. Today, if we look carefully, we can see the effects of Post-modern thinking upon the average church-goer who has little experience in Biblical training and who is looking for simple answers to complex questions. Even pastors are assimilating today’s philosophical idealism into their sermons and teaching materials.
We need to rethink this trend and once again ask, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem?”
What do you think?
PHILOSOPHY & CHRISTIANITY 