With all the religions in the world, how is a person supposed to know which one is the right one? Is there a right one, or are all of them equally the same? If Christianity is supposed to be the “right” one, what about all of those who have other beliefs? What happens to them? Is there any danger for them if they just believe anything that they want, or is religion nothing more than a simplistic way for mankind to cope with stresses and unexplainable events in life? There are indeed many who question like this, and today John the apostle sheds some light upon those who are wondering about such things. In his book named First John chapter two and verse twenty-six, John writes:
These [things] have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
John has been sharing how God desires fellowship with us, and yet, there are barriers to that fellowship that must be removed before this is possible. Sin is a barrier, and Jesus Christ His Son came to die for our sins to remove that barrier. Also, there are those who seek to alter the truth, and John calls them “antichrists”. These are those who offer any other way for fellowship with God other than the sacrifice that Jesus made. Only Jesus can remove sin, and no other person has been or will be righteous enough to make that perfect sacrifice. No amount of works, good deeds, accomplishments, achievements or efforts will satisfy the requirement of God to remove sin. Jesus alone paid that price.
There are those however who teach otherwise. They “seduce” people into believing that if they will just say enough phrases, do enough good works, make certain trips or go on certain missions, they will be able to satisfy the requirement of God. John is very clear, there are those who will seduce us away from the truth and lead us into error, and John states that it is one of the reasons that he has written this letter.
The key to understanding what John is writing is to know first of all that there are those who have a purpose to lead others away from the faith. He is warning us that this is true, and those who are wise will compare any requirements or rules from any religious opportunity that arises by the scriptures within the Bible. We must be diligent to look to the Bible to see if what people are telling us is so. To follow others teachings without looking into the Bible is to put ourselves in danger of being seduced away from the truth of God and into the error of the antichrists that are alive and well today.
Next time we shall look further into John's concerns and come to understand how we are to recognize when someone is trying to seduce us away from the truth. Read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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