Why don't we just trust and obey?
- Jacob Ninan
One of the tragic trends among Christians now is that many are leaving the simple life of trusting the Lord, obeying Him, and walking in His ways, to more 'interesting' and 'exciting' things. The Bible warns us (2Co.11:3,4). In this process people are being led to another Jesus, a different gospel and a different spirit. See how this is happening--not just in some distant places but right among the people we know.
What is the simple gospel of Jesus Christ? It is that He came to save us from our sins (Mt.1:21) and to transform us into His character (Ro.8:28,29). Perhaps we haven't seen ourselves as sinners who really need salvation, who would have gone to hell if Jesus hadn't come. Perhaps for us the 'gospel' has been about coming out of our problems. Perhaps it is about becoming prosperous and enjoying life. If so, our attention has been drawn away from the Saviour and His gospel.
These days even sincere believers are being drawn away by wrong teachings, and even many otherwise good preachers and teachers are taking on new teachings and practices that are floated by others, without checking them against the Bible. It looks as if someone has to only say, "God told me," or to bring out a testimony of how something worked out, and then many people just accept it as coming from God. Many preachers are also quoting from God's word to add authenticity to their new teaching, and many people don't bother to check if it has been quoted rightly, in context, and if it is applicable to the situation at hand.
Weird things are happening. Many distort their teaching to mean what they want. For example, some quote Pr.18:21 to teach that our words have power to make things happen, when actually it is just warning us to be careful how we use our tongue because it can hurt and damage others. Many start weird practices. For example, they say God told them to celebrate the feast of the tabernacles in the church or to blow a ram's horn from the top of a city in order to receive His blessings (at a time when God has moved over from the old covenant to the new and now we receive blessings not through rituals or practices but by trusting Jesus). Many 'prophets' are telling us about 'what God told them' about the future and 'God' reveals some hidden codes and mysteries to some others. Many people are reporting trips to heaven or hell and some of them teach others how to have such experiences. Gullible people are drawn to such 'truths' or experiences like to magnets, and they don't realise they are losing their focus on the Saviour and His simple gospel.
Don't we need to be really cautious and vigilant because Satan and his demons are on the prowl (1Pe.5:8)? Not everything supernatural is from God. Not everything done or said 'in the name of Jesus' is from Jesus. Not every interpretation of God's word is from God.
Jesus told us to judge by the fruit (Mt.7:16). The good fruit is the life of Jesus in us, and we get them by trusting and obeying Him.