Religious People to Watch Out For
After today Harold Camping and his followers will have figured out they got the date of Jesus¹ return wrong once again. You might think they would learn, but I stand by my prediction he will recalculate and come up with another date. You watch. Actually the Bible warns us to watch out for certain types of religious people. False teachers like Camping are just one flavor of those we need to be on guard against. Once we know who they are the Bible goes on to tell us how we need to respond to them. Jesus said, ³What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombsbeautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people¹s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:27-28). So in addition to false teachers who teach truth with a mixture of lies thrown in Jesus warns us to watch out for hypocrites. These are the folks who say one thing and then act in the opposite manner. These are the teachers who condemn sexual immorality and homosexuality and are having affairs with women in their church. Aonther group Jesus warns us of in this passage is the legalists. Legalistic Christians and churches are people who say salvation is by faith but it is clear that they believe you are only close to God if you follow their rules. These folks look very sincere and committed but they add to the Scriptures their application of what it means to obey God. Whether it is wearing certain clothing, not going to movies or playing cards, the length of your hair, or claiming there is only one acceptable translation of the Bible they make up rules beyond the Scriptures in order to be a true Christian. One way you can discern who the legalists are is they often have no joy; they are usually stern and judgmental. The more extreme groups are filled with hate and have an ³us versus them² mentality. You must learn the difference between a biblical church that holds high ethical standards and stands against evil in society, and legalistic churches that make up their own rules. We are to respond in several ways. First, do not equate being religious with being truly spiritual. Jesus constantly rebuked and rejected religious people. People who have a heart for God, however, he loved deeply. And on the surface these two individuals may look similar, but there is a big difference. Second, we need to be discerning and resist religious fakes. Again Jesus warns us, ³Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act (Matthew 7:15-16). To discern religious fakes listen to their teaching and look at how they live and act. Some false teachers teach God loves everyone so much he accepts them and their sinful lifestyle. Jesus loved people, yet he hated sin. Others will tell you what the Bible really says is that God promises you wealth, prosperity, and perfect health, and this is a lie. Other false teachers may speak truth, but their lives do not back up their speech. Don¹t, however, let imperfect people keep you from the perfect God. There is a lot of counterfeit money out there, but you don¹t let that stop you from using cash. Be discerning and find a loving, healthy, biblically based church family.
