Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
(Romans 16:17 (NIV))
How firm is your spiritual foundation?
Are you grounded in God’s Word well enough to know the difference between the truth, partial truth, and a lie?
What causes division? If you look at any scenario, it usually starts with a subtle difference such as what Satan used in the Garden of Eden. It is a twist of the truth to make you think that the twisted, partial truth is correct. This results in one group accepting the truth while another group has accepted the partial truth. The next subtle twist takes the partial truth further away from the truth. Eventually you have two sides who have split over something that started out small but grew to such a point that there is division between the groups.
Division is not a good thing in the Body of Christ!
God created each of us to be unique, but our uniqueness is not the same as division. Our uniquenesses complement and fulfill the uniquenesses of other members of the Body, but division separates us. It tears us apart, and if we are not careful, it will draw us away from Jesus. We must be so well grounded in God’s Word that we can distinguish partials truths and lies from the truth of the Gospel. We must not accept, or even entertain, anything that is less than God’s truth.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
(Galatians 1:6-9 (NIV))
Sadly, we still have people just like those whom Paul wrote of. They try to pervert the gospel of Jesus. They twist and manipulate words and by doing so, they twist and manipulate lives. Avoid such people. Stand firm in the truth. Measure everything against the truth of God’s Word. Do not be deceived.
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV))
Be vigilant and stand firm!
Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
Support Daily Living Ministries
Subscribe to daily email delivery
Visit us on facebook