false words – Praying Pint

34.c. “So outwardly appear righteous to others”

Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

2 Peter 2:2   And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.

1 Timothy 4:1-2  Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,  through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared

Jude 1:4    For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God

Matthew 23:27-28 For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

2 Peter 2:3   And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Jude 1:13   wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.

Revelation 2:23     and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Woe unto the world because of temptations- That is, temptations will be the cause of woe or of suffering. Temptations, here, mean things that will produce sin: that will cause us to sin, or to induce others to sin. That is, such is the depravity of man that there will be always some who are attempting to make others sin; some people of wickedness endeavoring to lead Christians astray, and rejoicing when they have succeeded in causing them to fall. Such, also, is the strength of our native corruption and the force of passion, that our besetting sins will lead us astray. (Barnes)

Considering the cunning and malice of Satan, and the weakness and depravity of men’s hearts, it is not possible but that there should be temptation. God permits them for wise and holy ends, that those who are sincere, and those who are not, may be made known. (Henry)

We have been told that there will be bold charismatic seducers, tempters, and influencers as an advanced warning and instruction to be wise in God’s Word through the Holy Spirit’s leading and discern these who happily lead others to stray from truth. Man’s heart is evil, his tendencies are evil, temptation is strong. Satan is active; all these forces combine to bring about a fatal result. Thus St. Paul says (1 Corinthians 11:19), “There must be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” So these temptations of which Christ speaks are overruled and permitted for wise purposes, that by them the righteous may be proved and purified, and the chaff separated from the wheat. But woe to that man! Because of this evil principle which is rife in the world, no man is exonerated from the guilt of giving into temptations. He has free will; he can choose good; he can use the means of grace; he can strengthen his natural weakness, control his perverseness, overcome corruption, by the help of God always ready to be given to them who seek. The first “woe” is a cry of pity for a world in danger; the second “woe” is a denunciation of the sinner as being responsible for the evil which he introduces. We are all in some sort our brothers’ keepers, and are bound to help forward their salvation, and to do nothing which may tend to endanger their souls’ health. (Unkown)

10.x. “But me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.”

Micah 3:8 But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin. Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel, who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight, who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say, “Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Amos 9:10    All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, ‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

Jeremiah 7:8-12    “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.  Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,  and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?  Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.

2 Peter 2:1-3    But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Ezekiel 22:12    In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Micah did not hold back any words calling out the sin of the people. Justice was a mockery, greed was everywhere, false things were called truth, and things that ought not to have been done were willingly condoned. The further the people got away from God the more they believed in deceptive words, false teachings, and capitalizing on their neighbor’s misfortune. They lost sight of God and their sinful ways. They became so accustomed to their sinful way of life it was normal and they still thought they were in God’s will. To convince themselves of this they proclaimed disaster will not find us or overtake us. And such is the way of many lost prodigal souls. They lost their love for God and His Word. They lost being able to discern what was right and wrong. This is still true today. When God’s Word is not hungered and thirsted for in our daily lives we too will fall away, believe false teachings, and use worldly wisdom and acceptance to convince ourselves that we are right with God. God’s Word is true and able to discern our thoughts and intents if we would but seek it to be active in our lives. His Word is living water and the bread of life. With it filling our souls we will not be led astray by worldly compromise or social norms. Be intentional with His Word every day. Seek it, taste, and see that it is good for your soul.

What can the Almighty do to us?

Genesis 7:23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens. They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those who were with him in the ark.

Job 22:15-17 Will you keep to the old way that wicked men have trod? They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away. They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

Matthew 24:37-39 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

2Peter 2:3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

Isaiah 1:9 If the LORD of hosts had not left us a few survivors, we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.

Ezekiel 16:49-50 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Isaiah 2:11-12 The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

Obadiah 1:3-4 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.

Living like there is no God, no coming judgment, no accountability, no hell, no purpose other than self, as in the past, will undoubtedly seem normal and good enough reason to live for personal satisfaction and self indulgence.

Many examples have been written about that should give mankind pause in self pursuit, pleasure, pride, lust, greed, anger, and coveting. Every culture of the world seems to find more and more ways to distant themselves from and anger and stir the wrath of God.

Do you ever wonder if, as the man moves further and further away from God, those who are called of God see the ungodliness more clearly or do they just become immune to see it or think about it? Do our eyes become blind and our ears deaf to the sin knocking down the very foundation pillars of morality? How can one remain sensitive to things of God when at every corner of life there is another cultural adoption of things contrary to God’s expectation? It is not easy unless time is spent with Him and in His word.

Where have the days, when fire and brimstone, coming judgement, sin, consequences, need for a savior, repentance, been spoken about with urgency? Has all of God’s truth been morally diluted to the point of non-existence in the lives of many? What does God have to do to in a life, family, city, and nation to prove this all true when He has already given us many examples of what has happened in past cultures.

I fear that the truth of the warnings and examples don’t seem to be enough to call people to make an eternal consequence life change. Believing and seeking to honor God each day and speaking of His grace, love, and mercy and warning of His wrath, anger and judgment is more and more urgent. The need for redemption, salvation, and the need of saving us from our hell bound sinful nature is a truth that comes with many examples and warnings.

“making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly“

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly“

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man“

“I will bring you down, declares the LORD.”

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment“

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire“

The steadfast love of God reached out to us at a great cost through Christ.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

To live rejecting this love and giving no regard to His warnings of judgment convicts the soul with eternal separation and torment for eternity. Do not become so calloused by moral decline of the culture that you seem it a waste to speak of His love, warnings, and examples of both to the lost. We have opportunity everyday.