I Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;”
In this letter to a young preacher, the Apostle Paul warns him that some believers are going to depart from the faith. The reason: They will be enticed and deceived by demons.
Not every belief that is proclaimed in a church or religious institution is of God. Some people think that if some religious leader taught it that it must be true. They get their Bible teaching from the radio, TV, or some book, but fail to see for themselves if that is what the Bible really teaches. Unfortunately, because they think that, they are open to being deceived.
Satan and his demons are constantly looking for people who are susceptible to being deceived. After all, they do not wish to go to Hell alone. The Bible makes it very clear that only God has the truth and it is revealed through the Bible and through His Son – Jesus Christ.
Many centuries ago, one of God’s prophets, Isaiah, revealed how to identify truth from error. He said, in Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” In this verse, Isaiah revealed that the ultimate and only source of spiritual truth is the Bible – the Word of God. Isaiah declares that if anyone says things that are contrary to God’s Book, it is because they are not instructed or illuminated by God. Their source of information is untrue – not from God.
This is where the church comes in – to instruct people in the Bible and its Divine principles. In a true church, people will bring their Bibles to see for themselves whether the preacher or teacher is really proclaiming what the Bible says. Their message, however, must not agree only with one or two verses (which could be taken out of context), but it must align with all of the Bible.
People who read their Bible everyday and pray are most likely to understand it – if they are saved. So many are out of church today, where they can be reminded frequently of God’s precious truth. Being out of church opens the door for eventual compromise of the truth and a non-Christian lifestyle.
We are in the last days, have you been deceived into thinking you no longer need God’s church? or to read His Word every day for guidance, spiritual power to live right, and faithful in prayers and church attendance? One of the most common devils lies I hear often today is that a believer does not need to go to church. Hebrews 10:25 says otherwise: “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”