Thou shalt have no other gods before me

Deut 13:2  And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them. 

Here is a warning to Israel on listening to a false prophet. A true prophet of God brings a message that is from God, draws people closer to God, and speaks only what God has commanded. But a false prophet draws people away from God.

The case supposed is one in which the prophet contradicts a revelation already received. Here is a prophet who invites the people “to go after other gods.” He performs signs or wonder. So, he looks convincing as a prophet. But, his message contradicts God’s message because he calls on his hearers to go after other gods. That contradicts the first commandment which says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

The command to Israel is clear: If a prophet should come to them and summon them to worship other gods, even if he appeared to authenticate his message with signs and wonders which came to pass, the Israelites were not to hearken to his words, but to put him to death.

The message is also for us today: Take heed and do not be deceived by the false teachers. Christ warns that false teachers can show false signs and miracles to deceive their hearers (Matthew 24:24). Hence, to such a one, even should he show signs and wonders to authenticate his doctrines, but when his doctrines contradict the doctrines of the inspired word of God, he is a false teacher.

You may ask why and how is it this false prophet could do “miracles”? The answer is in verse 3: “The Lord you God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” It is to prove them, to see if they would stand their ground and follow God.

You then ask: “Where did he get his power?” Paul answers: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14). Those are counterfeit miracles. They look real but are not.

God has made known His will. He has said: “What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it” (Deuteronomy 12:32). The commandments of God are to be obeyed just as they were delivered: we are not to add, subtract, nor substitute from it. Any doctrine, if found contradictory to the Scripture, is to be unhesitatingly rejected.

John wrote: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

We are to test the spirit. The instrument we use for testing is the word of God. When the devil quoted a scripture in the temptation to lure Jesus to sin, our Lord quoted another scripture to counter the devil’s argument (Matthew 4:6-7). It shows us that the scripture can be misused and misquoted for personal gain. But, since the scripture cannot contradict itself, the Lord shows us the proper way to understand the scripture – look at another passage of the scripture.

Brethren, when a doctrine contradicts another portion of the scripture, we can be sure that it is a false doctrine. False doctrines may taste sweet and convincing, but only the word of God can save.

Let us take heed and beware of false teachers. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Hurting, And Happy?

Someone has observed that pain and suffering are inevitable, but misery is optional. The Bible bears out that what happens to us in life is not as important as our response to what happens to us. The apostle Peter wrote words of encouragement to a group of suffering Christians - "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials." Peter had just reminded them they had been "begotten again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:3-6). Great joy while suffering grief and trials? Peter seems to agree that pain and suffering are inevitable, but misery is optional! Problems and pressures and pain and stress and suffering are not items we can delete from the program of our lives like we delete words or paragraphs from a document on our computer’s word-processing program. Some suffering comes packaged with life, and Peter advises at 1 Peter 4:12 that Christians ought not to be bewildered when the bowling ball of adversity and pain comes crashing into the well- arranged pins of our lives – "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you." The pain Peter was predicting was to come from persecution. Peter’s message, unlike much preaching we hear these days, was NOT that they would have their best life now. And it was NOT that if they really have faith their lives will be all healthy and wealthy, or that God will kiss all our "boo boos" away. And Peter’s message was NOT that the big-bad, joy-devouring wolves of death or disease or accidents or heartache or disappointment or financial stress or family struggles would never come huffing and puffing and trying to blow their happy house down!

So, if Peter’s message is not that Christians are exempt from all life’s pain and problems, what is his message? Are you listening? His message is that people may hurt, badly so, and yet be happy at the same time! Not happy they are hurting, but in spite of it. And not the kind of happy found in a meal at McDonalds’s or a bank account that is bulging, teeth that are perfectly white, wearing a size 2 dress, or that the lab report came back negative, etc. The Bible acknowledges that pain is real – and painful! Peter admitted in the passage above that troubles and trials of life "grieve" acutely at times. But he also said it was for "a little while." Why can we be happy even when we hurt? No pain we experience in this life is permanent! It may stay for a long time, even until we die. But Peter urges us to look beyond the grievous things life can and sometimes does dish out, and instead lock on by faith to an eternal home in heaven! Stay tethered to a living hope – the hope grounded in and achored to the fact Jesus Christ got up from being dead! The Christian message is that life can indeed put the hurt on us, but can’t take away the happy hope inside us unless we let it! God is good all the time, and nothing bad that happens to us can change what Christ has done for us. Thanks to Jesus, Christians can still be happy, even when we hurt. 

 By: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN

The plague of hail

Exo 9:27  And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 

The plague of hail came. It came with thunder, and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail. It must have been a most terrible sight. It looked as if a judgment day was coming. It frightened Pharaoh so much that he acknowledged his sin, a thing he had never done before. The terror of death seized him. It frightened him into action.

Under the weight of this fear, Pharaoh humbled himself into confessing his sin and acknowledging the LORD was righteous while he and his people were wicked (Exodus 9:27). Was Pharaoh’s sincere in his confession? I doubt so. He did it out of fear and not of true conviction. As soon as his fear was removed, he was back to his old self. His repentance didn’t last long; it was over as soon as the plague was over.

Unless there is a genuine and hearty confession of our sins to God, we have no promise that we shall find mercy and receive forgiveness: "But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).

There will be some who are like Pharaoh who make a confession but will receive no forgiveness because their repentance is not genuine and sincere. A repentance that is born in the storm will die in the calm. My brethren, it is of no use for anyone to say, "I have sinned," merely under the influence of terror, and then to forget it afterwards. Such confession will not receive forgiveness.

A thief who was caught pleaded for mercy: “I’m sorry; please don’t call the police.” A cheating husband who was caught pleaded: “I’m sorry; please don’t tell my wife.” Were they sorry that they had been caught or they had sinned? What if they had not been caught? They would still be doing what they were doing. The thief was sorry because he feared being handed over to the police. The cheating husband was sorry because he feared his wife would know of his unfaithfulness. Both might also pray to God. But if there is no genuine repentance and remorse, will God forgive them? “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

How about us? Do we confess our sins out of fear of a consequence that is about to come? It is important that we come to God for the right reason. God knows whether we are truly repentant or not. A publican’s prayer provides us an excellent example of true repentance and was commended by our Lord Jesus (Luke 18:13-14). Our God can read the heart of a penitent sinner.

Pharaoh, despite what he had said, was not interested in God’s forgiveness; he was interested in a solution to the problem facing him. He just wanted the hail to go away. He thought he could fool God. But God knew his heart: “But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not yet fear the LORD God” (Exodus 9:30).

Pharaoh had worldly repentance. The scripture says: “The sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10b). And true enough, Pharaoh perished as a lost man in the depths of the Red Sea. But a godly repentance leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10a).

Let us be sincere and truthful when we pray for forgiveness of sin: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water” (Hebrews 10:22).                

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.