Alternate Motives

Yesterday I covered Galatians 5:7 and talked about the job of a false prophet being that he would attempt to distract Christians from obeying the truth of the Gospel. I also think there is a lot of that going on in churches today. I think that a lot of Pastors are so worried about attendance and acceptance they are starting to neglect their job as Shepherds of their Flock. Now onto Verse 8.

That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

When a false teacher/prophet "cuts you off" or distracts you from obeying the law they are placing their own beliefs above God's law. They become flattery, boastful, and give false promises. Think about the snake in the garden. Looking at Genesis 3:1-7 you see all these characteristics in action. The snake was the most crafty animal in the garden. He started manipulating and twisting God's words to benefit himself (Sin). Once he finally convinced Eve that she heard God wrong, he gave her an empty promise by telling her that she wouldn't die. 

When I was taking notes on this part of scripture and read that an example of someone who delivered empty rhetoric (Hollow promises. Words uttered without any attempt to take action necessary to back them up. Promises that are ignored and forgotten - Webster) Skilled public speakers was the example given, After I wrote that, God said, "Like Politicians." I have to laugh because I think about all the promises that are made to us during an election and either never see them come to pass or they are all forgotten. 

The hard part about this is that Satan is the puppet master so to speak of these teachers. He directs and guides them. Spoiler alert. He was an angel and he knows the bible like the back of his hand. He will start backing everything with God's word. This is where discernment comes in. Just because someone dresses the part, speaks God's word, and hangs out with Christians doesn't mean anything. Look at Judas. He was one of the twelve disciples, he saw the teachings of Christ first hand. Yet he was driven by selfish ambition. He had alternative motives. It might not have started like that, but that's what it ended up as.

This is why a close knit relationship with God is important. When God is a large part of our life we can tell one way or another if the persons motives are true or not. So far, there are 2 ways to spot a false teacher/prophet. To know the word of God fully and have a relationship with him so we have a strong level of discernment.  We have to be able to see if they are distracting us from obeying the truth of the Gospel and if they are overthrowing the call of God with their own deceptive persuasiveness.