Brothers and sisters,
Happy Monday to all! Worship is always wonderful as we together adore God our Savior. We thought about God’s greatness and of the great hope we have in the One who truly is mighty to save! From 2 Peter 2 we looked at how to recognize false teachers and their false teachings. Specifically these teachings are not just areas of disagreement among believers, but “destructive heresies.” These “destructive heresies” are teachings that turn us away from who Jesus truly is and from the salvation found only by faith in Him. Anything that leads us away from God’s salvation through Jesus Christ is a destructive heresy. Peter instructs us that there will always be false teachers among his people. These false teachers are those who claim Christ and superficially look like they follow Jesus. But they teach a different Jesus than the Jesus revealed in the Bible and they teach a different salvation than a salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone. We are as believers to beware of their influence. We are also to be aware of the sure judgment that comes upon anyone who leads people away from Jesus. We are to look closely at their character and the lives they live. Do they deny themselves, take up their crosses and follow Jesus or are they living lives of self-indulgence and greed? We are also to see the results of their false teaching. Do they encourage people to trust only in Christ and continually turn from sin? Or do they falsely teach that you can embrace Jesus while still embracing your sin? Do they promise freedom but does their false teaching ultimately lead to enslavement to sin? Learn to recognize those who teach a Jesus that is different from Jesus Christ, the true Savior who is mighty to save.
We want to pray for those effected by the fire and explosion in Sun Prairie last week. Connie Boss and those who live in the apartment complex where she lives had to be evacuated from their apartments for one night because of the explosion. Here is a link sent to us by Mark Millman for those who want to know how to help financially also: https://www.channel3000.com/news/bank-sets-up-sun-prairie-disaster-relief-fund-for-community/767115087
Love being your pastor!
Bob Ray, Pastor, East Madison Baptist Church