2Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
False teachers give God’s truth a bad rap. All Christians are affected by the insidious nonsense that is peddled in the name of Jesus Christ. The most obvious are the so-called televangelists who hawk the promise of healing in exchange for financial donations, preying on faith-struggling believers who are desperately hoping for proof that God exists, notices them, and cares for them.
These hyped-up pseudo-spiritual machinations obscure the genuine miraculous healing that does occur, but without the fanfare, jet-setting, mansion-owning, bling-encrusted purveyors of counterfeits. Jesus often commanded those He healed to tell no one but simply do what God commanded them to do (e.g. Matt 8:5, 9:30, Mark 5:43). Yet today, trumpets blare from the Christian media like UFO sightings with wild testimonies. The world mocks!
Genuine Christianity suffers from the broad brush of paint at the misuse of the name Jesus Christ. The truth is drowned out by false teachings like the prosperity gospel, legalism, hypocrisy, weird cultish activities like handling poisonous snakes, the mixing of Christian faith and politics, and the exposed sinfulness of widely known church leaders. We must also mention the liberal, mainline Christian denominations that deny the uniqueness and deity of Jesus Christ and the many pseudo-Christian sects that hold on to a form of the truth, but deny the Truth Himself. Add in the multiplicity of internet bloggers who spout every possible interpretation and aberration from their digital soapboxes. It is no wonder evangelism is so difficult today when the term “Christian” has become stereotyped to include all the above.
The Lord is no stranger to this sort of thing. Read the story of King David’s fall to sensuality, which God exposed publicly, knowing full well that unbelievers would mock Him for it. God sent the prophet to confront David: “Why have you despised the word of the Lord . . . You have struck down Uriah . . . have taken his wife to be your wife” (2 Sam. 12:9). The consequence (among others) was this: “[B]y this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme . . .” (2 Sam. 12:14). Since example is a great form of teaching, David’s sin modeled (for awhile) the false notion that a godly leader can sin with impunity; that is, he can get away with it. But that is untrue! Today, because of his sin, people mock the Scripture for recording that God called David “a man after my own heart, who will do all my will” (Acts 13:22).
Lord, help me not be the cause of others mocking Your Word and Truth.
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