THE GREATEST STING!
Back in 1973, one year after I graduated high school, I saw a movie with my wife called “The Sting”. In the movie a man “Doyle Lonnegan” murdered a friend of “Johnny Hooker”, an aspiring con man, who then devised an elaborate plan for revenge, one so crafty that Lonnegan would not know he had been swindled, thus “The sting”! So it is with deception! When one plans to deceive the object is, “not to let the one being deceived know”.
Jesus, speaking of the signs of the times and the end of the age was asked a question by His disciples, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). Starting at verses 4 and 5 Jesus answered, “4Take heed that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many”. The at verse 10 Jesus said, “10And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” (vs.10-12). Now vs.24-25, “24For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you beforehand”.
Even to this day many “deceivers” are in the world, some claiming to be the Christ, some claiming to have “personal communications” with God Who reveals to them new revelation revealed of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 1:6-12). Deceivers are setting up the great sting, to entrap souls for the one “Deceiver” who is so good at keeping his deceptions unnoticed, that even those who are doing his bidding, don’t know they are working evil against God. From the first century till now many are causing divisions from within by teaching “contrary to the doctrine” which was taught by the apostles, and they were instructed to avoid them (Rom. 16:17). Paul said of them, “For those who are such do not serve our Lord [a]Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (16:18). He followed up with “…but I want you to be wise in what is good, and [b]simple concerning evil” (v.19).
The mission is to deceive people in such a manner that they believe lies about salvation, and what the saved are to be doing while they wait for the return of Christ. Paul told the church at Corinth, “3But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the [a]simplicity that is in Christ. 4For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” (1 Cor. 11:3-4). Paul said, “corrupted from” which is to say these deceivers are working to corrupt the simple message of Christ in such a way that people will believe they are following Christ when in fact they are not. Their message is just different enough to attract the innocent, but deadly to their soul.
The Greatest Sting: Preach a Jesus who is all loving who will accept you into His body, the church simply by “mental ascent”, that is to say, anyone who believes in Jesus is saved apart from obedience to His teachings, deceiving them so deeply that when they read, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) or “If you love Me, [a]keep My commandments” (John 14:15), they will fight against the Master’s own words by saying “salvation is by faith alone, and nothing else”, all the while believing they are working for Jesus. Remember the “sting” only works if, “your minds may be corrupted from the [a]simplicity that is in Christ” (1 Cor. 11:3), and you don’t know it.
Paul also wrote, “Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6). Empty words are words that cannot be validated by the truth of God’s word (John 17:17; Acts 17:11). John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). Timothy was instructed, “13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them” (2 Tim. 3:13-14). He told Timothy the scriptures were able to make him wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (v.15), and that
“As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for [c]instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (v.16-17). Who is behind this great sting? He has many names, John wrote, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:9).
If we desire to be saved, to spend eternity in Heaven that we need to make certain that we are not ourselves involved in the sting. Paul told the Colossians, “6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [d]in it with thanksgiving. 8Beware lest anyone [e]cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:6-8).
The only way to make certain you are not part of a “Sting”, is to compare everything you read or hear taught against the “God-breathed” scripture (2 Tim. 3:16 ISV). So, from what Paul told the saints at Colossi, let us consider what the “God-breathed” scriptures say and teach only that. All need to obey the Gospel and to be baptized into Christ.
Salvation in the Words of Jesus Alone: Hear: “And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who [a]has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:45); Believe: “…if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24); Repent: “…unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3) Confess Christ: “whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father” (Matt. 10:32). Be Baptized: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the [a]remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). My friend if you were taught and believe different than this then you have been a victim of the Greatest Sting operation of the Devil. The Colossians were warned about being cheated (v.8). Consider then the dangers that can cheat you so that you will never be part of a sting concerning your eternal life.
- Philosophy: When you are looking at human theories and reasoning instead of the word of God. “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their own craftiness’” (1 Cor. 3:19).
- Empty Deceit: “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (Eph. 4:14).
- Tradition of Men: From the Master, “8These people [a]draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:8-9).
- Principles of the World: “4 [a]Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).
In Love
dave scarpino
“22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth [a]through the Spirit in [b]sincere love of the brethren…23 having been born again, not of [c]corruptible seed but [d]incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides [e]forever” (1 Peter 1:22-23)
Our faithful Creator is worthy to be praised in this assembly. All praise to Him who reigns above in majesty supreme! He gave His Son to die, for all mankind, that He might redeem all. Our blessed Redeemer suffered and died for our sins and is now risen and sitting at the right hand of God as Head of the church. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, knowing that He is the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him. (Hebrews 5:8-9) “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3)
Times of Our Services
- Sunday Morning Bible Study 9:00 AM
- Sunday Morning Worship 9:50 AM
- Sunday Evening Worship 6:00 PM
- Wednesday Evening Bible Study 7:30 PM
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
- Hear the gospel—————————————– John 6:45; Romans 10:17
- Believe the gospel————————————– John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6
- Repent of sins—————————————— Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30
- Confess Christ—————————————— Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:10
- Be baptized——————————————— Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38
- Remain faithful unto and until death————— Revelation 2:10; Matthew 10:22