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Are You Sure?

“What is a 'false prophet'? Those who lie by attributing personal biases to divine source.” -Leland Lewis

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;go away from Me, you evildoers.’ (Matt. 7:21-23)

We are living in interesting times. Unlike any time previously, we are bombarded with messages every day. Formerly, one needed access to a media source in order to get their message out, but, today, all one needs is a social media account. There are many people competing for our attention, and many of them claim inside knowledge, or that they are uniquely representative of God. If we will send them $50, we will get a prayer cloth. If we have enough faith, we will be healed from any disease.

Here is a promise and a warning that are given together. There is a promise. Those who do God’s will are part of the Kingdom. That seems simple enough, except that all of the people described in this passage claim to be doing God’s will. There are those that prophesied and did impressive acts, and all claimed to be aligned with God. Here is the problem. Jesus states that many of these people are not acting for God at all, even while they claim to be doing so. How are we to discern the authentic from the charlatan, those who use God to accomplish his or her own end?

There is much at stake here. One of the Ten Commandments is often translated “do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” A better translation would be “do not falsely carry the name of the Lord.” When we claim God’s leading or involvement when it is not there, we place ourselves in some jeopardy. Yet, we are still faced with the dilemma of properly discerning the authentic from the fake. Here are a few litmus tests for a believer navigating this new landscape: Does the activity bring fame, glory to God, or a person? Does the action divide or bring people together? Does the person exhibit grace or a harsh tone? Does the person speak kindly of other believers, or is this person the only one? Does his/her life exhibit grace, peace, gentleness, kindness, and self-control?

We live in a world that suffers from a lack of authenticity. Unfortunately, this trait has leaked into the church as well. If our lives exhibit authenticity, it will be easier for us to spot what is false as we love like the Serving King…
DW

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