We live in what the Bible calls ‘The Last Days’. This means there are not many days left before Jesus returns.
The Bible issues a warning for those living in the Last Days—that’s for us! This warning is written directly to us to watch out for deceiving spirits that are wandering around.
There are deceiving spirits wandering around right now, spreading doctrines of demons. And any believer who follows these false teachings is likely to turn away from their faith in Christ.
You heard me right. Even those who have come to Christ are at risk of turning away from Christ and ending up in hell.
The once-saved, always-saved idea is a slippery slope. It causes you to put your guard down and not pay attention to what might be trying to pull you away from Christ.
But you know what? It is easy to spot. After this message, you won’t have to worry about being caught off guard. You will be able to spot deceptive teaching from a mile away.
Since I just touched on the last days, I need to remind you of what is about to happen.
On the Biblical timeline, we find ourselves at the edge of the 7-year tribulation. It hasn’t started yet, but it will very soon.
I know not everyone here agrees with me on what I am about to say, and that’s okay. But you should know that I am fully convinced that the church will be raptured before the tribulation.
Before the tribulation begins, everyone who has confessed Jesus Christ as Lord will suddenly be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. This is part of God’s plan for multiple reasons.
First, the church, full of the Holy Spirit, is the restraining force that prevents the antichrist from coming to power. We must be moved out of the way for end-time prophecy to be fulfilled.
Second, the Lord has promised to protect us from the great time of testing. What a good shepherd He is.
Third, the Apostle Paul made it clear that teaching about the end times should be very comforting for the body of Christ. What could be more comforting than our Lord’s protection from the things to come?
Fourth, the end times are likened to the days of Noah and Lot. In both cases, the righteous were moved out of the way before judgment took place.
Fifth, what we call a rapture is nothing new. According to the Bible, it has already happened three times. Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus all ascended into heaven in their physical body.
There are still three more raptures to come. Next is the church prior to the tribulation. Then, the two witnessness during the tribulation. Then, those who come to Christ during the tribulation.
Be ye comforted. While we are still here, we are full of the power of the Holy Spirit and carry the authority of Christ. The gates of hell cannot prevail against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And right before the tribulation begins, we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air for the best seven years of our lives.
Some of you think this is deceptive teaching. So, let’s test it using the qualifications the Apostle Paul gives us. Deceptive teaching is easy to spot. After this, you’ll be able to spot it from a mile away.
Listen intently as I read to you the Word of the Living God.
1 Tim 3:14 - 4:5 NLT - These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
(Chapter 4) - Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
In order to spot deceptive teaching, you must first establish the foundation of the truth.
When a banker is trained on counterfeit money, they don’t show them the counterfeit first. Rather, they spend ample time with real money. After that, when a fake bill shows up, they can feel the difference.
That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul did in this block of scripture. He established the foundation of truth first. Let me show it to you in another translation:
I Timothy 3:16 NKJV - And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.
Without controversy. Do you know what that means? These things are not up for discussion in the church. All who are part of the church must agree on these six things.
I noticed that end-times theology did not make the list. That’s why it is okay if we disagree on how the last days are going to play out. We can still work together to advance the gospel.
But the six things mentioned in this verse are the foundation and pillar of the truth. They are not up for discussion. You either come into agreement or see yourself out the door.
Before we dig into these, notice it said, “great is the mystery of godliness.” Some read this and think it is still a mystery we are trying to figure out.
No, it is no longer a mystery. The six things listed after that statement reveal the great mystery.
It is only a mystery until you hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once you hear the gospel, it is no longer a mystery. You become fully aware of the way, the truth, and the life when you come to Christ.
Are you following me? These are the six things that establish the foundation of the truth. We must all come into agreement on these things.
Here’s a list in today’s vernacular.
The great mystery of restoring our relationship with God was fully exposed when God became the man Jesus Christ. He was born like the rest of us but was the first man to live perfectly righteous. He was put to death as an innocent man but then rose back to life and is now in heaven. Salvation is available to all who believe this is true. Our only way back to God is through Jesus Christ.
This is the foundation of the truth. We can discuss the other things and find our way to agreement. But what we just covered is not up for discussion. You must firmly plant yourself in these things.
Before we go on, is there anyone who was wavering regarding these foundational truths, but now you are ready to make a firm stand for the truth about Jesus Christ?
If you were on the fence about Jesus but now are ready to boldly proclaim, “I believe what you said about Jesus is true,” stand to your feet right now.
If someone comes up to you and says, “Jesus didn’t really come in a human body…” your response should be, “That’s not up for discussion. You are a liar. Never say that to me again.”
If someone says, “Jesus didn’t actually live a sinless life…” your response should be, “That’s not up for discussion. You are a liar because the Holy Spirit confirms Jesus lived perfectly righteous.”
If someone says, “There’s nothing to confirm that Jesus rose from the dead…” your response should be, “That’s not up for discussion. You are a liar because the angels confirm it all.”
If someone says, “They don’t deserve to hear the gospel; they’ve gone too far…” your response should be, “That’s not up for discussion. You are a liar. No one is disqualified from hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
If someone says, “There are many ways to heaven; Jesus is just one of the options…” your response should be, “That’s not up for discussion. You are a liar. Believing in Jesus is the only way.”
Now that the truth has been established, we can effectively learn how to spot deceptive teaching. Let’s read that part again.
1 Timothy 4:1-5 NLT - Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
It is possible for you to turn away from your faith in Jesus Christ. I know that doesn’t preach well in these last days, but it is the truth.
If you follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons, you will abandon your faith in Christ. Why? Because you cannot follow deception and Jesus at the same time.
“Are you saying I can lose my salvation?” No. You don’t accidentally misplace something so valuable. But you can consciously walk away from it. And if you do, you are going to hell.
We get a graphic explanation in an earlier chapter in Timothy:
1 Timothy 1:19 NLT - Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.
Your faith in Christ is not something you can treat lightly. It has to be of the utmost importance. You watch over it like you would something of extreme value. You keep it at the forefront of your mind. You hold it so close it becomes one with you.
On top of this, you must pursue a life of purity and morality. If you don’t, living in violation of your conscience will shipwreck your faith.
Dabbling is sin is not worth the risk. If you allow sexual immorality, lying, breaking promises, or any other kind of rebellion to be a part of your life, you are dancing with fire.
Why would you permit things in your life that are determined to send you to hell? Did Jesus not free you from the power of sin?
Sure, sin is powerful. But not when Jesus Christ gets involved. He breaks the power of sin off of your life. He gives you more than forgiveness of sin; He gives you freedom from sin.
How do you walk in that freedom? You make a decision right now. Your decision to live free from sin is fully backed by the Word of God.
The next time temptation comes, you stand up on your feet and shout, “Absolutely not. Jesus Christ has set me free from sin, and I am under no obligation to do this. I choose to live by the spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.”
Do not take a light approach to your salvation like so many people do in these last days. If you do, you are at risk of walking away from Jesus by following deceptive spirits.
Your faith in Christ. There is nothing more important. It is the most valuable thing you have, and you must protect it at all costs. That’s why we read this later in Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:8-9 NLT - Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it.
How do you train for godliness? Simple. You listen to good teaching from the elders of the church.
Jesus Christ gave gifts to the church called the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. They all have one job: to train you for godliness.
The time you spend at NoLimits, training for godliness, is more beneficial than anything else you do. It promises benefits in this life and the one to come.
Of all the things that you do, what you are doing right now gives you the greatest benefit.
That’s why I don’t hesitate to tell you, if you have to choose between taking your kids to sports practice or church, take them to church. It will provide the greatest benefit.
If you have to choose between extra hours and work and church, choose church. It will give you the greatest benefit.
If you have to choose between sleep and church, choose church. It will give you the greatest benefit. Shall I keep going?
I have done you a disservice by making it seem okay for you to miss church in favor of something that is merely temporary. I repent.
From now on, I will urge you to prioritize our gatherings. Why? Because what you are doing right now is more beneficial than anything else you can do.
We only gather once per week. The early church gathered every day! If we can’t prioritize a weekly gathering, is that not an indicator that we treat our faith as some optional add-on to our lives?
Do not take a light approach to your salvation like so many people do in these last days. If you do, you are at risk of walking away from Jesus by following deceptive spirits.
This is kind of heavy, I know. But you need it. Let me give you the good news in all of this.
If you establish yourself in the foundation of the truth and decide that your faith in Christ is the most important thing you have, you won’t follow deceptive spirits.
Once you’ve held tight to the real thing, you’ll notice the counterfeit right off the bat. It’s true.
So make this your goal. Don’t spend your time studying demons and their tactics. Rather, hold close your faith in Christ and train daily for godliness by listening to those Jesus has called to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.
For some of you, today is a new beginning. You’ve been taking your faith in Christ lightly, and now you are going to make a change. It will be the best decision you’ve ever made.
It will take some training in godliness for you to get to a place where you spot deceptive teaching right away. So, let me give you some cues to speed up the process.
You can know deceptive teaching primarily by the fruit of lying, hypocrisy, and a lack of morality. If any of these is present, you have a doctrine of demons on your hands.
The three things you are looking for: lying, hypocrisy, and a lack of morality.
The current democratic party is the greatest example of this. They hit all three of these really hard.
They lie so much that they don’t even know they're lying anymore. They told you Biden was sharp as a tack. They told you Kamala was black. They told Trump was an enemy of the people.
And the hypocrisy is just shocking. Everything negative thing they say in accusation of those who oppose them, they are actually doing themselves.
And wow, the lack of morality. They think killing babies is a right. They promote the destructive sin of homosexuality. They steal elections. They don’t even know what morality is anymore.
Lying, hypocrisy, and a lack of morality. Only one of the three has to be present to qualify for deceptive teaching.
If you find out a preacher has been deliberately lying to you, get away quickly. I’m not saying that preachers are perfect. There’s a difference between lying and making a mistake.
Lying is something done on purpose to manipulate you. Making mistakes is part of growing in God, assuming that you learn from them instead of repeating them over and over.
If a preacher says one thing and does another, get away quickly. That’s the essence of hypocrisy.
If a preacher deliberately lives in sin or preaches sin as no big deal, get away quickly. This seems to be the most common form of deceptive teaching these days.
Any one of those three things is the primary way you spot deceptive teaching. But we also got a couple of specifics in the scripture we just read.
First, those who discourage Biblical marriage are teaching a doctrine of demons.
Second, those who teach you to abstain from certain kinds of foods are teaching a doctrine of demons.
The Apostle Paul pointed these two out for a reason. He knew they would be the hardest to spot. So take note.
Those who discourage Biblical marriage are false teachers.
Those who make a fuss about the food you eat are false teachers.
That’s not to say we can’t learn from someone teaching about nutrition. But the moment they make food the center of your life or try to make you feel ashamed for eating certain foods, get away.
Jesus commanded us not to worry about the food we eat. The Apostle Paul commanded us to receive all food with thanks, trusting that it is made acceptable by the Word of God and prayer.
Everyone who causes you to worry about the food you eat, or tells you it is wrong to eat certain kinds of food is teaching a doctrine of demons. They are pulling you away from your faith in Christ.
Don’t take this lightly. If you follow someone who is getting you all bent out of shape about the food you eat, that very thing could turn you away from your faith in Christ.
I’ve traveled down this path where what I ate became this huge thing in my life. Eat this, don’t eat that, follow this program, and then that program. Now, let’s detox! It consumed years of my life.
When I was religious about what I ate, my diet was clean and pristine. I was as light as a feather and had no energy. I would feel the weight of condemnation if I ate anything outside of the plan.
It was the most miserable season of my life, and now I know why. It was a doctrine of demons!
It took me awhile to get all that noise out of my head. But now, I simply eat what I enjoy while listening to what my body needs to thrive. If you pay attention, it will tell you when you need more, or less, or protein, or whatever. The Holy Spirit will help, too.
Don’t worry about what you eat or drink. Receive everything with thanks, trusting that it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.
Did you sense the peace that just came?
God created food for your nourishment and enjoyment. If food causes stress or fear, you have stepped outside of the plan of God.
Some of you who have food allergies have been healed by what has just been spoken. If that’s you, stand up and receive what belongs to you.
Remember, you can easily spot false teachings. They reveal themselves through lying, hypocrisy, and a lack of morality.
And don’t miss the two more hidden demonic doctrines, discouraging Biblical marriage and fussing about the food you eat.
The surefire way to protect yourself from deceptive teaching is to make your faith in Christ the most important thing in your life. Set Jesus and His church at the top of your priority list.
When you become really close to the real thing, you’ll spot the fake right off the bat.
To wrap this up, you need to know the difference between deceptive teaching and wrong teaching.
Deceptive teaching destroys your faith in Christ. Wrong teaching wastes your time.
Deceptive teaching cannot be tolerated. Wrong teaching must be uncovered and corrected.
If you’ve been in Church for long, you’ve endured some wrong teaching. And that pastor genuinely thought he was teaching you the right thing. There is grace for that.
For example, we may find out that I was wrong about a pre-tribuation rapture. But it’s more likely that we’ll find out you were wrong. (I’m just giving you a hard time.)
I’ve taught some wrong things over the years as a pastor, but not intentionally. But as soon as the Lord corrects me, I correct my teaching. That’s what you should be looking for in a church leader.
There is no perfect pastor or church leader that always gets everything right. But, have you witnessed them correct their own teaching? That’s how you know they are genuine.
I used to fuss to the church a bit about food. I didn’t do it much because I always felt scratch inside when I did. But here are I am, making a full correction.
I used to teach that our church services should make lost people feel comfortable. Again, I felt scratchy every time I said it. But I corrected it several years ago. The purpose of our gatherings is to equip the saints so you can go out and boldly win the lost.
Remember the difference between deceptive teaching and wrong teaching. It will prevent you from becoming a fault finder that can’t seem to find any church that is good enough.
Deceptive teaching is marked by lying, hypocrisy, and loose morals. This cannot be tolerated. If you spot deceptive teaching, get out of that place quickly.
Wrong teaching is something you should pray to be revealed. If you think someone is wrong, you may find out that you are wrong. Either way, the Lord will get us on the right track as we humble ourselves before Him.
I won’t get everything right. I only know in part. But as we are all patient with each other, pray for each other, and humble ourselves before God, we will go from glory to glory.
Decide today that your faith in Christ is the most important thing in your life. This will cause you to make the church a top priority because Jesus Christ and the church are one.
It’s time for all of us to help others reset their priorities. Showing coaches, bosses, and others that church comes first will make them rethink their own priorities.
We are the forerunners. We are the leaders. If America is to become the God-fearing nation it once was, it’s up to us.
