Stand Against Deceit

I saved you to be free from the rules and restrictions of man’s religion. I set you free from traditions and rituals to live a life of relationship with Me. This world wants to draw you back into its religious deception.

These deceivers seek those who have only begun to follow Me, and draw them away from the simplicity of My Gospel. Rather than Me loving you, and you loving Me, they preach rules and standards of behavior for salvation.

Didn’t I say that salvation is by grace through faith and not by any of your good works?

You will recognize these false teachers by their lack of fruit. There is no love or kindness but harshness, condemnation, fear, and threats.

They do not seek to win people to Me but to their way of thinking and to follow their leaders or church. They do not bring the good news of salvation through My death and resurrection, but they add requirements to obey their rules and regulations.

They say that I Am not God but merely the servant of God. They deny that God came in the flesh of a man and died for the sins of the world.

Remember that salvation only comes from God—not from church, religion, or a human being. It was the Eternal God, living in the body of a perfect and sinless man, who saved you. I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. You are complete in Me, and there is nothing you must add to the salvation I have given you.

Gain knowledge about Me from My Bible, not from the doctrines and precepts of men or their religions. Be wise, and understand that the enemy will try and steal you away. All those who stay with Me and trust only in My word, no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hands.

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. ~Ephesians 4:14

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as,  “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.  ~Colossians 2:20-23 (NLT)

Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. ~Matthew 7:15-16 (NLT)

Dearly loved friends, don’t always believe everything you hear just because someone says it is a message from God: test it first to see if it really is. For there are many false teachers around, and the way to find out if their message is from the Holy Spirit is to ask: Does it really agree that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, actually became man with a human body? If so, then the message is from God. ~1 John 4:1-2 (TLB)

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. ~Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)

I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ~Galatians 1:6-8

Beware lest anyone 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. For in Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.  ~Colossians 2:8-10 (RCR)

Thank You, Jesus, for the sure foundation of Your word. All that I need in my life, You have already given. Help me to open my Bible today and read what You have written and put it into practice.

Guard my mind from the deceit of people and their religions that seek to draw me away from the simplicity of Your Gospel.

Give me wisdom in not following the ideas of people that are contrary to Your word. I know I have an enemy who wants to distract me from seeing Your word and make me too busy to read it. Give me a heart that hungers for Your word and to meditate on what You have said.

Just as I need to eat food each day to stay healthy and alive, I need the food of Your word in order to stay a vibrant and healthy believer. How I thank You for all the encouragement and wisdom I gain from Your word. Keep Your words ever before me and never let me stray from what You have written.

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Categories: Daily Devotional, To Love Jesus

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