Let us sharpen the Sword, which is the Word of God and attack the deceptions from the devil in Christendom.
Heb 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Here we will see the deceptions of the devil and how to bring those who are deceived into the Light of Life.
You will be amazed how much those who claim themselves to be Christians will be against you when you preach what Jesus taught.
Deception #1 – Christians follow Christ
Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
Many Christians think they follow Christ but in reality, they truly follow Paul using Christ’s name as a veil as deceived by their churches. Most of the doctrines of Christianity are from Paul rather than Christ. Hence, true followers of Christ must truly follow what Jesus Christ taught.
Deception #2 – Christ and Paul taught the same
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Luke 20:35 “But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
Paul preached the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24), instead, Jesus preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Matt 4:17). Paul taught we can’t earn our salvation but by grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9), while Jesus taught we must be worthy to receive salvation (Luke 20:35-36) which is by keeping God’s commandments (Matt 19:16-19; Rev 22:14). Jesus never taught salvation by grace anywhere. The grace Jesus taught is conditional (Matt 22:1-14), reversible (Matt 18:21-35) and expiring (Luke 13:6-9) – given only to become righteous and holy before being cut off. Paul taught commandments of God brings death (Rom 7:7-25) while Jesus taught commandments of God brings life (Matt 19:16-19). Paul taught faith is imputed for righteousness (Rom 4:11) but Jesus taught faith is not imputed for righteousness but obedience is required (Matt 7:21-23; Luke 6:46). Paul’s salvation is a wide gate and easy way just by calling on Jesus name and believing in the heart (Rom 10:9-13) but salvation from Jesus Christ is through the narrow gate and difficult path (Matt 7:13-14) by being righteous and holy. You can read the complete list here.
The teachings or Jesus Christ and Paul are completely contrary.
Deception #3 – Bible is the Word of God
Matt 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Christ’s words will never pass away. It was He who mentioned what Scripture is in Luke 24:44-45 which includes only law, psalms, and prophets. Christ clearly mentioned all scriptures as beginning from Moses and all the Prophets as in Luke 24:27. He did not give anyone authority to change what He mentioned as Scripture. Also, Christ’s words supersede Scripture (Deu 18:18-19). Is Scripture or Bible the Word of God? No. There are lots of differences between Scripture and Word of God which you can find here. In summary, what the Father spoke in OT, what Christ spoke in NT and Christ Himself is Word of God.
Deception #4 – Paul’s letters are inspired
1John 4:1 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.
There is no such thing as “inspired” or in some translations “God-breathed”. My posts are inspired by Christ’s teachings. As John, the disciple of Jesus taught us, we need to test every spirit.
Paul appoints himself to be an apostle claiming that it is from Jesus Christ (1Tim 2:7). It is interesting to note that Paul wasn’t even qualified to be an apostle (Acts 1:21-22). Being unqualified, he lied as an apostle to the church of Ephesus (Eph 1:1) and later we in Revelation that Christ appreciating the church for finding such self-claimed apostles to be liars (Rev 2:2). He was also not referred as an apostle by Jesus Christ as we see in Rev 21:14. Now, let’s focus on his own conversion testimony. They all contradict each other (Acts 9:7; Acts 22:9; Acts 26:14). A matter is resolved by 2 or 3 witnesses (Matt 18:16). Here we have 3 different verses giving witness about a conversion showing that it never happened i.e., contradicting each other. Finally, we see the first conversation between Jesus and Paul. “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 26:14b) – Do you really think Jesus while speaking to Paul in Hebrew is quoting a Greek proverb spoken by Dionysus, an Olympian god from a play written by Euripides? I don’t think so. How about you?
Deception #5 – Paul also taught righteousness and holiness
Paul is a double tongue. To the Jews Paul became as a Jew, that he might win Jews; to those who were under the law, Paul followed the law, that he might win those who were under the law; to the weak Paul became as weak, that he might win the weak. Paul claims to have become all things to all men, that he might, by all means, save some (1 Cor 9:20-21). Did Paul also become a liar to win liars and hypocrite to win hypocrites? Here are some of the teachings of Paul which he contradicts himself.
Is Salvation by works (Rom 2:5-7) or faith confession (Rom 10:9-10)? Is righteousness required for Salvation (1 Cor 6:9-10) or not required (Titus 3:4)? Is no one justified by the law (Rom 3:20; Gal 3:11) or doers of the law can be justified (Rom 2:13)? Is Paul boasting only in the cross of Christ (Gal 6:14) or boasting as ‘not a burden to anyone’ as well (2Cor 11:9-10)? Is Paul least of the apostles (1Cor 15:9) or not inferior to eminent apostles (2 Cor 11:5)? Is Paul teaching to bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2) or bear their own burden (Gal 6:5)? Is law abolished (Eph 2:14-15) or is Paul establishing an abolished law (Rom 3:31)? Is Paul (in present tense) chief of sinners (1 Tim 1:15) or he is like Christ (1 Cor 11:1) asking others to imitate him? Is Paul’s words commandments of the Lord (1Cor 14:37) yet he does not speak according to the Lord (2Cor 11:17)?
Wonder why there are so many protestant denominations? Because you can prove anything with Paul’s letters.
Deception #6 – Jesus teachings are for Jews
It is possible that some Christians acknowledge the differences between the teachings of Jesus Christ and Paul. But then, they will add that Jesus came for Jews and they must follow the law but God gave Paul so that gentiles can be saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
Matt 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Rev 14:6-7 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth–to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people– saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”
Jesus teachings for all. Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations (not just Jews), baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that He had commanded them.
Remember that it is Paul who lied that Peter, James, and John must go to the circumcised and Paul to the uncircumcised (Gal 2:7-9). Having already addressed Paul’s contrary teachings earlier, you will not be faced with this but just let yourself be aware of it.
Deception #7 – Christ’s righteousness that will save us
Matt 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Ezek 14:14 “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.
Neither Christ nor God the Father taught anything about God’s righteousness or Christ’s righteousness saving anyone. It is our own righteousness that saves us.
Rev 22:11 “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
Matt 25:46 “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
As we read when Son of Man Will Judge the Nations (Matt 25:31-46), He expects our righteousness to inherit eternal life.
Deception #8 – If our righteousness saves then Christ died in vain
Matt 15:24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Ezek 16:63 “that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”
Christ came only for the lost sheep fo Israel (Matt 15:24) and as an atonement for Israel (Eze 16:63). Christ did not die to forgive anyone’s sins because He was able to forgive even before His death. No one can go against God’s Word to save mankind who was cursed in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:19). Hence, the Word who is God Himself became flesh (John 1:14), took the form of a Man to go through the curse and die as cursed. But, Christ is life and God Himself (John 14:6) and death cannot overtake life. It is through His death, He defeated death itself and now has the keys to death and hades (Rev 1:18). Why should He die for any future sins yet to commit when He already holds the key to death and Hades? He created a new covenant with His own blood and if we are found worthy of that covenant by following Him, we receive salvation (Luke 20:35).
Deception #9 – It is impossible to be sinless
Matt 18:8-9 If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
John 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.
Jesus had zero tolerance towards sin and Paul diluted it. When we reject Paul’s letters, many realize the harsh teachings of Jesus and the righteous requirements to enter into His Kingdom. The deception here is, they fail to realize the true requirement to be free of sins. Since many who are deceived by Paul’s letters are themselves slaves of sins without being free, they believe it is impossible to be completely free from sin, which is a lie.
John 8:31-32,36 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. … Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Christ is the Truth and to be free, we must abide in His Word, what He spoke and what He taught. If we obey what He taught, we will be free from sins. We must learn to cut off everything that causes us to sin. This even includes our own body parts.
If work is causing us to sin, we need to resign. If relationships are causing us to sin, we must depart from them. If money is causing us to sin, throw them away. If internet or TV is causing to sin, disconnect or break them. If your mobile is causing you to sin, throw them away. If our eye is causing us to sin, pluck them out. If our hands are causing us to sin, cut them off. The more you learn to cut off everything that causes you to sin, to be holy and sinless as Jesus taught by abiding in His words, you will be free from sins. Those who are deceived and live in sin try to discredit Christ’s teachings by questioning us if we are sinless.
Deception #10 – Are you sinless then?
Christian deceivers are like Pharisees and scribes who try to trap as they did to Jesus (Mark 12:13-17) by asking us if we are sinless.
If we say we are sinless, then we are like Pharisees and scribes being prideful because it is God who justifies. If we say we are not sinless then it gives an opportunity to question why we are preaching to them if we are not able to be sinless.
To handle such traps we need to follow the same way Jesus handled the situation. Why do you test me (Matt 22:18)? Tell me if Jesus is good (Luke 18:19)? Mostly they wouldn’t answer if Jesus is good because Jesus Himself instructed not to call Him good. If they say Jesus is not good, then it means He can’t be a perfect sacrifice. Hence, they would simply come up with some explanations. Let them know if they don’t tell you if Jesus is good or not (Luke 18:19), neither will you tell them if you had done any sin today or not.
You can also handle such trap by what Jesus said to Peter when asked about John (John 21:21-23). Similar to how Jesus replied to Peter, we can answer, “It’s none of your business for you to know if I had sinned or not. You follow Christ”.
Deception #11 – Salvation is a free gift
Matt 13:44-46 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Salvation is not free but very costly. It can cost our entire wealth (Matt 13:44-46), all our relationships (Luke 18:29), our body parts (Mark 9:43-48) and even our own life (Mark 8:35). Remember that it is was Paul who deceived that salvation is free (Rom 5:15-19).
Deception #12 – We are saved by faith alone
Jesus always taught believing as synonymous to obedience. It is the obedience to what Jesus said to “do” will save us.
Luke 12:43-46 Blessed [is] that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for [him,] and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint [him] his portion with the unbelievers.
The reason why Jesus taught believing or faith to be synonymous to obedience is because Hebrew does not have a separate word for “obey”. “Believing” actually means “obey” as we can see in “Shema” (Deu 6:4).
To make the conversations lively, you can see what faith without works can do to great people from Hebrews 11. By faith, the boat was dropped from Heaven without Noah doing anything. By faith, Abraham was teleported to Canaan without Abraham having to do anything. By faith, Jericho fell down, without circling it. By faith, the harlot Rahab did nothing like helping spies etc, just continued her prostitution. Is there anything I missed?
It is possible for those who are deceived by faith only to quote the following verses without knowing that believe means obey in Hebrew.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. … John 3:21 “But he who does the truthcomes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. … John 5:29 “and come forth–those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
Just remind them not to cut short what Jesus spoke and to read the full quote. For John 3:16 until verse 21 and for John 5:24 until verse 29. To believe in the book of John means, “To do good” (Joh 5:29). “To do the truth (John 3:21). Not to abide in darkness (John 12:46). This is identical to how believing is synonymous to obedience in Christ’s teachings. Remind them to let their language not deceive them.
Deception #13 – Gentiles must follow the law of Moses
The more we preach the teachings of Jesus Christ, we will be faced with the question if we are to go back to the law. The answer is no.
Gentiles were never given the law, nor they were under it anytime. Gentiles are not to follow the old covenant for it doesn’t promise back anything to them (Isa 56:6) but the new covenant what Jesus Christ taught (Deut 18:18-19) for all nations (Matt 28:18-20) which is cleaning the inside of our hearts to be righteous and holy (Mark 7:21-23). Do not commit murder is the law. But Jesus said, being angry with a brother without a cause is equal to murder is not in the law but New Covenant. Do not commit adultery is the law. But Jesus said, even lusting a woman in the heart is never found in the law but of the New Covenant. (Matt 5:21-30).
We must not commit any abominations which God expects from all nations either Jew or gentile (Lev 18:27) that is incest (Lev 18:6-17), marrying multiple sisters (Lev 18:18), approaching woman in customary impurity (Lev 18:19), committing adultery (Lev 18:20), aborting or kill your own children (Lev 18:21), homosexuality (Lev 18:22), bestiality (Lev 18:23).
We must follow the laws given to Noah which is for all mankind that is, not eat flesh with blood and not to murder (Gen 9:4-6). Cleansing the inside of our hearts was not found in the law but Christ’s teachings are fully about them. The old covenant law will one day pass away (Matt 5:18) but Christ’s words will never pass away (Matt 24:35).
Deception #14 – Christ commandments are same as laws of Moses
Christ changed the law of Moses which is forbidden by the law (Deut 4:2), yet the law itself explicitly mentions to listen to the Messiah for which the Father will require of it (Deu 18:18-19). Christ changed the law of murder to add whoever is angry with his brother without a cause has the same punishment as murder (Matt 5:22; Exod 20:13). Christ changed the law of adultery to add looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt 5:28; Exod 20:14). Christ changed the law of divorce to add whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery (Matt 5:32; Deut 24:1). Christ nullified the law of oaths (Matt 5:33-37; Lev 5:4). Christ nullified the law of violence (Matt 5:44; Exod 21:24). Christ Himself became the Temple (John 2:19-21), actually greater than the Temple (Matt 12:6) thus, and no longer people will come to Jerusalem to worship (Deu 12:5; John 4:24) nullifying all the location to worship, Temple and priesthood related laws.
Christ gave a new covenant (Matt 26:28) and the law is changed and no longer valid under the new covenant.
Deception #15 – I am praying for you
When you preach the teachings of Jesus Christ by throwing away false deceptions and everything that is contrary to what He preached, you will encounter an insulting statement like “I am praying for you” in public forums or discussions.
Don’t get tensed. Teach them some teachings of Jesus using their own behaviour. If they want to pray, ask them to go privately and pray to themselves and God, and not to be seen by others or in a public forum. If they had truly followed Christ they would have known this.
