WWE LIVE in an era where deception is widespread. Educated and uneducated folks are deceiving and being deceived in families, schools, communities and organizations for selfish gains. But will people who are born of God and indwelled by the Holy Spirit also be deceived to follow false prophets and teachers to be exploited?
To be born of God is to be spiritually renewed, regenerated or recreated by the Spirit of God. An unsaved person is spiritually dead and unregenerate. And when people get their spirits recreated in order to have relationship and divine alignment with God they are said to have been born again. Such persons are a new creation; thus they stop living their old life of the world and start living a new life of Christ Jesus.
This occurs after hearing the Word of truth, the gospel of salvation, believing in Jesus Christ and receiving the promised Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart. A true born again Christian has the Spirit of God in him or her, sealing them for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4: 30). Certainly, there is the need for genuine repentance of sins and water baptism after hearing the gospel and believing in Jesus Christ in order to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 38).
Now, I ask, will true disciples of Christ, children of God, be deceived into following false ministers to be exploited and led astray? Do we have false prophets and teachers in Africa and the world as a whole? Are the people who regularly flock their so-called prayer, deliverance and healing meetings true Christians? Everyone who calls himself or herself a servant of Jesus Christ but does not abide in the sound doctrines of the Saviour is false.
Moreover, the Bible teaches that people who are true Christians know it themselves. You cannot be born of God and be ignorant about it. True Christians are aware of the transforming grace God grants to work in their souls personally and His abiding presence. Everyone who is saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus has a personal testimony of conversion. We are redeemed from the controlling power of sin and placed under the controlling power of the Holy Spirit.
This is why the Apostle Paul explained that “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them are not Christians are at all” Romans 8: 9, NLT). And then in verse 16, he says, “For his Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children”.
So, I dare ask again, will true disciples of Christ follow false prophets and teachers? You see, in almost every country, there may be genuine Christians, religious people and mere miracle seekers. These groups of people are common in Ghana today, and they may be regarded as believers, but certainly not all of them are Christians. One thing we must understand is that all Christians are believers but not all believers are Christians.
During Christ’s earthly ministry, several people were seeing following Him, suggesting that they were His disciples, but in reality they were mere miracle seekers. They were not faithful believers. Instead of believing in Jesus Christ based on His Word for the salvation of their souls, they believed in Him based on the signs He performed (John 2: 23- 25).
Clearly, those Jews were like many of today’s church people. They just follow servants of Christ and anyone who calls himself bishop, apostle or prophet for visas, healing, deliverance, prophecy, money, jobs, marriages, accommodation, the fruit of the womb and other things. They hardly associate with ministers to hear the gospel that saves their souls from sins and expect to receive the things aforementioned.
The words of the Lord are pure words; they are unadulterated. Jesus Christ makes it clear that His genuine followers will follow Him alone; they will not hear a stranger’s voice and follow him. A false prophet, bishop or teacher is a stranger since they minister by evil spirits. Thus a true Christian filled with the Spirit of truth will not hear their voice and follow them.
“…the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10: 1- 5, 27-28).
This means to be a Christian is to have the Spirit of Christ in you and have a relationship with Him. It is to know Him and be known to Him. And when you have the Spirit of the Lord in you, then, you are able to discern the spirit of error and truth and follow genuine ministers of the gospel who are given to perfect you for the work of the ministry and to present you perfect at the coming of the Lord.
Whenever you see people following false prophets and teachers, you must quickly know who they are. Many are simply religious people and mere miracle seekers who have been deceived into thinking they are Christians. They have not personally encountered Jesus Christ and been born again to receive the Holy Spirit to enable them discern the spirits of truth and error. Others may be baby or immature believers who have been deceived and led astray. That is why they are unable to live, act and do according to the Word of God.
jamesquansah@yahoo.com
By James Quansah