“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”(1 Timothy 4:1).
TEXT — 1 Timothy 4:1-5
Message
Fidel Castro survived no fewer than 634 attempts on his life, according to his former secret service chief. Whether that figure is accurate or not, Cuba’s iconic dictator provided an almost-mythical adversary, for what became an obsessive, error-prone assassination campaign by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, CIA. The agency’s attempts to kill Castro ranged from the calamitous to the comical. Many of them were detailed by the Church Committee, a special Senate subcommittee headed by Democratic Senator Frank Church in 1975, according to an ABC report. One attempt on his life, that nearly nailed it, came from a young German lady, Marita Lorenz, who was Castro’s lover in late 1959. She was recruited as a contract-agent for the CIA and tasked with assassinating the Cuban leader. She was given two botulism-toxin pills to drop in Castro’s drink, so her story goes. Just one would kill him in 30 seconds, but she developed cold feet, and Castro escaped to live till old age, and died of natural causes in November, 2016 at the age of 90.
Seduction is a dangerous enticement to do evil, which is cleverly covered with seemingly attractive benefits. The agents recruited could be so familiar, that we let down our guard. Apostle Paul, therefore, warned believers, in our text, against the dangers of the activities of teachers of error in these last days, who are possessed with seducing spirits. The warning was not his personal opinion. It was the warning of the Holy Spirit, simply stated, to avoid any ambiguity. False teachings are rightly described as “doctrines of devils.”
Any serious, heaven-bound believer would ordinarily avoid any association with the devil; but the devil will not announce himself as the enemy of the Cross. He would rather speak through professing believers, especially popular and respected ministers who, unknown to their hearers, had abandoned their first love, and the doctrines once delivered to them.
So, how do we identify such apostates, and what should we do to protect ourselves? First, we must know the truth, be grounded in it and stick to it. Second, we must recognise that there are false teachers already in the world, and watch out for them. Third, we must subject every teaching to the word of God and take a stand against every deviation. Fourth, we should teach the truth of the word diligently because it is the truth that can banish error. Moreover, we should not concede any ground to false teachers because they will overthrow the faith of the unwary, gullible, weak and carefree believers.
Thought for the day
Seduction starts with a bait and ends with a bite.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
Leave a Reply