Title Don't be fooled
2 Corinthians (45) Do not be deceived (2 Corinthians 11:11-15)
"Don't be deceived by lies"
One day, an old woman was scammed by a scammer disguised as a banker. people asked "grandmother! How did you get scammed like that?” Then Grandma answered. “He looked so honest.” Phone scams are rampant these days. Everyone who suffers says it. “I thought what he said was true. The voice on the phone sounded like a real son's. The sound of a child crying on the phone really sounded like mine.”
When Satan comes to the saints, he comes to them like the real thing. Revelation 13:11 says this. “I saw another beast coming up from the earth, with two horns like a lamb and talking like a dragon.” The beast in this verse is Satan's servant and looks like a lamb with two horns. But he speaks like a dragon, as the lamb breathes fire. This two-horned, sheep-shaped minion of Satan will appear with the same persuasive power as Hitler, the marvelous orator.
Many people think that Satan must be terrifying and grotesque. However, Satan has the appearance of an angel that is bright enough to be called a ‘handsome devil’ (verse 14). Therefore, it is not easy to know the true nature of false teachers in a short period of time based on their outward words and attitude. However, there is an important tool that allows us to know the reality of the false teacher disguised as an angel of light. That is 'time'. When time passes and you see the end of that ministry, you can quickly tell whether you are a false shepherd or a true shepherd (verse 15).
It is not uncommon for false shepherds to pretend to be true shepherds. Therefore, do not be easily deceived by the words of mystical experience and spiritual pride, and then stand a little farther and watch his future. Then, there is a history of planting beans and beans, and then planting red beans and growing red beans. In other words, with time, good fruit will appear from the good shepherd, and evil fruit will appear from the bad shepherd.
<Only look to God>
Why are the saints deceived by heresy and false teachers? The biggest reason is that we do not look to God and look at things other than God. False teachers use the name of God to make you look at things other than God. So I get deceived.
Once upon a time, on MBC's program called Ki-yeoljeon, a man who did martial arts showed up and showed off his great abilities. He set up six men and knocked them down with a wink without touching a single hand. He moved the candle freely with a blink of an eye, and passed the qi to the sword to extinguish the candle.
If you look too far at the strange things, you will be hit with heresy and false teachers. How did the devil tempt Jesus in the wilderness? He said that if you jump from the top of the temple, angels will support you. How would people be surprised to see it? But wonders are not necessarily worthwhile. And do people really look to God when you show them something strange? no. I usually look at the strange thing.
When our faith is weak, we keep looking for new things, and we fall into the temptation to prove our differentiated sense of existence by showing something new over and over again. Then he is attacked by Satan. What is important is the sense of calling and faith that God has made me a child and called me. People are not used because of other things, but when they have faith in God only. Don't misunderstand your abilities. The real power is the power of the cross.
The Apostle Paul suffered many hardships while evangelizing, but seeing the members standing firm in their faith gave him great comfort and gave him courage, strength, confidence, and vitality to live (1 Thessalonians 3:6-8). The words and deeds of those who have such faith give strength and courage to those around them. Ultimately, our faith is to love the saints indirectly. The opposite is also true. In other words, when we lose faith, we indirectly hate the saints. A bold faith that only looks at God is so important.