The Decoy Gospel

[Episkopos]

From any kind of distance a decoy looks like the real deal. But for a duck to be a duck it needs to quack like a duck! :)

A decoy is used in spiritual terms to hunt for souls....to put people in bondage. While promising them life they bring death. And many believers are victims of a decoy that is posing as the real thing.

I hope to compare the decoy that the enemy uses in his hunts ...with the real thing.

Another word we could use is counterfeit.

A lot of threads have been posted lately that demonstrate how decoys work. Using the language of the bible...but telling a very different message.

It has been said (Spurgeon) that discernment is not just telling the difference between right and wrong.....but also the difference between what is right and what is almost right.

However I want to begin with what is completely false. Before we get to what is only a little off we need to look at what is blatantly untruthful.

People who interpret through the flesh think as carnal beings....forgetting that the kingdom of God is upside down. So they forget to reverse the polarity of things. They continue to see boasting and arrogance as good things for example.

So we can start there.

 

[Episkopos]

Because of indoctrination and the acceptance of an ideological filter that the human mind latches onto...the bible is clearly NOT ENOUGH to dislodge the lie and set people free in many cases.

Even apart from being baptized in the Spirit to experience the presence of God in reality ...we need honesty, humility and reverence for God in order to be sure we aren't colluding with the enemy of the souls of men. The devil caters to the flesh. And a carnal person thinks as a carnal man. Who are we really listening to?

The younger the person is in the faith, the more drastic the deviation from the true gospel can be without raising any suspicions. As a person gets more life experience and real knowledge of God...the errors tend to be more subtle....more difficult to discern.

But the truth always sets us free.

A favourite ploy of the devil is to turn the truth inside out....to make up down and good bad.
Imagine a room with black and white tiles in a pattern on the floor. Now while you sleep the enemy comes in and changes them all to make the pattern opposite...but still black and white (so where the black tiles were the white ones now are).

Would a person notice that the floor is completely opposite to what is was before?

This goes to illustrate how difficult it can be for a novice to discern the truth....compared to a scheme that uses all the same words but with an exact opposite meaning.

 

[Episkopos]

We dishonour God by limiting what we think He can do. Or we can honour Him by believing Him to be all-powerful and sovereign.

In these perilous times many believers walk in unbelief. Many have believed a lie...either a whole lie or a convenient half-truth. With God are not ALL things possible? Can we not do ALL things through Christ who empowers us with His grace?

So let's look at two similar sounding statements that mean the exact opposite to see which one has it's origins in heaven...where God can create anything and nothing is too difficult for Him. And compare that to what is worldly and diabolical in it's origins.

So here are the statements....

1. The gospel is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to save us in our sins

2. The gospel is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to save us from our sins

Which statement takes an all powerful God to accomplish?

Which statement sounds like a political slogan that is based on a powerless God settling for what men can do...or can't do?

Now of course the devil will try to hide his design in nice sounding words...like saving us from the "consequence" of sins.....rather than releasing us from the bondage of what makes us sin.

So what is the gospel? Is it good news for evil men who have no faith in a God of wonders and miracles? Or is it good news for they who have faith in a holy God who is helping us to be in His presence...a presence where there is no sin?

Too good to be true? But too good for what to be true? And to whom?

So the devil seduces people to believe in a scheme that just makes us more comfortable IN our sins.
The evil of the false decoy gospel is that we become worse sinners by being a believer than we were before when we at least tried to not sin.

If our faith makes us more smug about sin and leaves us with an idea that sinning is no big deal because of certain self-serving beliefs...then we need to change those beliefs to line up with the truth that the soul that sins...it shall die. The wages of sin is death. And to take a detour around the truth to follow the decoy will have you stop short of the grace of God.

 

[Episkopos]

There is a reasoning according to the soul. And there a spiritual understanding. There is the mind of the human....and the mind of Christ.

The word of God divides between these two ways of hearing.

The decoy gospel appeals to the souls of men...at the level of the human intellect. But God has hidden the truth from the wise and clever people of this world. In fact Jesus used parables to HIDE the truth from the soulish men. He instead reveals the truth to the insignificant ones of this world... the humble, the poor in spirit.

But we can't accept that....or at least we have a great difficulty receiving it.

the truth IS difficult. If what we are hearing sounds easy...then it's because the message has been altered to make it so. Jesus said it would be difficult to believe and act upon. VERY difficult...so that few would be able to do it. And in these latter times sound doctrine would sound terrible to our spoiled ears that are catered to so effectively from the diabolical realm that controls the world.

So instead we make castles in the sky...actually sepulchers. We entertain lofty ideas that have no bearing on our actual behaviour. We justify our lack of holiness by a kind of grace (a false grace) that never brings holiness ....but rather tolerates sin. We esteem ourselves as being great rather than as people under great delusion.

The cross of Christ is the power that takes away the soulish power of the believer so that the indwelling Christ can break out to sit on the throne of our lives.

Unless the seed of Christ falls to the ground of our hearts and dies (when we are crucified) it remains locked up inside our hearts. But when we are crucified with Christ the life from within breaks forth so that we bear much fruit.

We are to carry the death of Jesus in our soulish life....so that HIS resurrection life in the Spirit might be made manifest in these mortal bodies.

 

[2 Chr. 34:19]

But the truth always sets us free.

Amen

 

[quietthinker]

The Gospel is not possible to be understood without a person's willingness to understand. It's understanding does not hinge on theological qualifications nor the ability to read and decipher ancient languages. It is not understood by intelligent logic neither can one come to it by endless debates.

Understanding and discernment is gifted. It grows as a person seeks and knocks and asks....even children,..... and a persons heart is changed to be in harmony with God's Commandments.

It has a silent quality with God like attributes as a person changes into the image of his maker.
It's as uncomplicated as that.

 

[Episkopos]

Big church: artificial

Organic church: natural

Real church: spiritual

A decoy gospel is superficial and very popular...easy to accept and teach as people are already self-centered. So they get the pitch.

But for a real spiritual church to be established the true gospel according to depth and power must be received.

 

[Episkopos]

People put a great emphasis on correct belief. Are we going to be judged by filling out a questionnaire that tests our beliefs? Or will we be judged by what we thought, spoke and acted upon? So we will be judged by our behaviour.

So what do our beliefs produce in us? What does our doctrine make us do. That's the crucial part.

We know in part...but a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. A little favour can also be deceitful.

We will be judged actually AGAINST what we know...and AGAINST the grace we have received.

To whom much is given more is required.

 

[Episkopos]

Spiritual gifts?

Great care must be taken to avoid becoming a religious soul...where we are looking too hard for prophetic messages in the alphabet soup of our daily lives. The pagan religions did this...looking for signs. Interpreting the flight of birds. To be a prophet one must avoid the power of the soul completely...avoid trying to interpret things through the soul....instead being a vessel that is available for the spirit to to be impressed with something from God free from all soulish manipulations.

 

[Episkopos]

If a person wishes to remain honest and un-deceived in regards to salvation and the gospel..there are a few questions one should ask oneself.

1. Does the bible EVER sanction self-justification? Ever?

Who is doing the justifying? People think that the bible sanctions that we declare ourselves righteous for our beliefs about Jesus. As in...if you believe in Jesus...go right ahead and declare yourself saved.

Jesus Christ never has a say in it.

People interpret themselves into the text. And it is no wonder that since we are looking to be justified we will select verses that go that way...while completely ignoring any verses that would seem to say something different. So then we make believe that Jesus is speaking to us...from the text. Do we wait for the Lord to get personally involved? No. We adopt a religious stance of our own making.


The thief on the cross is often cited as a sinner saved by grace. But there are errors in that way of thinking. First is that grace was not yet ready to be offered...since Jesus had not yet died and been resurrected. Besides grace isn't forgiveness but it is the power to NOT sin. And Jesus was acting on the righteousness law stated in Ez.33 that says that a man can change his direction before he dies so as to be forgiven for his past sins. And significantly...the thief doesn't declare himself saved...Jesus does in person. There is never a case for a person justifying themselves for their own beliefs.

2. How does believing in Jesus bring eternal life?

Is God looking for votes? Does He want our lip service? Do we just relegate religious things to a religious formula that if we assent or accept the scheme...we're in?

Or is it that IN Christ we enter a realm where there is holiness and a refuge away from this world of sin?

Could it be that rather than Christianity being based on a make-believe saved status for rendered beliefs...that there is truly a realm of the kingdom where people walk as Jesus walked? Could Jesus Christ be so real that His power and life are to be found in Him...the very life we read about in the pages of the bible?

So what power are we living by? Do we choose a dishonest gain of an assumed saved status because we want badly to be saved and take the place of Jesus by accepting ourselves?

Or do we want to be honest and continue seeking the Lord until HE intervenes and sends us His Spirit which is full of life, power and holiness?

Do we settle for feeling good about ourselves or actually seek to be pleasing to God?

The decoy gospel gets us to play a role in our own salvation...that of being the voice of Jesus to ourselves. So people will say that it is Jesus that justifies them...but only as they are the ones who play Jesus.

 

[Hidden In Him]

From any kind of distance a decoy looks like the real deal. But for a duck to be a duck it needs to quack like a duck! :)

A decoy is used in spiritual terms to hunt for souls....to put people in bondage. While promising them life they bring death. And many believers are victims of a decoy that is posing as the real thing.

I hope to compare the decoy that the enemy uses in his hunts ...with the real thing.

Another word we could use is counterfeit.

A lot of threads have been posted lately that demonstrate how decoys work. Using the language of the bible...but telling a very different message.

It has been said (Spurgeon) that discernment is not telling the difference between right and wrong only.....but also the difference between what is almost right and what is right.

However I want to begin with what is completely false. Before we get to what is only a little off we need to look at what is blatantly untruthful.

People who interpret through the flesh think as carnal beings....forgetting that the kingdom of God is upside down. So they forget to reverse the polarity of things. They continue to see boasting and arrogance as good things for example.

So we can start there.

Hey, Episkopos. Taking a needed break from my work today, and this is just what the doctor ordered. Not always something substantive on the forum.

This first post reminded me of 2 Peter 1:5-11:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

This passage is akin to James 3:20, that faith without works is dead. Faith that stands alone is dead. If it is real faith it will manifest itself in virtuous thoughts, virtuous behavior and virtuous treatment of others.

Spiritual gifts?

Great care must be taken to avoid becoming a religious soul...where we are looking too hard for prophetic messages in the alphabet soup of our daily lives. The pagan religions did this...looking for signs. Interpreting the flight of birds. To be a prophet one must avoid the power of the soul completely...avoid trying to interpret things through the soul....instead being a vessel that is available for the spirit to to be impressed with something from God free from all soulish manipulations.

I like this as well. The reason "supernatural" gifts have such a bad name today is because many supposed "manifestations" of them are not supernatural at all, they're actually just soulish and fleshly; "carnal" as many might say.

This is why I believe in and teach fasting. It was described in the OT as "afflicting one's soul" and/or of "humbling oneself," and this is precisely what must be done if we would stop speaking from our own souls and pave the way for the Lord to speak through us.

So what power are we living by? Do we choose a dishonest gain of an assumed saved status because we want badly to be saved and take the place of Jesus by accepting ourselves?

Or do we want to be honest and continue seeking the Lord until HE intervenes and sends us His Spirit which is full of life, power and holiness?

Do we settle for feeling good about ourselves or actually seek to be pleasing to God?

Reminds me of reading a book the other day about deliverance from sexual sin, and how men, even ministers, were confessing their sins to others about secret sins they couldn't stop, and crying tears before the Lord because they wanted so desperately to please Him in all things...

And again crucifying the flesh through fasting came to my mind while reading it. One business man testified about being on the road, "I would eat a long, leisurely dinner, and then go back to my hotel room, swearing to myself I would not sin, only to soon be flipping channels looking for some sexual-suggestive scene..."

What was his first mistake? Burdening his flesh down with a large meal, which in any healthy male will excite his anatomy. Is fasting fun? God no. It's tough. It can be grueling. But obedience to the Lord is something He will command, and faith in Him is not a game. He will burn away all that is not of Him, and He too went through intensive fasting while in the flesh. If He were not serious in convicting us, why would such men be crying out in tears in the midst of their sins? Yet the church offers false solutions. When Paul talked about the flesh warring against the spirit, he was not waxing metaphorical. He meant it literally. Our literal flesh must be dealt with if we would walk in full obedience, and throughout the rest of our lives. Not only does the mortification of our earthly members bring things like anger and lust under control, but it opens the door for the Spirit of the Lord to gain the ascendency, leading to the Lord Jesus Christ consuming us, and speaking and acting and working through us, until it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us.

Thanks for giving me something substantive to respond to today. Your posts are a blessing.
Hidden

 

[Joseph77]

Big church: artificial

Organic church: natural

Real church: spiritual

A decoy gospel is superficial and very popular...easy to accept and teach as people are already self-centered. So they get the pitch.

But for a real spiritual church to be established the true gospel according to depth and power must be received.

This fits perfectly (apparently/ subject to further testing if needed - to confirm with Scripture, as all things must)
with
God's Plan and
God's Purpose
and Scripture -
contrary to lds, et al that are contrary to Scripture.

 

[Episkopos]

I took this from another site...

Narcigesis

"Narcissistic Eisegesis (“Narcigesis”) = Forcing the Bible to mean something you already want it to mean by superimposing yourself into the meaning of the passage, rather than interpreting Scripture for what it means about God, and letting the Scripture simply speak for itself. Conversely, seeking to understand Scripture for what it reveals about God is known as Exegesis, and is also sometimes referred to as the “Literal” or “Grammatical-Historical” approach to interpreting Scripture."

Human Wisdom And Eloquent Speechcraft.

"When we use the purpose driven-Bible strip mine model we simply have left His plan. We are no longer hearing about the story of Jesus Christ. We are now hearing human wisdom and eloquent speechcraft. It might tickle the ears. It might soothe the soul. It cannot however save anyone. It cannot convey any spiritual power whatsoever. The proper handling of the Word of God is known as exegesis. This is the proper interpretation and handling of Scripture. Exegesis allows God to speak through His Word -- what a novel concept! Then you hear the entire counsel of the Lord. Sometimes the message will be all about His love and other times it will be all about the need to repent and His wrath. When proper exegesis is implemented then we hear the Bible for what it was designed to be -- a story about Jesus Christ. When we start changing the story to use it for our lives and interjecting ourselves into the text we are engaging in what is known as "narcigesis"; which is reading oneself into the Biblical text."

 

[Sabertooth]

Tares [Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43] are supposed to look like genuine wheat, but are hollow inside.

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves,...
having a form of godliness but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV

 

[marks]

Big church: artificial

Organic church: natural

Of course, the first churches, Jerusalem, Antioch, were "megachurches". It's not about the size.

"Organic church" is a nice sounding phrase, but it doesn't really describe something unique, more than saying "true church".

I don't think the mega-church in Antioch would have been considered artificial, as Paul and Barnabas taught there.

Much love!

 

[Joseph77]

Of course, the first churches, Jerusalem, Antioch, were "megachurches". It's not about the size.

No. They were not "churches" at all.

There is almost no resemblance at all with the Ekklesia assemblies in the Bible with the churches today or even after a few centuries.

 

[Joseph77]

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
For men will be lovers of themselves,...
having a form of godliness but denying its power." 2 Timothy 3:1-5 NKJV

Yes, this is , as written , a better description of churches after the first few centuries - nothing at all like the
meetings of Ekklesia in the first century.

 

[Philip James]

I don't think the mega-church in Antioch would have been considered artificial, as Paul and Barnabas taught there

Indeed!
And here's a little something from Ignatius bishop of Antioch circa 100 AD to the Smyrneans..

9:1 It is reasonable henceforth that we wake to
soberness, while we have [still] time to repent and
turn to God. It is good to recognise God and the
bishop. He that honoureth the bishop is houroured of
God; he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the
bishop rendereth service to the devil.


Peace!

 

[Joseph77]

Yet those who honor a bishop in the counterfeit/ false world church, are not honoring God.

 

[CharismaticLady]

So here are the statements....

1. The gospel is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to save us in our sins

2. The gospel is that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh to save us from our sins

Which statement takes an all powerful God to accomplish?

FROM!!!!!