Some Christians are surprised to learn about out-right deception, false prophets, and gross evil found throughout Western Christendom. But they should not be, given that Jesus himself warned about this constantly. And the New Testament as a whole speaks to this repeatedly.
Just a few obvious texts – out of many – come to mind here. In Matthew 7:15 we find these words of Jesus: “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” Or as Paul put it in Acts 20:29-32: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert.”
Note that these warnings are aimed at God’s people. We expect the world to thrive on lies and deceit, but these alerts are telling believers that so many who claim to be Christ-followers will fully be promoting such deception. Two key areas are especially under attack by Satan and his minions today: life and sexuality.
Sanctity of life seduction
The first has to do with the life issues, including abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide. Just two recent examples can be mentioned here. The first concerns an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) who is a professor of religious studies at Elon University: Rev. Dr. Rebecca Todd Peters. This is part of what she said in a sermon:
If Jesus were here today, he would be a clinic escort, distracting women from the hatred of the protesters. Or an abortion doula, holding women’s hands and offering support and love as they end their pregnancies. And I expect he would have a stern word for self-righteous legislators who use abortion as a political issue…
I have been pregnant four times. I have had two abortions… I can also attest that I felt God’s presence with me as I made the decision to end two pregnancies and I felt no guilt, no shame, no sin….
And she said this while wearing a pink stole featuring the Planned Parenthood logo. Wow. Talk about wolves in sheep’s clothing. Of course if abortion is a sacrament and a blessing, then if Mary had decided to have baby Jesus killed in her womb, that would have been just peachy.
Not to be outdone, another PCUSA minister who works as a volunteer chaplain inside a Planned Parenthood clinic has said that women can abort their babies as an act of love to them. I kid you not. Rev. Marvin Ellison a retired professor of Christian ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary said this in a sermon at the First Congregational Church in South Portland, Maine:
[S]ome confided in me that they had never expected to find a Christian minister inside Planned Parenthood. Maybe outside the clinic protesting, but they hadn’t imagined that they would meet a Christian minister inside the clinic, much less offering care and support.
From these women, I’ve also learned something else about the ‘who.’ They’re not two groups of women – women who love children and women who have abortions. Only one group of women exists.
So murdering babies is an act of love. Can Orwellian double-speak get any worse? Satan is alive and well in some of our churches and seminaries.
Sexual seduction
The second major area of satanic deception has to do with marriage and family, and God’s expressed purposes for human sexuality. Examples of this seem endless but here I offer just two recent cases of those claiming to represent God and his word who tell us we can ignore the divine counsel on this.
First consider a UK Methodist Church story about Grace, a queer non-binary performance artist. A few quotes from an article are quite revealing:
“I grew up feeling like Church wasn’t a place for someone like me,” they said, “I didn’t feel welcome and I didn’t feel safe.” Today, that story looks very different. Grace now worships regularly at Union Methodist/URC Church in Margate, often accompanied by their beloved pet rats, creating art for others who fear stepping into a church to encounter faith without judgement….
Grace’s work is grounded in their Christian faith, a faith that has been renewed and strengthened by the welcome found at Union Methodist/URC Church. “My Christian faith guides my art,” Grace says. “I want to show that not all Christians are scary or against you. I want people to know there is a place for them. There is a church where they will not be judged. There is a community waiting to love them.” https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/our-stories/faith-art-and-home-in-a-methodist-community/
Good grief! Why do I think that those pet rats have a far greater sense of reality and morality than this ‘artist’ and ‘church’ do? And “faith without judgment”? That perfectly sums up counterfeit Christianity – the religion of self, where we justify ourselves and our sin and reject God’s just judgments. Even Satan would love to attend a “church” like that!
He does the same as he pushes abortion. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler was quite right to call him out: “You are looking here at two different rival religions. You have historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity, and you have theological liberalism and whatever it produces next.”
Quite so. As J. Gresham Machen said over 100 years ago in Christianity and Liberalism:
In the sphere of religion, in particular, the present time is a time of conflict; the great redemptive religion which has always been known as Christianity is battling against a totally diverse type of religious belief, which is only the more destructive of the Christian faith because it makes use of traditional Christian terminology. This modern non-redemptive religion is called “modernism” or “liberalism”.
And Satan’s greatest works of deceit and deception today are in the areas of social ethics as he uses apostates and false prophets to undermine the clear teachings of Scripture and to call God a liar. Their fate will not be a pleasant one. As Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to the false prophet Elymas:
“You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9-10)
Thanks Bill, I do believe that we have many false prophets/pastors teaching in our congregations and that is why I believe the day of Christ is at hand as 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says “Let no man deceive you be any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” Apparently we are entering the Golden Age or revival where I believe what Jesus says in Matt 24:14 will happen “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” So although at the moment, the gospel is being preached throughout the world with the help of social media platforms etc, we still have evil ideologies to be got rid of like the examples you gave as this ‘falling away’ is also happening until the great tribulation occurs.
But after that Jesus again says in Matthew 24: 24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” as it is going to be very hard to tell who is a true Christian or not.
Excellent article! It is also very disturbing. The tragedy of this is that so many of these deceivers exist who are affirming sin and sinful lifestyles. They are not compassionate as they pretend to be. They are encouraging the unsaved as they continue walking their path to eternal destruction. Thank you for writing this and making believers aware of this.
Thanks Tim.
A lie told with a very loud volume and repeated by a broad audience does not therefore turn into the truth. If you step into a pulpit or appear on The View, your false statements do not miraculously turn into truth. Great article, Bill. You are a fierce culture warrior. I will follow you into the line of fire any time.
Many thanks Dave.
When these creeps talk about “women having abortions”, they are deceiving themselves also. It is not _women_ who have abortions; it is _mothers_. Only a mother can have an abortion.
Thanks, Bill.
I’ve noticed that often those who promote abortion complain about ‘violence’ when they face righteous opposition and indignation, as Dr. Rebecca Peters does in the quote above, but speak nothing about the violent, painful murders of the innocent babies.
And for those who hide behind the banner of Christianity to promote their evil, there is a somber warning. Oh, that they would heed it and turn from their wicked ways.
‘Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!’
Thanks Bill, I do believe that we have many false prophets/pastors teaching in our congregations and that is why I believe the day of Christ is at hand as 2 Thessalonians 2:3 says “Let no man deceive you be any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” Apparently we are entering the Golden Age or revival where I believe what Jesus says in Matt 24:14 will happen “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” So although at the moment, the gospel is being preached throughout the world with the help of social media platforms etc, we still have evil ideologies to be got rid of like the examples you gave as this ‘falling away’ is also happening until the great tribulation occurs.
But after that Jesus again says in Matthew 24: 24 “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” as it is going to be very hard to tell who is a true Christian or not.
Excellent article! It is also very disturbing. The tragedy of this is that so many of these deceivers exist who are affirming sin and sinful lifestyles. They are not compassionate as they pretend to be. They are encouraging the unsaved as they continue walking their path to eternal destruction. Thank you for writing this and making believers aware of this.
Thanks Tim.
A lie told with a very loud volume and repeated by a broad audience does not therefore turn into the truth. If you step into a pulpit or appear on The View, your false statements do not miraculously turn into truth. Great article, Bill. You are a fierce culture warrior. I will follow you into the line of fire any time.
Many thanks Dave.
When these creeps talk about “women having abortions”, they are deceiving themselves also. It is not _women_ who have abortions; it is _mothers_. Only a mother can have an abortion.
Thanks, Bill.
I’ve noticed that often those who promote abortion complain about ‘violence’ when they face righteous opposition and indignation, as Dr. Rebecca Peters does in the quote above, but speak nothing about the violent, painful murders of the innocent babies.
And for those who hide behind the banner of Christianity to promote their evil, there is a somber warning. Oh, that they would heed it and turn from their wicked ways.
‘Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!’
– Isaiah 5:20
Correct Joan.