Months ago I received a call from a collection agency that my mother owed money to a company, and that they are calling to collect. I mentioned that I will speak to my mother and try to resolve the matter. When we checked further, the company that laid the claim did not exist. It was a paper company established as a scam. I spoke to the collection agency when they called again, and made it clear what was happening. Today, there are many companies claiming to provide services or trying to make claims that they are not able to deliver. There is an old saying, if it’s “too good to be true, is because it is true to be true.”
The Bible tells us of a scam artist. He is called the father of lies. He sold a phony bill of goods to Eve. “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:1-5
Well we know how that scam ended. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden. Sin separated us from God and creation. Satan made claims that he was the new ruler of planet earth, and worst of all, the scam still plagues humanity today. He still makes sin look appealing, He still gives false hopes, He still tells people that they can get on a fast track and receive their dreams if they only do this or that. So many people are following scams that in the end will hurt both the person being scammed, and the person doing the scam. In the end, justice is always served.
The worst kind of scam is in the area of religion because it deals with salvation and eternity. Satan tells partial truths mixed with partial lies. For instant here are some truths, “Come as you are to Jesus”. This is true statement. Just look at the story of the prodigal son. “Jesus will save us when we repent and submit ourselves to Him”. This also is a true general statement, just look at the life of the apostle Peter. “Once saved always saved.” False statement. Why? Because a person can decide to leave their relationship with Christ and walk away towards a path that rejects the gift of salvation. Look at the life of King Saul. Another false statement is that “we can stay and live in our sins because God made us this way.” In fact the opposite is true, Christ came to deliver us from the bondage of sin. He came to break us free from the depravity of sin. He came to transform us and recreate us into a new creation. But the devil has many religious scams; the evilest is the redefinition of sin. Even though the Bible is clear on what sin is, some have redefined sin, and made others to believe that certain practices are no longer sin. It’s all a scam.
The Bible is clear. For instance, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8. Yet, many have redefined the Sabbath, and it is no longer holy. In the book of Revelation, God makes a declarative statement. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” Revelation 22:11 There is a clear demarcation between what is Christian living and what is sinful living. Christ wants us to be saved; however the enemy tries to confuse us by giving mankind a religious scam.
Here is some advice from one of my favorite authors. “The position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan’s most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel. From the beginning the servants of God have contended against false teachers, not merely as vicious men, but as inculcators of falsehoods that were fatal to the soul. Elijah, Jeremiah, Paul, firmly and fearlessly opposed those who were turning men from the word of God. That liberality which regards a correct religious faith as unimportant found no favor with these holy defenders of the truth. The vague and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, and the many conflicting theories concerning religious faith, that are found in the Christian world are the work of our great adversary to confuse minds so that they shall not discern the truth. And the discord and division which exist among the churches of Christendom are in a great measure due to the prevailing custom of wresting the Scriptures to support a favorite theory. Instead of carefully studying God’s word with humility of heart to obtain a knowledge of His will, many seek only to discover something odd or original.” Darkness before Dawn p 7
May God give us eyes of discernment so that we don’t fall into the many scams of the enemy.
Angel
Angel J. Rodriguez, D.Min
Houston Central – Senior Pastor
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