Word for Today, Fri, 05 Aug 2005: Truth versus Counterfeit
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
I frequently like to share from the writings of Neil Anderson
because he connects with many of the issues that I think about
regularly. Today's issue is one of those times. So many people
mention God or they mention prayer, but after speaking for a
moment or two, I discover that we do not share a common faith at
all, just a few words.
Is there an absolute truth? Absolutely, yes. The Bible says
very clearly that there is only one pathway to God, and that
pathway is through His Son Jesus Christ. That sure isn't
popular. Some people will call you close minded or downright
wrong when you even hint of such things. Yet that is the real
truth. Anything that denies these things is counterfeit.
What do you believe?
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
August 5
THE COUNTERFEITS
Unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins (John
8:24).
In assessing counterfeits to Christianity, no criterion is more
important than the Person of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote: "I am
afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure
devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a
Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a
different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel
from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough" (2
Corinthians 11:3, 4 NIV).
Other religions may talk about Jesus, but they present Him in
another way than He is presented in Scripture. They may talk
about the same historical Jesus, but not about the Son of God,
the Alpha and Omega, and the great I AM. Jesus said, "Unless you
believe that I am He, you shall die in your sin" (John 8:24). If
you believe in Jesus in any other way than how He is presented in
the Bible, you will receive an altogether different spirit
instead of the Holy Spirit and an altogether different gospel
instead of the gospel of grace.
The counterfeit spirits which are at work in the cults and the
occult are nothing like the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "But when
He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the
truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever
He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to
come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall
disclose it to you" (John 16:13, 14). The Holy Spirit always
leads us back to Christ.
The counterfeit gospel is not a gospel of grace because the blood
of bulls and goats will never take away sin, so you are left with
a gospel of works. But the real Jesus died for our sins, the
Spirit of truth has come, and we are marvelously saved by grace.
Lord, I want to be so filled with the knowledge of Your truth
that I may quickly recognize and turn from all counterfeits of
the gospel.
© Copyright 2005 - Freedom in Christ - Taken from "Daily in
Christ" by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson
http://www.ficm.org/DailyInChrist/0805dic.htm
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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