God told His prophet Jeremiah, “He that has (understanding of) my word, let him speak (or write) my word faithfully,” (See Jeremiah 23:28). “Is not my word like as a fire? says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29). “Behold, I am against them that…cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness, yet I sent them not, nor commanded them….You have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God” (See Jeremiah 23:32, 36). God continues, “Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you…and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten” (See Jeremiah 23:39-40).
Those who presume to speak for the Lord must be faithful and true to say what God’s Word says. Do not alter the message, do not hold back the warnings. Do not tailor the message to soothe the hearer or reader. This may well be the first, last or only time they will hear or read what God actually says on the subject at hand. To the sexually deviant say, “That is an abomination in God’s eyes.” To the one who lies say, “ALL liars shall have their part in that lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” To the proud heart say, “Pride goes before a fall.’ To the racist mind say, “Has not one God made us all? Are we not all of one blood, every last one of us sons of Adam, having a common ancestor?”
Few spiritual errors are innocent errors. They are not mistakes or misunderstandings that have little consequence if accepted or believed. Most spiritual error is far reaching in its implications and can cost the hearer many blessings from God, many rewards in the hereafter, and even place their eternal inheritance of immortality at stake.
Brethren, prove all things as commanded by our Lord’s apostle. (See I Thessalonians 5:21). Embracing spiritual error can be quite costly.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley