As we continue to walk through troubling times, I would like us to look at biblical warnings for the church.
There are all kinds of warnings for us to be aware of in our everyday lives. There are warning lights in our vehicles. There are warning alarms in our buildings. There are even warning pains in our bodies, warning us that there is a problem that needs our attention.
There is another place that we can find warnings and that is right in the midst of our Bibles. The Bible is full of warnings that are there to help us navigate in our daily walk with the Lord; warnings that were as prevalent back then as they are today. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the same could be said about us as believers; we were the same back then as we are today and will be tomorrow.
God was continuously warning His people what would happen if they were not obedient. Although the Bible is full of numerous warnings, these 3 specific warnings should set off a spiritual red light for the churches today:
1. Falsies
2. God will not be mocked
3. Lack of knowledge
1. Falsies — I am sure we have all heard the term falsies; could be false eyelashes, false teeth, false news and so on and so on, but the Bible warns us about many false people as well.
False Prophets
First John 4:1 (NIV) — “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Matthew 7:15 — “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
So the Bible warns us about false prophets that were around back in the day but have a look around, as they are on the increase in this time and season as well. Many men and women who call themselves children of God and prophets of God are walking in the false prophet category. Take a look on many social media platforms and see what these individuals are prophesying, “Someone is going to have a financial breakthrough this week.” “Someone is going to be healed of back pain this week.”
Just like the weatherman says, “There is a chance of rain, snow or sunshine today, making sure that all aspects are covered.” This is not prophecy; God does not deal in generalizations. He is a God of specifics, a God of order. He tells a true prophet exactly who is having a financial breakthrough or who is specifically going to be healed.
False Apostles
Second Corinthians 11:13 — “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.”
Once again, we see people that are pastors one week and then suddenly, out of nowhere and without the recognition or commissioning from a company of apostles, begins proclaiming to be an apostle to the nations. Apostles are called by God, not by oneself, and recognized by elder apostles — those of maturity. As we always say, check the fruit. Apostles are sent ones in order to train, equip, send out and grow the church as called by God to do so. If they are not called by God to be an apostle, then they are not apostles.
False Teachers
Second Peter 2:1 — “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
There are people who are in positions of teaching the Word of God that are not teaching the truth of the Word and this is causing, as the verse states, great division in the church. They are teaching from a worldly perspective and not from a godly perspective, instilling confusion and, in turn, deceiving the sheep.
False Preaching
Galatians 1:9 — “As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”
If you come across preaching that is not in line with the Bible, your red light should be flashing and your shoes should be leading you out the door. Many people are being led astray by false preaching and you can only be led astray if you are not in the Word yourself. We must know and study the Word in order to know if what is being preached is false. Like false teachers, false preachers manipulate God’s Word and if we do not know the Word, we can be in for trouble. Don’t think that because you hear a person on the radio or see the person on TV that they are all biblically sound. Many are false preachers. Remember, anyone can be on radio or TV because they pay big money to be on there.
False Believers
Second Timothy 4:3-4 — “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
Come on, let’s face it … there are so many people out there that claim to be believers but have both feet firmly planted in the world so that you cannot tell them apart from the unbelievers. We should stand out in a crowd, not blend in. There are numerous Scriptures telling us that we are not of this world and say that we are foreigners in this world. In fact, 1 John 2:15 states, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” If you are setting aside the truth of the gospel or manipulating God’s Word in order to make your life comfortable or in order to fit into the world — sadly, you are a false believer.
This is a very in-depth teaching. To continue as Apostle Todd deep dives into the remaining warnings for the church, please listen to our Fresh Fire podcast episode “Biblical Warnings for the Church” and get a fresh wind of His Spirit, and the release of a fresh fire and revelation from the Word of God. {eoa}
Todd Smith is the founder and apostle of Fresh Fire Apostolic Ministries, along with his wife, Sandra Benaglia Smith. They live on the Great Lakes Region of Ontario, Canada in Simcoe (Norfolk County). Fresh Fire Apostolic Ministries is about bringing revival fire to local communities, regions and the nations. It is about ministering to others through the power of the anointed and infallible Word of God and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Todd is dedicated to helping equip the body of Christ to awaken the nations with an apostolic and prophetic call of a rising Ekklesia. Todd has devoted his life to the righteousness of Christ, with the demonstration of the Father’s heart in regions, individuals and the church across the world. Todd’s desire is to see every believer fulfill his or her God-given destiny and live life to the fullest in God.
