Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. While Satan may not be
the direct cause of all of man's deceptions, he is nonetheless
quite busy in sowing the field with tares, and does indeed mold
and shape religious men into willing and gullible emissaries
of many fables, which take root in the fertile soil of the natural
man's innate rebellion against the sovereign headship of Christ
over all things. Satan does not need to dictate
every error which is espoused by his emissaries, because by
their very nature they will embrace and declare those errors which
seem right in their own eyes. There is a way which seemeth
right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
This is why Peter says that these fables are cunningly devised.
Satan knows the nature of men and uses it to his own advantage,
as he supposes. Paul was quite aware of his devices
and warned about those who were duped into promoting those deceptions.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel for
Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."
These promoters of deceptions are those who Paul describes
as having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. They are ever learning and never
able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Wherever a fable
exists, you will always find men who will promote it. Now
if we know that such cunningly devised fables do exist, and
we know that there are willing and ready messengers waiting
for the opportunity to deliver them, it would be wise for us
to seek to determine those fables and to identify those who would
lie in wait to deceive. That we henceforth be no more
children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
wind of doctrine, by the slight of men in cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But speaking the truth, and love
may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. One of the safeguards which the
Lord has put in place for the benefit of his children is the
local assembly, where each part of the body is seeking to supply
that which the body is in need of. This ministry of the saints
one to another is that means whereby the saints are strengthened
and encouraged in sound doctrine, which helps each to identify
the tellers of fables. Let the prophet speak two or
three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another
that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace. For ye may all
prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
Where no counsel is, the people fail. But in the multitude of
counselors, there is safety. The greatest and most cunningly
devised fable that has been forced upon the unsuspecting religious
men of this world is any message which does not have Jesus Christ
and Him crucified as its only component. Any other message
is superfluous and will ultimately lead men away from Christ to
embrace numerous competing doctrines. Christ is all. All other doctrines
are useless apart from the firm foundation of the redeeming work
of Christ. Another cunningly devised fable
is that God loves every person in the earth with the same degree
of love. This flies in the very face of the scripture which declares,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. The stark and simple
truth that the Lord loves a particular people of his own choosing forms
the very basis of the purpose for which Christ came into the
world as the Redeemer. He came to save that people which
were given to him in the eternal covenant of redemption. For them
he prayed and died. I pray for them, I pray not for
the world, but for them whom thou hast given me, for they
are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am
glorified in them." Yet another cunningly devised fable is that
men have the ability to have faith as a function of their
own will and choice. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. To deny that faith is the gift
of God, quite apart from any work of the will or flesh, is
to deny the necessity of the redemptive work of Christ. To
assert that by having faith as a product of his will, a man
denies his need of Christ's work and or his sovereign prerogative
to show mercy to whom he will. Another cunningly devised fable
is to deny that Christ alone is the revelation of God in the
earth. God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake
in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Christ alone
is the true message and the true messenger. For a free CD containing
15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at
windstream.net.