The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: - Vital Christianity

191
This spiritual warfare will become increasingly intense as we come closer to the Second
Coming of Jesus. Paul predicted:
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving
spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars,
whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron . . . Mark this: There will be
terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,
boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love,
unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness
but denying its power” (I Tim. 4:1-2, II Tim. 3:1-5).
Paul wrote of what and how these false teachers will try to deceive:
“They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.”
(I Tim. 4:3)
They teach “godless myths” and “old wives tales” (I Tim. 4:7).
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed
women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,
always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and
Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved
minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected” (II Tim. 3:6-8).
Paul also pointed out that these kind of false teachers are so corrupt that their folly will be
clear to everyone (II Tim. 3:9).
Peter similarly told about the teachings and behavior of false teachers (II Pet. 2:1-22). Virtually
the whole book of Jude deals with false teachers and their heresies.
All Christians are to be discerning and test everything they see and hear:
“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil . . . do not believe every
spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (I Thess. 5:21-22; I Jn. 4:1).