For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

2 Corinthians 11:4

In the midst of all the commotion, Biblical exhortation, and Gospel presentation, there are serpents laying siege to many believers in the faith. The Apostle Paul presses the issue to the Corinthian church who’s flirting with another proclaimed Jesus. But have we likewise gone astray into our own premonitions of the reality of Christ? Have we committed the sin of infidelity with another so called Gospel and have grown accustomed to its windward doctrine to the point that we infect others? Believing the FAKE NEWS presented by wolves just as Eve was deceived in the garden (Gen. 3:1-6)? The Word has been freely given to us yet many interpretations have distorted the true meaning of the Gospel message. I’m not suggesting that your present Bible translation is not accurate but our hermeneutical approach has left more gaps than bridges.

The crux of our concern should be the mind of the elect. Too many churches are more concerned about filling the seats than cultivating discipleship so wisdom and understanding can become an essential part of their lives. This childlike acceptance of doctrine should be tested (1 Thess.5:21) and its works by fire (1 Cor.3:13) as not to undermine the validity of God’s word. False teaching can be found in our very conversations, small groups, and even worship experience but no one earnestly desires to speak of such things as to appear unbiblical or self-righteous. That’s why Paul boast’s first to the Corinthians before he addresses the matter at hand. A few verses before he speaks of his love for them, longing that they continue in the faith, steadfast and holding to the truth they first came to know.

The devil can also counterfeit the spirit according to Paul. Every operation and graces found in the Spirit of God, Satan can masquerade to his advantage. We need to come to grips that we face a cunning enemy who is relentless in his pursuit to nullify the cross, diminish salvation and barricade the believer’s will to trust. Instead, we’re admonished to take up grace as our strength. “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them” (Heb 13:9). Have we become so heavyset in our ways of doing church, following the spiritual trends of larger ministries in a desperate attempt to look more pleasing to the community? In doing so, have we sacrificed our moral compass for subjectivism, committing adultery with the true Jesus of the Gospel?

Inability to distinguish differences in doctrine is spreading far and wide, and so long as the preacher is “clever” and “earnest,” hundreds seem to think it must be all right, and call you dreadfully “narrow and uncharitable” if you hint that he is unsound!

J.C. Ryle

I’d like to point out that the other Gospel is alive and active today as it was before our time. Many will fall away from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1) regardless of how eloquent or theologically sound your preaching or preacher may be. But just as Paul stated, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). Speaking the truth in love with sincerity and devotion to the authenticity of the Gospel should be our business. Let us not entertain such erroneous teachings of heresies that seek to dissolve the soul from true orthodoxy. The smooth talk and flattery of the other Gospel only seek to satisfy their own appetites. Stay filled with the Spirit and walk in faith knowing the real Jesus presented in the scriptures.