G.K. Chesterton was correct when he quipped that those who believe in nothing will believe everything and anything. We live in a society where skepticism breeds ignorance, where the rational is set aside in favor of the ridiculous, where public opinion carries more weight than truth. Nathan Zohner illustrated this fact when he won the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair in 1997. He asked people to sign a petition demanding strict control of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide," and for good reason, since, he said
He asked fifty people if they supported a ban of the chemical dihydrogen monoxide. Forty-three said yes, six were undecided, and only one knew that the chemical is more commonly called "water." He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to the alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. The title of his prize winning project was "How Gullible Are We?" The conclusion is obvious. That we are gullible goes without saying. That we are so easily deceived, cheated and duped is what keeps me reading the paper every morning, for what we call news is often only evidence of gullibility. Our gullibility is seen in the products we buy, seeking to create an image that exists only in our minds. Our gullibility is evidenced in the movies we flock to, where doubt is suspended to new levels. Our gullibility is demonstrated in the popular sport which goes by the oxymoron Professional Wrestling. Unfortunately, those in the Church are the most gullible of all. Some people believe that Procter & Gamble is run by a Satanist, and that their logo is a Satanic symbol, or that the infamous Madalyn Murray O'Hair is trying to ban all religious broadcasting, even after she’s been dead for some time. And so like lemmings we follow the clarion call: "Quick! Sign this petition! Call and complain! Send them emails, faxes, letters - stop them before they carry out their dark plots against Christianity!" None of these stories are true, but many Christians continue to propagate these and other myths in the name of Christ. While a life of faith demands we wrestle with doubt, it does not necessitate credibility; it does not demand a simplicity that tends toward gullibility. Is there such a thing as a saintly skeptic, a Christian cynic? Our passage this morning in Deuteronomy warns us to be cautious about what we believe, that just because someone claims to speak the truth, we must not automatically trust his word. Just because he can even produce what appears to be evidence of what he says, we must check that against what we know to be true. Deuteronomy 13 serves as a warning against believing, a caution against gullibility. God tests our gullibility - verses 13:1-3 Our passage sets up a hypothetical, but very real scenario: a prophet announces a sign. Prophecy and dreams were legitimate means of revelation in Israel; thus what is envisaged is a man whose role or office carried particular religious authority in the community, but one who might abuse his position for his own evil ends. Last week in Deuteronomy 12 we saw how Israel was to disallow foreign worship from corrupting their worship of God. Even as false worship is removed, the danger remains that error will infiltrate the nation. So to a people only with the beginnings of revelation, a people with the Law written, but still in need of direction, God gave prophets through whom God the Holy Spirit spoke. Signs and wonders in the Jewish context denote a miraculous or divine token of some future event, something extraordinary. Signs often refer to portents of the future while a wonder is a miracle done to prove the power of the prophet. The rainbow was a sign to Noah that the world would not experience another flood. For prophets like Elijah or Elisha wonders were given as proof of God’s presence. All of Jesus's 34 recorded miracles were evidence that he was the Messiah (John 20:30-31). But a miracle in itself is not sufficient to identify a true prophet. For many of us, if we stop at verse 1, there would be no problem. Just because someone says they have a dream or announce something as a sign, we may not be all that enamoured. But verse 2 takes it to the next level. What if there is authentication, corroborative evidence? What would you do if someone actually does the miraculous before your eyes? In a few weeks we’ll look at Deuteronomy 18 where we are told that if a prophet’s words do not come true, it is clear they are a false prophet. That makes the Tarot Card reader on TV an easy one to dismiss. But what do we do when they are correct? What do we conclude? It is easy to respond by being impressed. It is easy to misconstrue what is done because we are captivated by the event. Having been enthralled by something supernatural, we are inclined to believe. Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then Lord Chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, "Neil!" Not daring to question or disobey the "command," the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees! Too often we, like those not daring to disobey an order, fail to recognize what is happening. We fall prey to the miraculous without discerning truth. The cover of Time a few years back read, "Can We Still Believe In Miracles?'' When Time polled whether people believe in miracles, 69% said yes. The fastest-growing churches in America are the charismatic and pentecostal congregations whose worship revolves around "signs and wonders." (Time, "The Message of Miracles," 4/10/95, p. 64) You may recall years back when Oral Roberts claimed that Jesus appeared and told him God had chosen him to find the cure for cancer. Roberts said that Jesus instructed him to build a research center and tell his partners that "this is not Oral Roberts asking for the money but their Lord." ("Talked with Jesus, Evangelist Says," LA Times, 2/3/83, 3,16) The project was completed, but has since been "shut down and sold to a group of investors for commercial development." Not surprisingly, no cure for cancer was ever found. (The Christian News, 7/20/92, 2) On what basis should we then decide? How can we keep from being gullible? Verse 2 gives us the means to discern. Even if they do everything, listen to what they say. If they point to anything other than the Covenant-keeping God, if they enjoin you to place your trust anywhere else, "you must not listen to them." Prudence demands you examine the message of the spiritual leader instead of the experiences which surround him or her. This is exactly what Jesus said when He warned us of false prophets. "They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves... Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:15,21-23.) What are some modern day examples of this? A false prophetess of our time is Barbara Marx Hubbard, who inherited the Marx Toy fortune. In her book The Revelation she says that "classical Christianity and its believers are unfit to enter the New Age," and that both will therefore have to be extinguished before the New Age can properly begin. Brooks Alexander of the Spiritual Counterfeits Project writes, "...She serves up a high-octane mixture of evolutionary mysticism and her own 'inner voice' of revelation that claims to come from 'Christ' Himself." (SCP Journal, Volume 19: February 3, 1995, pp. 3). Kenneth Copeland, who on his TV show Believer’s Voice of Victory, brashly pronounces God to be the greatest failure of all time, boldly proclaims that "Satan conquered Jesus on the Cross" (Holy Bible: Kenneth Copeland Reference Edition 129) and describes Christ in hell as an "emaciated, poured out, little, wormy spirit." (Believer's Voice of Victory, TBN, 4/21/91) Yet, despite such statements, Benny Hinn ominously warned that "those who attack Kenneth Copeland are attacking the very presence of God!" (Benny Hinn TBN, 6/8/92) Why does God test our gullibility - verse 3b The reason is simply stated in verse 3: to test whether you love Him completely. First notice how God is at work even in the false teacher, even in the one trying to pull people away from the truth. God’s sovereign work in His people gives no credence to any power in other gods; rather God permits this to happen in order to try their faith, to see what it is they are really seeking – the one true God or just miracles. While the temptation was genuinely dangerous, the overcoming of that temptation would strengthen the people in their love of God and obedience to His commandments. This statement in verse 3 gives us the response when confronted by those who do great things but proclaim that which is contrary to God’s Word. Rather than be swayed by the awe and wonder of the inexplicable, we conclude that God’s hand is even in the false prophet who does miracles, for our Father wants us to know where our faith should lie. The apostle Paul wrote to his beloved Corinthians some fifteen hundred years after Moses's time and warned them about false prophets with false messages filled with God-words (2 Corinthians 11:3-4). Paul goes on to show them the source of their deception (11:13-15) God provides the answer for gullible people - verses 12:32; 13:4-5Don’t add and don’t take away - verse 12:32 This reminds us where our focus is to be found. The Christian faith has as its foundation God’s Word. The final arbiter, the judge of all what we believe and experience, is God’s Word. Some Christian groups tout the need to check one’s brains at the door, to cease being rational and allow the emotions guide the day. But that is only a quick fix to being gullible. Rather, what God demanded of His people then and today is that we critique what we believe and how we live in light of God’s Word. This necessitates you knowing God’s Word. Last week when we examined worship in Deuteronomy 12 we saw how God’s Word is the final word on our worship, that we regulate our worship to be in line with what God commands. That truth applies to how we live. It is the principle by which we guard ourselves from error. In verses 4-5 Moses gives us a list of how completely our lives must reflect God’s direction in our life. We must follow, revere, keep, obey, serve and hold fast to His Word. All we need for life and godliness is found there. While we are to keep His Word, we must be rid of the false teacher. This punishment no doubt seems harsh, but notice how the crime of false teaching is seen. The crime is considered not simply in light of the actions of the perpetrator, but in light of the effect of the crime on the welfare of the whole people of Israel. Of all potential crimes in ancient Israel, this one was the most dangerous in terms of its broader ramifications: to attempt deliberately to undermine allegiance to God was the worst form of subversive activity, in that it eroded the constitutional basis of the potential nation, Israel. False teaching is equivalent to espionage or treason during a war. Punishment is necessary not only to discipline the evildoer, but ultimately to preserve the community. The death penalty is not a vestige of religious fanaticism or primitive barbarism, but a measure of the seriousness with which the Covenant was taken as the foundation of Israel’s whole national existence and peoplehood. For the people to follow the false prophet would bring a curse on the nation. (11:28). So who should die, he or the whole nation? Death would remove the evil in the nation. This was a self-preserving act of removing a threat to the nation’s health and survival, like a body ejecting a poison. Our response is the same, but as the Church today is not the same as the government, we do not take his life, but church discipline is necessary. Paul, quoting this formula for capital punishment in 1 Corinthians 5 makes this point. The clearest criterion of what constitutes false or potentially idolatrous teaching from religious leaders (whether claiming prophetic gifts or not, whether producing signs and wonders or not) is how their teaching relates to the central truth of the saving Gospel. Notice how Moses reviews the exodus; for us we would look at the Cross. What Christ did for us on the Cross is of such essential nature, that to deny God’s grace and the work of Christ is to lead people away from the truth and into figments of human speculation, idolatry. This is the concern Paul had for a church in Asia Minor 2000 years ago and it must be our concern today. In Galatians 1:6-10 Paul says:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 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 him be eternally condemned! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. |
