Watchout For WOLVES: Keys To Discerning Authentic Ministries & Evaluating Doctrinal Trends

As Christians we must trust the Word of God above our own subjective experiences or we will get off balance.

8. Watch out for spiritual language used to justify carnal desires (1 Tim. 6:3-10; Jam. 4:1-4).

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness--God is witness. 1 Thessalonians 2:4-5 This is a very subtle thing to watch out for. There are certain things that have always and will always appeal to the carnal man. Everyone can get excited about driving new cars and living in expensive homes, especially if your doing so it can be seen as a mark of spiritual maturity. If I can clothe my greed or covetousness in a cloak of spirituality and thereby justify it, this has great appeal to my “flesh man” or carnal nature. People have justified all sorts of things from adultery to drunkenness in the guise of spirituality. Taking obscure verses out of context, refusing to balance them with other scriptures and twisting them to fit their questionable interpretation, they sin and they lead others into the same sins. The “flesh man” rebels against the concepts of selflessness, sacrifice and laying down one’s life. Words like “repentance, tribulation, affliction and suffering” are not things that people want to include in their spiritual vocabulary. If there is a way to reason around the cross and a way to clothe our self-centeredness in spiritual sounding phrases then we can keep our carnal nature and make it our religion.

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