Careful of Those Pretending to Bring the Light

It is so easy to be deceived. I have witnessed many that have placed themselves on some sort of pedestal to be seen by all, only to be exposed and fall in grand fashion. In the world of faith, the same holds true. There have been those that claim to be of Christ and preaching of Him only to be exposed in their sin and having taken advantage of those that were not mature in Christ enough to see the deception, or enamored by the glitz and fanfare that they chose not to see it.

“¹³For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angle of light. ¹⁵So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (ESV)

Paul is speaking to the Corinthians here about the dangers of the false apostles. He is very forthcoming with his words and straight to the point. He warns that what you see is not always what is true and that they should be aware and not ignore when something seems out of line with Christ.

This holds true today, as I see it, even more so. With social media, there is the opportunity for many to put on a persona of one thing and in reality things are certainly 180 degrees different. I know of those that have professed one thing for the world to see, and then when the camera is off, they are contrary to what they have presented.

It is up to us to take what we see at face value only and dig to find the truth. Once we start digging, we will be enlightened to what is really going on and even the motives behind it. For me I have to even remember that when I go looking I have to be prepared for what I find.

When it comes to the Light of Christ, the study of God’s Word is the way to find the truth. I know that there are plenty of passages that when taken out of context, can appear to lift up those that are deceiving. When I truly dig into Scripture, I am able to find the truth that is God’s Word and distance myself from those that actively deceiving.

When you are in the world, have you been deceived by someone claiming to be of the light of God? When did you realize you had been deceived? What actions can you take in the future to prepare for and avoid this happening again?