#DailyDevotion Show People Where They Are Wrong Concerning The Gospel

Ephesians 5:6–11 ⁶Don’t let anyone fool you with meaningless words. These things bring God’s anger and punishment on those who don’t obey the truth. ⁷So don’t share their ways. ⁸Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, ⁹since light produces everything good and righteous and true. ¹⁰And test things to see if they please the Lord. ¹¹Don’t have anything to do with the works of darkness, from which no good can come. Instead show that they are wrong.

We live in an era where everyone supposedly is “live and let live” and “let’s just agree to disagree” but when it comes to where people are going to spend all eternity and there are only two places, the Lake of Fire and God’s Kingdom, the Scriptures and God do not give us that option. When it comes to true spiritual things and speaking about them our LORD Jesus Christ makes it quite clear we are to obey the commandment to not use his name in vain. This is what Paul is talking about here in these verses. The Small Catechism of the Lutheran Confessions say it this way in the first petition of the LORD’s prayer, “When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity…”

So Paul say here, “Don’t let anyone fool you with meaningless words.” How serious is false doctrine? Paul says, “These things bring God’s anger and punishment on those who don’t obey the truth.” Remember it was false doctrine that caused the fall of our first parents and which brought sin and death into the world. There is not small error in God’s sight. Error can and often does lead to eternal death. We as Christians are not to share in the ways of error, false teaching and the the like. Martin Luther was correct when he said something to the effect in all things love but not so in teaching the truths of God’s word. When it comes to God’s word and preserving its truths there is no love. There is only pointing out truth and error and calling a spade a spade.

We are children of the Light and we are called to live in the Light. That Light is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I don’t just mean simplistic formulas of faith. The heretics say they believe Jesus is the Christ and Lord, but they mean a different Jesus and Lord. The true light of the Gospel will produce all that good and true. It produces lives that please God. Therefore we are called to test things to see if they please the LORD. Paul is calling us to test all teachings to see if they are in accordance with the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. You cannot say, “I just want to be a simple Christian with a simple faith.” Jesus did not call you to have such a faith. He intends you grown in faith and knowledge concerning him. It’s one thing if you are mentally deficient. It’s another thing if you are just lazy. We all need to pay attention to our pastors sermons and learn from them as much as we can. If there are bible studies led by him, you need to be there. If you have your own bible you need to be in it daily. If you don’t how will you be able to test a teaching to see if it is true or not?

Now here is the kicker in our age. Paul says to “show that they are wrong.” There is no wiggle room here. It is the false teaching that causes dissension not the truth. Jesus is not the way, the truth mixed with error, and the life. He is the truth. His truth gives us eternal life.

Heavenly Father, grant us teachers that can train us to recognize error so we may live in the light and life your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.