2 Peter 2:18-21
While every child of God has a built-in "spiritual security system," some Christians are far more vulnerable than others to spiritual predators. False teachers, or "wolves in sheep's clothing," will seek out young and immature believers and exploit their ignorance. The wolves also hunt down people with unresolved guilt in an effort to salve their consciences with false remedies. Anyone who fails to confess and forsake sin according to Scripture remains highly susceptible to the Enemy's trickery.
Another group of people at risk of seduction are those who have gained a head knowledge of Jesus and religious practices but have not followed through in genuine discipleship. They may be church members and they may even be baptized, but something is missing. They have no root in true godliness and end up entangled in a worse state than before.
Fortunately, the believer is equipped to avoid these potholes. We have a security system designed to protect us if we keep it well tuned. First and foremost, we have to continually saturate our minds with God's Truth. In so doing, we will eventually develop a mental grid that reacts in alarm when something false comes our way. In this manner, we become rooted and grounded in the truth.
Along with exposure to Scripture, we must learn to personally know and listen to the Holy Spirit. He enables us to have a discerning spirit, and He will educate our conscience to provide timely warnings when we start down the wrong path. We can escape the snares of the Devil and rest secure in Jesus.
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Charles Frazier Stanley was born September 25, 1932, in the small town of Dry Fork, Virginia. The only child of Charley and Rebecca Stanley, Charles came into the world during a time when the entire nation felt the grip of the Great Depression. To make matters worse, just nine months later, his father Charley died at the young age of 29.
However, Charles refused to let the Great Depression or the difficulties of his life define him. Instead, like his father and grandfather before him, he clung to God’s Word and took up the mantle to preach the gospel to whoever would listen.
Dr. Stanley’s motivation is best represented by the truth found in Acts 20:24, “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God's mighty kindness and love.” This is because, as he says, “It is the Word of God and the work of God that changes people’s lives.”
Dr. Stanley’s teachings can be heard weekly at First Baptist Church Atlanta, daily on “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” radio and television broadcasts on more than 2,800 stations around the world, on the Internet at intouch.org, through the In Touch Messenger, and in the monthly, award-winning In Touch magazine.