Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Fake Doctors, Talking Donkeys, and What Motivates Sinners

donkey

Twenty-five year old, Malachi A. Love-Robinson developed a thriving medical practice in South Florida. After graduating from Arizona State in 2015, he founded the “New Birth Life Medical Care & Urgent Care.” He drove a Jaguar.  All was great, except for one rather noticeable thing. Dr. Love-Robinson was not a doctor. He was an unlicensed eighteen-year-old conman. Lacking a medical license and credible academic credentials,  Malachi  had forged his diploma from Arizona State and had laid claim to the title, “Doctor” when he secured unverified PhD. Instead of dispensing medication, his mom said Love-Robinson needed to be taking his own pills. As the Sheriff’s office that arrested him noted, “Just because you saw a season of Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t mean you could practice medicine.”

Not all who claim to practice medicine should be considered doctors. Not all who claim Christ should be considered Christians. Jude takes up this cause in verse 4 of his book. He reminds us that “certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for the condemnation.” The church has been infiltrated by satanic commando’s intent on destroying God’s people. Not all who claim Christ got into the church through the narrow gate. Not all have climbed the hill of Calvary, repenting of their sins and trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, who came, died, and rose again. Some in our midst like doctor Love-Robinson are frauds, practicing a faith they know nothing about. Like the good doctor, these false Christian will also be judged. Jude declares “Woe” to them. Judgement.

To discover who loves Jesus and who does not, Jude encourages us to examine the motives of people’s hearts. When you open up the heart of the unbelieving Christian, we will find three faint images etched into unbeliever’s soul: the images of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. These ancient characters appear in the modern heart because they illustrate the motives of the unredeemed soul: selfishness, greed, and pride. Though cultures have changed, human motives have remained constant with each passing generation. Those who claim Christ without having experience the power of Calvary continue to be motivated by selfishness, greed, and pride.

Cain rose to prominence through the vilest of means, murdering his brother, Abel. Genesis 4:8 reports, “Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.” Abel obeyed God and offered the Lord of the universe the “first of his flock.” Cain brought his second best. God rejected Cain’s offering and blessed Abel. Instead of repenting of his selfishness, Cain doubled down upon his sin, destroying his flesh and blood. Cain wanted God and man to submit to his desires.

Fake Christians continue to be motivated by their own desires, viewing God’s commands to be suggestions that can be discarded upon the alter of cultural relevance. They refuse to worship God with all that they have, fencing off their finances, their sexuality, and their personal life from the commands of Scripture. Instead of being convicted by the faithful witness of Christians who love others well and who worship God according to Bible, the false converts become angry. They mock Christians who serve their enemies, who prioritize Sunday morning worship, and who care for the orphans. They label true faith as extremism, irrational, and unnecessary. They despise love and righteousness because they are driven by selfishness of Cain. First John 3:11-12 concludes:

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Those who lack sit in the pew without saving faith express hatred for God and for their fellow man because they are selfish.

After mention Cain, Jude references the mark of Balaam, greed. Balaam first appears in Numbers 22. The evil Moabite king Balak commissions Balaam to curse the nation of Israel. Balaam refuses knowing “They are blessed (Num. 22:12). Balak possessed a forceful personality that would not be easily denied. He sent more messengers and more money to Balaam. The wicked prophet relents from obeying God and goes to curse God’s people. Before he can arrive, an angel forces Balaam and his donkey off the road. As Balaam beats his donkey, the donkey speaks and then the angel appears and delivers God’s message

Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me (Num 22:32b).

Second Peter 2:15 states that Balaam’s “loved gain from wrongdoing.” He perverted the gospel to advance his bank account and his platform.

Instead of giving to the church and the body, false saints misuse God’s resources. They abuse the church budget to go on vacations and to accumulate luxury items. They possess the nice boats, vacation homes, and expensive handbags while the widows and orphans suffer want and their church facilities suffer from a lack of repair. They use the church to grow their platform, having time for every speaking engagement but no time for the hospital room. They feed themselves by devouring the best of God’s flock.

Lastly the false Christian’s heart bears the image of Korah’s pride. Korah rose to prominence by challenging the authority of Moses and Aaron. Numbers 16:3 reports Korah said,

You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord? 

He tells Moses that he is not so great for both men put their pants on one leg at a time. They both belong to God’s people. Consequently, they both should be able to lead.

Korah misses one thing. God had appointed Moses and Aaron. The modern’s pastor’s ability to lead God’s people still comes from God above. God equips men to fulfill the requirements of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. If a man fails to live up to God’s standard, clinging to selfishness of Cain, the greed of Balaam, and the pride of Korah, his congregation should remove him from leadership. No pastor resides above the reach of God’s people and above the correction, rebuke, and authority of the Bible.

However, Korah cares about power not the abuse of power. Instead of removing ungodly pastors, Korah seeks to remove God’s leaders and replace them with sinful men. The false saint demands that elders submit to him or her even though his or her character remains spotted by sin and he or she lacks the ability to teach. Those with the heart of Korah claim that their voice should conquer the wisdom of God’s appointed leaders. Every idea they have should be implemented, every cause they have should be taken up, and every suggestion they have about the service should be done.

Moses responds to Korah’s rebellion by challenging him to a divine face off. After a night of worship, Moses Aaron and his followers and Korah and his followers assemble in their respective camps and face each other in front of the tabernacle.  God then descends upon the camp and makes his judgement. Numbers 16:32-35 records,

“And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”

Woe to those false saints who bear the signs of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. Go will defend his people.

We know Dr Love-Robinson because he rebelled against the laws of this nation and sound medical practice. We know of who Cain, Balaam, and Korah are for they rebelled against God. What will you be known for?

Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Why Exorcists are Animals

exorcismChristians seldom talk about “blaspheming angels.” But they should be familiar with the practice because Jude closely associates the action with false teaching. To keep the church pure, those who have walked up the hill of calvary believing in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ must contend with those who “blaspheme the glorious ones.” To ensure his readers grasp the point he is making, Jude goes onto recount the battle between Michael and Satan over body of Moses.

But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” – Jude 9

New Testament scholars believe Jude lifted this story form the book of Moses, The other historical mention of Moses’s death occurs in Deuteronomy 34:6; the passage does not include this story. Sadly, the section of the Book of Moses that contained this heavenly battle has been destroyed by arid conditions and the unlovingly sands of time. Though we do not have the original text from which this story came, we can be confident of its trustworthiness for it has found its way into the Bible. In addition to drawing from their own experiences, biblical writes frequently pulled from other historical sources and documents. Examine the books of Luke, Acts, and the Old Testament books such as 1 and 2 Samuel.

What does all this crazy story mean?

Jude includes the story to illustrate the folly of the false teachers of his day. When Satan comes for the body of Moses accusing the great prophet of his heinous sins of murder and rebellion against God, the archangel, Michael comes charging to Moses’s defense. Michael had every right to battle Satan for God had appointed him commander over his angels armies, instructing him to defend the nation of Israel (Dan 12:1; Enoc 20:5). But despite his high ranking, Michael did not presume to battle Satan in his own power. He appealed to Jesus saying, “The Lord rebuke you.”

The false teachers blasphemed angles when they assumed they had the internal power to rebuke the spiritual world.

Christians should not fear the demonic. Colossians 1:13-14 reports that we have been freed from Satan’s power:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Christians do not have to walk in fear. And they do not have to fear spiritual encounters with the demonic for they have access to the power of Christ. They can evangelize demon controlled persons, trusting in the unwavering power of Jesus to conquer sin. Paul modeled such dependence upon Christ when he confronted a demon saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” The text goes on to report, “And it came out that very hour (Acts16:18b).”Christians should not fear the demons and angels.

But they should not presume they can control them. Those who prance about rebuking demons in their own authority run afoul of God. They offend God when they assert that they can cast out demons who cause sickness, who dwell in houses, and who control people’s minds. Jude labels the exorcism practices that dominate much of Christendom as being nothing more than the unholy “blaspheming of angels.”

The idea of man-based exorcism does not descend from heaven. It ascends from the dark depths of human nature. Peter reminds us, “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves to corruption.” Those who claim to be the most spiritual among us are truly the earthliest among us. Jude concludes,

But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.

Those who claim power over the demonic reveal themselves to be spiritual charlatans, peddling spiritual elixirs from their broken theological wagons. Lacking wisdom, they run madly about like deer in heat slapping people with crosses and Bible. They know nothing of the life changing power of Christ. The power they do know is the power from within which feeds the flesh’s passion for greed, pride, and sensuality. Ultimately,  the fate of these exorcists parallels the fate of the dumb deer unrestrained by reason; the false teachers become spiritual roadkill. They are destroyed by what they understand, their sin.

To experience the divine, men and women do not need to look within for the power to overcome demons. They need to look without to the hill of Calvary and to the cross of Jesus Christ which rolls away sin. Have you looked without?

Peter Witkowski Discipleship

Identifying Fake Christians: Teachers of Dreams

spy blogSatanic spies have infiltrated the church, intent on wrecking the peace, unity, and doctrines of God’s people. While Bunyan’s Christian saw Formalist and Hypocrisy jump over the wall of salvation onto the narrow way, the average Christian seldom encounters such open hostility to the kingdom of God. Those who enter the church without passing through the hill of calvary at first appear to be as devoted to God as those who entered by the narrow gate.
Aware of this troubling reality, Jude tells Christians how to discern between true and disingenuous faith. Those who serve Satan reveal their true character by appealing to dreams to encourage sexual immorality, to deny the authority of Jesus, and to blaspheme angels.
Though most modern Christian would look crossed at anyone who said they slept with their Bible under their pillow and awoke the next morning with a special message from God, dreams remained a valid means of divine communication in the biblical era. God communicated to Joseph and the wisemen through dreams. Daniel and Joseph also received communications from God while sleeping. The satanic spies of Jude’s day did not dance off into imaginary land when they spoke of dreams. They erred not in claiming to have access to God’s word. They erred because they misrepresented God’s word. They took God’s clear commands about purity and obedience and twisted them into stating the opposite. Sexual sin was now licensed, encouraged, and permitted. The deity of Jesus was doubted. Feelings, human experience, and internal emotion became the defining marks of the false teachers. They prefaced their statements with, “Thus said the Lord” and then proceed to devote to deny the clear revelation of the Scriptures. Jeremiah laments

How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. (Jer. 23:26-27).

Not all who claim to know God’s word truly know it. Not ever pastor, parachurch leader, and professor who proclaims to speak for Jesus speaks for Jesus. Many claim to be speaking for him while allowing young men and women to engage in sexual sin. They say God would not give us urges if he did not want us to exercise them. They give license to divorce, abortion, and homosexuality as well. The false teachers must license and encourage sexual sin for “sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality” are the works of the flesh (Gal 5:19). They lack the power of God found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ to overcome their own sin. Thus, they indulge in sexual sin and encourage others to do so for they know nothing else.
When they deny God’s sexual ethic, they also undermine the whole gospel. Jesus restricted sexual expression to the marriage bed stating,

“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. (Matt 19:4-6).

If Jesus misunderstood God’s sexual ethic, humanity has little reason to trust Jesus salvific teachings. He ceases to be the God, man who holds the universe together. He becomes a inspiring but somewhat antiquated religious sage. The false teachers destroy the authority of the Gospel, proclaiming God to be evolving.
Such denials feed upon logical insecurity. The Christian faith does not evolve from age to age. Jude encourages men and women to contend for the faith because it was “once for all delivered to the saints.” Any message from God will align with all of the earlier messages from God. John 15:26-27 reminds its readers that,

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”

God works in unison with himself. The Father, the Son, and Spirit all promote the same message. To pit one against the other in the name of relevance, culture revolution, or love is to defame the very word of God. Those who say “Thus says the Lord” and then proceed to deny the content of the Bible have never walked up the hill of Calvary and repented of their sins.

Have you entered by the narrow gate? What comes after, “Thus says the Lord?”