When people hear of great acts of kindness and love, or of miracles of healing, they usually think that God must be behind it all. Some think that only God would be interested in having such good works done. But God warns us that Satan, the Evil One, is out to lead people away from the truth by having them deceived by goodness! (2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12.)
So how are we to know who to trust and accept if the good works a person does are NOT a proof that he/she is a servant of God? In this true story the Lord Jesus answers this difficulty for us.
The people of Jerusalem had this same problem about Jesus! "He is a good man," some were saying. Others were saying, "No, He deceives the people." (verse 12.) Some were amazed at His teaching and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?"
Jesus answered, "My teaching is not My own. It comes from Him who sent Me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak of My own." (verses 14-18.)
You see His good works were not the proof that He was doing God's work. The important thing was to find out whether the teaching came from God. Did His teachings agree completely with God's Word? YES! Jesus was happy for everything He said or did to be checked out against what God had said through Moses and the prophets. (Luke 24:44-48.)
Those whose religious teachings are found to be different than what God has taught in His Word, the Holy Bible, are NOT servants of God - no matter how much good they may have done! Jesus would say to us the same as He had to say to the people of Jerusalem; "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make right judgment." (verse 24. Acts 17:11.)
Suppose you know about someone who has spent her life being good and kind, and who is thought of by many to be a servant of God. If you then saw that by her example she was encouraging people to break the first commandment of God (Exodus 20:3.) by praying to others as well as to the one true God - what should that tell you? Or if you saw that she was breaking God's second commandment (Exodus 20:4-6.) by using, and encouraging others to use, IMAGES in the worship of God - what should that tell you?
To accept such a person as being a servant of God, just because of her kindness and love towards her fellow-men, would easily lead you into living a life of disobeying God's commands - a false religion that would result in God's judgment! Deceived by goodness!
Beware! God has clearly warned us that Satan will try to lead us in the wrong direction by using a sweet "angel of light", or an apparent "servant of righteousness"! (2nd Corinthians 11:13-15.)
How did those people in Jerusalem react when Jesus used the Scriptures to point out their mistakes? They could not accept that they had made bad judgment, and so they refused Jesus' teaching saying, "You are demon-possessed"! (verse 20.)
Read about it for yourself in John's Gospel chapter 7, verses 12-24.
John Nixon, Cork, Ireland. P31HD98. Contact: jnixonj@gmail.com
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