Would Jesus refer to certain people on Trump’s Christian Advisory Committee as serpents and hypocrites?

 Marsha West

Marsha West, CRN General Editor

I have a deep concern for those who are warring against the Lord Jesus Christ.  I’m speaking of men and women who are spreading a false gospel around the globe, a gospel that saves no one.  In Mat. 23, Jesus rebuked false teachers for being full of “hypocrisy and lawlessness.” He also referred to them as serpents and a brood of vipers.  Ouch!

The Lord addressed false teaching in Mat. 7:15-20:

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Yet “ravenous wolves” are frequently given a platform to reach millions with their rotten fruit through “Christian” events.  I’m talking about the events that evangelical patriots attend for the purpose of praying for our nation.  Moreover, wolves are given a platform on popular “Christian” news and opinion sites.  Sad to say that visitors to some esteemed “Christian” blogs really should seek God’s protection before entering.  Three such examples are Christianity Today, Christian Post and Christian Today.  But by far the worst offenders when it comes to spreading a false gospel are cable stations such as Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) and God TV.

During the Republican National Convention, Donald J. Trump allowed a door to be opened for false teachers to impart Word of Faith (WoF) theology to the massive audience in attendance and those watching on TV.  WoF, a.k.a. prosperity gospel, name-it-and-claim-it, health and wealth is a theological cult.  According to Berean Research:

The world’s fastest-growing false religion tells us that our faith is a “force” and the words we speak have the power to create something new. The Word of Faith proponents promise we can obtain health, wealth, success, and more if we simply have enough faith. Biblical Christianity says no. (Source)

So what are God’s people to do about this? In 1 Timothy 6:3-5 Paul tells Timothy what he thinks of false teachers:

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.

Those who teach a false doctrine create huge problems in the Church?  Yes!  And 2,000 years after Paul wrote to Timothy, modern-day wolves “puffed up with conceit” are still around, creating constant friction.

Two people who propagate “teachings of demons” are Paula White, senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Center in Florida and Pastor Mark Burns of Harvest Praise and Worship Center. Both of these individuals were invited to take part in the 2016 Republican National Convention. It’s no secret that The Donald has an affinity for affluent prosperity preachers such as White; Joel Osteen calls the mogul a “friend of his ministry.”  Both White and Burns serve on Trump’s “Christian” Advisory Committee that was established to help him win the evangelical vote.

In verse 12 Paul tells Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith.” Before that, in 1 Tim. 1:19, he told his friend to hold on “to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and thereby shipwrecked their faith.”

Could it be any clearer that Bible believing Christians, who are faithful to the teachings of Scripture, are to “out” wolves?

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