Month: September 2015

Beware of False Prophets

I believe John Calvin has a better commentary on these words of Christ than I could ever pen down.  Therefore, I will let him speak.

“But beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15).  These words were intended to teach, that the Church would be exposed to various (impostors), and that consequently many would be in danger of falling from the faith, if they were not carefully on their guard. We know what a strong inclination men have towards falsehood, so that they not only have a natural desire to be deceived, but each individual appears to be ingenious in deceiving himself.

Satan, who is a wonderful contriver of delusions, is constantly laying snares to entrap ignorant and heedless persons. (Jesus) therefore warns his disciples that, if they desire to persevere (in the faith), they must prepare themselves to avoid the snares of Satan. It is the will of the Lord, (as has been already said,) that his Church shall be engaged in uninterrupted war in this world. That we may continue to be his disciples to the end, it is not enough that we are merely submissive, and allow ourselves to be governed by his Word. Our faith, which is constantly attacked by Satan, must be prepared to resist.

It is of the greatest consequence, undoubtedly, that we should let ourselves to be directed by good and faithful ministers of Christ: but as false teachers, on the other hand, make their appearance, if we do not carefully watch, and if we are not fortified by perseverance, we shall be easily carried off from the flock. To this purpose also is that saying of Christ: “The sheep hear the voice of the shepherd; and a stranger. They do not follow, but flee from him,” (John 10:3, 5)

Hence too we conclude, that there is no reason why believers should be discouraged or alarmed, when wolves creep into the fold of Christ, when false prophets endeavor to corrupt the purity of the faith by false doctrines. They ought rather to be aroused to keep watch: for it is not without reason that Christ enjoins them to be on their guard. Provided that we are not led astray through our own sluggishness, we shall be able to avoid every kind of snares; and, indeed, without this confidence, we would not have the courage necessary for being on our guard.

Now that we know that the Lord will not fail to perform his promises, whatever may be the attacks of Satan, let us go boldly to the Lord, asking from him the Spirit of wisdom, by whose influences he not only seals on our hearts the belief of his truth, but exposes the tricks and impositions of Satan, that we may not be deceived by them. When Christ says, that they come to us in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves, his meaning is, that they (will seem to be true), if prudence be not exercised in subjecting them to a thorough examination” ~ John Calvin (July 10, 1509 to May 27, 1564)

Family Worship

A couple of years ago I lamented the passiveness of some Christian fathers and husbands who are not taking up their spiritual leadership roles as given to them by God in his holy and inerrant Word here. I also went on to appeal to my fellow Christian husbands and fathers to stand up and guard their families from various errors and false teachings that are bombarding us everyday. Today, I would like to continue and point out one of the ways of doing this namely family worship.

We are all familiar with the worship that takes place in our churches when we meet on the Lord’s Day. But there ought to be another worship that takes place in our homes when we are not gathering with fellow saints. Parents, especially, fathers should gather their children, and teach them the word of God, pray, and sing hymns and psalms with them. These are some of the means that God uses to bless his people and to build strong and godly families and churches that are able to discern false doctrines.Thomas Manton was right when he observed, “A (Christian) family is the seminary or theological school of Church and State.”

More importantly, we need to do family worship because it is our act of obedience to God’s Word. God’s command for it dates back to the Old Testament times. “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deut. 11:18, 19). Similar directions are also given in Psalm 78:1-4 and Ephesians 6:4.

I hope, by the grace of God, you are convinced of the need to observe this important practice, if you were not doing it. But you might wonder on where to start. Be encouraged, it is not as complicated as you think. To begin with, set aside time for family worship in the evening when every member of your home is available. If you can do it both in the morning and evening, why not! That’s far much better since you can’t overdose prayer.

Before the worship, take some time to prepare what you are going to share from God’s word. To make it easier for yourself, plan to go through one book of the Bible after another. You can use John Calvin or Matthew Henry’s commentaries in your preparation, which you can access for free here and here. After your preparation, pray for God’s blessings upon your family worship. Then gather your family together. Pray together that God would speak to you through his word, and then read the Scriptures. Explain the passage and give a chance to your children to ask questions regarding the passage. After that sing at least one or two psalms or hymns then pray that God will apply the truth of the words you have shared to your hearts. Remember also to pray for the needs of your family, and to thank God for his blessings. Keep on doing this at an established time until it becomes an inseparable part of your family.

May God bless you as you continue or venture into this wonderful experience.