Verify Podcast

I love to watch movies when I can find the time, but I’ve found that no matter how intriguing, I hardly settle down to watch the same movie twice. The 1980 Hollywood block buster, ‘Guyana Tragedy’ is among the few exceptions. I’ve watched it several times and it still holds a certain fascination for me. It tells the story of how on November 18th 1978, a man named Jim Jones led 918 people to their deaths in the biggest mass suicide event in modern history. The name on the sign post outside his door, was ‘Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ’, yet his was a cult gathering and not a church. How did an ordained clergyman manage to drive almost a thousand men, women and children to their graves? Well, simply put, he gave them instructions and sadly, very few of them took the time to check with the bible to see if what he said was true. He worked miracles and provided for the needs of his congregation, so when he quoted portions of the bible that suited him and criticized the ones that didn’t, they ignored it. When his life style was in direct contrast to Christian values and he started teaching his personal philosophies rather than the word of God, his followers looked the other way, made excuses for him and went along with it. They took his word for it, until it was too late. In the end, it cost them their lives.

Today, there are many preachers like Jim Jones. Popular, charismatic, but preaching their own philosophies, which when held up to scripture, do not add up, yet many of us believe there is no harm done. It is important to fellowship with other Christians (Heb 10:25), but also important to check who we listen to, because the New Testament is replete with warnings about false teachers and the repercussions of buying into false teaching. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15, that we should beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep.

I will encourage you my dear listener, to read the book of 2 Peter 2. I promise you, it will only take a few minutes of your day, but it will expose how seriously God regards false preachers and the consequences of their teachings.

I pray that God will give to all who love Him, the understanding of how important it is, to discern and test what words we listen to and live by, Amen.