THEY CLIMBED UP BY SOME OTHER WAY
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John 10:1 |
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. KJV |
Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. NIV |
As in the days of old, there are literally thousands of false teachers and false prophets in our midst today, all claiming to know the way and presenting false teachings which lead millions astray.
There are those who teach psychotherapy, visualization, meditation, positive thinking and many other self-help schemes designed to take the emphasis off what our Lord Jesus Christ did on the Cross and place it firmly in the hands of man himself. This takes us way back to the Garden of Eden when Eve was tempted:
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Genesis 3:1-4 |
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Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord had made. And he said unto the woman, “Yea hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’ ” And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die.” KJV |
Now the snake was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” “You will not certainly die,” the snake said to the woman. NIV |
This is what happened in the beginning when man was plunged into sin. It was disobedience to the very Words of God. It was disobedience to the very instruction God had specifically given to Adam and Eve. I wonder how many have noticed it was the one and only instruction given by God to Adam and Eve.
If ever there was a book of the Bible that has been mocked and ridiculed through the centuries it is the Book of Genesis, specifically, the story of Adam and Eve, yet it is the basis of God’s dealings with man and his sin, culminating in Jesus bearing the penalty of sin to bring man back into fellowship with His Creator. If it had not been for the sin of the first Adam, there would have been no need for the sacrifice of the second Adam.
Satan had climbed up by some other way and tempted Eve to disobey God and sin along with Adam. The world today is awash with those who purport to be messengers of God when all they are, are thieves and robbers, promoting seductive ways of climbing up the ladder of success to satisfy selfish and sinful desires. There was a threefold trap in the days of Adam and Eve, and nothing has changed, because it is still with us today:
- The lust of the flesh: Good for food.
- The lust of the eyes: Pleasing to the eyes.
- The pride of life: A tree that is desirable and able to make one wise.
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Colossians 2:8 |
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Beware lest any man spoil you (take you captive) through philosophy and vain (empty) deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. KJV |
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. NIV |
The bait on the hook of beliefs that are not grounded in the Word of God always will be the promise of self-success, self-promotion and self-worth, always inward looking instead of upwards and outwards toward Christ.
- If Satan can keep you from Jesus, he has won!
- If he can keep you from regular study and meditation of the Holy Scriptures, he has won!
- If he can get you to climb up some other way, he has won!
Someone has said: The wreckage of earth and a million billion graves attest that God is true and Satan is the liar.
The door to Salvation is Christ. Knock on it and He will open it and receive you unto Himself.
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Luke 11:9 |
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Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and it shall be opened. KJV |
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. NIV |