By Joe Slater Via Bulletin Gold
Sometimes I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. So many “friends”
on social media keep falling for the same hoaxes that were debunked
years ago. “Oh no! Facebook is going to start charging us for having
an account!” Um, no, they aren’t. They couldn’t even if they wanted
to, because you haven’t given them your credit card number or your
bank information. Somebody started the hoax, it went viral, and
gullible people keep passing it on. (sigh)
The same thing happens in spiritual matters. Jesus warned that false
christs would arise. “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the
Christ! or There!’ do not believe it” (Matthew 24:23-24). His words
came true in the first century AD and many were led astray. It still
happens today, though less frequently.
John cautioned us to “test the spirits, whether they are of God;
because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John
4:1). Just because someone says something with an air of authority
doesn’t make it true! Remember the noble Bereans who received the
word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out
whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
It has been accurately stated that a lie, repeated often enough,
becomes accepted as truth. Countless falsehoods are routinely treated
as true today. For instance:
“The Catholic Church gave us the Bible.”
“All you need to do to be saved is believe in Jesus.”
“The denominations are branches on Jesus, the vine.”
“We’re all going to the same place but taking different roads.”
Don’t fall for it! Search the Scriptures! Know the truth!