Wise As Serpents

Wise As Serpents, Harmless As Doves

Matt 10:16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” In sending out His disciples, Jesus knew the problems they would face. False teachers, persecution, idolatry, worldliness, and Judaism, to name a few.

In writing to the church at Corinth , Paul speaks of seeing the spiritual battle that is being waged around us on a day by day basis. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10.3-5). To the brethren at Ephesus Paul speaks of the schemes or wiles of the devil, Ephesians 6.11. Satan is tricky, deceitful, and smart. Much like the terrorist that do not come out into the open to fight, Satan does not boldly announce his plans, but acts by stealth.

For instance, every false teacher I have ever known, claims to be preaching the truth. Why? Because no one would listen to him otherwise. For a false teacher to be effective they must appear sincere and be teaching the truth.

Every false doctrine will quote some Bible passages and claim to be in harmony with the Scriptures. However, they twist, distort, and pervert what the Bible says. Why bother with the Bible at all? Because people will reject that which blatantly rejects the Bible. Whereas they will accept that which is different from the Bible, if it appears to be based upon the word of God.

I hope you will think about what I wrote in the above paragraph. People will accept that which is different from the Bible, if they think it is based upon the Bible. Therefore, false teachers and doctrines will pay lip service to the Bible and claim to respect what it says, while at the same time contradict its teachings. We as Christians must be wise enough to see through the smoke and mirrors to realize that if the doctrine contradicts the Bible, then it can not be based upon the Bible.

Another device by Satan is to legitimize sin. This can be done by one of two ways. One, declare sin to be a disease and beyond individual responsibility. Alcoholism is a disease, how can we condemn a person for having a disease? It would be like condemning people for catching a cold. So people will claim to believe what the Bible says, but give solace to the drunkard. We have to realize that even in cases of illnesses a person is responsible for what they are doing. Second, is to make sin legal. We have seen this with legalized gambling and prostitution. All of a sudden it does not matter what the Bible teaches, because it is “legal.” No longer is gambling covetous, legalized stealing, and violating God’s law on receiving. It is now a way to raise taxes and have fun. One can not legislate for God. No one has editorial rights over the Bible.

Let me give you one example for what I am speaking. Recently I received an email dealing with homosexuality. Kentucky , like so many states, added an amendment to its constitution, declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman. This would seem to settle the issue as far as state politics is concerned. However, the University of Louisville has issued “domestic partner benefits” for its employees. The University of Kentucky has likewise passed the benefits, but has yet to implement them. While most people have rejected homosexuality and want marriage to be defined in harmony with the Bible, some have attempted to go around the law and have it accepted anyway. Those promoting homosexuality are very cleaver in doing so.

We as Christians must be wise in teaching the gospel and refuting false doctrines. We must be smart enough to see through the haze and see it for what it really is. Dennis Tucker

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