There is an active battle taking place in the spiritual realm that is meant to distort and rewrite the Word of God.
Many are being deceived about what the Bible truly says as false teachers and prophets corrupt and twist biblical teachings to fit their personal agendas or ideologies.
Pastor Tony Suarez discussed with Charisma Media the need for Christians to understand the true and inerrant messages held in the pages of the Bible. This way, they are equipped to defend the Word of God from false teachers who seek to lead others astray.
“There has been a lot of calling out and controversy regarding what someone dreams, sees, decrees or even prophesies,” he explains. “When it reaches the level of false doctrine, when it reaches the level of apostasy, we cannot be silent.
“We can disagree on minor issues,” Suarez adds. “But when it comes to blatant false doctrine and apostasy, we cannot be silent. …We always [must] speak truth, light, [and] always eradicate darkness. We [must] shine the light.”
People of all backgrounds, not just Christians, are recognizing the evil that is permeating societies across the world. Satan has made a move in the spiritual realm, one that has been decades in the planning.
Biblical principles have been shouted down as intolerant and outdated. These accusations have led to a surge of apostate churches, or churches who have left biblical doctrine, who preach not what the Bible says but worldly ideologies.
“Wherever you are in the fivefold ministry—apostles, prophets, bishops, evangelists and teachers—there is a responsibility … to sound the clarion call and say, ‘This is wrong,'” says Suarez.
“Why? Why should we expose it?” he adds. “We are not exposing it for headlines. This is not for sensationalism. It’s not just to protect today. I’m protecting tomorrow. …If I don’t take a stand now, then what church am I turning over? What Bible am I turning over? What biblical truths am I turning over? So my stand is in defense and protection of the future of the church.”
The future of the church is certainly under heavy spiritual attack these days.
Satan is trying to deceive and confuse people on all fronts of God’s design: from the structure of the family to God’s design on gender and sexuality to trustworthy and impartial government to a popular culture that has embraced witchcraft and the occult and even to the rewriting and revising of the Bible itself.
“When this holy book [the Bible] … says something is black and white, then it is black and white,” says Suarez.
“If you say it is purple, that is heresy,” he says. “Apostasy to me is a complete turning away of the doctrines that were given to us by the apostles and the prophets. It is preaching another Jesus, preaching another way to salvation. It is giving an open door to another religion or another teacher or another prophet. When something reaches the level of the cross … you have entered apostasy, and you are in danger of losing your soul.”
This explanation of the severity of apostasy is a prime example of why biblical literacy is vital for Christians.
By equipping ourselves with the knowledge of the Word of God, we have the wisdom to combat the lies and deceit of the enemy. Satan is a master at deception and lying, but not so much that he can overcome the truth of the Bible.
When Christians arm themselves with the knowledge of the Bible and are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they can not only guard against Satan’s tactics but also take ground away from the enemy.
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James Lasher is staff writer for Charisma Media.
