Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
– 2 Thessalonians 2:3
It sounds like something found deep in the jungles of Africa, the Amazon rainforest — or maybe even on another planet. It’s a carnivorous plant called the Venus fly trap, which grows wild in the bogs of North and South Carolina.
Venus fly traps feast on flies and other insects, and their secret lies in their attractive colors and outstretched, nectar-scented pads. When an unsuspecting victim lands on the exotic plant, sensors prepare its trap to shut. But by intelligent design, it takes more than a single motion to spring the snare. It’s only after a second sensor activation that the Venus fly trap grabs its prey within 0.1 seconds. Soon, powerful fluids fill the sprung trap, which dissolve the insect into usable nutrients. The cycle then resumes, with the plant re-opening its pads to repeat its lethal deception.
This illustrates an important lesson for Christ-followers: Although it might seem innocent at the time, we can suffer great harm from those who teach Scripture in attractive ways that are inconsistent with God’s Word. Moreover, following such doctrines can lead us astray while misdirecting seekers from the straight-and-narrow pathway toward salvation. Examples include pseudo-Christian tenets such as name-it-claim it, salvation by works, and legalism. One popular Atlanta-area pastor has also advocated unhitching the Old Testament from the Christian faith. And in recent years another familiar pastor/author has denied certain essential Christian beliefs. Declaring that “love wins” and that hell is just symbolic, he’s proclaimed that people worldwide will be saved in the end — even if they haven’t professed their faith Christ. Of course, Believers know through John 14:6 that Jesus disagrees:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In addition to being non-biblical, such false assertions are even more dangerous because of their teachers’ popularity and honed communications skills. But the threat from bad theology is nothing new to Christ-followers. About 2,000 years ago, the apostle Paul addressed some of the false teachings of his day that were both confusing and upsetting to early believers in Jesus:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,” Paul wrote in Galatians 1:8, “let them be under God’s curse!”
The good news is that God’s truth is near for those who seek it. And Christ-followers have open access to it through the Bible, prayer — and even wise counsel from fellow Believers. We should therefore have less trouble than others with telling right from wrong and discerning the traps of false teachings. It’s a stark lesson that underscores the importance of biblical literacy.
If you hear or read something that seems inconsistent with Scripture, maybe it is. Check the Bible and ask a trusted Christian friend. And if the teaching is unbiblical, don’t follow it. But if it turns out to be legitimate, God could be using it to help you become a bit more like our Savior, one day at a time.
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