Have you encountered a mindset in your own circle of life that says everyone should worship their god as they see fit and that the most important thing is to think of oneself? This kind of selfish attitude has also become widespread among Christians. Selfishness causes people to both forget God’s commandments and practice a form of religion based on their own reasoning, both of which are delusions that lead one astray.
The Bible teaches only one faith, which is proclaimed by God’s congregation. Nevertheless, many who belong to the Christian church want to define for themselves what kind of god they believe in and what they think of various teachings in the Bible. They view matters of faith as a matter of opinion and rely solely on their own reason and judgment. They regard Jesus as their Lord, but want to be independent masters of their own doctrine.
The phenomenon of interpreting the Bible in an individualistic, self-serving way is a sad one. It speaks of increasing selfishness, which is the work of the Devil. Do you know what sin caused the destruction of the city of Sodom and its inhabitants? The prophet says:
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me.” (Ezek. 16:49-50)
The selfish person of the last days does not care about God’s law
The disciples once asked Jesus about the last days. Jesus began his lengthy answer with the words, “Watch out that no one deceives you” (Matt. 24:4). In the last days, therefore, special attention must be paid to holding to Jesus’ teaching (John 8:31-32). Jesus continued:
“…many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of most will grow cold…” (Matt. 24:11-12)
By “lawlessness”, Jesus did not primarily mean people who don’t pay their taxes, lie to the police about their income, or commit insurance fraud. He meant people who do not respect God’s law; people for whom other things have become more important than respecting God’s will.
The Greek word “anomia”, meaning “lawlessness”, is used several times in the New Testament. Each time, it describes a person of the end times who does not care about God’s law. According to Paul, the lawlessness that dwells in people is the Devil himself, who causes them to give up faith, disregard God’s will, and elevate their own discretion above all else:
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness [anomia] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thess. 2:3-4)
As we noted at the beginning, Ezekiel considered selfishness and the neglect of God’s will to be the worst sins of the inhabitants of Sodom. Jesus, for his part, stated that the end times will be similar to the time before the destruction of Sodom (Luke 17:28-37). Paul’s description of the man of lawlessness also depicts well both the people of Sodom and those of today:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people” (2 Tim. 3:1–5)
What is delusion that leads astray?
Delusion is the Devil’s scheme to lead believers astray from the path to heaven. He works by instilling anti-God thoughts and actions in people. As a result of the final delusion, a person no longer trusts in God or His greatness, but only in themselves and their own thoughts. He “proclaims himself to be God”:
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thess. 2:9–12)
You probably noticed something strange: Paul indeed wrote that “God will send a powerful delusion.” This should not be understood to mean that God wants to deceive His children, for God has even shortened the time so that the elect might not be led astray (Matt. 24:22). The Book of Job shows that all evil comes from the Devil, but God allows him to operate in the world until the end of time. It could not be otherwise: if the Devil acted without God allowing it, God would not be omnipotent.
Paul describes to Timothy:
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Tim. 4:1)
Delusion can also come from within the congregation, dressing in piety and claiming to represent true Christian doctrine. Jesus declared to the angel of the church in Thyatira that He does not approve of Jezebel, who claims to be a prophetess and leads His servants astray with her teachings (Rev. 2:20). Peter (2 Pet. 2:1–3) and Paul also warned against false teachers rising from within the congregation. Paul preached:
“Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:30)
The prophecy comes true: the modern age emphasizes the individual
Humans have always been selfish and sought their own interests, or at the very least, the interests of their family and close circle. However, this phenomenon is more apparent in modern times. Anyone who browses social media knows that fame, personal admiration, and the pursuit of admiration are more popular than, say, following Jesus’ example of humility or doing good deeds without people noticing. Many people want to be an influencer, an actor, a singer, a reality TV star, or anything else that brings them publicity and admiration.
The camera was invented 200 years ago, but back then, no one took pictures of themselves to publish them. A photographer who took self-portraits, changing their expressions and poses, would have seemed self-centered even in the 20th century. Today, it’s completely normal. Social media profiles are used to try to turn ordinary individuals into something special—something they aren’t. I see the effects of self-centeredness in myself, as well.
People’s choices are also selfish. On one hand, good values like caring, love, and charity are emphasized. At the same time, 200,000 children are killed in their mothers’ wombs and 40,000 marriages end in divorce every single day. People cheat on their spouses, steal, and lie to gain an advantage or pleasure. And if a person does good, they do it to be admired or to gain approval—from people or from God.
Personal discretion also creeps into matters of faith
To many, the delusion of selfishness appears as freedom. It is regarded as an admirable “path of one’s own,” where the traveler makes decisions based on personal discretion, regardless of others’ opinions. The words from the Book of Proverbs come to mind:
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Prov. 14:12)
It is not always wise to make decisions based solely on one’s own discretion; it is also worth listening to the community. The Bible contains several examples of men who, after becoming Christians, had their family members and even their servants follow their example (e.g., Acts 10, 16:15, 16:31–34, 18:8). The family members of Centurion Cornelius wanted to become Christians following his example, and like Cornelius, they too received forgiveness of their sins through Peter’s sermon. The proof of this was the Holy Spirit, who descended upon all who heard.
Faith, however, is personal. None of Cornelius’s family members received saving faith simply because Cornelius believed. God calls people personally, and a person can be saved only through their own faith. However, what helped Cornelius’s family members was that their hearts were ready to follow Cornelius as he sought the kingdom of God. They did not think they needed to consider the matter deeply themselves; they trusted that God could help Cornelius. A person who sincerely seeks the kingdom of God and peace of conscience—even by following another person—can find it.
But even though faith is personal, it is not individualistic. A person cannot decide for themselves what God is like, how He should be worshiped, or what is sin and what is not. Many Christian churches say that the church has room for many different views on doctrine. According to the Bible, however, there is only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). No one can find the true doctrine of Christ by pondering faith on their own. Teaching in accordance with the true doctrine can only be heard from God’s congregation, where the Holy Spirit is at work, for God’s congregation is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).
Faith is mutual
All people are under the illusion that their own discretion can reliably tell them what is true and what is not, what is good and what is not, what is important and what is not, and what brings peace and what does not. This is a central part of the delusion of selfishness. Obedience to the Word proclaimed by God’s congregation is, however, a central part of faith—even when one’s own discretion points in the opposite direction.
A believer thinks that when it comes to matters of faith, my own discretion is lacking. No one and nothing prevents me from thinking with my own mind, but I know I do not understand everything. Yet I want to trust, even if I do not understand. I want to be obedient, even if I cannot justify everything. Faith does not arise from understanding, but rather the opposite. The Letter to the Hebrews states: “By faith we understand”. Therefore, a Christian must learn to trust the teaching of God’s congregation, even if they do not understand it. Faith can open the way to understanding later.
According to the Reformer Martin Luther, there is no Christ without the congregation, nor a congregation without Christ. Christ is the bridegroom and the congregation the bride, and according to the Bible, they are inseparable. They are one. That is why Jesus commanded us to seek the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). A person is saved when they are connected through personal faith to the community of believers, the congregation of God. A branch cut off from the tree bears no fruit but withers, and a body part severed from the body no longer functions but dies. Obedience to the voice of God within the congregation is the hallmark of His own.
Author: Kingdom of Peace
Image: Pixbay