Pioneer and Bell Church of Christ

When writing to Christians in the first century, the apostle Peter pointed out, "there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction" 2 Peter 2:1. The warning against false teachers is especially appropriate today. Both the pulpit and the pew are too often silent when it comes to perversions of the Gospel of Christ as revealed in the New Testament.

When God raised up Babylon to punish His people, the false prophets in Jerusalem were preaching there would be peace. As God expressed it through Jeremiah, "They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14). The false prophets of Israel, as many today, simply ignored the moral corruption and abominations that had become part of their culture. God gave His conclusion of them in the previous verse, "For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely" Jeremiah 6:13.

Today we need people to follow the admonition to Jeremiah 6:16, "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." The old paths for us is the Christian culture, found in the New Testament, upon which the foundation of our nation rests. Our acceptance or rejection of the "old paths" will also determine our future. The response God's people in the Old Testament was, "We will not walk therein" (Jeremiah 6:16). What is our response under the Gospel? The God of the Bible is still in charge!

God has given his people watchmen today to warn us of the enemy Satan. As the church and America drifts further away from the paths of God, we must heed God's warnings or face the consequences. Their reaction was, "We will not hearken" (Jeremiah 6:17). What is our response in the twenty first century?

"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction."

For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."