Love’s Warnings

Life is good and life is wonderful, but as we’ve probably learned, a godly life does not totally exempt us from challenges or problems.

Thankfully, our difficulties help allow us to experience God as our refuge and deliverer from the temptations, trials, and troubles that seek to make us fearful and ashamed. Just as Jesus received God’s deliverance from the devil’s temptations with the speaking of our Father’s scriptures, we can also do the same. What’s good is Jesus was ministered to afterward as often we are. This confirms that God is not far from us and His power is great.

Lovingly, He has provided us with His scriptural warnings so that we are helped more than hurt when life gets tough. Proverbs 26:24-28 is a passage of warning that presents a disturbing reality of the deception of those who pretend to be our friends but are not:

“Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts, they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it: if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”

These words weren’t written to be scary or negative, but in love to warn God’s people of the craftiness of deception. Deception is not easily seen as it is masked. Therefore, don’t expect it to be openly recognizable. It looks and sounds wonderful and accommodating. However, we need the Lord’s discernment working in us to detect that which is not obvious and well hidden.

Deception is real and can be discerned by the Holy Spirit through our own spirits and through the study of the Bible. Yet sometimes we choose not to trust our discernment, but believe the lie for any number of reasons. May God give us the courage to use the wisdom He’s given us to adjust our lives accordingly.

The Christian life has many blessings. However, there are those things we must be warned about that can be harmful to us if disregarded. God has warned us of these issues in Scripture. So we must not forget His instructions as they serve to protect us from unnecessary trouble.

There are many warnings given to us in the Old and New Testaments of the bible. A few of them:

Forgetting God – Deuteronomy 8:10-20

Foolishness – Proverbs 6:1-19

Adultery – Proverbs 6:20-35

Adulterous Woman – Proverbs 7:1-27

Trusting in Riches – Proverbs 11:28

Hypocrisy – Matthew 6:1

Unforgiveness – Matthew 6:15

Worry – Matthew 6:25

False Prophets – Matthew 7:15

Teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees – Matthew 16:12

Deception – Matthew 24:4

False Christs – Luke 21:8

Spiritual Drunkenness – Luke 21:34

False Doctrine – Romans 16:17

Consequences of Evil Deeds – 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Unwise Living – Ephesians 5:15

Lukewarm Christianity – Revelation 3:15-19

Warnings help to keep us from spiritually or physically injuring ourselves. We need them to keep us on the narrow path toward heaven. Whether we get these warnings through the Bible, the Holy Spirit’s promptings, or a God-fearing friend, we should appreciate them. They are not meant to harm us though sometimes we may feel uncomfortable receiving them. Also, we show love when we care enough to caution to others.

In any event, Jesus reminds us that nothing hidden will remain secret. So we can trust the faithfulness of His Holy Spirit to “lead us into all truth.” (John 16:13)