Daily Devotional
Partial Truths and Half Gospels
“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.”
2 Peter 2:1
August 10, 2023
Ponder This
Look at the word secretly. In this case, the word has the idea of laying something alongside something else. Laying something good alongside something that is bad. Very few false teachers and false prophets will directly deny the whole scope of Christianity. In fact, some of them will affirm what you and I believe. They might say, “Yes, we believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Or they may say, “Yes, we believe that the Bible is the Word of God.” Or they might say “Yes, we ought to live good, godly, Christ-filled lives and so forth.”
But then they will secretly lay their false doctrine alongside that. The devil is very clever. The Bible says he’s “more cunning than any beast of the field” (Genesis 3:1). We are called to be on guard so that we won’t be deceived by partial truths and half gospels.
- What examples have you seen of false teaching being brought in alongside truthful teaching?
- How are we to be on guard to ensure we are not deceived in this way?
Practice This
Spend some time in prayer, asking God to give you discernment and wisdom to recognize false teachings, even when they are brought in next to the truth.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
