Don’t Wander Off!

“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.  

For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.”

Matthew 24:4-5

 

Jesus was never one to mince words when He walked on the earth.

We often hear of Him as the ‘gentle Jesus’ but this title may not always have seemed appropriate to those who watched Him drive out the moneychangers or heard Him speak to the religious leaders of His day. His choice of words – and He certainly made no mistakes in choosing the words He did – can be very telling to us as we read todays verse.   

I want us to notice some words in particular, first of all the two words “Watch out”.

There is zero nobility in being ignorant as it relates to knowing the signs of the times.

Jesus cautions His disciples – and that includes you and me – to not be caught unaware about something.

What is that something?

It is to not be deceived concerning others claiming to be Him.

We are not to live our lives wringing our hands in anxiety about the latest and greatest claim from someone that they are the Christ.

We are not to be ignorant about this.

I suppose this blog could be accused of harping on one topic more than any other and that would be that we need to abide in Christ.

You see, there is an interesting root to the Greek word used here for “deceive” and it is to “wander”.

I don’t know how you picture it but if I am abiding in Christ – if I am holding fast to Him, if I remain in Him then it is impossible to wander.

You see He gets to lead.

Only when I let go of Him can I wander off.

What about your young child?

Could you ever lose them as long as they held tight to your hand?

So it is with Christ.

As we remain in Him, we cannot be deceived.

As we hold fast, we do not wander.

The second thing I would like to notice in these words of Jesus is the phrase:

 “…in my name…”

We probably have all heard the phrase “in name only”.

As a matter of fact, here in the US one of the two major political parties has a faction often identified as “RINO’s” which stands for “Republicans In Name Only”.

In other words – they carry the name but not the values.

Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 7 and verses 21 to 23

 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly,

‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

The one who ‘abides in Christ’ not only carries His name but bears His fruit as well.

He is one who does not ‘wander off’.

He is one who is not deceived.