[The Mountain Messenger, Volume 2, Numbers 3, March 2005, Crum, WV] Just because one claims to be something in particular, does not necessarily mean that person is what he claims to be. For instance, here in the Crum, WV area some years ago a man came and claimed to be a doctor. He seemed to have all the necessary documentation, and he set up an office and began seeing patients. He administered medicines, and even gave shots. In fact, he became rather popular among the area folks before he was shown to be a fraud. He had not graduated from medical school, and had not passed the necessary boards in order to practice medicine. He had been a medic in the Navy, and had forged the documents. Needless to say, many folks were surprised and amazed at the revelation of this man’s pretense. Not long ago I was talking with some of the older folks about this, and one of them said, “You know, I liked him. He was a really nice guy, and he WAS a good doctor…” Well, the fact is …HE WAS NO DOCTOR AT ALL!!!! He was only pretending to be one, and defrauding people in this area. No matter how nice and kind he was…no matter if he might have correctly diagnosed someone’s illness and treated it properly…he was NOT a doctor, for he had not met the necessary conditions to be one. Just because one says he is a Christian does not necessarily make it so either.

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion…They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them”  (Proverbs 28:1, 4). It is obvious that the first century church of Christ was successful in completing its mission to take the Gospel to the world. Jesus commanded to go into all the world and to “…preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). About thirty years later, Paul wrote to the church at Colosse, stating that the Gospel had been “…preached to every creature which is under heaven…” (Colossians 1:23). I believe this happened. Some will say that this is a reference only to the “known world.” To this I simply reply, “That’s right, for God knew them all!” It was God who verbally inspired Paul to write Colossians 1:23, you see, and God surly knows what “…every creature which is under heaven…” means. As we read the record in the book called “Acts of the Apostles,” we see that just fifty days after they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ, some of the very ones who had been there asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” They were commanded to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. That day about three thousand souls were added to the Lord. (Acts 2:37-41). In fact, the record goes on to say that “…the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”

[West Virginia Christian, Volume 8, No. 8, August 2001] Revelation 12:9 speaks of our adversary, the devil, “…Satan, which deceiveth the whole world…” This is the devil’s real power — actually, his only real power today. He is a liar and the father of it! (John 8:44). He makes evil things look good, and good things look evil; he puts darkness for light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20). He has always done this through his “ministers” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), and there are “many deceivers” working for their master (Titus 2:10; 2 John 7). Paul warned Timothy that “…evil men and seducers (impostors — ASV) shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13). John said, “…many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1) and commands that we “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…” Jesus wants us to “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” The Lord says we can “…know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20). There is an old illustration that helps us to better see the work of Satan. It is said that some boys in a small town decided to play a prank on the owner of the local hardware store. They knew of a window in the back of the store that was usually left unlocked, so they entered the store one night and