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A few days ago,we received an e-mail in the church’s inbox, part of
which read:
“Dearest in Christ,
I am standing on Malachi 3:10 where our GOD decreed that we should
bring tithes and offering to his store house, he convinced us that he will
open the windows of heavens and bless us most abundantly.”
He goes on to speak about his “conversion” and then continued stating,
“During my thanks giving that proceedeth prayer session in my ministry,
our Lord ministered to me concerning my funds in Europe to invest it in
your ministry and I proceed to posses my possessions. I related with the
Elders of my ministry and Pastors of my ministry to direct me” He then
stated that five names and ministries had been nominated and that they
were
confirmed by God and that he had been directed to place $10.5 million
into our account as son as we would provide the necessary account details
and he would send an access code. Knowing the financial situation of the
congregation, we immediately sent the necessary information and are awaiting
the funds. NO!!!
This e-mail was one of many efforts that are made by spammers to get
information on bank accounts so that they can strip those accounts of their
assets. Sadly, many have succumbed to such tactics and have had their accounts
emptied, many of them elderly who have lost their life’s savings. This
particular spam is different that most in that it is directed to religious
people with promises of funds to do the work in which they are engaged,
only the real aim is to strip the accounts of those who respond of the
assets they have to do their work. It is tragic to see such actions that
are preying on religious people by reference to the name of God and of
the Christ. There are practitioners of religion, false teachers, who prey
on religious people to get them to part with their hard earned dollars
to provide monies for their ministries and then those teachers live a luxurious
lifestyle on the funds they receive. A number of “tele-evangelists” over
the years have so used their audience to finance their expensive lifestyles.
Thus, such is not new and people need to be careful that they are not “hooked”
by the bait of spammers or religious hucksters. More harmful than these
efforts to rob people of their financial resources are the efforts of false
teachers who seek to “hook” the unsuspecting with a false gospel, which
is not another gospel but, in reality, they are perverting the gospel of
Christ (Galatians 1:7). By their false teachings of “faith only,” binding
the ten commandments with its seventh day Sabbath, upholding other religious
books as being equal to the Bible and “another testimony of Jesus Christ,”
by offering a paradise on earth for those who follow them into the “kingdom”
that they would have here upon earth after the return of Christ, they rob
those who fall for their religious schemes of the hope of eternal life.
However, there are those in the body of Christ who act in a similar manner
and, like the Judaizers of old, cause those who fall for their schemes
to fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). There are those who would bind where
God has not bind by making laws that God has not made such as teaching
that it is a damnable sin to provide benevolent help out of the church
treasury for those who are not saints. Then there are those who loose where
God has not loosed by ignoring the Lord’s teaching
on marriage, divorce and remarriage and convincing folk that they can
stay in marriages that are not approved of God when they obey the gospel
or that one can divorce and remarry for reasons other than adultery and
still be pleasing to God (Matthew 5:32, 19:6-9; I Corinthians 7:15). Then
there are those who would teach that baptism is not essential to salvation,
fellowship with denominations is acceptable to God and changing the worship
of the Lord by using “praise teams” and instrumental music that are not
authorized by the word of God.
Let us beware of spammers and false teachers not only because they
could cause us financial loose but more importantly that they could cause
us to lose our souls by accepting the false teaching that they peddle (Mark
8:35-37).
Ken Chumbley