Doctrines of Demons

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times”—that’s with the times in which we are living—“some shall depart from the faith.” The faith is Christianity. So here are people who have been *in* the Christian faith and turn away from it. We are not dealing with unbelievers or people who’ve never made a profession of faith in Christ. We’re dealing specifically with those who have professed faith in Christ.

“Some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of demons.”

And then it’s the demons, not the people, “who speak lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” And it gives examples of two doctrines. One is food fads, commanding people not to eat certain kinds of meat. And it doesn’t mean meat in the sense of flesh, but it means food. That’s Old English.

Never let anybody start dictating to you about the kind of food that you’re to eat. No pork, no bacon, and all this business. It is *not* scriptural.

“Every creature of God is good, and to be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”

Now, the Jews under the law of Moses were forbidden to eat a whole lot of things, but we are *not* under the law of Moses. There are only four things required of Gentiles who come into the Christian faith. First of all, that we abstain from fornication; secondly, from idolatry; thirdly, from things strangled; and fourthly, from eating blood. We are *not* permitted to eat blood with flesh. That is still out just as much as fornication or idolatry. It’s in the same category. This you’ll find in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts. But we are not commanded to observe any other of the food rules that were imposed upon Israel under the law of Moses.

And any attempt to force you under these food and dietary rules in the name of making you more spiritual is demonic. Now, if you don’t like bacon, you don’t have to eat it, but don’t make a religion out of it. That’s all.

Have you noticed about health food stores that the unhealthiest people are always there? Did you never notice that? Rather, if their gospel worked, they’d look different.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. If you don’t like or don’t wish to eat certain kinds of food, you are at complete liberty. But don’t let it become a spiritual law, ‘cause that’s the deception. Now, I was on the verge of this, and God yanked me back. I was drinking so much carrot juice I was turning yellow. I literally, I mean, literally yellow. And I was talking to a preacher. I didn’t regard him as very spiritual. One thing, he was rather fat, and I have a sort of thing about fat preachers, but and I was telling him how careful I was about what I ate. And he quoted to me, “Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused.” And oh, how I praise God for that man. He got me out from the very verge of the ditch. And I had enough humility to listen to him. Say, “He’s right. I’m wrong.”

Another form of satanic deception mentioned here is the turning away from the normal marriage sex relationship. Do not let anybody fool you into being super spiritual by living an unnatural sex life, because it just isn’t right. If you’re married, you’re married, totally. Now, I say this because, again, I’ve seen cases where there was a certain man on the West Coast some years back, a Presbyterian, baptized in the Holy Spirit. He said, “Now, come on, these Pentecostals, they’re not with it. They don’t tell you half the truth. I’ll tell you how to be a real overcomer. Step number one, you come out and listen to me.” That’s always step number one. “Step number two, you sell what you have. Step number three, you stop living with your wife.” And, brother, those people ended up, one after another, in a mental breakdown. So be on your guard. The gospel, rightly proclaimed, is the most normal, healthy, sane thing in the world. Never go off on a tangent in order to be spiritual, because you may be spiritual, but it’s the wrong spirit.

All right. Now, let’s look in Second Peter, chapter 2, verse 1. I want to go on on the theme of heresies. Second Peter, chapter 2, verse 1.

“But there were false prophets also among the people”—that’s Israel—“even as there shall be false teachers among you,” the church, “who privily”—in a sneaky, underhand way—“shall bring in damnable heresies,” heresies that bring damnation, “even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”

We are specifically warned that in the church, there will be false teachers who, in a sneaky, underhand way, will introduce heresies that bring damnation to those who teach them and those who believe them. And this has happened and is happening. Now, a heresy means, literally, choosing. And heresy is, in essence, choosing how much of the Bible you will believe. Every heresy accepts part of the Bible. All heresies claim to start from the Bible. All heresies quote Jesus Christ, but the essence of a heresy is *you* decide how much you’ll believe. God didn’t ask you to make that decision, and it doesn’t rest with you. God says, “This is His Word, and you better believe it all.”

Now, the essence of a damnable heresy is summed up in that phrase, “even denying the Lord that bought them.” It’s a denial of the Lord Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. And any heresy, any teaching under the guise of Christianity that touches the person, the nature, and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is a damnable heresy. And you better believe that churches which might be called Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, or any other such thing are literally filled with damnable heresy. And in many cases, it’s the ministers who are preaching these damnable heresies.