THE POWER-HUNGRY DECEIVER
2 John 1:7-8 (NIV 1984) Many deceivers...have gone out into the world…. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for….
Jude 1:11 (NIV 1984) Woe to them! … [T]hey have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.
Jude has given us three personifications of deception. The first two were Cain and Balaam; now, he mentions Korah, who organized a rebellion against Moses to usurp his God-given leadership over the Hebrews (Numbers 16:1-3; 31-35). There are those in the church who are not content to follow rightly appointed leadership. They feel they have a better vision, often with a sense of divine authorization and spirituality that justifies their grasp of power. Because many have more years of relational equity and history in their local church, they succeed in running off church leadership every few years, maintaining a constant underhanded control. These deceivers convince people to organize against their leadership and take control back from them.
John's concern is that Christians progressing in their faith will be pulled away from Christ and lose what they have gained. The Apostle Paul asks it this way: “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?” (Gal 5:7) Deception is no small thing, and neither is the spiritual ground that is lost as a result. John's exhortation applies today as much as it did back then, “Watch out!” Deceivers cut in on good Christian people and negatively affect their walk with Christ. Rebellion is seductive. It charges our inner being with a false cause and false sense of righteous indignation. We deceptively feel spiritual as we rise up to oust our worship leader who refuses to lead the congregation in modern spiritual songs, or refuses to stay true to the old hymns of the faith. The pastor addressed one of the church’s golden calves, so he must go. 'We’ve always done it this way," someone might say. "How dare this outsider come in and try to change things." If we find ourselves in a church or ministry that constantly targets leadership with power plays to control them, we must make some gutsy decisions. We must confront the usurper and stand up for our church leadership. This will be costly, but it is the right thing to do. If we fail to make headway in stopping the pattern of revolt that most certainly will continue with the next pastor, then we must make some difficult decisions about where we choose to worship, lest we put ourselves under that spirit of deception and risk joining in the next revolt. God forbid!
