Jonah Albrecht…Trinity 8…August 10^th, 2025…Jeremiah 23:16-29…Deadly Spiritual Deception

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. ¹⁷ “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace “‘; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ ¹⁸ “But who has stood in the council of the LORD, That he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? ¹⁹ “Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. ²⁰ “The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. ²¹ “I did not send these prophets, But they ran. I did not speak to them, But they prophesied. ²² “But if they had stood in My council, Then they would have announced My words to My people, And would have turned them back from their evil way And from the evil of their deeds. ²³ “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “And not a God far off? ²⁴ “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. ²⁵ “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, ²⁷ who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? ²⁸ “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. ²⁹ “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?

INJ Who is the Word made flesh in whom we can place all our trust DFR:

If you are a fan of mushrooms, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you are in one of the best states in the Pacific Northwest to go hunting for the most delicious varieties. The bad news is that WA is home to some of the deadliest mushrooms on earth.

The Amanita mushroom looks harmless enough. It is pure white and has a long, delicate stem. It even has the word “angel” in its nickname. But eat one of these angels and your time of grace will soon end.

Here’s what will happen: A few hours after eating, you will feel nauseous and feverish. The symptoms will pass and life goes back to normal. But unknown to you, your liver and kidneys are slowly being destroyed – along with your intestines, heart, and brain. In 3-6 days, your body completely shuts down. There are limited treatment options and no full cure.

What could be worse than eating bad mushrooms? Being deceived and losing your faith. False teaching looks as harmless as an Amanita. At first, you won’t even notice that you consumed it. But according to Scripture, false doctrine is a deadly cancer that, left unchecked, will grow and metastasize until faith is destroyed. Today, God tells every Christian to Be Wary of Deadly Spiritual Deception…1. It is easy on the eyes 2. It destroys the Soul 3. The Only Cure is the Truth of God’s Word.

If you spent 5 minutes online today, it would not take you long to find an abundance of false teachers. Almost everyone has their own idea of who God is and what He is saying in His Word. If you spent just 5 minutes in Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day, you would find the same thing. In fact, you could even go back 100 years earlier and in the days of the prophets Isaiah and Amos, you would find nothing was different.

Isaiah and Amos preached repentance and warning of God’s Judgement. The false teachers in Israel replaced the preaching of sin with messages of peace on God’s part, security and blessing from Him. They proclaimed that God was happy with the people because they were enjoying such success… And which message do you think the people latched on to?

The people of Israel listened to those who told them what they wanted to hear, who let them indulge in their sinful behavior and not feel guilty about it. And that brought them a swift destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire – completely wiping out the nation of Israel.

Flash-forward to the days of Jeremiah and the same exact problem is happening. Jeremiah proclaims the truth of God’s Word, warning that less the people turn from their sin and idolatry, they will be overtaken by the Babylonians. But for every message from God that Jeremiah preaches, there are those who proclaimed a different message.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; They speak a vision of their own imagination, Not from the mouth of the LORD. ¹⁷ “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace “‘; And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’

It is a completely opposite message than that of Jeremiah. Jeremiah preached repentance, but a complicity clergy gave the people false hope that God’s judgment was not coming.

It should come as no surprise to us. Which would you rather be told? God is angry at your open rebellion of His Word and His judgment is coming unless you repent? Or that God is pleased with your life because look, He is blessing you so much. Do not worry about God’s judgment, it isn’t coming for you. We would all much rather hear the latter. No one wants to be told off about their sin; we want what sounds pleasant to our ears and what is easier for our life.

That is the nature of false teaching, isn’t it? That which sounds good to our ears. Think of how far churches have drifted on moral and spiritual issues over the last 30 years. How do church leaders explain away the clear statements of Scripture? They argue that the church today is more enlightened, less judgmental, and more loving than it used to be. Who are you to condemn someone for doing what makes them happy? If that’s the way God made them, you have no right to sit in judgment. Or, how can you say that abortion is sinful when you’re not the one who is pregnant?

A quick google search shows that there are over 3500 religious organizations in the greater Seattle area. Even if half of those consider themselves Christian, I can guarantee they do not teach the same thing. You could easily go church window shopping and find one that teaches exactly what you want to hear. That may seem harmless because everyone is told to find a church where they’re comfortable, but it’s not. If all claim to be speaking for God, someone is not being honest with God’s Word. People may feel validated by false teachers, but dodging parts of Scripture is a dangerous thing to do.

People may get to hear what they want to hear, but they miss out on one very important message: Repentance for the forgiveness of your sins. And that is why:

2. Spiritual Deception is dangerous for the soul

²³ “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “And not a God far off? ²⁴ “Can a man hide himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ ²⁶ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, ²⁷ who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal?

There is one clear end goal of false teaching – it is to forget the name of God. The pagans believed the gods were only local, meaning they had limited influence and power. Baal was the god of wind, rain, and fertility; Mot was the god of drought, infertility, and death. Baal was worshipped Baal was worshiped in local manifestations: Baal of Peor, Baal of Gad, etc. The idea was that God was limited in territory and knowledge. He couldn’t possibly know everything that was being done. Even if He did, What could He do about it?

By nature, that is how we would like to assume God is: He doesn’t care about certain sins I do, but only pays attention when I want Him to. It is a religion without repentance – without responsibility. If we’ve not been faithful in attending church and using the means of grace, we are at risk for losing our faith. That’s not my idea, it’s what God’s Word says. There’s no joy in having to warn fellow Christians about their sins. But if you care about them, and if you listen to God’s Word, that’s what needs to be done. None of us likes to be held accountable for our actions but we are.

Peter warns us, But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

But what about those who have false teaching and yet still preach Christ crucified? We do rejoice that Christ is being preached, but how easy is it for Christ to be lost? If we can pick and choose which doctrines of Scripture to teach faithfully – how long until Christ is no longer chosen? Nature will always turn us away from the cross and to the natural law of my own heart.

Picture false teaching as an open jail cell. Inside it is comfortable and you, though you can leave whenever you want, you feel no real reason to as it is comfortable and you have everything you want. Until one day, the door is slammed shut behind you and you are stuck forever. That is the poison of spiritual deception. You may not notice the effects in your every day life, but when you time of grace has ended, it can mean a death sentence for your soul.

¹⁹ “Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, Even a whirling tempest; It will swirl down on the head of the wicked. ²⁰ “The anger of the LORD will not turn back Until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it.

I don’t think we always appreciate just how gracious God is. These abuses of His Word continue, not because He doesn’t see them, or He endorses them. He has promised judgment and wrath on those who lead His people astray. He permits them to go on in hopes that people would turn from their wickedness and come back to Him. And, when one has been infected with false teaching that kills, there is only one cure:

3. The pure truth of God’s Word.

Picture a storm swirling up on the horizon. The sky turns black, lightning flashes, and the thunder rattles your entire house. It doesn’t take much to make you feel small and helpless, does it?

That wrath of God had been building and building until finally it reached its limit and God unleashed His full wrath on the earth. Horrifying judgment struck down just outside of the same city Jeremiah was called to work. Hell was unleashed upon the most rebellious, vile, self-righteous person ever to set foot on this earth. Only, it wasn’t whom we’d expect. It was the innocent Jesus, God Himself, who was charged with our wickedness in our place. He paid the debt of every sinner of all time, and thereby performed and carried out the purposes of His heart.

This is a message that is lost on those who refuse to preach repentance. They miss out on the best proclamation the world has ever heard. Instead of finding false teachers to validate false beliefs, or changing God to be one that aligns to my ideals, or making Him a god who doesn’t care what I do, the Gospel gives you the antidote – salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

 

Did you come here this morning with a guilty conscience? Is there a secret sin that has been eating you up inside? The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses you from all sin. The righteousness of the Son of God is your righteousness by faith. It covers your past and your future; it covers every spot, stain, or blemish. This is what your Savior promises you as He comes to us in the Sacrament today. His body broken, His blood shed for the forgiveness of all your sins.

This one Man’s obedience to God and His Word, Paul says, has made you, the many, completely righteous. Jesus made up for all the wrongs and He has given you a new life – one rooted in the Truth of His Word.

There’s one last thing to mention: What does it mean that In the latter days you will understand it clearly? In Scripture, the latter days refers to the New Testament era. What a privilege we have in knowing clearly what Jesus has done! Don’t let Satan scam you with a religion without repentance. Amen.