Deception and Discernment

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons

1 Timothy 4:1
Since it’s inception a few years ago, I haven’t given much thought to the phrase Black Lives Matter. I assumed that it was a shorthand way of protesting against perceived injustice on the basis of black skin color. Not that I ignored it outright, rather I maintain the Scriptural understanding of race, namely that there is one – in Adam, and that all men and women, regardless of skin color, are made in the image of God. However, until this week, I was ignorant about the philosophical agenda of the movement known as Black Lives Matter, but felt compelled to search it out more when a number of professing Christians began proclaiming their allegiance with the movement or were simply rattling off the phrase without understanding the meaning behind it. As a general rule, it’s wise to examine any movement or organization to see what they really stand for before throwing your support behind them, most definitely if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you visit the Black Lives Matter page and click on the About section, you will find, among other things, the following:
  • We are guided by the fact that all Black lives matter, regardless of actual or perceived sexual identity, gender identity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs or disbeliefs, immigration status, or location.
  • We make space for transgender brothers and sisters to participate and lead.
  • We are self-reflexive and do the work required to dismantle cisgender privilege and uplift Black trans folk, especially Black trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by trans-antagonistic violence.
  • We build a space that affirms Black women and is free from sexism, misogyny, and environments in which men are centered.
  • We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.
  • We foster a queer-affirming network. When we gather, we do so with the intention of freeing ourselves from the tight grip of heteronormative thinking, or rather, the belief that all in the world are heterosexual (unless s/he or they disclose otherwise).
Furthermore, with the recent rise in civil unrest and the allowance of out of control rioting and looting – in the name of protesting injustice, BLM has seen fit to sponsor a movement #DefundThePolice, which you can read more about in the screen capture below.


When people, especially Christians, throw their support behind the group Black Lives Matter with hashtags, social media posts, blacked out status’, etc. they need to understand the deception that this group is operating under. They are not interested in protecting black lives, if they were they would protest anytime a black person loses their life. How about starting at abortion clinics, “79% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are located within walking distance of neighborhoods that have proportionately higher populations of black or Latina women.” Maybe if they cared so much, then they would be horrified that
Abortion in America has contributed to the greatest decline in black population since the first black slaves arrived in the Americas in the 1600s. According to U.S. census data, there were 18,871,831 black American citizens in 1960. Since Roe v. Wade legalized abortion in 1973, abortion has killed an estimated 20 million black babies — more than the entire black population of 1960.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/since-roe-abortion-has-killed-more-black-babies-than-the-entire-black-population-of-the-u-s-in-1960
Furthermore, why are those shouting BLM from the mountaintops silent on the deaths of those black lives who have been killed at the murderous hands of the rioters? Such as:
  • Dave Patrick Underwood – Oakland, California
  • Chris Beaty – Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Italia Kelly – Davenport, Iowa
  • David Dorn – St. Louis, Missouri
And these are just the ones who have been killed that we know about. No doubt, more will come. All these in the name of BLM? What about their lives? Do they matter? Yet not a word is said, no outcry, no media coverage.

But then again, this wouldn’t fit the liberal agenda of BLM, which is published in broad daylight for all to see and includes the heavy promotion of LGBTQ, the destruction of the family, and the defunding of police forces around the country, among a number of other troubling policies. Do black lives matter? Of course they do, but that includes all of them, not just ones selected or highlighted to promote an agenda. And they don’t matter because I say so or because someone spray paints BLM on the side of a building. They matter because God says they matter as part of the one human race regardless of melanin level because they have been made in the image of God. Why must we stand up for injustice or for those who are unable to stand up for themselves? Because they are made in the Imago Dei and it is because of this fact that they have worth.

However, there is a problem with this Imago Dei because all mankind find their origin in Adam, then all mankind have a corrupt and distorted image of God, by birth because of sin. The guilt and pollution of Adam has infected all and each of us and their is no hope for reconciliation with God apart from the second Adam, Jesus Christ. This original sin is the fundamental problem with mankind. In Christ, through His death on the cross the punishment for this original guilt and sin – the wrath of God, has been satisfied and removed for all those who trust in Him. In Christ, there is now one new man and that distorted image of God is being renewed daily into the image of Christ for those who have repented and trusted in Him. This gospel hope is the only solution to the societal ills that our country faces today.

Brothers and sisters, I implore you to be discerning and be on guard against deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

1 John 4:1-3

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Christian saved by grace through faith.

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