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“For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4

Our last home, which was set among the rolling hills of Virginia, had a wonderful back deck that gave us a treehouse-like view. Despite the fact we were in a neighborhood, we could feel miles away from everything. I loved sitting on that deck. At sunrise, I could experience the burst of a new day. Midday brought soul-filling warmth on chilly mountain days. And when the sun was setting, the sky was painted with bold colors only God could produce.

In our time at that beautiful home, we knew there were some “soft boards” here and there on the deck—but we’d just step around them. It wasn’t until we were thinking about moving that we had a deck guy come and assess the situation. Although the decking all looked fine on the outside, many of the boards had been damaged on the inside by those pesky wood-consuming monsters: termites. (Thankfully, no active armies!)

Did you know that the New Testament talks a lot about termite damage? Not the kind made by the literal destructive insects, but rather that of a much more dangerous variety: false teachers in the Church (Matthew 7:15; Matthew 14:24; Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). During Jesus’ earthly ministry, before the Church was even established, He warned His followers about those who would “come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” Then, post-Pentecost, Peter started hammering similar cautions. Through Paul’s letters, we read how he tells churches around the region, “False teachers have infiltrated your churches—time for the exterminator!” (Well, he didn’t say that exactly, but that was his point.)

Jude pointedly writes that these apostates have “crept in unnoticed”—you know, like termites. Some of these false teachers were hissing the same lies as Satan did in the garden in order to twist the Truth (“Did God really say…”). Others were perverting God’s grace, saying people could follow their sensual desires as far as they wanted, because they were “covered.” Some even denied that Jesus is who He said He is. And the same thing is happening today.

No matter how these people slither in, and whatever lies are being spread, the results are always the same. Just like the weakened decking planks of my deck, the Church body is compromised. Sure, when viewed on the outside, everything looks fine and intact. But this inside-out damage is subtle, often going unnoticed until it’s too late. Sticking with the deck analogy…even the weakest, most termite-consumed boards are fine when birds land on them or a squirrel runs across the deck. But when the weighted pressure increases, everything could go crashing down. Likewise, when the church is weakened by false teachers and compromising teaching, it cannot endure worldly pressures.

So, friend, we must all be Biblical exterminators in the Church. We must know the Truth to recognize what is false. The external pressures from a godless world are mounting, so we’ve got to assess the internal strength to ensure it will stand firm. And we need to be able to spot the termites, whether they creep in as a Sunday school classmate or as a pastor.

“Lord, You warn us of counterfeits and compromise. May we stand firm on Your Word to withstand the enemy and his lies meant to take us down.”

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life