Listening to Outside Voices
Read the Text: 2 Corinthians 11
Memorize the Text:
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.
(2 Corinthians 7:10, CSB)
Consider the Text: 2 Corinthians 11
Outside voices threaten a believer’s walk with the Lord because the voice may lead people astray from the truth. The apostle Paul warned the church in Corinth concerning these threats and charged them to stay on guard when facing them. In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle addressed the outside voices that lead people away from the truth and compared how this temptation mirrors how Satan tempts believers.
The Methods of the Outside Voices
Paul used the methods of Satan in the garden to provide evidence for the threat of outside voices against believers. He stated that the danger of these voices comes cunningly, just like the serpent's work in the Garden of Eden. The outside voices often sound good to the ears. The words declared appear to affirm what one believes instead of being based on the truth. At the same time, the outside voices look good. This means that the people appear to be individuals one would desire to follow. At the same time, the outside voices taste good because they feed the ambition of the flesh when we think about the methods of the outside voices and compare them to the methods employed by the Satan in Garden against Eve.
The cunning nature of the outside voices disguises themselves to appear appealing. The agents often disguise themselves to appear righteous. This appearance occurs through the justification of their actions or the preying on people’s insecurities. At the same time, the voices have a way of disguising their falsehood to seem as truth. When falsehood appears as truth, the hearer faces the threat of falling prey to the message and influence of the outside voice instead of remaining and living in truth.
The Development of a Protection Against the Threat of Outside Voices
The ability to protect the self from the threat of outside voices occurs when believers take the initiative to develop a foundation for their life. The first step to forming strong protection exists when one engages truth for the self. This activity occurs when the believer engages God’s Word personally and seeks to know the truth. This offers protection because the outside voices become discerned from the truth one engages.
The believer needs to seek the Lord for discernment as well. When one engages truth through God’s Word, they gain the needed truth for the foundation of discernment. In seeking the Lord, the believer ask the Lord to provide the needed insight and guidance to put the truth into action through the practice of discernment. Discernment enables the believer to distinguish truth from falsehood.
A believer must evaluate the life of the outside voice. They need to seek and see if the individual lives according to the truth of God’s Word and demonstrates the evidence of spiritual fruit in life. This act attempts to decide if the words they declare and the actions of their life align with the truth. Thus, believers seek to see if Jesus is evident in the outside voice’s life.
What voices do you listen to? Do these voices speak in a manner that threatens your acceptance of the truth of the Lord? Are you taking the needed steps to develop a defense against the threats of the outside voices? Will you commit today to seek to live for the Lord?
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
