Ephesians 4:14

“that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error”

“That”: All the sermons, classes, instruction and encouragement that is presented by preachers, elders and teachers is to protect Christians from the following. “We”: This is true of every member of the church. “May be no longer children”: In contrast to full-grown spiritually mature individuals (Ephesians 4:13). “Of course we are to resemble children in their humility and innocence (Matthew 18:3; 1 Corinthians 14:20), but not in their ignorance and instability” (Stott p. 170). This verse suggests that all of us were at one time "children", that is ignorant and immature individuals who were naively swallowing all sorts of false ideas. In addition, this verse also suggests that without God and His truth, we would continue to be easy prey for all sorts of crazy ideas (Proverbs 16:25; Jeremiah 2:23).

“Tossed to and fro and carried about”: “Blown round by every shifting current of teaching” (Con). “There are those who are like children, they are dominated by. desire for novelty and the mercy of the latest fashion in religion” (Barclay p. 150). “They are always under the influence of the last person with whom they talked” (Coffman pp. 190-191). “Such are immature Christians. They never seem to know their own mind or come to settled convictions. Instead, their opinions tend to be those of the last preacher they heard or the last book they read, and they fall an easy prey to each new theological fad” (Stott p. 170). False teaching will always exist, and it will always exist in abundance (2 Peter 2:1; 2 Peter 2:1; 2 Timothy 2:3). False teachers will always deceive "someone" they will always find easy prey (Romans 16:18; Acts 20:30; 2 Peter 2:2 “and may will follow”). It is my choice whether. will be easy prey or not. If. do not take the time to learn the truth, make the effort to ground myself in the faith (Colossians 1:23), or if. do not develop. heart that appreciates Divine truth (Proverbs 23:23), then. will be easy prey (2 Thessalonians 2:10). “With every wind of doctrine”: This statement reminded me of some statements that F. Lagard Smith wrote in his book the The Cultural Church. Speaking to members in “liberal” congregations, he said:

“Someone has suggested that what being non-denominational usually means to us is simply being ten years behind the denominations. How true! Remember when we bought everyone else's used ‘Joy Buses'. And do you not find it interesting that we are only now beginning to raise our hands during praise songs and to punctuate the worship with clapping? As one who uncomfortably finds himself in the midst of other fellowships on frequent occasions,. must share with you the other striking implication of the ten-year lag between us and the denominational world. Just look around and see where our trendiness is likely to lead us. In the churches around us, ‘more meaningful worship services' have already evolved into thinly-disguised entertainment. It started with choruses, solos, and music ministry teams, then became the focal point in which worship leaders (particularly music leaders) stole the show and left the audience applauding the weekly worship ‘concert'. Is that where we really want to go? The novelty of trendy worship practices can be as self-deluding as any traditionalism ever was. Before we initiate something new, simply for the sake of change, we must ask ourselves whether we are breathing life into our worship to God, or merely following the crowd hoping to catch some of the excitement which faddishness tends to offer” (p. 209).

“By the sleight of men”: “By the trickery of men”, “according to men's cleverness” (Wey). Literally the term sleight in this verse “is. gambling term referring to playing with. cube or dice. It refers to the crafty deceit and trickery of the gambler who plays with loaded or false dice” (Caldwell pp. 188-189). “In craftiness”: “Readiness to do anything” (Caldwell p. 189). “This word was used especially in the practice of adulterating. product before it was sold” (Boles p. 281). Men who have absolutely no morals, who will do anything and say anything to persuade you. “After the wiles of error”: “That makes use of every shifting device to mislead” (Wey). “Their crafty presentation of error as truth” (Nor).

“Neither Paul, nor any other New Testament writer, ever soft-peddled the effect of false teachers in seeking to cheat Christians out of eternal life” (Caldwell p. 189). While someone can teach error out of ignorance, the Bible contains. number of passages which indicate that many people teach error when they know it is error (Acts 20:29; 2 Corinthians 11:13; Galatians 2:4; Galatians 6:12; 2 Peter 2:3). We must rid ourselves of the naive view that states that everyone teaching religious concepts is honest and sincere. Religious teachers and leaders do exist who have absolutely no ethics. They will do anything they can to get followers. Vincent points out that the word "wiles" means “a deliberate planning or system” (p. 392).

Coffman reminds us, “The greatest mistake that any Christian can make is to assume that teachers of error are sincere. While true enough that some of them are, it is equally true that many are not” (p. 191).

The contrast to such instability