"If you carry counterfeit money, you may get a break from the police. When it comes to counterfeit religion, you will have no excuses--it will cost you your soul. There's always a market for the false profits because people do not want to see the truth (Mat. 24:11). Many false profits will arise and deceive (Mat. 24:24). False profits tickle the ears (Jer. 23:14), telling people what they want to hear. Jesus said people listen for lies because they are of their father, the devil, who is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). We are warned to beware of false profits. Each person stands at the midst of a cross-road. A narrow gate leads to heaven and a broad gate leads to hell. The narrow gate: must be entered; you must enter it alone; and it is difficult (Mat. 7).
Trusting in a church, a man, a method, or a
place is idolatry (1 Sam 3-5).
Will you trust a packaged method or put your trust in God's word?
Consider the circular reasoning: I believe in tradition
because tradition tells me so. God reveals Himself by His
word (2 Sam 3:21).
When Jesus was tempted by Satan He did not appeal to tradition
or oral law. He appealed to the written word, known
as the Old Testament: "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE
ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH
OF GOD.'" (Mat 4:4, NASB).
God hates idolatry (Mat 4:10, Jos 10) and pride (Mal 1:3), which is believing that we can live our lives without Him. Paul wrote the book of Romans primarily to slaves and illiterate people, fully expecting that it would be understood by them (Giraci). Paul's greatest desire was to know Jesus more fully: " that I may know Him (Phil 3:10)."
Most of the world is deceived, even those who go to church. We are to beware of false teachers. "Few" enter the narrow gate which leads to heaven, Jesus said. Upon death many will cry out to Jesus, saying "Lord, Lord." They will tell Him that they even prophesied in His name. But he will say to them: "depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity." (Luke 13:27).
Do you know Him or do you know an empty system of ritual and religion like the Sadducees and Pharisees? Someone once said: "When I came to Christ I lost my religion." "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (Jn 4:24)."
"Do you know the Jesus of the Bible or do you know a milk-toast, love-only Jesus who does not call you to address the sin issue in your life (McGee)." Will the Lord say to you "Well done, good and faithful servant." (Mat. 25:21) or will He say "I never knew you. Depart from me."? (Mat 7:23, WEB).
"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12)."
False prophets are to be found in the circles of the most orthodox, and they pretend to have a fervent love for souls yet they fatally delude multitudes concerning the way of salvation. The pulpit, platform and pamphlet hucksters (and I’m sure he would have added radio and TV if held lived today) have so wantonly lowered the standard of divine holiness and so adulterated the Gospel in order to make it palatable to the carnal mind.”
--John MacArthur quoting Arthur Pink
“A Christian can generally be known by his very appearance, the man who really believes in the holiness of God and who knows his own sinfulness and the blackness of his own heart the man who believes in the judgment of God and the possibility of hell and torment, the man who really believes that he himself is so vile and helpless that nothing but the coming of the Son of God from heaven to earth and His going to the bitter shame and agony and cruelty of the cross could ever save him and reconcile him to God, that man is going to show all of that in his personality. He is a man who is bound to give the impression of meekness, he is bound to be humble and our Lord reminds us here that if a man is not humble we are to be wary of him, he can put on a kind of sheep’s clothing but that is not true humility that is not true meekness. If a man’s doctrine is wrong it will generally show itself at this point, he will be affable and pleasant, he will appeal to the natural man and to the things that are physical and carnal but he will never give the impression of being a man who is seeing himself as a hell bound sinner, been saved by the grace of God alone.”
--Martyn Lloyd-Jones
"Vance Havner had an interesting statement this week, he said, 'You can dot all your "i"s and cross all your "t"s and still spell the word wrong.' And that’s exactly what they did. And if I can play off of that you can have all the jots and the tittles and still not spell Jesus. And that’s exactly what the Pharisees and the scribes were doing, they were very religious and they were damning men to perdition."
--John MacArthur on Vance Havner
How will you know a believer from a make-believer? Their fruits: their lifestyle, their actions, their behavior (Luke 3:8, Jn. 15:8). Fruit is obedience. Saving faith produces the fruit of obedience. If people make a mere verbal profession of faith or have a mere intellectual ascension to belief, they are not a Christian. The devil believes in Jesus! "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name." (Mat. 7:22). If they say and do not do; if they hear to do not obey, they only profess empty words (John MacArthur, Empty Words). If they say that they are a Christian but do nothing that Jesus commanded, they are only deluding themselves.
You may have to unlearn what you have learned. "Your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity." (Ac 8:21-23, NKJV).
Paul challenged: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith."(2 Co 13:5, NKJV).
"Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart." (Ps. 37:4).
It is right to expose those who lie and deceive. John MacArthur helps to expose the heretic, the apostate, and the deceiver." Read Beware of False Profits Pt.1 & Beware of False Profits Pt.2.
...The wise man dug deep
(Luke 6:47-48)
Those
who will not
see the kingdom of God: 
"But if we walk in the Light
as He Himself is in the
Light, we have fellowship
with one
another, and the blood of
Jesus His Son cleanses us
from all sin." (1 Jn. 1:7,
NASB).
Are you buying fool's gold? Or the real thing?