by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“You shall follow Yahweh your God and fear Him, and you shall keep His commandments<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 13:4).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Deuteronomy 13 addresses loyalty to God directly. The context is about false voices, even familiar ones, pulling people away from God.<\/p>\n
The chapter is blunt because the danger is real. Israel wasn’t threatened only by armies. They were threatened by influence. A persuasive friend, a charismatic leader, or a compelling idea could shift their allegiance. Moses wants them to evaluate every voice by one standard: Does it lead you toward God or away from Him?<\/p>\n
We face the same dynamic. Not in the same cultural form, but in the same pattern. Ideas, voices, and influences compete for our attention. Deuteronomy 13 pushes us to be honest about what shapes us. If something consistently pulls you away from obedience, don’t treat it lightly.<\/p>\n
Following God requires clarity about who you listen to. Moses’ instruction is simple: Test every influence by its direction.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “You shall follow Yahweh your God and fear Him, and you shall keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 13:4). Deuteronomy 13 addresses loyalty to God directly. The context is about false voices, even familiar ones, pulling people away from God. The chapter is blunt because the danger is real. Israel wasn’t threatened only by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[478,996],"class_list":["post-97498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-false-teachers","tag-loyalty"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3257,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-are-the-false-prophets-among-us-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":0},"title":"Who are the false prophets among us today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Who are the false prophets among us today? Answer: If you are looking for names of specific people, I'm afraid the list would be too large and ever-changing to appropriately answer. The Bible warns us that there will always be false prophets. \"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-isnt-rape-called-an-abomination\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":1},"title":"Why isn’t rape called an abomination?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This is amazing to me. I've been studying the Bible to see why God favored men over women. I've been trying to find what is an abomination to God and to my amazement there's nothing that says is an abomination to rape a woman. As a woman that's very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":97622,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/true-prophets\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":2},"title":"True Prophets","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"I will put My words in his mouth\" (Deuteronomy 18:18). Deuteronomy 18 introduces the promise of a prophet like Moses. Israel needed reliable guidance, not guesswork or superstition. This chapter contrasts true prophets with false ones. The difference isn't style; it's source. True prophets speak what God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1566,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-the-biblical-consequences-to-lying\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":3},"title":"What are the biblical consequences to lying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What are the biblical consequences of lying? Answer: In a list of things that the Lord hates we find lying. \"These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look,\u00a0a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-importance-of-covenants-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":4},"title":"The Importance of Covenants – Part II","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Covenants play a major role throughout the Scriptures. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0These are not promises, such as to be somewhere next week. Nor are they just solemn oaths. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Covenants create a binding relationship between people, much like a treaty. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Parts of a covenant \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0People have analyzed not only the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":67902,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/real-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":97498,"position":5},"title":"Real Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Biblical faith is not mere belief. It is trust, but it is more than that. It is conviction, loyalty, faithfulness, allegiance, and commitment. To say that we ought to trust God and have faith is not to say that we sit back and do nothing. That is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}