Belief which does not bring people under the Lordship of Jesus Christ is not true faith in God's Word, but gullibility. The world, our own fleshly instincts and the devil intrinsically resist the idea of submission to Jesus. In the Last Days, especially when there is trouble in the world, messiahs and saviours of any and every description will lure people into their den and lead them further astray from the truth. These false prophets will not only seduce the unbelievers but will attempt to distract and divert people who have trusted in Jesus Christ.
 
Supernatural signs and wonders were certainly the validation that God was at work, but they could also be counterfeited by Satan. So the church needed to be discerning. Jesus and the Apostles had the power to do them (Acts 2:22, 43), and they were the authenticating marks of the Apostles (2 Corinthians 12:12); but they were also the signs of Satan’s activity (2 Thessalonians 2:9). That is why Jesus warned the disciples not to allow the church to become gullible and believe lies.
 
One of the marks of Satan's lying work is secrecy (whereas the gospel is open to all). Deceivers will try to move the church out of the mainstream of God's truth into the spiritual desert, where truth is never watered – and so the seeds of the gospel cannot grow. They give the impression of having special knowledge which is only available to a few – and so cults are formed. The fact remains that the love-filled gospel has a transparency about it; and when Jesus returns it will not be a private party for a few cult followers, but every eye will see Him including those who have resisted Him (Revelation 1:7).
 
Godly faith believes that God's Word is true. Gullibility is a willingness to believe, perhaps though persuasive 'selling' or being thrilled by an experience, without checking it out in God's Word. The warnings Jesus gave to His trainee apostles are as relevant today as then. Beware of believing just on the basis of experience. Everything that is true from God will deliver appropriate experiences; but not every experience comes from God or can deliver truth. That is why we need the teaching of the Biblical Apostles (Acts 2:42), just as much as the Early Church did, to ensure that our faith does not dry out or get hijacked by false prophets, however sincere they may appear to be.