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Topic: The Day of Itching Ears
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Michael Z
Advanced Member
Member # 8389
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posted
For sure, ecumenism is often a euphemism for "New Age" or Christianity that has been compromised in some other way. A number of years back there were these "Church Women United" meetings in our area that were falling just short of promoting paganism. (See http://articles.mcall.com/1997-11-08/news/3173651_1_humanism-world-community-day-paganism-and-witchcraft for a different example as well) Our church had been participating in this for so many years it was expected we do so again. Several of our women refused and we opted out. There were some people in our congregation that were upset that we opted out. I did a bit of research on this CWU movement and presented the findings at a Sunday night meeting - that was the end of any complaining about opting out of this group.
On the other hand, I think community among believers across churches is a good thing, provided false doctrines are not introduced and the scripture is not compromised. See my post at http://thechristianbbs.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=21;t=000297
We read scripture, sing praise, pray, and share testimonies.
Posts: 46 | Registered: Nov 2010
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
Great topic WildB ![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
1 Timothy 1:18-20
AVOIDING SPIRITUAL SHIPWRECK
Intro: On April 10, 1912 the R.M.S. Titanic left her berth at the harbor in Southampton, England. This was the maiden voyage for the 882 foot long ocean liner that had been billed as unsinkable. She carried with her 2,228 passengers and crew. Most of the passengers had paid thousands of dollars to sail on that great luxury liner. Four days into the voyage, on April 14, 1912 severe ice warnings were received for the area through which the Titanic was sailing. These warnings were ignored and the Titanic maintained her course for New York harbor. At 11:40 PM the Titanic struck an iceberg on the starboard side of her bow. She began to take on water at an alarming rate and within three hours the Titanic and 1,523 of her passengers were at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Only 705 of the original 2,228 persons survived that great shipwreck.
Since 1912, people have tried to figure out what happened to bring about the demise of a ship called unsinkable. Most people would agree that the tragedy was a mixture of many things including negligence, apathy, greed, pride and incompetence. In other words, the tragedy could have been avoided had all the proper steps been taken by the captain and crew of the Titanic. But, since those steps were not taken, a tragic loss of life occurred on that cold night in the North Atlantic.
Of course, the Titanic is just one of many famous shipwrecks. We could also talk about the Andrea Doria, the Lusitania or the Edmund Fitzgerald. All were tragedies that should never have happened.
The facts behind the great shipwrecks of history makes for a fascinating study, but did you know that not all shipwrecks happen at sea? It's true! Most shipwrecks occur on dry ground. Our text speaks of the potential of a "spiritual shipwreck". In fact, it even records the names of two men in the early church that had experienced such a shipwreck: Hymenaeus and Alexander.
Most of us in this room will never be involved in a shipwreck at sea. However, the possibility exists that we might suffer a shipwreck in our spiritual life. In some ways, a spiritual shipwreck is far more devastating than a shipwreck on the high seas.
Our text reveals something of the nature of spiritual shipwrecks and how we are to go about avoiding them. I want to help you avoid the danger of shipwreck in your life. With the Lord's help, I want to preach for a while on this thought: "Avoiding Spiritual Shipwreck". Your life does not have to end up badly from a spiritual perspective! You do not have to be shipwrecked in your walk with God. The facts revealed in this passage will help us to avoid the shipwrecks of the spiritual life.
I. V. 19b THE REALITY OF SPIRITUAL SHIPWRECKS
A. As I have already mentioned, Paul calls out two men who have shipwrecked. We do not know much about these men, but we do know that they became a problem for Paul and for the early church. This is revealed in 2 Timothy, where it is said that Hymenaeus began to teach false doctrine, 2 Tim. 2:17; and that Alexander caused "much" injury to the Apostle Paul, 2 Tim. 4:14.
B. No doubt, everyone in this room could think of a person or persons who once walked with the Lord and have now made shipwreck of their spiritual walk. It happens! Several years ago, we saw the highly publicized falls of Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggart. Spiritual shipwrecks are to be found all around!
C. What we need to remember this morning is this: spiritual shipwrecks don't just happen to the other guy, they can happen to you and me! No one in this room is immune to the possibility that we will fall into sin and make shipwreck of our lives. Please don't scoff at the danger of becoming shipwrecked! It can happen to anyone – 1 Cor. 10:12; Pro. 16:18.
II. V. 19b THE REASONS FOR SPIRITUAL SHIPWRECKS
A. Paul tells us the reason that these two men suffered shipwreck was because they "put away" the faith. This phrase literally means "to thrust or push away". It refers to "an intentional turning from truth to error."
In the case of Hymenaeus it would appear that he rejected the true teaching of the faith and embraced false doctrine. For Alexander, it seems that he developed a mean spirit and began to work against the things of the Lord. Both wound up where they were because they pushed away truth and turned to error.
B. The same process takes place within people in the church! For whatever reason, some people who belong to the church and who profess Christ as their Savior also push away the truth and embrace error!
The move from truth to error is not made in an instant! No one wakes up one morning and says, "I think I'll throw away my testimony and influence today. I think I'll just get out of the will of God." Oh no! It is far more subtle than that! We fall away when we allow sin to go unchallenged in our lives. We fall away when we seek to rationalize our sinfulness and backslidden condition. We will begin to allow ourselves a loop hole here and there and before you know it, we are totally gone! (Note: Backsliding always begins very subtly! The movement away from God is almost imperceptible, but before long, the backslider is miles away from the One Who redeemed their soul! A frog in a kettle of water. If he is placed in a kettle of cold water, and the kettle is set on a hot stove eye, he will sit there as the water heats up. Because he is cold blooded, he is oblivious to the temperature changes in the water, until it is too late and he is boiled to death!)
C. Sometimes tragedy comes to the great ships when they are allowed to drift, or when they are overloaded. At other times, the loss of momentum can cause a ship to flounder. Things like torn sails and broken rudders also contribute to the demise of the great ships. (Note: This would be a great time for you to look closely at your life. What are you tolerating in your life that needs to go? Where have you slacked up? What have you ceased to do? What small changes have taken place in your life since that time when you were close to the Lord and on fire for Him? They can and will lead to shipwreck if they are not dealt with immediately!)
III. V. 20 THE RESULTS OF SPIRITUAL SHIPWRECKS
A. For these two men, they were "delivered to Satan". This was the most extreme punishment available for church people who went away from the Lord. In effect, they had been excommunicated from the protective umbrella church and had been delivered to Satan's hand to teach them humility, love for God and obedience to His Word! (Note: This is what Paul commanded the Corinthian church to do with a guilty member in their congregation – 1 Cor. 5:5.)
B. Every person in this room needs to understand this: no one sins in a vacuum! Your sins have consequences and you always reap what you sow, Gal. 6:9. When a believer allows his or her life to become shipwrecked by sin, there are terrible consequences to pay for that. Chastisement is assured – Heb. 12:6-12, death is a possibility – 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 John 5:16; 1 Cor. 11:30.
Besides that, the loss of one's testimony, one's influence and one's usefulness is a tragedy beyond description! This was Paul's fear, 1 Cor. 9:27, and it should be our’s as well! In addition to that, there is the loss of reward that will be suffered, 1 Cor. 3:10-15. (Note: There should be a bold return to the methods Jesus advocated for the cleansing of His church, Matt. 18:15-17. This is what is being practiced here by Paul. It was also advocated by him – 2 Thes. 3:14.) (Note: What if we were to have a return of the days of Acts 5:1-11?)
C. Is your present condition really worth all that it is costing you? Is it worth not being able to pray as you should? Is it worth not having any influence with your family, friends and coworkers? Is it worth the immense spiritual cost attached to it? Of course not! Thank God, there is a remedy for those who have suffered spiritual shipwreck!
IV V. 18-19a THE REMEDY FOR SPIRITUAL SHIPWRECKS
( Paul lays out a five step prescription that will help you and me recover from a spiritual shipwreck if we have already suffered one, and will help us avoid one if we haven't.)
A. V. 18 Lies In Following - Paul tells Timothy that he is giving him a "charge". This is a military word and it refers to a superior issuing commands to a subordinate. In other words, Paul is telling Timothy that he has the responsibility to obey his words! He has a duty to listen to and carry out the orders of the Apostle! (Note: The same is true for the believer! The first step in walking with God as we should lies in our willingness to obey His revealed will as it is written in the Word of God! We have a mandate to obey the Word, James 1:22-25. Our obedience proves we love the Lord – John 14:15; 21. Our obedience proves that we are saved by the grace of God – 1 John 2:3-5. Where is your life in relationship to His Word?)
B. Lies In Fulfilling - Paul reminds Timothy of the "prophecies" that had been issued concerning his life. Prophecies, no doubt, of his success and blessing in the ministry. He is to flesh out those prophecies through his life and ministry for the glory of God. (Note: You and I have been the object of divine prophecies as well. We have been told that we are "more than conquerors", Rom. 8:37. We have been told that we can constantly walk in victory, 1 Cor. 15:57. We have been told that our faith in the Lord is our key to overcoming everything in this life, 1 John 5:4!
Just as this charge was "committed" to Timothy, your life and mine have been entrusted to us! Our duty to God, the church, our fellow man and ourselves is for us to live up to our potential in Jesus Christ. Let's face it, many believers in this day and time are falling far short of their God-given potential. Are you living up to your fullest potential?
C. Lies In Fighting - Timothy is reminded that he has not enlisted in the Lord's army to play on the playground. He is reminded that the Christian life is a battleground. From the moment the believer comes to faith in Jesus, he or she is in the middle of spiritual conflict. Our enemies, the world, the flesh and the devil, all try to cause us to become shipwrecked on the jagged rocks of sin. Thankfully it is a battle that we can win, if we appropriate the spiritual resources provided for us by our Heavenly Father. We are to recognize the nature of the battle we fight: it is spiritual – Eph. 6:12. We are also to understand that the weapons with which we are to fight this battle are also spiritual in nature – 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Eph. 6:10-18. Are you lining up for battle, dressed as the Lord has commanded? Are you earnestly contending for the faith?
D. Lies In Faith - Timothy is charged to "hold" the faith. This word means "to lay hold of a thing, to own or possess for oneself". Paul is telling Timothy to stand in and for the truth! Defend the faith at all costs. Keep the doctrine of the church free from error and absolutely pure at all times. (Note: The same mandate applies to you and me! We are not to listen to the enticing words of slick communicators. We are not to be moved by the oratory of a noted man. We are to get a good grip on the Word of God and fight error tooth and nail. Whether you know it or not, truth is under attack in our day! Churches and church people have begun a concerted move away from doctrine into the realm of personal experience. How a person "feels about a text" carries more weight than what the text says. This is dangerous and must be guarded against at all costs!)
E. Lies In Faithfulness - Paul reminds Timothy of the value of a "good conscience". We all know that when we go against our conscience, we experience feelings of guilt, shame, remorse, fear, doubt and insecurity. But, what we don't often realize is that following our conscience may be one of the biggest mistakes we will ever make. There is some confusion regarding the nature of the conscience. The following from Ray Stedman sheds some light on it for us: "I find a great deal of misunderstanding, even among Christians, on what the conscience is. Many feel that the conscience is given to us to teach us the difference between right and wrong. But nothing could be further from the truth. No, the conscience is given to us, rather, to resist any deviation from the truth, from the right and the wrong that we know. If you think it is given to us to indicate what is wrong or what is right, you will begin to rely upon your feelings to determine right and wrong. That is where many go astray -- many young Christians, especially. They think their conscience is their feelings; and if they feel something is right then they do it.
You have seen the bumper stickers that say, "If it feels good, do it." People actually believe that is following their conscience. Because of that philosophy thousands and thousands of lives are being warped and twisted.
The conscience is given to us so that when we know what is right and what is wrong, it insists that we do the right and avoid the wrong. But it is the Word of God that teaches us what is right and what is wrong. Conscience is like a gyroscope, set in a certain direction, which resists any tendency to deflect it. Conscience, however, can be set in a wrong direction, and then it will guide us wrongly. Revelation, the Word of God, is what tells us what is right and what is wrong. Conscience is given to us to help us know when we are beginning to fail, or fall away, from that right path.
In other words, a good conscience is s synonym for an obedient heart which wants to do what God says is right. That is what Paul is talking about. Wherever God speaks, and you know what he tells you to do, regardless of what your flesh or your feelings say, obey; do what God says. That is the way to maintain a good conscience. If you fail, correct it instantly by the provision that God has made: confess, repent, set it straight, then go on with God.
A good conscience works with faith, that which lays hold of the resources of God in dependence on him. So a good conscience is the discipline of the mind and the will that says, "I will follow my Lord and do what he says to do." Jesus spoke of this. He put the Christian life in a nutshell when he said, "You in me, and I in you," {John 14:20b}. "You in me" -- that is our definite determination to follow him; "I in you" -- that is the resource he commits to us to enable us to follow and to obey him. The Christian life is these two things working constantly: to know what is right, and, by the power and grace of God, to resolve to do it. That is waging a good warfare. How beautifully that maintains the biblical balance between the sovereignty of God and the free will of man! Here is the secret of Christian vitality. When God tells you what is right, by his grace, relying on him, choose to do it.
This is so important that Paul expands on it. He says, "By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." These are people who know the truth, but because they have not chosen to obey it, they not only have wandered away, they have eventually damaged their faith. They start believing wrong instead of right. They know what is right, but they are no longer able to do it."
Simply put, it is dangerous to operate on feelings apart from the leadership of the Word of God. This is a recipe for disaster. A life that is not centered in the Word of God has no spiritual framework to guide the conscience. Therefore, if you do what you think is right, based on your conscience, without a clear Word from God, you will be headed straight for shipwreck. (Note: We had better be careful about operating in a mentality based on "This is what I feel..." or "This is what I think..." We need to base our lives upon, and guide our consciences, with the Word of God. Furthermore, we need to be careful about violating a good conscience. It can become "seared" making sin easier and repentance more difficult, 1 Tim. 4:2.) Is that how you live your life?
Conc: In 1912, the world was amazed at the R.M.S. Titanic. She was the most spectacular boat afloat. Handsomely appointed and decorated with all the best the world had to offer, people believed that she had the potential to return years of faithful service to her passengers and mountains of money to her owners. Yet, because of errors, some small and others large, she became a shipwreck and when she sank, she took many innocent lives with her.
What will be said about your life? Will men be able to quote the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" and apply them to you? Or will your life stand as a memorial to those who veer off course, only to be wrecked upon the jagged reefs and rocks of sin? You may scoff at this message, but the fact of the matter is this: there is an iceberg out there with your name on it. If you are unprepared when you arrive at its location, you will sink like a rock. What will be the outcome of your life? You say, "Preacher, we just don't know what will happen to us!" You are right, but regardless of what comes your way in life, regardless of the tragedies, regardless of the temptations, you can safely navigate the seas of life and land safely in the pristine harbor of glory with your testimony in tact. I pray you will!
http://www.sermonnotebook.org/new%20testament/1%20Tim%201_18-20.htm
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Betty Louise
Advanced Member
Member # 7175
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posted
Very Good ![[clap2]](graemlins/clap2.gif) Thank you for sharing.
betty ![[hug]](graemlins/hug.gif)
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Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Posts: 5051 | From: Houston, Texas | Registered: May 2008
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WildB
Moderator
Member # 2917
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posted
By Cornelius R. Stam
For the professing Church the day of theological controversy has passed. Ecumenism is now the word on every tongue. Church leaders appear to have become convinced that the stifling confusion in the Church can be overcome only by all of us getting together, minimizing our differences, and emphasizing those doctrines on which we all agree. As a result, some of the most important doctrines of Scripture are neither denied nor affirmed; they are ignored. But little matter, for the objective now is not to be true to the written Word of God but to see to it that the Church is "strong" and commands the world's respect.
Ecumenism, sad to say, has made significant inroads among evangelical believers too. All too seldom do men of God stand up to defend by the Scriptures the truths they believe and proclaim. The theological debate has given place to dialogue, in which two individuals or groups sit down together to discuss their differences and see if there is not some basis for agreement. This appears generous and objective, but too often convictions are compromised and the truth watered down by such undertakings, with the result that the Spirit's power is sacrificed for numerical strength. No man of God can speak in the power of the Spirit when he places anything before the Word and Will of God. Nor can the Church ever be truly united and strong unless she puts God's Word and Will first and takes her place in the world as Christ's ambassador on alien territory (See II Cor. 5:20).
But what do the Scriptures say about this new "open-mindedness," this new "let's all get together" trend?
OUR LORD'S WARNING
During our Lord's earthly ministry He warned His disciples: "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Matt. 16:6).
The disciples did not immediately grasp the significance of the Lord's warning. Realizing that they had forgotten to take bread with them, they supposed that He referred to the leaven which their bakers used and concluded that the Pharisees and Sadducees were evidently out to poison their food!
To correct this mistake our Lord had but to remind them how, with but a few loaves, He had fed five thousand people at one time and four thousand at another. They themselves had taken up baskets full of the fragments on both occasions. Surely, then, He could supply them with food!
"Then understood they how that He bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees (Ver. 12).
Someone was out to poison them—spiritually! It is doubtful that the Pharisees and Sadducees meant to propagate poisonous doctrines, but in their pride and hypocrisy they were the ready tools of Satan. It was because of the destructive qualities of these doctrines that our Lord had used the term "leaven" to describe them. Where false doctrine is concerned, it takes but a little to do a great deal of harm. Referring to this very thing Paul warned the Galatians that "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (Gal. 5:9).
What was so dangerous about the teachings of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? In general it was that the Pharisees added to the written Word (Matt. 23) and the Sadducees took from it (Acts 23:8). Both were dangerous, and our Lord warned His disciples to BEWARE of both. We do well to take this lesson to heart, for the Pharisees and Sadducees are with us still—those who add to the Word of God and those who take from it.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE PHARISEES
"The doctrine of the Pharisees" has held a prominent place in the Church throughout its history. The Reformation did not put an end to it by any means, for still today vast numbers of religious people subscribe to it.
The leaders of Christendom have added all sorts of rituals, restrictions, and requirements to God's revealed program for His Church in this dispensation of Grace, and multitudes of sincere believers follow like sheep, instead of searching the Scriptures daily to see whether these things really do belong to His program for our day.
Look at the members of Christ's Body. Many have placed themselves under the Law, while others are trying to recover the miraculous signs of Pentecost, or are striving to carry out a "great commission" that is not theirs. They observe holy days, baptism, footwashing, and all sorts of other forms and ceremonies which are contrary to God's program for this dispensation, as revealed in the epistles of Paul. As a result the Church is a Babel of confusion and Satan is well satisfied.
How perverse is the heart of man! God reveals the Substance and lo, His people go back to the shadows! He demonstrates the all-sufficiency of Christ's redemptive work and behold, His people continue to observe the rites that pointed to it. Indeed, they add ceremonies which He never commanded at all! In grace God postpones the judgment and the earthly reign of Christ, to offer grace and reconciliation to His enemies and lo, His servants do not even understand and go about vainly trying to "establish His kingdom."
They do not deny that we are commissioned to proclaim God's offer of grace and reconciliation, but they add another commission and so confuse the God-given message. They do not deny the all-sufficiency of Christ's finished work, but they add unscriptural and undispensational teachings and forms and ceremonies, and so confuse and adulterate God's clear message of grace.
This is "the doctrine of the Pharisees" and it is dangerous.
Added error blinds men's minds to the truth. Those who add the so-called "Great Commission" to God's program for this dispensation cannot fully appreciate the glory of our Lord's "great commission" to Paul and to us (II Cor. 5:14-21; Eph. 3:8,9; et al). Those who go back under the Law of Moses or even back to Pentecost cannot fully appreciate the glory of our Lord's finished work or "the exceeding riches of His grace." Those who observe footwashing, water baptism, or holy days cannot fully understand the mystery of God's purpose and grace. These added things hang as a veil before their eyes and blind them to the glories of their position in the heavenlies in Christ as members of His Body.
Our Lord charged the Pharisees with "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" and with "making the Word of God of none effect through your [their] tradition" (Mark 7:7,13). This is being done on every hand today as religious leaders add to God's glorious "grace" program ceremonies and observances which belonged to former dispensations, or which He never commanded at all. This is dangerous to our spiritual welfare and we should "beware" of it.
THE DOCTRINE OF THE SADDUCEES
But if Satan cannot deceive us with "the doctrine of the Pharisees" he will seek to accomplish his purpose through "the doctrine of the Sadducees."
In comparison with the bigoted Pharisees, the Sadducees were the "advanced thinkers" of their day. Not that they did not also substitute human tradition for the Word of God, but they made more of the human intellect and refused to believe certain truths which were supernatural in character. The Sadducees have a host of followers in our day with its emphasis on the intellectual.
But our Lord warned His disciples against the Sadducees too. He said "Take heed....Beware" and described their doctrine as leaven because a little of it can spread so fast.
This warning is sorely needed today since some sincere Christians, wishing to be intellectual and open-minded, place themselves in positions of great spiritual danger.
On the premise that they are mature and are seeking for the truth, such people often spend their time examining all the different viewpoints they can find and so make shipwreck of the faith. We should be careful about assuming that we are mature either intellectually or spiritually. To the puffed-up Corinthian believers Paul wrote:
"Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become [take the position of] a fool, that he may be wise" (I Cor. 3:18).
"And if a man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know" (I Cor. 8:2).
The fact is that we cannot trust our intellects. Surely the sharp disagreements among the world's greatest intellects should teach us this. These disagreements exist because, as the Bible teaches, the human mind, like the human heart, has become depraved by sin.
THE THESSALONIANS, THE BEREANS, AND THE ATHENIANS
But were not the Bereans commended for listening with open minds to teachings which they had never heard before? Yes, when they were confronted with them. It was the Athenians, not the Bereans, who made it their policy to consider as many viewpoints as possible on every subject (Acts 17:18-21).
The strength of the Bereans was that they kept close to the Scriptures. When confronted with some new doctrine, they did indeed give it an interested hearing, but then "searched the Scriptures daily whether those things were so" (Acts 17:11). Had they found anything in Paul's message which contradicted the Scriptures they would immediately have rejected it. And for this God calls them "noble." They were the truly great, the spiritual aristocracy of their day.
Too many believers today aspire to be like the Athenians rather than the Bereans. They say they wish to have open minds, and this is good if it is remembered that an open mind is like an open mouth; not everything should be put into it.
The Athenians went to the other extreme from the Thessalonians, who would not even consider a new doctrine when confronted with it—would not even consider it in the light of the Scriptures.
The Bereans were the wisest of the three. They kept close to that blessed Book, and, when confronted with unfamiliar teachings, immediately subjected them to the test of Scripture.
This is the wisest course even if only because we are all limited in time and strength. Obviously we cannot spend a great deal of time looking into the conflicting teachings of men without sacrificing a great deal of much-needed time for Bible study, and in the measure that we do this we are bound to grow spiritually weaker.
THE QUESTION OF EXPOSURE
There are those who argue that believers cannot be strengthened against error without being exposed to it. Our Lord knew better. He did not invite the Pharisees and the Sadducees to address His audiences. Rather He warned His audiences against the "leaven" of the Pharisees and the Sadducees and kept teaching His hearers the truth.
The depravity of the human heart and mind is such that the believer is not strengthened against error by constant exposure to it; he is strengthened against error by feeding consistently upon the Word of God. Exposure to error strengthens the believer only as it drives him to the Word of God. Show me a Christian who is always "considering all sides" and I will show you one who will fail dismally to give the Scriptural answer to false teaching—if indeed he is not taken in by false teaching himself. But show me a Christian who spends his time with that blessed Book and I will show you one who, strong in the faith, can easily answer his adversaries by the Scriptures. Paul wrote to young Pastor Timothy:
"I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ.... Preach the Word....For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears" (II Tim. 4:1-3).
And what was to be the result of this "itching ears" condition, this passion to hear teachers of all schools of thought expound their various doctrines? Hear the divine prediction:
"And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables" (Ver. 4).
What thoughtful student of the Word will deny that we have reached this point in the history of the professing Church, that the day of "itching ears" is upon us?
The desire to "give everyone a hearing," as it were, may seem superficially to indicate spiritual greatness, but actually it is of the flesh and is based upon the exalted presumption that it is safe for me to trust my intellect, even though the greatest intellects have disagreed over the most vital subjects. Where our intellects are concerned we are wiser to heed the Spirit-inspired exhortation of one truly great intellect, the Apostle Paul:
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5).
The Apostle Paul did not assume that his followers were mature enough to consider all religious viewpoints. He delivered his God-given message and warned his hearers and readers against false teachings.
To the Corinthians he wrote:
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ" (II Cor. 11:3).
Reminding the Colossians of his labor and strife and toil and conflict to establish them in the faith, he warns:
"Beware lest any man spoil [rob] you....Let no man beguile you..." (Col. 2:8,18).
He did not suggest to the Ephesian elders that it might be big of them occasionally to invite the legalists or the gnostics or some other heterodox teachers in to address their audiences. He rather impressed upon them their responsibility to protect their congregations from false teaching. Read carefully and prayerfully his very words, as found in Acts 20:28-31:
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with His own blood.
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
"Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
"Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."
Even those two outstanding pastors, Timothy and Titus, were warned against the "leaven" of false teaching. The apostle exhorts Timothy:
"Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee" (I Tim. 4:16).
This passage explains why some pastors have been unable to save their hearers from error and spiritual shipwreck. Certainly it teaches the danger of false doctrine to both pastor and people.
Throughout his two epistles to Timothy the apostle warns his son in the faith against those who "teach otherwise" and exhorts him to "fight the good fight of the faith." How earnestly he beseeches young Timothy to stay close to the Word of God and especially to the Word of God committed to him for this present dispensation:
"O Timothy, keep [guard] that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding...oppositions of science falsely so called" (I Tim. 6:20).
"Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
"That good thing which was committed unto thee keep [guard] by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us" (II Tim. 1:13,14).
In his letter to Titus the apostle declares that a bishop must be "blameless as the steward of God" (Titus 1:7).
"Holding fast the faithful Word... that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and convince the gainsayers" (Ver. 9).
Never does Paul advise even the strongest, most mature man of God to seek out the doctrines of those who "teach otherwise" so that they may know how to deal with them. He rather exhorts them to keep strong in the truth, ever ready to meet false doctrine with the Word of God.
When you are confronted with the familiar sign, "BEWARE OF THE DOG," be wise and keep out of the way. If you ignore the warning and have to flee torn and bruised, that is your fault. Nor can you expect God to protect you from spiritual harm and loss if you ignore His admonition to beware of false doctrine.
Do not presume: "I am mature. I will never be confused or overthrown by error." BEWARE! This is the course of obedience. This is the course of wisdom. This is the course of humility.
Every believer should remember that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God...because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14). It was by the Spirit that our eyes were opened to the most vital truths which confront mankind. Therefore it behooves us to protect ourselves from error and spiritual harm by consistent, prayerful, believing study of that blessed Book of which the Spirit is the Author.
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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