Truth V’s Error
JCC 04.10.09 am
2 Corinthians 10:3–5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
What you believe about God will determine your worldview on life
Your view of Him automatically has more far-reaching consequences than anything else in your belief system
A wrong view of God leads to a wrong view of yourself
What you think of God will automatically determine how you think about everything else:
· How you prioritize values
· How you determine right and wrong
· What you think of your place in the universe
· How you behave
· Your thoughts of an afterlife
The same principle is as true for atheist, the nominal Christian and the born again believer
Let’s view the atheist:
The accidental universe
What good is there in an accidental universe with no Lawgiver and no Judge?
There’s no god
One who rejects God has refused the foundation for morality, accountability, true spirituality, and the necessary characteristic between what’s good and evil
The atheist’s private life will inevitably become a living demonstration of their evil and unbelief
Where there is no boundary, there is room for an ‘anything goes’ mentality
They are answerable to none but themselves
This is corrupting through to our children
Ps 14:1 Ps 53:1 & the fool has said in his heart, [There is] no God. They are corrupt; they have done abominable works, [there is] none that does good.
The foolish are mentioned biblically:
Ps 74:18 …. the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
Prov 10:14 Wise [men] lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish [is] near destruction.
Matt 7 the builders
Matt 25 the virgins
Many turn to science to disprove God’s reality, yet Rom 1 tells us that all creation is a witness to his existence
Those in unbelief say, ‘How shall I know that this true?’
I AM THAT I AM is the only grounds for true faith
The Nominal Christian
2 Tim 3:5 They are the ones with a form of godliness, but deny the power
Hypocrisy has potentially more disturbing implications than outright atheism because of its deceptiveness
A living pretence
Jesus’ campaign against hypocrisy is a prominent, if not dominant, emphasis in all four gospels
Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for institutionalized religious hypocrisy of his day
They have the ludicrousness and arrogance to call Christ Lord with the lips while utterly defy Him with their life
They go to church, sing, pray, but revert back to their own selfish way of living once outside the doors
Religiousness with no righteousness
Outward show, but no inner change
A life improved, but never transformed
They believe God is there to help them get ahead in the world
To give them a ‘get out of hell’ card
Christianity revolves around ‘feelings and emotions’
When troubles come, they run anywhere and to anyone other than Christ Himself
They hate authority and refuse to come under church discipline
They say they love God, yet hate or despise their fellow Christian
Preachers tickle their ears with things they want to hear
A romantic message from a lovesick saviour, a desperate father looking for his children
Making God out to be one who needs them, rather than seeing their need of Him
Meditation on the word and intercessory prayer is not their lifestyle
The truth is not in them
Tozer says, ‘ Anything….., which….decides our heaven or hell, is too important to neglect. We simply must not allow ourselves to be uninformed or mis-informed. We must know.’
But, to those who fully do not know Him, they cannot know how to understand the scriptures
The bible is written to the spiritual, not the carnal
Its truths are for the chosen only to understand; others will read it in vain
It is not to be read like a book, because it isn’t the same as any other book
One of the central themes of the Bible is the importance of believing the truth about God
In biblical terms, the difference between true faith and false belief (or unbelief ) is the difference between life and death, heaven and hell (McArthur,John. The Jesus you can’t ignore 2009)
His Word is clear and He will hold us accountable for whether we believe Him or not
We all must give an account
The zeal for essential doctrines of biblical Christianity has become virtually unacceptable among today’s Churchgoers
No one dares to question the so-called ‘great men of faith’
The new rules call for a friendly conversation
We must not be passionate about what we believe
We’re not supposed to lodge any serious objection to someone else’s religious opinion
The core truths of Scripture are always under attack.
Scripture itself clearly teaches that it is the main battleground where Satan attacks
Church services devoid of any real conviction shows how people seem to be not bothered whether they actually mean anything anymore
We can go through the motions without any conviction of the Holy Spirit
They say, ‘it’s OK to disagree’, but not on basic doctrines that are the foundation of our faith
Truth is worth fighting for
The Born Again Believer
The spiritual warfare every Christian is engaged in is first of all a conflict between truth and error
Those truly of Christ are transformed by truth
They walk in truth and will reject any words said against their Lord
They demolish lies and stand for truth, no matter what the cost
McArthur states, ‘The chief aim of Satan’s strategy is to confuse, deny, and corrupt the truth with as much fallacy as possible, and that means the battle for truth is very serious. Being able to distinguish between sound doctrine and error should be one of the highest priorities for every Christian—as should defending the truth against false teaching.
Take such a stand today, however, and you will be scolded by a cacophony (harmony) of voices telling you that you are out of line and you need to shut up.
The modern mind at times seem unable to make any meaningful difference between armed physical combat with weapons intended to kill people and spiritual combat with truth intended to save them from spiritual death
This is serious business
This spiritual conflict is a theological one
A war in which divine truth is set against demonic error
Our goal is the destruction of falsehoods, not people
If we are faithful, will be the deliverance of people from their stronghold of lies, false doctrines, and evil ideologies that hold them captive
Satan is a master at disguising himself so that he appears good rather than evil
He “transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” 2 Corinthians 11:14–15
Illustration: CNN TV, aired a special series in 2007 titled “God’s Warriors,” with a major segment subtitled “God’s Christian Warriors.” The program was far from objective, and the segment that focused on Christianity seemed to have little point other than attempting to suggest that there is a kind of moral similarity between Muslim jihadists who blow innocent people up and Christians who believe Jesus Christ is the world’s only true Savior. “Their battle to save the world has caused anger, division and fear,” CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour solemnly intoned in her introduction to the segment about evangelicals. The series threw Christian fundamentalists into the same category with Islamic jihadists. Naturally, that generated a lively discussion in various online forums. Some Christians who commented about the CNN special sounded disturbingly unsure on the question of whether or not Christians deserve to be lumped with terrorists and suicide bombers. Have Christians actually earned this reputation by being too contentious about their beliefs?
The war to uphold the truth is the only hope of peace for the enemies of God
A serious war with eternal consequences
So what are we to do?
We are to demolish false ideologies, by systematically dismantling their incorrect doctrines, casting down their misleading arguments, and exposing their lies with the truth
Truth is the only weapon
Paul answered the Corinthian’s deception with truth—cutting through their lies with “the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” Ephesians 6:17
He contended for the truth and fought against error in absolute earnest. But in all his dealings with false teachers, Paul’s aim was the extermination of their false doctrine, not the false teachers
Paul’s communication with false teachers was dominated by the gentleness of a fatherly spirit
He displayed a righteous anger against them when he wrote with utter disapproval for all they stood for; he even cursed them Galatians 1:7–8
We must do the same
On his first missionary journey, immediately after leaving Antioch
with Barnabas, Paul came to the first stop in his missionary adventure. Reaching the city Paul had his first recorded encounter with a false religious teacher, whose name was Elymas Bar-Jesus. Here is how Paul addressed him: “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time” (Acts 13:10–11). God affirmed Paul’s word by , “Immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand” (v. 11)
John said, don’t give them the time of day: “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds” 2 John 9–11
Jesus also, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,
“Beware of the scribes. .” Luke 20:45–46
One class of sinners Jesus consistently dealt with harshly was the professional hypocrites, the religious phonies, the false teachers, and the self-righteous peddlers of plastic piety—the scribes, lawyers, Sadducees, and Pharisees.
They were the arrogant gatekeepers of tradition. They cared nothing for the truth.
They were only concerned with keeping up appearances and holding on to their power.
Nothing is more evil than a false religion
The more false teachers try to robe themselves in the clothes of biblical truth, the more Satanic they are
Paul warned them that false teachers would arise not only from within the church, but that they would creep unnoticed into the leadership of the church Jude 4.
The agents of Satan were the most devout, the most self-righteous, the most respected religious leaders in all of Israel—led in that effort by the very strictest of all their major sects, the Pharisees
The closer they can get to the sheep and gain their trust, the more easily they can devour the flock
For example, listen to some of the leading voices in and around the Emergent movement have said. Tony Campolo is a popular speaker and author who has a major influence in evangelical circles. He believes evangelicals should be in dialogue with Islam, seeking common ground. In an interview conducted by Shane Claiborne,
Campolo said:
‘I think that the last election aggravated a significant minority of the evangelical community, believing that they did not want to come across as anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment, pro war, pro capital punishment, and anti-Islam. There is going to be one segment of evangelicalism, just like there is one segment in Islam that is not going to be interested in dialogue. But there are other evangelicals who will want to talk and establish a common commitment to a goodness with Islamic people and Jewish people particularly’.
Brian McLaren is perhaps the best-known figure in the Emergent conversation. He thinks the future of the planet—not to mention the salvation of religion itself (including Christianity)—depends on a cooperative search for the real meaning of Jesus’ message. In McLaren’s assessment, this means an ongoing dialogue between Christians and followers of all other religions. This, he is convinced, is of the utmost urgency:
In an age of global terrorism and rising religious conflict, it’s significant to note that all Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, that many Hindus are willing to consider Jesus as a legitimate manifestation of the divine, that many Buddhists see Jesus as one of humanity’s most enlightened people, and that Jesus himself was a Jew, and without understanding his Jewishness, one doesn’t understand Jesus. A shared reappraisal of Jesus’ message could provide a unique space or common ground for urgently needed religious dialogue—and it doesn’t seem an exaggeration to say that the future of our planet may depend on such dialogue. This reappraisal of Jesus’ message may be the only project capable of saving a number of religions, including Christianity.
McArthur states, ‘That which edifies is more helpful and more fruitful in the long run than criticism. Cultivating friends is more pleasant and more profitable than crusading against enemies. And it’s ordinarily better to be tender and mild rather than curt or combative—especially to the victims of false teaching. …Avoiding conflict is not always the right thing. Sometimes it is downright sinful. Particularly in times like these, when almost no error is deemed too serious to be excluded from the evangelical conversation,
and while the Lord’s flock is being infiltrated by wolves dressed like prophets, declaring visions of peace when there is no peace Ezekiel 13:16)……’
Jesus himself rebuked the spiritual leaders
He doesn’t say, “They’re basically good people. They have religious intentions. They have some valid spiritual insights. Let’s have a conversation with them.” Instead, He says, “Keep your distance. Be on guard against their lifestyle and their influence. Follow them, and you are headed for the same condemnation they are.”
Many in Church would disapprove of Jesus’ way of dealing with them
Conclusion:
2 Corinthians 10:3–5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
Our weapon today is truth
Truth against the atheist, the nominal Christian and Satanic forces
Only truth will pull down everything that exalts itself against the knowledge of God
For every knee will bow, and confess Jesus is lord
