The Communication of the Remnant (Part 7)

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Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

(2 Timothy 2:15)

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4

The Communication of the Remnant (Part 7)

 

I thought it would be a good idea to offer some basic information on how to study your Bible so we covered that in the last lesson.   I think you’ll find it useful.

Now we’re going to pick up where we left off in this teaching series.

I’ve taken you through the book to show you what Scripture has to say concerning those who demonstrate a complete lack of faith in what God has said.

Jesus commented on this aspect of human nature Himself,

Matthew 7

13: “Enter through the narrow gate: for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to (what) destruction, and there are (what’s the next word folks) many who enter through it.

14: “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are (how many) few who find it.” 

The “narrow gate” is THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD; plain and simple.

We learned that we are living in the day when Believers are no longer willing to “endure” sound Bible doctrine.  They are accumulating “teachers” for themselves who will tell them what their “itching ears” want to hear instead.

Recently, we’ve looked at the “false prophets (preachers)” and “deceitful workers” in the church community.  The Bible commands us, “to be on the alert” for these people.  

Why?   Jesus knew the damage and the destruction that would come about from those who would misrepresent Bible Truths.   So he warned us beforehand to be on guard.

Truth seekers and Believers alike are being taken in by these false teachers and deceitful workers in the church. 

All those with “eyes to see and ears to hear” need to pay attention (Matthew 11:15).

The word “hear” in the Greek is Akouo (pronounced: Ak-oo-o) and means “to hear with understanding.”  Not just to hear sound or words but to understand what is being said and then learn from it.   

If you approached a railroad crossing without a gate, and you heard the train whistle loud and clear, you probably would bring your car to a halt.  Why?

You recognized the sound.  You recognized the danger. 

You heard “with understanding” and responded. 

This is Jesus’ message in Matthew 11:15.

Jesus warns us to be “on the alert” for false preachers and deceitful workers in the church.  It stands to reason we need to be “on the alert” for their “lies” as well.

One popular deceptive message in vogue today is, “I’m o.k.; and you’re o.k.” 

I won’t judge you.  Please don’t judge me.  Let’s just try to get along…

This is Relativism.

Relativism is the idealistic position that all points of view are equally valid, and that all truth is relative to the individual. 

This means that all moral positions, all religious systems, all art forms, all political movements, etc., are truths that are relative to the individual.   Think on that.

The philosophy of relativism is pervasive in our culture today. 

With the rejection of God, and Christianity in particular, absolute truth is being abandoned.  

Our pluralistic society wants to avoid the idea that there really is a right and wrong. 

This is evidenced in our deteriorating judicial system that has more and more trouble punishing criminals, in our entertainment media which continues to push the envelope of immorality and indecency, in our schools which teach evolution and "social tolerance," etc. 

In addition, the plague of moral relativism is encouraging everyone to accept homosexuality, pornography, fornication, and a host of other "sins" that were once considered wrong but are now being accepted and even promoted in society. 

Relativism is becoming so pervasive that if you speak out against moral relativism and its "anything goes" philosophy, you're labeled as an intolerant bigot. 

Of course, this is incredibly hypocritical of those who profess that all points of view are true, yet reject those who profess absolutes in morality.  It seems that what is really meant by the moral relativists is that all points of view are true except for the views that teach moral absolutes, an absolute God, or absolute right and wrong.

Some typical expressions that reveal an underlying presupposition of relativism are comments such as: "That is your truth, not mine;" "It is true for you, but not for me;" and "There are no absolute truths."  Of course, these statements are illogical.

Relativism is invading our society, our economy, our schools, and our homes. 

Society cannot flourish nor survive in an environment where everyone does what is right in his own eyes, where the situation determines moral truth, and that lying and cheating are okay as long as you don't get caught. 

Without a common foundation of truth and absolutes, our culture will become weak and fragmented. By Matt Slick – Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry

  

The Christian community is moving rapidly away from the Truth of God’s Word.

This ongoing trend is influenced by many factors.

    Church attendees are not really interested in acquiring Bible knowledge.

If you can get these folks to set aside 10 minutes of their day for devotions and prayer, that’s a positive thing.  But to be honest, the majority does not have the time or the inclination for this activity.

     More and more churches today dole out “warm milk” instead of “solid food” only

(1 Corinthians 3:2), when it comes to Bible teaching and/or preaching.

The average church-goer can’t handle the “meat” of God’s Word.  It’s over their head.

The average church-goer doesn’t spend any time in the book on their own.

The average church-goer gives their hour or so on Sunday morning and then they are done for the week.  After that they jump back into the world as an active participant.

     Younger Christians (and some older ones) have varying viewpoints when it comes to acknowledging what is an acceptable Bible truth.  They “cherry-pick” items from Scripture that they accept as truth or somewhat truthful and discard the rest.

         The Emergent Church Movement – which is a draw for the Gen X group; is a vague sort of loose-knit association of churches that have decided that there is value, there is even virtue in uncertainty about Scripture.

The bottom line in this movement is they believe that we aren't even supposed to understand precisely what the Bible means.  

 It is a denial that we can know what the Bible really says.  And so, it becomes celebration of mystery, a celebration of ignorance, a celebration that we can't really know.

They want to run from the light.  Scripture is light; it is not darkness, but they like the darkness because their deeds are evil.  So I think the motive behind this whole Emerging Church thing, whether it's a conscious or unconscious motive, is discomfort over what the Bible really says, whether it's about the gospel or whether it's about sin, virtue...they don't like it and so they toss it out.                                                                                                   

The Emergent Church, the Universalists, the Unitarians, the Millennial Dawnists, Christian Scientists, these are all examples of churches that have set the Bible and God aside.  When given the choice, they have opted not to believe God.  They have chosen to ignore the Truth. 

The Bible says, “…people who will not endure sound doctrine any longer.”

Those in this category who want their ears “tickled,” will frequent these type churches because the message they “hear “satisfies their “desires” (lusts). 

They have stopped believing God.

Then there are the Truth Seekers.  These are the people who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation and are now on their “Christian Walk” or their journey of Truth, as I call it.  Most early Believers have a “hunger” for the Word of God.

But unfortunately, for a lot of them, they find themselves in one of these deceitful church groups, and they get caught up in their web of lies.   But how can they know they are being deceived?    I know several people who fit this category.

It’s difficult to reach people who have been brought up in this type environment.

People build relationships and there exists after a time an element of trust.

These false preachers and deceitful workers are good at what they do.

They preach a God of peace and love only.  They never speak of God’s wrath.

It’s a “warming message” and one that the people “want to hear.”

But it’s deceitful!  And it’s not the Truth.

I’ve said this before and it bears repeating. 

The Bible is our only true source of light in this darkened world. 

You can trust it. 

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GJ Heitzman’s Ministry

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