Let not many of you become teachers (Hymenaeus & Philetus / Full Preterist / Jesus returned in 70 AD

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3, and the title of this morning's message is, Twisting the Scriptures.

Twisting the Scriptures. You probably heard me use this phrase from time to time, how people twist the Bible, they twist the word of God. Well, I didn't come up with that expression. That's what the apostle Peter said.

And hopefully in this message, this message will help you to be able to not only realize that many people do this, but it should help to give us principles where we can better spot when someone is twisting the word of God.

Let's take a look at 2 Peter chapter 3, starting in verse 14. The apostle writes, therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things. He's referring to the new heaven and the new earth. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless.

And consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation. As also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written you. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of things of these things in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

You, therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To him be the glory both now and forever.

Amen.

So you see that expression there. He's talking about Paul and his writing. Some of the things Paul wrote, Peter says, these are hard to understand. And some people take them and twist them as they do the rest of the Scriptures.

So I'm going to break this message down into two parts. Part number one is when people twist the Scriptures, it leads others astray. So we will look at some biblical examples in the Bible of people twisting the word of God.

And then part two, we'll look at some modern examples of twisting the Scripture in what I believe to be perhaps the biggest issue in the church today, when it comes to people approaching, reading and interpreting the Bible.

I really believe this is the biggest issue today, but we'll get to that. Let me just say a few things before we begin. I really believe you would be better off. A person would be better off if they never heard from the Bible at all.

Then they would hearing the Bible presented in a twisted way. Let me repeat that. You would be better off not hearing from the Bible at all. Then you would be hearing the Bible presented in a twisted or distorted way.

The Scripture must be. We can't afford otherwise. The Scripture must be handled correctly. And quite frankly, there are many people who are simply not qualified to be teaching it. James chapter three, verse one speaks to this.

James says, my brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the stricter judgment. Also, second Timothy two, 15, Paul writes, study in speaking to pastor Timothy here, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Most people have not done that. That's the reality. Unfortunately, and because of that evangelical Christianity, it's really hard to deny that this is true. Evangelical Christianity has become like the Wild West, and everybody out there has their own personal interpretation of what the Bible says.

My friends, heresy abounds. So the word of God must be handled correctly by men who have studied to show themselves approved. This just seems to be a topic in the modern church that people tend to shy away from.

And I know I've said this before and I will say it again, but we cannot avoid talking about this remaining faithful at the same time. But this is a major theme. Understand this is a major theme throughout the Bible.

False teachers, Moses and the law. Just kind of go back. Quick review. Moses and the law laid out how to identify and how to deal with false prophets. And, hey, if anyone ever thinks I'm too harsh, go read what Moses said.

All right. So Moses laid this out in the law. Jeremiah preached against the pastors who are leading Israelites astray. Jesus in the gospels, we know, rebuked the false teachers of his day, the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees.

Paul rebuked the Judaizers. John called false teachers Antichrist. Jude wrote a whole book about it.

It.

James again said, let not many of you become teachers. Peter is addressing it here. It's all throughout the Bible. Men who twist the scriptures. In fact, most of the New Testament epistles, if not all, but most, most of them were written in order to address this issue.

False teachers wreaking havoc in the church. And it's almost like some people think that, well, well, that was in the Bible. I mean, that's not going to happen here. It's not going to happen in our town.

It's not going to happen around.

Of course it does.

It's everywhere. It always has been. That's the reality. So point number one. When false teachers twist the scriptures, it leads people astray. How so? Well, let's look at some biblical examples.

Okay.

Turn to second Timothy chapter two. Second Timothy chapter two. And I think this is a good example because remember Peter. This is where we started. Peter was talking about Paul and how some of the things that Paul wrote, some of the things that Paul taught, they were really hard to understand.

And some people have read that and they have wondered to themselves, what is Peter referring to?

Exactly.

We kind of wish you would have told us that when Paul wrote this to the Galatians, I didn't really understand this. Well, he doesn't explain it to us. I think this is going to be an example though. Right here in second Timothy chapter two.

A little quiz for you. What's another word for something when something's really hard to understand? What's a word you might use? Something's really puzzling.

It's a what?

An enigma.

There's a word close to that begins with an M. A mystery, right? Paul said to the Corinthian church, first Corinthians chapter 15. He said, behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment.

In the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. What's Paul speaking of there? He's speaking about the resurrection of the dead.

When Christ returns in the clouds, the dead will be raised. Of course, we know the parallel passage of that is first Thessalonians four, where Paul says the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be what caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Let me ask you, have people twisted this doctrine?

Yes.

Yes, they have. And I think this is a biblical example of people doing that. Look at second Timothy chapter two, starting in verse 16. Paul says to Timothy says, but shun profane in idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness and their message will spread like cancer.

Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort who have strayed concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already passed and they overthrow the faith of some. So notice these two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus.

These men are teaching Bible doctrine or so it seems they're speaking about biblical things, the resurrection and the return of Christ. But what do they say? Well, it already happened. Christ already came back.

The dead have already been raised and their false doctrine, Paul says, is spreading. It's spreading like cancer. They have strayed. And not just that, it has caused other people who are listening to this.

It causes them to stray also, if not fall completely away from the faith. So point number one, when false teachers twist the word of God, they lead other people astray. This can be very damaging, not just to what you believe, but to how you, how you live, how you think and what you believe determines how you live.

Right? Oh, this is just what the Bible says and what people believe. It affects everything. So the same thing happened here to the church at Thessalonica. You don't have to turn there. Do you remember in second Thessalonians chapter two, Paul tries to comfort the church not to be shaken in mind or troubled because somebody apparently had sent a letter to the church at Thessalonica, claiming to be from Paul and Silas and Timothy.

That the church members had missed the return of the Lord and that caused them great distress. And this is kind of the same thing. Resurrection already happened. Jesus already returned. Uh, Thessalonians, uh, Jesus already came back.

Sorry you missed it. How would you, I mean, how would you feel if somebody told you and you bought into it? Jesus already came back. The resurrection already happened. You missed out. That would be absolutely devastating.

Now I know that you know better and you wouldn't fall for that.

Amen. Amen.

But if you did, it would be devastating to your beliefs and to really the way you live. So this caused them great distress and it caused some apparently to completely lose hope. And you can, you can imagine that.

So don't you know that this is happening in the church today? People do this same kind of thing and they try to rob people of their blessed hope. Some today, uh, this is the false doctrine known as preterism.

There are many people in churches today that see Jesus already came back in 70 a .d. Or they will tell you, no, the kingdom isn't coming. The kingdom is already here. The church is the kingdom. Now I love the church, but if this is the kingdom, I'm a little disappointed.

No offense, you know, but another term for this is amillennialism, preterism, amillennialism. They're very closely connected. So these two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, they have strayed concerning the truth.

They were teaching people that the resurrection already happened. Why would somebody lie about that? Now, maybe they really believed it, but with false teachers, you know, Paul calls them ministers of Satan in second Corinthians 11.

You do get the impression that some of these guys are just, they're lying. They know that things are false and they're spreading it anyways. Why would somebody do that? Why would a false teacher just kind of sow this division?

You know, there are people, they make it their mission in life to cause chaos. Among God's people to devour the flock, or if they think they can benefit from it, they have no issues splitting a church, no issues devouring a church.

And I know that's really hard for some people to understand. Like, how could somebody do that? And, you know, you might think that because you're a decent person, you would never do that. I would never do that.

You might think, but there are people who do this. They do what they could attack the church from the outside, but they know if they present themselves as Bible teachers and they get in on the inside, they can do far more damage from within.

So this is basically how it happens. Jude says they creep in unawares. That is, they say and do everything right initially in order to get an audience. Once they think their reputation and position is secure, then they start chipping away at the unity of the church with their false doctrine.

And they do it. How? What's the title of the message? They do it by twisting the scriptures. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, MorrisCornickChurch .com.

And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.