The Word of God — Mose Stoltzfus

The Word of God and Spiritual Discernment

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Greetings to all of you in Jesus name. Precious to use that word, isn't it? Amen when we know him and believe in him. Well, I'd like to say an amen to what was said concerning the Sermon on the Mount In the prior message that definitely is a key to many things in the understanding of the scriptures and or the taking the The heart of God and taking it to ourselves.

This morning I Would like to look at as we continue to look at our tools for discernment. I Would like to speak Somewhat on the Word of God There even though that is the broad sense broad term as you understand, but if you If you ever want to discern discern Anything today in light of truth in light of reality the Word of God is in that sense The answer to the whole thing and I feel so inadequate to be able to treat it here in one or two messages that I'll be talking about this and Some of the concepts of how to arrive At as I have on the board here the central truth of a given text but I'm going to try to give you at least a few thoughts that may help you along the way.

Shall we just bow our heads for prayer? Father in heaven take this feeble effort and this feeble person God and use us to thy glory and praise as we stand here Before these men to try to open their eyes and help them to see the reality of truth.

Thank you for the Word of God. Thank you God for the English language and thank you for my Education that my parents sent me to school that I could learn to read and comprehend and understand this language and Thank you for other languages that you give us to alongside of the English one.

Thank you for Spanish and for German and Russian Whatever else may be represented here today. That even we can have a broader sense sometimes of the text that is given to us in the scripture by multiple languages.

I pray God that you would give us an Understanding today as we attempt to open this subject. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. When I was converted at the age of 15 I Was virtually biblically illiterate. The Bible to me the only one I had was a New Testament.

Until I was maybe 15 or 16 years of age. I got a Bible I The only reading that I ever did that I can remember was forced reading when My father sat us down occasionally like every two weeks and Had us read a portion of scripture in German in order to learn a bit of German.

We never explained the scriptures. And He was only beginning to come to light through those years my father which then did become a Christian and But the faint memory I have Was so different than that and that is the years in his searchings that I saw him and Heard him read the scriptures out loud and stopped for long periods of time in between To meditate upon it that I don't forget but I Didn't even know where the Old Testament books were many of them.

When I got converted I did not get converted by the Word of God. I got converted by the Spirit of God and we by conviction because of my sin I Recognize that we can get converted by the Word of God or by the Spirit of God or Sometimes by the life of a Christian who lives out the Word of God, but I do believe the Word of God.

Ultimately and finally is the powerful tool the most powerful tool in the world to discern Good and evil. It is impossible it is impossible to go through the maze of the confusion of religion without the Word of God without the Word of God.

When we started our mission in Haiti some years ago We got upon the problem That 85 of the people were illiterate. They could not read or write and of course We soon excused ourselves For the support of a school That could teach these people to read and write because we said where do we begin if they cannot read the Word of God?

And those are some of the things you run into in some of those poor poverty-stricken third-world countries Which we ran into there The Word of God. Now let me tell you from the beginning That you cannot separate the Word of God from the Spirit of God.

Dangerous dangerous business people try to do that and Have tried a lot in the last years God told me God told you If it doesn't agree with the written Word of God God didn't tell you and that's the only hope we have out of this confusion and God has laid it in the conviction upon my heart even though I'm a Christian over 40 years in the last two I Have a renewed zeal in my heart To stay as scriptural as I possibly can.

I have had to as an elder go through a lot of confusion and maze of Doctrine and teachings and literature that come my way. I have Always had a bit of a leaning in that way. I love doctrine. I love truth.

I love teaching and I Do as the scripture says I scrutinize it and I analyze it and I try to find out what truth is. I'm a curious type of fella, and I want to know who's right. What's right? You know and When I hear some of these things I I have to figure out what's going on.

I can't just take it I can't just let it many times either sometimes it's a benefit to do that, but it's just Part of my makeup that I I spend much time in in trying to find out whether something is right or not and that has brought me to the reevaluating of some things that I had accepted as normal and it's okay in my Christian life and some of the influences that I had in prior years and That has been I believe and I trust a good thing.

That would be my testimony. Now the first thing I would like to give you is the simple the simple form. Not the one I have on the board behind me, which is a bit more of the complex form. I don't have the name of it up there.

It's called a syllogism syllogism. But the simple form because I know many of you are simple folks and you don't know what syllogism is probably like I didn't but And that when I started out my Christian life, and I started out in the simple form.

And you know what it worked. And that was simply That I did have a good grip on the English language. God had blessed me with a love of reading in school years and vocabulary and I don't have all those words right yet, brother Manny either but but I did have a love for reading and a love for Understanding and when I quit school at the age of 13 14 years of age I didn't quit school and I began to Go for that dictionary and find out what words mean when I come across them and that's been a great benefit.

I recommend that to anyone whether that you never quit school. Never quit school. But the simple form to me Was to pray when I came upon a portion of Scripture and ask God Lord, what does that mean? And stop and think it's amazing totally amazing the amount of times that somehow God showed me I Am touched by that today yet the simple form of learning to know what the Scriptures mean.

I Wasn't smart enough and knowledgeable off at that time to compare Scripture with Scripture. Because maybe I I didn't know what was in the other parts and the other books. And I had not seen this and this and saw that they fit together.

Which is a very important very important part of scriptural interpretation and scriptural discernment. But even in spite of that somehow I had a sense Of what it meant. I remember one of my favorite chapters as a young Christian was Romans chapter 6 and I wrestled over this thing of being buried with him in baptism and I asked people what does this mean, you know?

Well, they say that means spiritual baptism when he got born again and And then the emergent is to know they they had their absolutes that it meant you have to go under the water and all that. Well, I do agree that the picture there of being buried with him in baptism that light Christ died and was raised so we can die and Just see him and be raised again and walking in this of life.

That I would understand more than ever today that that being buried in baptism. It's best literal picture is to have water baptism in immersion. I Think that's the best picture of it, but I can't write it all off and say it's all spiritual.

You know, it was my new birth. But I also don't believe that baptism washes away sin and converts you. You know and so you have to come to those balances over the years. But that's how I wrestled through some of those things in my early years.

Interpreting Scripture in Context

But What I would like to suggest To you and I need this as I go through more complex Discernments this week is how to approach the biblical text and my first Premise to you would be to interpret the text in context.

What the false prophets are doing is grabbing at verses and taking them out of context out of their surrounding use and scripture and building an absolute Mountain out of them and then teaching it and trying to stand on it and try to name it and claim it and Heal it and believe it and just take a couple of words or one verse and run all the way to town with it.

And that is what has done so much damage to the whole biblical concept of preaching and teaching in these last 50 years. Especially Although it's been Extant all through the years. This has been a problem so I have a diagram on the board here, which I mentioned is called a syllogism.

And I want to illustrate that a little bit this morning. We use this in Manitoba in our Bible school there this winter and And got to appreciate this although many times I was doing this again Just by my understanding of the of how.

Maybe through the Spirit of God or that when you look at a scripture It is good to read enough of scripture surrounding it that you have a subject or a text within the context of Which it is found and that's what I have here on the board here at the top would be the interpretation taking the various verses of the Word of God and bringing them into a major premise find out what is a Central truth of a written Word of God that you happen to be reading or study.

That is what is called the interpreting of the scripture. What does this mean? What is it telling me? What can I what what what is the major premise here? And then there are minor premises Also of that truth that are found within that text and many many lessons to be learned out of it by the words that are used and studying the words and other things that Jesus says alongside and then there is a Conclusion then we make a conclusion of That central truth and may I just say then after we conclude what that scripture what the central truth is then We apply it to all of our life.

It goes back out again it comes in comes into our mind comes into our heart comes into our soul and we draw a Conclusion of what that means and you take the Sermon on the Mount my The mileage that you get out of a portion of scripture like that when you do that and then you go home.

You haven't just read the scripture. You haven't just heard a message and you apply that to all of your life. That is what should happen in this matter of called syllogism. Now I have to give you an interesting story that I heard where this was used.

But brother Denny yesterday was talking about this Revival Fellowship and a few of us had had attended that and that he was talking about yesterday where this panel was sitting with these old men. We're up front.

They're 70 80 years old and we're doing this panel. One of them was a man by the name of Richard Owen Roberts some of you know him. He's a revival preacher famous for revival preaching for probably 50 years or more Across the United States and and I would have to say by my observation a very godly man from what little I know of him.

But that dear brother was preaching one day on the suffering of the Christian. He was talking about because he's one of the old school, you know, he believes that That we should suffer and we should prepare to suffer and he was preaching on the text all That live godly in Christ.

Jesus shall suffer persecution and if you ever heard him preach the man preaches with great passion and After he was done a fellow came up to him and walked up to him and said Sir I Want you to know that I'm the city attorney and This I want you to know that nobody persecutes the city attorney.

Well all the wisdom of that 75 years or 80 years went into action and he said Let me give you a syllogism major premise all That live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Minor premise. The city attorney does not suffer persecution.

Conclusion the city attorney does not live godly now, you know, I appreciate this. I Diagram I can't get over that. I tell you that spoke volumes to me. Tell us can come up. You say what they want to.

When the truth is established through eternity Then that is the way it shall be and the city attorney and the rest of us have to somehow Fit into it. It is not bendable. Not disputable not twistable and yet Sadly sadly that is what so many are doing.

The Central Truth of 2 Corinthians 2

Well Let me give you another experience that I had in my life. I I went to church as a young Christian where there was a man who was a repetitive preacher. He got up to preach especially in the opening meditations for about 25 30 minutes and and I would believe that and some of you fellows know men like that.

That half of his words were the same words at every Sunday morning. But anyway, one of them was 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 as I remember the case. But I don't know how many times for how many years I've heard this Second Corinthians chapter 2 verse 9.

But as it is written I have not seen. Nor ear heard nor have it entered into the heart of man. The things the Lord has promised to them that love him. And of course and of course and that was used over and over again in the concept that was given is That all and it's a true concept.

We have no idea What is going to be in heaven and what God is preparing for those that love him over there in heaven. And as I begin to study the scripture, I don't know me one day in the next verse. It says something totally different.

But the Spirit of the Lord has revealed it unto them and I thought Something is so desperately wrong here. Something is so wrong, you know, and if I could just read down through that Passage just to show you now what the text will do in context.

Let's look at verse 8. Which none of the princes of this world knew excuse me. I have to start earlier Verse 6 how be it we speak wisdom among them that are perfect yet. Not the wisdom of this world nor of the princes of this world that come do not.

But we speak the wisdom of God in a minute in a mystery even God Which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Which none of the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written I have not seen nor ear heard. Neither had it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us By his spirit for the spirit such as all things.

Yea, the deep things of God for what man knoweth the things of a man say the spirit of man Which is in him even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world not.

But the spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches comparing spiritual spring things with spiritual.

But the natural man receive it not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him neither. Can we can he know them because they are spiritually discerned verse 15 yet? He is spiritual judges all things or discerneth all things yet He himself is judge of no man for who had known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him.

But we have the mind of Christ. Well when you take that text in context you got a totally different picture, don't you. And That is how I want to show you when you take all of those verses brought together.

You have a central truth. What is it that giving you the Holy Spirit? Reveals Many things to people it reveals. Yeah, even the deep things of God and the princes of the world had no idea what they were doing.

A Herod didn't know and Pilate didn't know and the soldiers that drove the nails didn't know if any of them had any idea What they were doing they wouldn't have done it. Now the Jews knew it. They knew it because you remember Nicodemus said we know that thou we elders we we Pharisees we know that thou art a teacher come from God and no man can do the things that thou doest except God be with him.

But the elders or the the rulers and the princes of the world. They didn't know if they if Pilate would have known and Herod and some of them would have known exactly who they were dealing with. There they wouldn't have done it.

But Pilate didn't know he hadn't followed him around apparently and hadn't investigated enough about who this man is and He get it wanting to show the Jews a pleasure, you know gave Jesus into the hands of the Jews to have him crucified.

But he had to send these soldiers to do it to do the job. But what he's also saying is I hasn't seen all through the Old Testament. They don't understand its mystery. It's only been revealed now by the Holy Spirit.

Which is dwelling in the heart of man that reveals these things under him and now we have a light. And we have an understanding we have never had before and that's the truth of This not talking about heaven not talking about the city in the place that God is preparing for them that love him.

Not at all. And so you can see how we can just get off By just taking a verse and quoting it because it sounds so nice and we're thinking about heaven and we're taking a verse totally out of context now.

Correcting a Misread Prophecy About Jonah

Let us look at another one. And by the way, I wanted to give a correction if I could on my my speech yesterday or my topic yesterday I I was Somewhere else. I'm sure in my thinking when I made the statement that That the sign of the Prophet Jonas or the message of the sign of the Prophet Jonas was the preaching of repentance.

That was a minor premise the major premise was that he spent three days in the whale's belly and that was the type of Christ being three days and three nights in the heart of the earth and Somebody gave me the third premise, which is also Goodwin that Jonah also preached to the Gentiles for three days journey going through the City, which was also a type of What Christ the gospel would open up to the Gentiles, so those are minor premises, but I Apologize there.

I had missed the major premise and dwelt on a minor then and I made that statement. Just not thinking it through. I knew the Bible said that but I In my haste when I was studying I or in my thought I just didn't come to me at that time.

So that is where we need each other on that now. Let us turn to Matthew chapter 7 in the Sermon on the Mount and I just want to give you Use this one again for an illustration here and speak on this subject of discernment out of out of Matthew chapter 7 here.

Judge that Verse 1 that you be not judged for with what judgment ye judge. Ye shall be judged and with what measure ye meet it shall be measured unto you again. For why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considers not the beam that is in thine own eye.

Or how wilt thou say to thy brother. Let me pull out the mote out of thy Out of thine eye and behold the beam is in thine own eye thou hypocrite first cast out the beam out of thine own eye and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

End of subject end of text in context. And then he changes the subject there somewhat I think. Now what's often happens in this situation? And I hope you can relate to this probably has happened. You've seen it happen, and I'll give it the way I've seen it happen already, but a group of men on a Sunday afternoon are sitting in a circle in a living room and You know how it is we talk about anything and everything and these subjects come up and of course There are is a discerning brother in the midst maybe two out of the three others are probably not so much discerning and that's normally a bit of the average and so these things are discussed and this matter of Discernment or judgment comes to the surface and we are beginning to try to draw a few Conclusion on a given subject a given text or a given happening and discern what it is.

In about the middle of that a young sister or a wife or somewhere Pipes up in the middle of the conversation said now Don't judge and everyone is got handcuffs on. The subject dries up. We don't know how to proceed.

I Tell you brother that has happened so many times. Yes, then those you know we. And maybe it is a little hard, but men need to handle hard things. You know and maybe it's a little critical and that needs to be mellowed out, too.

It isn't quite right and all that can take place and we need to check and examine our hearts. But the last thing that is supposed to happen is that the men all get handcuffs on and and can't say anymore.

Because some lady said yeah. Now let's look at it in our syllogism. Major premise thou shalt not judge. No, what's the major premise we exercise ourselves a little bit here? What's the major premise in the text.

Don't you judge if you're guilty of the same thing. The major premise is not to not pull beans out of people's eyes. No way the major premise is not let them in. The truth of the scripture is not saying don't pull them out.

It just says you remember that. Don't you pull them out if you have one in yourself? First take the one out of your eye and then. You may do it right. Totally misunderstood by the lady. Who said do not judge.

God says don't judge and stop everybody from the process you see and I See that happening in churches Bible schools seminaries living rooms. Brothers meetings and on and on it goes. Which ends up sometimes because someone's a little hard a little critical.

We don't want to excuse that if we need a soften. We need a mellow and we need to balance ourselves and all of that tone down a bit in the tone of voice. That's one of the problems that I have is more of a prophetic voice like that.

I I have to be careful. I don't give it too strong or too hard. But it has to be given. Or we are in trouble. We are in deep deep trouble. So if I might ask the question here just to begin this portion.

This subject on this is is it right to judge? Is it right to discern? Biblical judgment or to practice biblical judgment. Is it right to name names? Is it right to discern concepts and doctrines and teachings?

Men and meetings that are being held. Tapes and seminars even they must be judged where the Bereans not. More noble than the Thessalonians because when they heard things they examined by the scripture.

They judged. It is certain whether these things are so does this line up with the Word of God and they got the highest honor in the epistles of a group of people who were able to do it and Too many others weren't doing it.

And when you go back in the Revelation the further to the letters of the seven churches strong rebuke was given and A threat that the chastity could be removed because they had them there. That allowed Jezebel to have her way and teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication.

They had the doctrine of Nicolaitans. They had lost their first love and all these things had come in and nobody was judging. Nobody was taking the beams out of people's eyes. And it was a sad situation.

It has been known as one of the misused most misused verses in the Bible judge Not that you be not judge. Every scripture verse should be read in its context. If we are to properly understand the true meaning in verse 2 to 5 of this same chapter it is evident that verse 1 is referring to hypocritical judgment.

A Brother who has a beam in his own eye should not be judging the brother who may have a moat in his eye. The lesson is plain you cannot judge another for his sin. If you are guilty of the same sin those who claim To judge not that you be not judged to condemn.

Those who expose error should read the entire chapter. Because in that chapter Jesus says beware of false prophets Which come to you in sheep's clothing. How can we ever know who the false prophets are?

Identifying False Teachers by Biblical Evidence

If we fail to examine the sheep as To whether there are wolves above or whether there are such a thing as Ravening wolves as they're given by the Word of God all through the Bible we find proof That they must be identified and exposed.

And you notice the Apostle Paul he has Broadcasted it for 2 ,000 years in Holy Writ the names of the men like Demas Hymenaeus Philetus Alexander the copper smith and The two that fell over dead. And in the essence of fire We know those they fail him the doctrine of Balaam.

What is the doctrine of Balaam that poor man had such a reputation smeared over his name for 2 ,000 years he did wrong and his name is an example of that and so is it with Ananias and Sapphira and Alexander the copper smith and all those people and if my name is ever named there or your name it and is rightly so.

Then it has to be so. You can't just say well, we can't do that and therefore we tie our hands the Bible talks about. You shall know them by their fruits, and I'll probably want to handle this tomorrow.

Specifically do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles even so a good tree bringeth forth good fruit. But a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Did the Lord mean that we could not judge the tree or the person by the fruit of their life and doctrine.

Certainly not for you cannot know without judging. All judgment should be in the basis of clear biblical teaching though not on. I don't feel good about it or on now and I'm just not sure and I'm suspicious of something if you don't know and You're skeptical and you're cynical and all that that doesn't work.

That doesn't that will that will stand before God. We cannot give ourselves to those spirits and those ways of doing things but when we have a clear Word of God a principle the Word of God and don't let anybody hamstring it either on the fact that Where's the verse if the verse doesn't say a television is wrong, and you can't say anything on it.

You can't let them do that either because there are principles where we gather together from the written Word of God across the Span of Scripture that build a premise of which we must conclude that this thing is evil and has a Adverse effect upon us in our lives.

We must do that if we can't do that and I tell you I know this comes close home. Some of you are wrestling with that you have bought into that perhaps that somebody in the church has said well if the Bible doesn't say Anything about it.

You can't say anything about it meaning Mentioning the thing but with all the inventions that the devil has Brought together in these last years. We are done if we can't apply the given principles of the Word of God of life and godliness to what the devil has come up with and I know people take it to extreme and they put their little Things in there, and we have come out of systems many of us like that.

And you know but we can't let the pendulum swing to the other side and now say we have our hands tied if the Bible Doesn't mention a video or it doesn't mention Rock music or it doesn't mention this or doesn't mention that then we can't say anything about it.

God has called us to judge righteous judgment and a pole. But the grain theme and the general premise of a written Word of God together and to address the issues of life. We must do it or we perish. Our churches will fall apart.

They'll be filled with worldliness and ungodliness. The young people will go after all kinds of fleshly things. If we allow ourselves to do that, but we must be men we must be fathers. We must be ministers of the gospel.

We must be preachers teachers and prophets and we must rise up and identify that devil when he comes around in his subtle ways and simply Exposing and say that it's not a call you have to do it. Just because some do it wrong.

Doesn't say we should not do it. The Bible says in John 7 24 judge not according to appearance. Interesting verse to put that check in us, but judge righteous judgment. Our Lord commands that we are to judge righteous judgment, which is a judgment based Not on our opinion, but on the written Word of God the central truth for time and eternity.

The fornicator in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1 through 13. What did Paul say? Well hold the whole thing until I get over there and talk to him. Somebody said these guys are shaking their heads. No, what do you think over there?

They're a negative on it. Paul said I'm not coming. I've judged him already if that's what he did and this is what you do to him. And that's it. But but but you didn't go talk to him first Paul. You've got to go over there and sit down with him and talk this thing over first.

You didn't use Matthew 18 Paul. You've got to be wrong. Oh. How many times have ministers been Shut up and put back in a corner and I see that all the time because it didn't exercise Matthew 18 in the given thing.

Let me tell you something. It is my persuasion that in false prophecy or in open sin like this. No, Matthew 18 needs to be handled. Not in the process like that. Paul said what a man had his father's wife.

He's a sinner excommunicated turn him over to the devil that he may learn The consequences of his sin. That the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus paraphrasing it a bit there in my own words but that's what he's saying and The Greek word for judge is the same here as in Matthew chapter 7 verse 1.

Look at that. Amazing and Paul did not violate the judge not that you be not judged in judging the man he simply Discerned this is sin that will contaminate as he says a little leaven let us the whole lump this is leaven that will permeate the body get it out and do it so do so quickly a person who is able to discern between good and evil has at least one of the major marks of spiritual maturity as I quoted yesterday Hebrews 5 14 strong meat belongeth to them of our full age.

Mature men need to do it not fellows that have just been born again Half a year ago. That's not going to come out right even those who by reason of use Have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Vine says the meaning of discern is the distinguishing clear discrimination. Discerning judging is translated discerning in various Different different portions of the scripture like in 1st Corinthians 12 verse 10 of discerning spirits.

Judging by evidence whether they are evil or of God and Strong's agrees with the same thing now those who are unwilling and incapable of Discerning or judging between good and evil in these in this matter.

Simply reveal their disobedience To the scripture or their immaturity if they're immature. God bless you you can't handle that and even in our own situation. I tell you We come across things. That you have to put on the shelf and give it more time to discern it at times.

I Don't have it there are times. I say This is too big for me. Somehow I have to put it on the shelf and observe it for a while longer. Until I see more fruit coming out of it and the result of it until I can judge and discern the matter.