Becoming Better Theologians (part 20)

Father in heaven, we are blessed to be here this morning to look at the beauty of all that you've created and just think that you have granted us the privilege and the opportunity of Coming here this morning to worship you.

Father, I pray that our time together this morning would be a blessing to those who are here that it would be edifying that we would be reminded of the things that you have Previously taught us that we would be encouraged to study more and that we would be mindful of our need to guard the trust to Look to the things that we have been given and to treasure them in Christ's name we pray.

Amen last week I was in Hartford and Something really weird happened. He's like, oh Well the morning I preached a message. Had a great afternoon and then that evening they do things a little differently in the evening, you know like where we have our Choose your favorite hymn thing.

They take prayer requests before you get up to preach and so this one woman said that she was a graduate of Wheaton College and That since she's been married and started attending that church. She's really become convicted of How important doctrine and theology are and She was going to be meeting with some people from Wheaton that she I'm trying to enunciate that correctly.

Wheaton. She was gonna be meeting with some of these people she wanted to exhort them in sound doctrine and good theology. Because there's just a at Wheaton see there. I did it Wheaton. At Wheaton College, there's a real, you know a diminution of Sound doctrine and good theology.

And so I Listened to her and I just became As Paul was in Acts 17 and Mars Hill provoked In my spirit and I said when I got up there I said, you know what? I'm gonna do something I've never done before.

I've never given kind of a preamble to a message. So I'm gonna kind of do the same thing this morning before we get started. I want you to open your Bibles to Romans chapter 11. Because I think it's good.

You know, we're studying we're studying through a systematic theology people say systematic theology. Theology so boring. Well, I want you to understand how boring theology is. Romans 11 verse 33. This is the Apostle Paul and listen to how bored he is.

Oh. The depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. Yawn, I mean, this is a man who wrote a good portion Of the New Testament who went all around the world preaching the gospel preaching out of the Bible.

And he says he interrupts this flow of thought here. And he says oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, do you think he knew something about Good theology about sound doctrine. Absolutely.

And yet what does he do? He doesn't say yeah, you know, don't worry about that so much doctrine divides. It's not really so much important about how you understand theology what's most important is that you love Jesus.

Everything else after that is just second rates. Mike and I did a few shows here this week. We talked about false teachers and it is amazing. How consistently the teaching about false teachers? False doctrine bad doctrine versus good doctrine how consistently that runs throughout the New Testament.

People say well doctrine divides theology is boring. It's not that not that seminal. It's not that important. Matthew chapter 7. Jesus talked about it. What did he say? He said you will know false teachers by what.

By their fruit. Well, what do you mean by their apples pomegranates and oranges know? By their lives. You would see them we see it all the time. False teachers are known by their lives. I mean What's the first thing that comes to your mind if you're talking or their mind when you're talking to an unbeliever and you mentioned Christian.

What do they think about? They don't think about the average person here at Bethlehem Bible Church coming on Sunday morning. What do they think about? Tell evangelists and they know them by what by their fruits.

They watch these people selling holy handkerchiefs and anointed oil and all this other stuff and they go that's a bunch of rubbish. I would never have anything. How can anybody be so stupid as to be a Christian because that's what they think it is and with that as an introduction I Have before me the TVN newsletter.

Now, I think we're all familiar with Martin Luther's hymn a mighty fortress is our God. Here we have an interesting spin on that. Introducing this book called by Jack Hayford called penetrating the darkness and by the way, I did while I was in seminary I did a Research paper on the idea of the casting out of demons out of believers and all that kind of thing and Jack Hayford's church, you know, I would think honestly and I'm not really after Jack Hayford so much as what he's saying here.

But I would think that after some of the experiences that he's had because they do value experience so much. That Jack Hayford would be the most sound biblical guy around. I mean his son-in-law was to succeed him at his church for those of you don't know who Jack Hayford is.

He's the pastor of church on the way churches only a few miles away from Grace Community Church in Los Angeles big church. Multiple campuses very popular. It's charismatic. Jack Hayford son-in-law was to be his successor and On a particular weeknight.

I don't know if it was a Tuesday or Wednesday. Whatever night of the week it was they were having a prayer meeting there and they brought in a prophet. To pray over this son-in-law and he prayed and he said was talking about the worldwide ministry.

I can't think of his name. But talked about a worldwide ministry that he was gonna have and how the Lord was gonna bless and extend the kingdom through this man. Etc. Etc. Etc. Well his son-in-law before the prayer was done went into a coma and died the next day.

Now if you were driven completely by experience, what would you do? I I would think you would go yeah, I think the prophets wrong we should take him out back, but. But you would also just say I don't know I don't know if we're doing things the right way, but that didn't stop these folks at all and Just sad but listen to.

This is a Paul Crouch the noted theologian owner of TBN Trinity broadcasting network. Where you don't have to be a believer in the Trinity to broadcast on the network, but I digress Jack Hayford's powerful book called penetrating the darkness.

Can well be opened up with the words for Martin Luther's grand hymn a mighty fortress is our God. Most of us know full well. Excuse me the opening stanza for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us.

Woe. Yes, I've done battle many times with evil one. I'm reasonably sure you have to enter Jack Hayford's battle plan. He proves that one person can defeat the darkness. Sing it with me. We're not the right man on our side the man of God's own choosing.

Now I think you just you skipped over some words there, but I digress again. This is his powerful strategy. Number one develop a powerful prayer life. I think that's good. Number two engage in effective intercession.

We could debate what that means and I'm sure we probably wouldn't agree with him. But it's good to pray for others, right? Number three I understand the weapons in our arsenal. Well, that'd be right. That's Right the armor of God.

Yeah number four. Confront and defeat evil. I don't know. What does that mean exactly confront and defeat evil? Sounds like a wrestling match to me. I don't know what that is, but. Then he says I think you know the arrest the rest of this historic grand song sing it with me.

You ask Kate who that may be Christ Jesus. It is he and he will win the battle. True again, you know and you can get it by but but I just thought this is not what the song is the song about spiritual warfare.

Casting out demons binding Satan because I can guarantee you that's what that book is about because they have at their church. Something called a delivery ministry. Where you show up as a Christian and they cast demons out of you.

I Don't understand that. Sound doctrine matters because you ultimately if you believe in this sort of a system you wind up Living under the dominion of or the fear of it at the very least of Satan and demons.

You're constantly binding them casting them out rather than resting in the sovereignty of God so doctrine matters and so we're back to Talking about how after a few weeks break here. How God has revealed Himself to mankind.

We've been talking about this for several weeks let me just kind of quickly review and quickly by just flipping through the pages talking about The framework of the Bible the story of from the story of the dispersion of the human race at Babel.

Through the flood the story of Abraham on and on how it reveals God to us and how it reveals the truth about man. Ourselves. We have also how else does God reveal himself to us the inward prompting of the Holy Spirit?

I'm going to talk a little bit more about that this morning, but I think we have to be careful. What do I what do I mean and what does this man mean when he talks about the inner prompting of Holy Spirit.

Conviction, I think that's number one conviction now. Does the Spirit work through the Bible? Yes. What does he not mean when he talks about the Inner-prompting of the Holy Spirit. Pam I think that's so good.

He doesn't mean infallible revelation about your circumstances or new extra biblical revel, you know information because so this. What do people often say God told me Mike and I another show we did this week was talking about this kid who?

When he was four allegedly died and went to heaven. Well, what is that? You know, that's new information including the fact that people have wings in heaven and you know on and on and on it goes but I think I learned that from a wonderful life, but I'm not really sure if that was if we.

How let's put it this way we talked about this before but I just want to kind of briefly recap that if we have an overwhelming Says that we should do X or Y or Z. Is that the Holy Spirit? Maybe not necessarily that is correct.

It could be and it could be what it could be a bad burrito Becky says. There are a multitude of ways that we become convicted in our hearts of things and sometimes it's just our heart deceiving us. We have one man here who could testify to this that there are religions here that teach you to listen to your heart that if you read Say a false scripture and you pray about it.

You get a burning in your Guts in your bosom as they say that it obviously means it's true. Well, does it? True is true. No matter how we feel about it. No matter what kind of sensations we have. No matter how much pepto-bismol we've consumed.

So inner promptings of the Holy Spirit number four God reveals himself through what he has made which is general revelation. We look all around us and we don't see chaos. I was just looking last night and You know, we're just talking about it yesterday about how grand evolution is now bear with me for a second there are animals.

Now I'm gonna forget what they're called slow. Something or others. No, they're slower than sloths. They are really slow. In fact, that's one of their defense mechanisms, but they're they're found in Tropic no tropical Asia and Africa and what they do.

They're so slow that when they go to get food for their for their children. They're gone for quite a while. And so they have to protect them. Well, they're their saliva is somewhat poisonous and offensive to predators.

So they lick their babies and then they go away and their babies are safe and you just go. Okay now How did that work? You know in terms of evolution where there are children being eaten and they thought I need to develop some kind of poison or something.

That I can cover my. How did that work out? And there's so many, you know Roger was talking about my brother Rogers here is talking about flowers, you know. And how they that there's a certain flower that only attracts a certain insect and on you know, and you just go.

Well, how did that work exactly? How did they both develop it exactly the right time or did the flower just die out? You know and it was on the verge of extinction and all of a sudden the bug came up and you know I mean, it's just.

It's foolishness. There is an order to creation. And we could see that if and the natural man would see it if he wasn't so willfully blind. Suppressing the truth as it says in Romans 1 18 through 20. The wrath of God is revealed.

So we have general revelation and you know, here's the point I want to make before we move on past that one because almost everybody missed this on the quiz the other night. Can general revelation that is the created order?

Can it save anyone? Can they get enough information about God about themselves and about Christ most importantly? By general revelation the answer is no. You know, you can understand that there's a God that he's intelligent that he's maybe even holy that he's above you that he's all-powerful.

You can understand that you're finite but you cannot bridge the gap from a holy God and a sinful man without some Understanding of who Jesus Christ is you can't get that just from looking at creation.

You can't understand fully sin and its impact. Apart from understanding the need of a personal Savior. Okay fifth God employs mankind's own personal moral and rational nature. I haven't really talked much about this.

I'm gonna briefly talk about it. There are people who actually say That just by appealing to reason appealing to logic that we can convince people that God exists. And the interesting thing is there really isn't an example of that in Scripture.

In the Bible in Genesis 1 1 it says let me reason with you and prove to you that God exists. Or does it say in the beginning God declared the heavens and the earth? When Paul is up on Mars Hill does he say you know what here's my first job this morning is I'm teaching you.

And bringing these new this new philosophy called Christianity before you I'm going to prove to you the existence of God. He doesn't do that. Instead he goes on and he declares the God in whom we all move and exist and have our being.

So we we appeal to logic we appeal to reason, but we do it through the framework of Scripture. Okay, and sixthly we are at God's original and direct revelation. In other words Scripture. Scripture. It's interesting because as Culver points out here.

I mean what what did what did people do? From the time Adam and Eve fell out of the garden until Moses wrote Genesis or until Job wrote Job. What do they do for a scripture? What do they do? With God with the idea of God with the theology with sound doctrine.

How do they pass this on? By telling each other you know I talked previously. I mean, it's it's just wild when you think of. We were talking the other night about you know I Know or I knew my grandmother's well my granddaughter will never know my granddaughter.

But just imagine you know. Generation after generation after generation after generation all being alive at the same time so great great great great great Great great great great great great great. Grandpa Adam lives down the streets.

I have a theological question well who am I gonna go? I you know what I think I'll go ask the guy who was there. When when God started this whole thing you know I'll just get it straight from the source.

Hey great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandpa Adam. Can I ask you a question and he looked at him and said well? You'll have to ask me too because that was your first one so He was a very wise man.

Let's look at Genesis chapter 5 and verse 22 to just kind of. Consider what this time might have been like yes. Yes, well, that's a good point. She asked couldn't he have also preserved his the the oral Word until it was written down, and I I think that is essentially what happened along with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

But I I think that you know what we failed to really Contemplate is a world and by the way, just let me challenge you a little bit. I was just told this morning that Kaylee Blackstone, and I think this is in what like three weeks.

Has memorized the first 15 not the text obviously but the first 15 books of the Bible now. It would be really impressive if she memorized the text. Really impressive but She's and she's just week by week adding five more names of five more books.

And she's memorizing scripture, and she just wants more and more and more. She's homesick today, and I'm like you know it is Impressive what the human mind can do when we are focused on the things of God and so if we go back into this time.

To get to Pam's question. No TV. No internet. No cell phones. No texting. I know it's painful to consider. So what do they do? Well, I I think among faithful and godly families when they weren't just worried about how they were going to get their next meal.

They spent a lot of time talking about the Lord. Repeating the things that they've been taught by their father and by their grandfather and etc etc etc. You know about the goodness of God and so these things yeah, I think they certainly were preserved.

Until it became time to write them down so Genesis chapter 5 and I'm going to read. Well, I'll just read starting in verse 21 when Enoch had lived 65 years he fathered Methuselah. And everybody knows Methuselah lived a long time.

Enoch walked With God and he fathered Methuselah 300 years and Had other sons and daughters thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. I Hope no one can ever say that about me. Enoch walked with God now.

Here's the part you would like them to say about you. Enoch walked with God, and he was not for God took him and this is we're talking about a a Massive difference in the way that God interacted with people then I mean it was still possible to not just walk with God in a Daily walking with God, but in such a way that I mean we don't know exactly what it was like.

But it was enough that God just said you know what enough. I'm taking you off the earth. They conversed with him. We could go back to Genesis chapter 3 and look at that and that was after the flood. This is how one man presents this he says the Bible indicates that God revealed himself to mankind at the beginning of human history.

And that had he not left himself In or that he has not left himself in any age or place without a witness. This corroborates the data in the study of comparative religious and cultural anthropology indicating that the oldest religions are nearest to biblical theism.

The scriptural teaching on primitive religion that is original and direct Revelation must be considered. There is generally among primitive peoples Some trace or tradition of knowledge of the true God in other words.

You know people often say well, have you considered this religion, and I forget what's the. There's one from the Middle East right now, and it skips my mind, but where people will say well this so parallels Christianity.

Well, what does Satan do he takes from the beginning has taken bits and pieces of the truth and? Warp them change them and so you know you wind up with all these different religions that all have a little bit of the truth.

In them. Culver goes on he says a century ago. There was considerable emphasis on primitive revelation as enduring through time all sound theology. He says must deal with Paul's clear doctrine of apostasy from Primitive revelation, let's look at Romans chapter 1 Verses 18 to 32 and this is a passage with which we should be familiar and What we see is Excuse me what we see is the In essence the changing the apostasy the Putting off of God and the putting on of idols from generation to generation.

Romans chapter 1. Since there's so long. I'll read it again. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes namely his eternal power and divine nature Have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse in other words again General revelation we look around and we can see that there's a God we see the order we see the structure. We see the you know cool mammals that lick their babies fur and thus protect them and all these kind of things that couldn't come about by accident and He concludes that by saying so that we are without excuse meaning we have no.

We have no excuse before God to say well. I didn't know God existed. Yes. You did just by looking around his creation. For all they knew for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him.

But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Nothing has changed. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their heart to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature Rather than the Creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions for their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature and. The men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves their due penalty or the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness evil covetousness. Malice, they are full of envy murder strife deceit. Maliciousness their gossips slanderers haters of God insolent haughty boastful inventors of evil disobedient to parents foolish faithless heartless ruthless.

Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Doesn't that sound like our world? He talks about Culver does.

He teaches a class in apologetics. And he says, you know going back and looking at history that no society fails to have some form of a monotheistic Tradition in it's some kind of idea of at least At least a God above all gods a God who rules over all.

Let's go down here. And because this is just a this is a key point. That's where I want to get today. There is no evidence that God communicates with people today in any reportable manner. You say that again and then I'll ask you what it means.

There is no evidence that God communicates with people today in any reportable manner. What do you suppose Culver means by that? Charlie. Okay. Communicate using the other five senses other than the written word in other words leaving something measurable something sensible something and whatever.

I mean since well, I don't mean, you know thoughtful. So something that we perceive from our senses. Okay. Okay, well, let me let me read this next sentence and see if that helps. He says for good reasons we live under a silent heaven walking holy by faith and not by sight.

And so he's getting to the idea not so much that we can't be have things come to like like what Pam was basically saying is something strikes us as not being right or being right or we have some impression that about concerning some matter and then we affirm it or Not.

By study of Scripture or by looking at Scripture or by being reminded of Scripture. And I think that's not exactly what he's saying. What he's saying is that God no longer communicates with us in the same way that he used to.

That he is that we don't hear, you know, the voice of God that we're not led, you know up on mountaintops that we're not visited by. You know angelic beings or the pre-existent Christ or that kind of thing and given messages.

He says that there's no Reportable way and that's what he's trying to say. So, you know these churches that say God's still speaking. Culver's taking issue with that. What are you saying? You know, he would say amen if it said God's still speaking through his word other thoughts mark.

Did you have something so what about that? What does that say? What does that drive at if God's still speaking today? Other than through Scripture. What is that implying to us? That revelation is not true that Scripture is insufficient.

Let's just for a moment, let's look at 2nd Timothy chapter 3 Verses or just verse 16 and I wonder if someone would read that please 2nd Timothy Chapter 3 verse 16. Can I get a reader Dave? Oh, I'm sorry.

Go ahead Dave. Let me ask you something. Can you think of someplace else? That something else is said to be breathed out by God, what is what is he what is a picture that is. I mean I love the way ESV translates that by the way breathed out by God, you know, we see inspired by God and we're that that's Not an entirely clear picture to us.

But when we see breathed out by God that sums it up nicely. That's exactly what the word means. They are missed us. But what it would you know, what other things in Scripture could we? Could we think of that are said to be breathed out by God?

I'll wait. Thy word is truth, right? But I mean what else besides Scripture is said that it's talked about in that way and so and the answer is nothing. So if you have something that is breathed out by God and the picture again would be of God breathing out.

Exactly what he wants these men and them through their personalities and their educational levels and everything else. Then writing down what God wants. Breathed out by God inspired by God. Than new stuff by God.

We don't have anything else like that. And so the idea that somehow I would take you know, some inner prompting. Some sense, you know, like I'll tell you how confident I am that I'm making the right decision.

I got eight and a half rock solid hours of sleep last night. That's how I know the Lord's in it or I put my WPI t-shirt out on the lawn last night and It was dry and the rest of the lawn was wet. That's how I know I'm supposed to did that happen by the way.

Did it was it wet or? No, never mind we're talking about fleecing and never mind so there's nothing else. Like that and yet what people look we struggle we want to do anything other than Go by what the Bible says we're looking for some reason not to obey scripture why?

Or to you know find some kind of crack in it. Let's again consider Second Peter and I'm this time going to go to verse 3 of chapter 1. Peter writes this he says his divine power Has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. We have all things and he goes on. To talk about. You know if we finish this out to the end of the chapter and we've done that and many occasions where he talks about his experience at the Mount of Transfiguration.

Greatest experience any man has ever had and then he says you know what that was great. But let me tell you something about about something more reliable and that one thing that's more reliable is Scripture.

I think I said this on the radio show the other day. You know it's like that. There's a comedian who says you know you go to a dinner party and. You know people are always trying to one-up one another and so a guy says well.

You know hey, that's nice, but I walked on the moon, and they're pretty much. You know that stops the argument right there. So imagine Peter's in a dinner party and people are boasting about the different experiences.

They've had you know and everything and he's just kind of sitting there, and he's waiting. He's waiting. He goes well. I was on the Mount of Transfiguration. I saw the glory of the Lord before he was even crucified or resurrected or anything what about that?

No, I could just stop there, right? It doesn't do that. He says yeah, you know I was there. He says don't rely on my eyewitness testimony. Don't think oh, I wish I was there. He says you have something more sure.

More sure than the greatest experience ever and yet. What do people do when they go home for most church services. I? Didn't feel this or I would like to feel that or I felt this or the worship today was really joyful or.

It's feeling. Senses experience. I Really sense the Spirit was there today. I hope the Spirit's here every Sunday. But I hope he's not there just because you know Mike's flopping around on the floor or doing something like that.

I hope he's here. Because his word is being preached. Because the people are listening to his word because Christ is exalted. That's what we want the greatest experience ever. Versus Scripture. Peter says guess what?

Experience loses. Experience loses sufficiency of Scripture. All things pertaining to life and godliness. What do we need? What do we need that we have not been given. Is there something beyond Scripture that we need to grow in Christ?

The answer is no. Yeah, verse 20 and 21. Yeah, we'll go ahead and read it. Knowing this first of all that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. Didn't make it up. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man.

But men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. I mean, there are so many ways we can prove that statement objectively you know when you talk about 66 books written by 40 some odd authors and yet It coheres it hangs together.

It doesn't contradict. You know, it's hard for even one man to write a book and to not have contradictions in it sometimes it's hard for people who write an essay. And within two or three pages not contradict themselves.

And yet what we have here is a book written over a couple thousand years by 40 different men. Spanning different languages and everything else and it all hangs together. It does not conflict in any way.

You just might you might be sitting there thinking. Well, that was really lucky. There's one author and that's what that's what sets it all apart. But what I want us to be able to do is Think I need to know more about scripture.

I need to know about more of the God of the scripture and this was my whole point, you know that Sunday night I just thought here's here's what I don't understand. It reminds me of a prayer class. I took and I'll just divert for a minute here I'll never forget this.

Dr. Ross kept this dear man Who I had the privilege of studying under and who was actually John MacArthur's seminary prophet which shows you how long he'd been teaching seminary and dr. Roscoe taught this class on prayer and He said said your assignment for this semester we had a Little journal we were supposed to keep and a few other things He says is to pray one hour a day, you know, the men being good godly students of the word devoted followers of Christ blessed disciples.

Left the class that morning going that's legalism. I Don't have time for that. I've got homework. It was it was really a Transforming experience for me and a Couple years later. Dr. Roscoe asked me to come in and Talk to the man At the beginning of the semester for a new class and I said listen guys.

I'm gonna I'm gonna save you some time. Some of you have already read this, you know, what's coming? You know that you're gonna read a horrible book because dr. Roscoe's told you you're gonna read a horrible book and then he's gonna spend the entire semester on teaching you everything that the book says.

Which is true? Some of you are thinking I don't have time to pray an hour a day. Some of you are thinking this is legalism and I go, you know, I know that. Because me and some other guys when we left that's exactly what we were thinking that morning when he told us this.

And I said what I want you to consider is that this man who has walked with the Lord for 60 70 years. I don't even know how long and who when he prays you can Sense that there's a great familiarity between he and the Lord.

He is inviting you to spend an hour a day with the Lord you say you love you worship and you want to serve the with the rest of your lives and your response is That's legalism. I have time for that. I've got other things to do.

My challenge to you is today. We say that we love the Lord. We say that we want to follow him and then we say in the very next breath. I don't have to know anything about theology. Theology is boring.

That's legalistic. Doctrine divides and yet I love God, but I don't want to know anything about him. Try that with your spouse. Try that with your kids. You know your kid comes home from school. Let's tell you about his day and you say I love you, but I don't want to know anything about you.

Nothing quite says love like that. Yeah, yeah, that'd be a great Valentine's card. I couldn't live my life without you, but I don't want to know anything about you. Laughing but isn't that's that's how a lot of us think when it comes to theology study of God.