Enemies Within The Walls: Apostasy (part 1)

Bethlehem Bible Church

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And he will continue next week on Failing to reconcile and that part of it, but I wanted to continue to stay within the same

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Overall subject matter enemies within the walls and today we're going to talk about a little bit about apostasy

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My desire this morning amongst other things is to to encourage you to to exhort you and To equip you at least in the beginning kind of stage to know how to minister in the age that we live in which is an age of apostasy and That's what

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I want us to look at this morning briefly Last year I'd done a Sunday school

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We had kind of looked on one of the Gospels John chapter 6 a classic chapter on apostasy

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It's called the bread of life discourse where Jesus is talking claiming that he is the bread of life and the eternal life is found only in him and you have to eat his flesh and drink his blood and you kind of partake all of him and the people were offended by his teaching and It says in the scriptures there in John 6 towards the end verse 60

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I believe that a number of disciples stopped following him at that point And of course, he turned to the twelve then and he said will you leave also, of course with Peter's great

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Exclamation to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. And as we went through that passage, I think I Mentioned an example of a friend dear friends of ours in New York who we found out from another mutual friend people that we a couple that my wife and I had been involved with in who had it seemed

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Apostatized from the faith and gone back to the Greek Orthodox Church, which does not believe in the biblical or teach the biblical gospel

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So this Christmas my wife and I went to visit her side of the family and so we went one morning to a classic

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New York diner and After that, I said, why don't we stop by unannounced and visit them?

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Oh So we did and there we haven't seen him for about 10 years 12 years

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Maybe but we've been in touch over the over the over these years by phone by email

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And so we showed up their youngest son had now we hadn't seen their children for like I said 10 years

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So we knew their kids when they were the a high and now they're in high school and some of them in college And we saw their youngest one whom we didn't know

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He wasn't born at the time and we asked if his folks were in anyway Make a long story short as the all the other kids came out

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They we may remembered us and we just embraced we hugged the children. We embraced them. We loved them

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They love us and so mom and dad came out after and so we just naturally started talking just making chit -chat and My friends my friend who

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I was in the discipling relationship with his wife kind of opened the can of worms Which was fine and said, you know,

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God had to strip me of doctrine That was her initial response to us.

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God had to strip me of doctrine and I was so happy of that now as you walk into their Living room you'll see

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The I don't know what you call it where you put the dishes with a mirror and what we what do we call that? Yes, the hutch is not wasn't anything.

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It was a hutch full of icons From the Greek Orthodox faith. I mean, it's just right there.

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You can't miss it unless you're totally blind so when she said that we started talking about some of the things that was going on in their lives and they mentioned how both their parents had been struggling through cancer and How they got through that and the difficulty that was and we were listening and then as they were relating that I began to relate to Them as they know the the passage, but it was a good reminder the story of Joseph We kind of I kind of walked that walk through them with that and at the end

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I said, you know Joseph response was quite amazing that he said that you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good

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These brothers of his who initially intended to kill him sold him into slavery and we saw the providence of God in the big picture

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And I said Joseph was able to say that you know, why because he believed in the sovereignty of God Now mind you let me back up a little bit

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This is about 18 years ago when we were involved with him and particularly myself in a discipling relationship at the time

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They were very diehard believers in the doctrines of grace. They believed that in salvation.

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God is sovereign and Man cannot cooperate with God and at the time I believed that man needed to cooperate with God and yet I was helping this man in his faith

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Helping them grow and mature in his faith and now they've gone to the other extreme that they don't believe that God is sovereign in salvation that man has to cooperate

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So when I made that statement going back to Joseph that God is sovereign and Joseph saw that Her response was his wife's response was hallelujah.

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Amen This is after telling me five minutes earlier that she was thankful that God had stripped her of doctrine

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And I said, do you realize what you just said hallelujah and they meant to she's like what the doctrine of the sovereignty of God Now you just told me you got stripped you of all that hmm

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Anyway, we we continued discussing some things about and she Underneath her hutch with all her icons.

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She had on the bottom shelves a full set. We're talking about 18 years ago. They were diehards believing fully in the biblical

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Sovereignty of God and she had they had both of them the whole set of John pastor John MacArthur's New Testament commentaries

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She doesn't want to touch him. They don't want to touch him anymore either of them so they gave him to us I'd rather that they didn't give it to us rather than they would continue on but We continued to talk to them about it and talked about how a person reminding them that a person is spiritually not only dead in sin

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Darkened in their understanding and we can go through a whole list biblically in bondage to sin and Satan So how can a person ultimately cooperate with God because a person in and of themselves will never seek

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God There is no one who seeks after God Romans 3. So it was a good opportunity to minister to them came back

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We followed up with an email and we we encouraged them. We called them to repentance and They felt that they haven't left the

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Lord the icons are just a way of remembering and honoring the Saints and So on and so forth and I encourage them to look into the

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Greek Orthodox Church that it is contrary to the biblical gospel and sometimes when a person is in a

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Situation like that. They can't see clearly. So they think that the Greek Orthodox Church if you don't know about it

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They believe that you have to be saved by being baptized as an infant by them Not through the finished work of Christ.

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No. No this they believe Ephesians 2 8 and 9 by God's sovereign grace. No, they don't

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So I share that sword to say that Enemies within the walls. We don't we don't know ultimately what's going to happen of them

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If ultimately they return to the Lord if their defection is not full and final Then we know that they were truly of the

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Lord But the fact that we're able to still engage in conversation is a good thing and taken back to scriptures and and point them

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Back to Christ. So this morning based upon that I want us to look at biblically some things concerning this enemy

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Within the walls apostasy apostasy simply comes from two Greek terms

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Stasis, which means a stance where you stand and a ball which means away from So it's to stand away from and as it's used primarily in scripture is to stand away from truth from biblical truth

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That's apostasy To stand it to have an attitude or a stance Spiritually to stand away not wanting to do anything with biblical truth.

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So let's look at let's have some We'll have I have all the scriptures here So we don't have to be turning to them and we'll have some discussion to have you read some of these passages

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Let's look at what the Bible says about apostasy that it is a reality. So let's have somebody can read first Timothy 4 there and Mark thank you and then somebody else

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So I'm not gonna have you raise your hands mark will begin with first Timothy 4 and whoever wants to read the second one and We'll have four different people read those passages.

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So just pay close attention as we read. Go ahead. Nice and loud So clearly the first two passages the pastoral epistles

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Paul writing to young pastor Timothy First Timothy for the

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Spirit Expressly says that in a letter time some will depart from the faith as it was read there and notice

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How are they going to do that? They will devote themselves to what the teachings of? demons interesting apostasy has to do with teaching with truth do you

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Stand close to the truth of God's Word or do you stand away from the truth of God's Word and follow the teaching of demons?

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Second Timothy for a classic passage will return back to that Paul swan song it was his last letter written before he went to be with the

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Lord Making it very clear that people would not endure what there it is again sound teaching

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They following the teaching of demons, so why would they want to endure sound teaching? They want to tickle their ears.

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They have itching ears. It will accumulate for themselves Teachers to suit their what?

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What's the text say their own passions what they want? It's not what they need to hear with what they want to hear

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But in doing so Paul continues in second Timothy for not only will they accumulate and listen to teachers

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Teachings of demons from teachers to suit their own passions, but in doing so they will turn away apostasy turn away from listening to the truth and While they turn away from the truth biblical truth they turn aside to what myth teachings of demons

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Acts 20 was a passage of Paul again is speaking to the Ephesian elders. He meets with the

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Ephesian elders that whole Chapter is a passionate plea by the Apostle Paul and notice the language.

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He uses language of assurance This is the reality of apostasy. I know not

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I think or I hope I know that after my departure notice how he describes false teachers fierce wolves

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Fierce wolves and what will they do not sparing the flock? This is after he said in the verses previously in context to the elders to the shepherds of the church in Ephesus Watch over the flock

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Which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers well the flock that the elders that have but watch over is these fierce wolves who are going to attack this flock and in verse 30 continues

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From among your own selves, this is enemies within the walls from among your own selves

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Will arise men speaking twisted things and what's their purpose ultimately to draw disciples after them so as false teachers and apostasy increases as Paul makes it very clear to Timothy and to the

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Ephesian elders It's because these false teachers are not teaching biblical truth They're teaching the teachings of demons people want to listen to it because they're after their own passions and they will draw disciples after them and in Jude Jude also highlights the reality of Apostasy as was read by by our brother

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Scott. I won't reread it again There will be scoffers and what do they follow? their own ungodly passions

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This is a reality of apostasy It was true in Paul's day in Jews day and then in Christ's day and we can go back even to the

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Old Testament but I wanted to highlight some of the pastoral epistles and some of the Apostolic teaching on apostasy that this is a reality and it's happening in our day today and it will continue to happen

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Right first Timothy says expressions of that in later times some will depart from the faith. It will continue to happen

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So apostasy people who do not want to hear the true teaching of Scripture don't want to stand close to biblical truth but stand away from biblical truth is

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Happening and of course, we have a plethora of false teachers to accommodate what people's itching ears want to hear

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That's the reality of our day Any comments or questions Joining well scoffer.

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Okay based on Jude there if we were to study the good question, Joni She's asking what does a scoffers mean there?

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That's a reference to the it's another term used that Jude uses earlier in his epistle when he says there will be false

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Prophets who will creep in so it's not the scoffers It's not the deceived who are listening to the false teachers

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The scoffers is a reference to the false teachers who will be scoffing and making Peter also uses that terminology, right?

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And second Peter will second Peter to he spends a whole chapter talking about Beware of false teachers and in chapter 3 when he talks about Noah and stuff

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He refers to them. There will be scoffers scoffers saying where is this coming? He's talking about the false teachers

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There to deceive this not the people. Yeah, he's a reference there specifically to the false teachers Yes, and we're gonna address that at the end of this to how we go about in terms of who we minister

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You know, we felt that we wanted to continue to minister to our friends. They were wanted to engage in us in conversation

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Okay, what's going on here? Let's let's turn back to the scripture and point you back to Christ Any other comments questions

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Okay Reasons for apostasy obviously a part. I mean we can go through a whole plethora of reasons

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Of course, ultimately it's it's predicted in the scripture. God says this will happen ultimately, it's because of different manifestations of man's sinfulness

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Rebellion against God that begins not because of action, but because of a unregenerate heart with a heart of flesh

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But let me highlight a couple a few actually here Why there is such a growing state of apostasy in our land and there was back in New Testament times

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The first one is the neglect of doctrine Just as I mentioned To our friends there, you know, they said well we

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God needed to strip us of doctrine I'm like and then when in my follow -up letter to them

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Why would God want to strip somebody of that which teaches about him? Help me understand that Doctrine is nothing more than truth

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Biblical truth about God and the things that he's revealed So you're claiming that this

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God is stripping you of truth that reveals about himself How why would he do that?

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It doesn't sound like the God of the Bible that I know But there's a neglect of doctrine Let's have some others read

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Ephesians, he's writing to the church in Ephesus in which he had just addressed The elders in Acts 20

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Ephesians 4 and then somebody else if you can read 1st Timothy 1 anybody would like to lead that that'd be great

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Thank you. Thank you guys Okay, Ephesians kind of brings out some some important truths, can you have

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Ecclesiastical unity apart from doctrinal unity question. Why am I not I see a lot of smiles

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That was the intent of the question There was motive behind it Can you have unity in the body apart from doctrinal unity?

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Why not? Okay Okay Superficial unity, but not biblical unity.

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Okay, okay

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Okay, okay

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Good point very well put. Thanks Charlie Now notice here. It's highlighted by Paul.

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Of course. This is the passage Looking at the context Ephesians 4 early in Ephesians Paul highlights the headship of Jesus Christ overall even to the church

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Ephesians chapter 1 and the same Jesus at chapter 4 is the one who Jesus Christ the head of the church he gave gifts to people and one of those gifts he gave some as apostles prophets

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Evangelists pastors and teachers for the equipping of the Saints and that was verses 11 and 12 for what purpose?

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until we all attain to what the unity of the of The faith the unity of the faith and we'll see later on when

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Jew uses that terminology and some other Apostles the unity of the faith unity comes because of faith meaning

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Apostolic teaching it's a body of truth the unity of the faith in terms of what we believe biblical doctrine in teaching and And then he talks here about the neglect of doctrine

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Happens because as a result of that what happens is that people are carried away by every wind of doctrine and their infants children

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There's no maturity So doctrine what Paul is highlighting here a couple of things amongst other things that in Ephesians 4 that doctrine is important Not only for maturity

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But it's also important for unity in the body You can't have it.

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Otherwise Doctrine is important not only for maturity, but is it also important for unity and notice 1st

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Timothy that Paul read there That Paul wrote to Timothy there Later on in 1st

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Timothy. He gives his authorial intent in chapter 3 where he tells us why he is writing So that you would know how men ought to how you ought to conduct yourself in the

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Church of God the pillar of the truth Right, but here he states specifically to Timothy why he left him in Macedonia In Ephesus rather remember he had spoken to the

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Ephesian elders acts 20. We know from the full Council of Holy Writ especially in Revelation Ephesus what happened to Ephesus in a revelation and here he specifically tells

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Timothy the reason he left him at Ephesus so you may Charge certain people not to teach any different doctrine

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Timothy I want you to stay in Ephesus to teach the people how to love one another Timothy I want you to stay in Ephesus so you can do something positive encourage the people.

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It sounds like a negative exhortation almost T -charged people not to teach any different doctrine.

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This is why I'm leaving you and this is your soul and primary Purpose for staying on at Ephesus and why

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I'm leaving you behind So part of the major reason for apostasy back then and even today is a neglect in doctrine

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You don't want to talk doctrine That's not important as our friend said, you know doctrine

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God stripped me of doctrine That's an oxymoron. God will never strip somebody of doctrine when doctrine is truth from the

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Bible that teaches people about God's revelation about himself and everything else important including salvation

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Let me read you this is from pastor MacArthur's book truth war he wrote back in 2007.

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It was really a Response to the emergent church why he wrote it but a lot of the principles still apply biblically

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But listen to what he says here very poignant many Christians today are wary of the long war over truth

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There are uneasy about whether doctrinal disagreements and divisions are a blight on the spiritual unity of the church and therefore a poor testimony

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To the world these and similar questions are constantly heard nowadays Isn't it time to set aside our differences and just love one another?

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Rather than battling people with whom we disagree over various points of doctrine Why not stage a cordial dialogue with them and listen to their ideas?

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Can't we have a friendly conversation rather than a bitter clash? Shouldn't we be congenial rather than contentious does the current generation really need to perpetuate the fight over?

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Beliefs and ideologies or can we at last? Declare peace and set aside all the debates over doctrine and quote

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Doctrine is not important Why fight about it? Let's just love one another Our friends which kind of segues into my next point of the reasons for apostasy a few years ago they were they were going to church that taught the sovereignty of God that did expository preaching in New York and Highlighted all of the aspects of biblical doctrine that are essential

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But they were going through some difficult times in their personal lives and in the church and that one point We were talking to them on the phone and I remember them saying

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Well, you know first John which we're going to get to in a second talks to us about love

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Let's love one another God is love Yes, but the first six verses of 1st

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John chapter 4 before he introduces all that He talks about the spirit of truth and the spirit of error

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He talks about false prophets of God into the world. And that's why what I why I think

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Secondly as you see there in your notes another reason for a growing growing apostasy in our land is the unbiblical disconnect between love and truth and between love the love of God and the wrath of God well,

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I don't want we've heard it before and we I know we've discussed it here pastor Mike has done a few things on it.

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Oh, I don't want the God of the Old Testament I want the God of the New Testament. Okay, let's go to acts 5 in the nascent

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Sapphire You want the God of the New Testament? Well, I you want the God of the Old Testament, you know, how about the minor prophet

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Jonah? Jonah wanted to basically think in suicidal thoughts because God was so compassionate

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Because he was showing his compassion towards the people of Nineveh So what is your view of the God of the Old and New Testament But this is disconnect from love and truth and also love and the wrath of God.

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Let's do the first Verses there somebody can read both of them from 1st Corinthians 13 Read first verse 13 as I have it there in that order.

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I did that intentionally number of six. Thank you Amongst the other descriptive terms of love love rejoices with the truth

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And also, let's do John 3 somebody else Thanks for reading that John 3 verse 16 and then jump to verses 18 and 19

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I Was confronted with this a couple of years ago. Just sharing a story not to Highlight myself, but just to highlight it just in Church circles evangelical circles this growing thinking

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I had had the privilege of speaking at a friend's funeral a few years back and Exhorted the people when you have a funeral or a wedding great opportunity to give the gospel

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You give the gospel at funerals and weddings. That's what you do There are dead souls there and need to hear the gospel.

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Well Some of the people didn't like that. I did that so I was Some friends of mine that I kind of grew up in the church when

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I was young Came and talked to me and said, you know, you know, we believe in that 1st Corinthians 13 13

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But the greatest of these is love. I Said I believe that too. I really do but I also believe the whole chapter not just that one verse

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I believe that the one that abides faith open love the one that abides love that love

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Paul says Rejoices with the truth and because I care and love souls.

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That's why I'm going to give the hard gospel truth But we believe in John 3 16. I do too.

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I believe in John 3 16 God used that verse in my life to bring me to saving faith

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But I also believe in the rest of what Jesus told Nicodemus verses 18 and 19

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People who do not believe stand condemned already They love the darkness rather than the light and that's why we need to give the gospel

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First John we already highlighted. I won't have us read that Okay a fun a fun

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Let's do a fun thing here of any comments on these first and then I'll get to the last two reasons for apostasy

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Or questions Okay, the third one that I think is

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Why there's such a growing apostasy besides the neglect of doctrine and Disconnect between love and truth and love of God and the wrath of God is the seduction of trends

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I have a Yahoo email account So when initially before I get on there you go the Yahoo home page that has a section which is trending now, right?

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What's trending now and it changes every five minutes or so It usually has to do with the

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Hollywood industry or whatever, but what's trending now in the church? What was trending five years ago? What was trending ten years ago?

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Let me read this quote. I'm not I'm not giving you who wrote it I want you because if I tell you who wrote it, you'll know when it was written

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But I'll read this quote and we're gonna play a game and see if you can guess Approximately what decade it was written and who wrote it or one of the two and to see that this is you could read this

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Today, this is a commentary of today But you'll be shocked as to when this was written So when something new comes up and you see people getting very excited about it

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You happen to be in the position of being able to remember a similar excitement perhaps 40 years ago And so one has been and seen fashions and vogues and stunts

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Coming one after another in the church. Each one creates great excitement and Enthusiasm and is loudly advertised as the thing that is going to fill the churches the thing that is going to solve the problem

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They have said that about every single one of them But in a few years they have forgotten all about it and another stunt comes along or another new idea

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Somebody has hit upon the one thing needful or he has a psychological understanding of modern man.

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Here is the thing and Everybody rushes after it, but soon it wanes and disappears and something else takes its place any guesses

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Yes Close to the the language is almost Spurgeon esque, but it wasn't

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Spurgeon What's that not Tozer? JC.

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Well, no the doctor Charlie No, it was the 70s, but it wasn't

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McGee dearly beloved Yes Martin Lloyd -jones

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Martin Lloyd -jones in the 70s written in the 70s. It's funny J. Vernon McGee. I have to say that it's not part of the discussion, but I was listening to him recently and He said he said dearly beloved as he introduced himself

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He says I'm going to give you the most theological point Nobody else will give you on the radio. And so I was gearing up and saying, okay

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This is something that I've never heard before so he said the Apostle Paul in writing I think he was in the book of Philippians says

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I Pray for you in that I pray in every remembrance of y 'all. I So the fact that he says reckon and you all means that the

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Apostle Paul was a southern boy he says so anyway That's a little side note. Thanks Charlie for that digression.

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No Yes 1971 this is taken from his book preaching and preachers

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We're in what? 2014 42 43 years later. This is a commentary of today

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Do you remember I remember when I first when we first moved from New York when we came to church plant under the?

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Southern Baptist banner All the other church plant pastors that I used to gather and meet with every so often would say to me.

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Are you doing PDC? Anybody know what PDC is? I see some faces. Are you doing

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PDC? purpose -driven church by Rick Warren is your church plant going to be a

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PDC Church. No, no, everybody in the Southern Baptist is doing it. I know Or when the time came do you remember the trends?

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Or some of the the alpha course, you know You've been driving by and all the church are advertising the Alpha code the prayer of Jabez now.

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This is the thing This is the thing. I will do it next Sunday school. This is the thing And it goes from one to the next to the next

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Trends Finally, I would say it's the lack of discernment in our

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In our churches first John 4 1 can somebody read that very powerful We I alluded to it earlier first John 4 1 nice and loud if you will.

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Thank you We seem to believe every spirit nowadays so we easily this is clearly do not believe every spirit

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But test the spirits it's a command because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

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There's no sense of discernment nowadays We just believe and follow everything that comes down the pike.

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Well, it goes back to number one since we're not doctrinally Have a doctrinal sure foundation then we just like the winds and the waves get tossed to and fro

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Okay, any comments or questions about some of the Reasons for apostasy in our day

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Okay, how should we respond now here? Some of you might say well look I'm not a I'm not a ordained minister

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I'm not ordained pastor. Some of these don't apply with me. Nice try Let's see what the scripture says some of them are directed to Pastors in the pastoral epistles, but in some of these injunctions are directed to every

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Person who has been saved by the sovereign grace of God Okay, first of all we looked at earlier the first thing is to preach the word

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Of course that's initially directed to pastors Tim pastor Timothy. It's an injunction for pastors

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It's in the context of what we read earlier for the time will come You would think Paul would say, you know, the time's coming when men will people will not put up with sound doctrine

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Therefore knowing that don't preach the word because then people will listen But knowing that people want itching ears to listen to non -biblical truth yet nonetheless

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Preach the word be prepared in season and out of season. I give you this charge in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus Preach the word secondly be vigilant

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This is Paul's Address to the Ephesian elders. I'm going back to that acts 20

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Can somebody else read that and notice? The passion if you can hear the passion in Paul's words as he has addresses the

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Ephesian elders somebody read that three years You think it was important to Paul?

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I think so Thirdly this is a Paul's letter to Titus.

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This is a list of qualifications for elders and leaders and pastors Our response is to rebuke false teachers

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Titus 1 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught So that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it so Paul says a pastor elder leader should

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Hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught to Scripture for a twofold purpose

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One positive and one more from a negative perspective so that first he can give instruction in what sound doctrine

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But then also to rebuke those who contradict it to call them out

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For teaching that which is not according to Scripture Fourthly, what do we need to do?

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on the backside of your notes contend for the faith contend for The faith strong word that Jew uses somebody would you read verse three there from Jude the opening verse there.

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Thank you Okay, this is Jude now remember earlier we talked about Paul the unity of the faith being a body of truth a body of doctrine biblical scriptural truth

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Well Jude uses the same terminology to contend for what for the faith for the truth of Scripture For sound doctrine the body of truth that consists of our faith

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That was what once for all delivered to the Saints contend is a strong word

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It's it's as the Greek has a sense of sweating over it agonizing It's sort of like Paul said to the

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Ephesian elders in Acts 20 for three years being passionate about it as followers as believers as those whom

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God has saved by a sovereign grace to really take Make this a priority if you want to learn more about this.

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I encourage you to come back tonight Philippians 1 Bob will be addressing that tonight

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Philippians 1 Paul says Striving side -by -side together for the faith of the gospel

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What does that mean as a body as fellow believers striving side -by -side for the gospel?

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Okay, since you mentioned Spurgeon do you have a Did you get a copy of these would you read that quote from Spurgeon?

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This is a Spurgeon quote Listen to what Spurgeon says Thank you. Good job reading.

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The church is the church militant the church at war The purity of truth must always to emphasize the last sentence be at war with the blackness of Heresy and lies and just because time's running out.

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Let me just run through these last ones Five through nine. This is taken from the book of Jude Jude.

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That's what he devotes his one Epistle to actually he was intending to write to them about our common salvation

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He says but he was constrained to write about this instead Led of course by the divine off of the

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Holy Spirit of God So how are we to do and the notice what he says? I'll just read these I broke them down the verses are just one phrase after another at the end of Jude.

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It's just simple injunctions for us as Believers, we're to grow ourselves

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Jude says but you beloved building yourselves up in your most holy faith grow continue to mature in the faith

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Don't stop growing Secondly pray drew 20 and praying in the

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Holy Spirit Seven obey keep yourselves in the love of God.

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What does the love of God constitute? I always tell my children you I Love you, daddy. Do you really will you do what

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I ask you to do if you love me you will Obey my commandments obey continue to live in obedience

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Also Jude says to wait for what verse 21 waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life

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So knowing that this is happening. We look ahead expectantly for his second coming But finally last but not least have a couple of minutes

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Minister notice what he says in Jude 22 to 23 so how do you deal with people who are either the deceived or Those who are the scoffers who are leading people astray?

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It's kind of three set three sets of people that judan Highlights here have mercy on those who doubt

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Save others by snatch them out of the fire to others show mercy with fear hating even the garment stained by the flesh

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Strong words and let me just close with these. This is again taken from Pastor MacArthur's book the truth war

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But he really does a good job Highlighting what Jude is addressing here in terms of these three groups of people and this is where I want you to see how you?

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Can as a believer as a frail vessel as it were Continue to minister in an age of apostasy.

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So the first group What's he say have mercy on those who doubt?

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Pastor MacArthur writes these may well be people who have never fully and savingly believed the gospel on the other hand

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They could be authentic believers either young or spiritually feeble either way Exposure to false teachers has revealed the dangerous weakness in their faith by causing them to doubt have mercy on them

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Jude says don't write them off because they are weak and wavering They are confused because they are absolutely open to and any and every teacher and they are utterly devoid of any discernment

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They are the most accessible and the most vulnerable. They need truth, but they are being offered and duped by almost everything else

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Don't write them off or reject them show them mercy. And of course the chief mercy they need is the mercy of the gospel

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That may well be where my friends are the second group Jude mentions

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Time's up. I'll just take a minute You have to snatch them out of the fire Jude says suggestion

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Of course, they're already in the fire. These people are in the fire suggests that they have bought the lie

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They have to some degree own the false doctrine. They already they need something more than mere mercy. This is an urgent rescue

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Operation again snatch them from the fire means giving them the truth But with accents of urgency befitting the serious danger such people are facing again the truth of the gospel and finally

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Show mercy with fear hating even the garments stained by the flesh

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If you've ever questioned what God's view of false religion apostasy is that is it? One of the most important aspects of Jews entire message is this theme which runs through the whole of it false teaching is the deadliest and most abhorrent of Evils these passages not only give insight into what

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God thinks of apostasy They give us explicit instructions how to deal with apostates false doctrine in the wickedness of those who believe it's stained the soul

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Don't get close enough to be corrupted Nevertheless, there is a place for showing apostates mercy

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It is a fearful mercy and once again, it involves giving them the light of truth Confront their error with the truth for that is the only hope of freeing them from the bondage and defilement of their own apostasy

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Let's pray Father thank you for this brief time that we can

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Briefly really cover a topic that needs more covering but we realize that we do live in an age of apostasy it's clearly in Scripture and we see it from the very words of not only our

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Lord but his own Apostles and we realize that because of a lack of Doctrine the lack of discernment and all the other things there is a growing apostasy in our land

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But help us to minister help us to to continue to grow and mature ourselves Help us to continue to give the word to give the truth of the gospel to pray and to stand

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Side by side for the faith of the gospel. We pray for the sake of your glory in Christ's name.