2 Thessalonians (6)

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2 Thessalonians (3)

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Well, let's turn once again to 2 Thessalonians 2 in our study of this epistle, the second chapter of this epistle.
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Today we want to give attention to verses 9 -12. This is in the context that we've been considering Paul warning about the man of lawlessness that would come upon the scene.
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And so verses 9 -12, 2 Thessalonians 2, the coming of the lawless one, that's the
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Antichrist, is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
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And therefore God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that they may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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This is a rich few verses that we have to consider, many implications. In 2
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Thessalonians 2 the apostle had set forth two events that would transpire before the appearance, the parousia is the
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Greek word that we focused on a couple of weeks ago, the appearance of Jesus Christ at his second coming, when
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Christians would be gathered to be with him. One coming, second coming, when we will be gathered to be with him.
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Verse 1 speaks of that. First he declared that a great apostasy, a falling away would take place within professing
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Christendom and that many would depart from the true faith even though they claimed to be
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Christians still. And then secondly this man of lawlessness would come upon the scene, he would be revealed, who is described as the son of perdition, that is the son of damnation, that is his destiny, who opposes and exalts himself against every so -called
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God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be
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God. And then after Paul describes some causes that would result in the rise or from the rise to power of the man of lawlessness,
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Paul set forth the satanic power that enables the man of lawlessness to arise.
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And so verses 9 and 10, the coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing.
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And then that last clause, quite interesting, because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.
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Interestingly I noticed that Paul wrote of the appearance or the parrhesia of Jesus Christ at his second coming in verse 1, but then he wrote of the appearance of the man of lawlessness, same
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Greek word, the parrhesia of the man of lawlessness in verse 9.
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But of course the appearance of the man of lawlessness is through the power of Satan who is the father of lies, as the
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Lord Jesus had declared of him in John 8 .44, Matthew Henry wrote of this.
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The apostle further describes the reign and rule of this man of sin, here we are to observe the manner of his coming or ruling and working in general that it is after the example of Satan, the grand enemy of souls, the great adversary of God and man, he is the great patron of error and lies, the sworn enemy of the truth as it is in Jesus and all the faithful followers of Jesus, more particularly it is with satanical power and deceit.
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A divine power is pretended for the support of this kingdom, but it is only after the working of Satan.
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Not all that seems to be miraculous and powerful is of God, and the
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Lord Jesus warned his disciples of that didn't he, the time would come when signs and miracles and wonders would be the sign of the false apostles, not true apostles, of Satan's work rather than the
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Lord's work. And so the man of lawlessness persuades people to submit to him as the true
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God or as the one in the place of God, he is the anti -Christ, the one who replaces
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Christ and the one who is opposed to Christ, claiming to be the true representative of God perhaps, but in reality he is the anti -Christ.
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He deceives people so that they embrace him and his teaching and he uses signs, miracles and wonders that convince those who are deceived as to his identity.
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And so they are deceived by him, by what they appear, what they perceive, by what they believe to be miracles,
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God working miracles through him, he must be of God, and in some ways he is perhaps a full -blown example of what we have in miniature in Simon the
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Sorcerer in the book of Acts, do you remember him? He was working before Christianity came to the
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Samaritans, he was working in their midst, we read of it in Acts 6, but there was a certain man called
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Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, he could predict the future, he could tell people, give them advice and counsel, fortune teller, that kind of thing, and these things would come to pass, and they were convinced therefore that he was someone great, even one who manifested the power of God in their midst, and so he claimed that he was someone great, the man of lawlessness does the same, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, all the
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Samaritans followed after this man, saying this man is the great power of God, and they heeded him, they followed him, obeyed him, because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time, and there are people all over the world astonished by sorceries, and embrace these false prophets and false teachers, and are obedient to them, submitting to them as though they represented the true
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God. Those who are perishing, that is those who are damned and moving toward their destiny in hell, are deceived by the fraud and trickery of the man of lawlessness, they are his prey, even as he secures them in their damnation, but as evil and deceitful as he is, they are culpable, that is they are guilty for their own actions, for they are responsible for their own damnation, for had they followed one prescription, they wouldn't have fallen into error, they wouldn't have followed after this man of lawlessness, and so Paul wrote that they would perish through the deceit of the man of lawlessness, and here it is, because they refused to love the truth, so to be saved, and so there is the prescription, if you want to avoid being deceived by the devil, and by the devil's workers, if you love the truth, it will guide you and keep you from error, from being deceived, those who refuse to love the truth are the ones who are deceived to their own damnation,
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Greg Beale, a contemporary theologian, he is down at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, stated the matter clearly in his commentary, the end time enemy will also be revealed so that his followers are further deceived and judged along with him,
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Satan will inspire him to do all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and every kind of deception leading to unrighteousness, the devil incarnate aims his deception at unbelievers who are perishing, the reason that they are perishing is also the reason why they will be deceived further, and ultimately judged, because they refuse to love the truth, and so be saved, and so for this reason, that is, because of their rejection of the truth,
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God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness, the final judgment of believers living on earth at the final phase of history will occur in two stages, he is not talking about two comings of Christ, the rapture and the revelation, he is talking about there is a judgment in this life, and there is a judgment when
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Christ returns, it is in two stages, they will be deceived further by the antichrist and then be condemned, in other words their deception now by the antichrist is one form of God's judgment, and the final form of God's judgment will be at the second coming,
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Paul may have in mind people who reject God's truth revealed in nature, Romans 1, but more likely he is focusing on those who reject the gospel, both those outside the community of faith and confessing
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Christians, the latter appear to accept on the last day, it will be revealed that they refuse to love the truth they profess, in other words professing
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Christians, in reality they didn't love the truth, the deceived will believe the lie by accepting the claims to deity by the lawless one which is the epitome of eschatological idolatry, and it is idolatry to ascribe to a man other than Jesus Christ Godhood, and so because of their refusal to receive the love of the truth they were guilty, they were deserving of God's judgment, and God would see to it that his justice would be rendered to them at the second coming, but again even now in this life
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God is judging them, God would do so by assuring that they continue in their rejection of the truth that alone brings salvation,
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God would cause them to believe the lie of the false gospel that the man of lawlessness promoted, and so we read in verse 11 of God's just judgment, therefore
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God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false, in other words they did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, and so two systems of faith are set forth before us, both of which have present and eternal consequences, first there are those who love the truth of God, which brings salvation, and then there are those secondly who believe the lie, who believe falsehood, which results in damnation, the ones who are saved through the truth love the truth, the ones who perish through faith in the lie love the pleasure of unrighteousness, that is sin and lawlessness, and that is what unrighteousness is, it is a life in violation of transgression of God's commandments, of God's law,
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Matthew Henry set forth this matter before us, we have the sin and ruin of the subjects of antichrist kingdom declared in verses 11 and 12, their sin is this, they believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness, they did not love the truth and therefore they did not believe it, and because they did not believe the truth therefore they had pleasure in unrighteousness, or in wicked actions, and were pleased with false notions, note an erroneous mind and vicious life often go together and help forward one another, second their ruin is thus expressed,
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God shall send them strong delusion to believe a lie, thus he will punish men for their unbelief, and for their dislike of the truth, and love to sin and wickedness, not that God is the author of sin, but in righteousness he,
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God, sometimes withdraws his grace from such sinners as are here mentioned, he gives them over to Satan, or leaves them to be deluded by his instruments, he gives them up to their own hearts lusts, leaves them to themselves, and then sin will follow of course, yea the worst of wickedness that shall end at last in eternal damnation,
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God is just when he inflicts spiritual judgments here, and eternal punishments hereafter, upon those who have no love to the truths of the gospel, who will not believe them, nor live suitably to them, but indulge false doctrines in their minds, and wicked practices in their lives and conversations, and Matthew Henry captured exactly what is being set forth here, and so let us consider this most important matter that will assure us that we will be saved at the return of Jesus Christ.
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But first let's consider those who will be damned at Christ's coming, for they refused to love the truth and so to be saved.
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We see it is all important that people understand and love the truth in order to be saved,
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Paul sets that forth. As we consider what is meant by the apostle, we must first define what we mean by the word truth.
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What is truth? Pilate asked that question didn't he? What is truth? Well, what
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God declares to be truth in his word. The word truth is a common word in the holy scriptures.
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By the way it is much more common in the New King James translation rather than the ESV. In the
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New King James version, the word truth is used 223 times in 210 verses.
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That is a lot of uses of the word truth, both in the Old and New Testaments.
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Depending on the context in which the word truth is used, the nuance of the meaning of truth varies slightly.
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A word always is nuanced in its meaning once it is within a sentence, within a context.
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Many times truth conveys the idea of what is essentially real, what is in its essence real or true.
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And oftentimes truth is said in contrast to what is not true or false, especially in wisdom literature in the
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Old Testament. What is set forth is true over what is false, comparison and contrast.
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It is important to realize that the scriptures present truth as an objective reality to the thing declared to be true.
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In other words, there are things that are true, there are words that in themselves are true, and there are things and words that are inherently false, not true.
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Truth is an objective reality that speaks to the very essence of a thing or a person or a position.
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There is such a thing as truth. In other words, contrary to the belief of the postmodern world, and some date the postmodern world as really beginning around 1989 with the fall of the
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Iron Curtain when there was such an influx of cultures from all over the world with all different kinds of religions and truth claims, and the whole idea of truth suffered great loss in the minds of people in this world.
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We are no longer modernists. The modernist world existed from about the
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French Revolution to about 1989. Everybody agreed that there was objective truth.
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They just disagreed as to how you discovered that or recovered that. But after 1989, roughly, truth no longer was viewed as objective, but rather subjective.
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Truth is your perception of things. Truth comes forth from you, not because a certain thing is true or truth.
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And that's how the world views truth today. And so something that's regarded as truth is apart from and outside of anything or anyone or any one of our perceptions.
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In other words, the Word of God sets forth as true or truth in reality by God's declaration.
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What the Bible sets forth as truth is true to all people at all times in every place.
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And that concept is foreign in today's world. It'll bring you into conflict with the world when you make truth claims.
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And so because Christians believe this about truth, they find themselves now in a world in which this very basic level of understanding reality is in conflict with the world.
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They differ from us in our understanding of truth. Truth is the principal issue.
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The Word of God presents truth to be outside of us, apart from us.
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Truth is objective, unchanging, again applicable to all persons at all times in all places.
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And so Christianity is not principally how one feels about God. What God has revealed to us that is true, that which we are to believe, and that which we should govern how we think and believe, that is what a relationship with God is made of and constituted of.
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God has revealed His truth to us in His Word. We understand it, we believe it, we embrace it, and we live accordingly.
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We understand that truth is outside of us and objective and is true for everyone.
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Feelings are subjective. They're changeable. And they come forth from us and our own souls.
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But truth, according to Scripture, is objective. It's outside of us and it's unchanging.
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Feelings are changeable. Truth is unchanging. Our feelings are easily manipulated.
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Truth cannot be changed because it is eternal in nature. Truth is a manifestation of the character and nature of God.
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Oh yes, our perception of truth changes, but truth itself remains the same.
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And it's our responsibility to perceive what is true, acknowledge it, and then declare it.
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One of the most insidious aspects of our present culture is the widely accepted notion that truth is subjective.
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And that's at the heart of postmodernism. That it changes from person to person depending on a person's societal, family, and political context.
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Well, that's true for you because you came from Eastern Europe. But that's not true for me because I'm from California.
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What's true to me is different than what's true to you. That is nonsense and will ultimately lead to insanity.
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But sadly, many Christians are infected with this wrong notion of the nature of truth. They thereby follow the way of the world by dismissing readily all objective, assertive, uncompromising truth claims as spilling forth manipulative, ignorant, intolerant, and unspiritual bigots.
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And anybody who is not Christian and within our culture, our society, reads my notes, hears my voice, watches us on closed circuit
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TV, that's how they perceive me. When we make truth claims.
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They do not believe objective truth exists, or at least that it can be known by erring humans.
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So they retreat to the arena of the senses for stimulation. It's in the realm of emotions and feelings.
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And even many churches fall into that realm where they're attempting to manipulate your feelings and your emotions.
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And it's to the point where they cannot distinguish, they don't know the difference between that which is emotional and that which is spiritual.
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They assume they're one and the same. We advocate, however, the truth of Scripture, the truth of the
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Word of God. And it's our responsibility to recognize it, to discover it, to understand it, to embrace it, to proclaim it, and live accordingly.
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And it's a different worldview than most people in our current world. And so there are many professing
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Christians that I would describe as almost like Christian agnostics. Like agnostics, these believers will say that truth exists, just as agnostics say that God exists.
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But they're like agnostics who say although there's a God, you can't really know Him. And so these
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Christians say that truth cannot be known. This is what they claim. And they react to truth claims when it comes forth from the pulpit.
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This is worldliness, crass worldliness in Christian dress. They dismiss and discredit preachers who proclaim truth.
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It's only his opinion is the common way that our claims are dismissed or discredited.
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Or, well, you know, that's just how pastors are. I've heard that a number of times over the years. Well, that's how
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Morris is. You know he's a pastor. And you know how pastors are. And it's their way of dismissing or discrediting what we claim.
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They don't know what the real world is like. And so they dismiss or discredit.
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And they don't realize how worldly they are in the way they understand truth.
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No, the Bible makes it clear that truth exists and that truth can be known. The scripture set forth the pastor's chief responsibility.
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And moreover, he's to assure that any and all who would lead the church in another direction, that they be withstood by the pastor, by the godly pastor, elder, deposed and even silenced lest they corrupt the people of God.
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Paul told Titus this was his responsibility in Crete where he was to set in order the new churches of Jesus Christ.
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For a bishop, that is an elder, a pastor, must be blameless as a steward of God.
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He's entrusted with a responsibility. Not self -willed, not quick -tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober -minded, just, holy, self -controlled.
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And here it is, holding fast the faithful word as he's been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine, that's teaching, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
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Why is there this need? For there are many, and this was in the first century, many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision.
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Their Jewish background, Jewish false teachers, some who claim to be Christian. And he says, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert all household teaching things which they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain.
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And so we are to proclaim the clear, unsullied, uncompromised truth about who God is, who the
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Son of God is, what righteousness is, what sin is, what the gospel of salvation is.
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Essentially, we are to make known truth, what it is we are to believe, and how that truth guides us in the manner that we live before God.
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That's what we as a church are to do. And moreover, we are to expose and discredit any and all error and errant teachers and their teaching that would lead people away from the truth of God.
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It's really not that difficult. That's what we are called to do. Now more specifically, what do the
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Holy Scriptures declare to be truth? Well, God Himself is truth, and it is declared everywhere.
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Our Lord Jesus said this regarding His Father. Jesus cried out as He taught in the temple, saying, You both know me, and you know where I am from.
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And I have not come of myself, but he who has sent me is true. God is truth itself.
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And then Jesus said, Whom you don't know. Our Lord declared the same words in the next chapter, in John chapter 8.
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I have many things to say to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which
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I heard from him. The Lord Jesus, of course, the second person of the
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Holy Trinity, is truth itself. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth. God Himself is truth.
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The Lord Jesus is truth. And then the Holy Spirit is truth, the third person of the blessed Holy Trinity.
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Our Lord Jesus told His disciples, however, when He the Spirit of truth. The Spirit Himself is truth.
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Of course, everywhere the Scriptures, and again, I mentioned there were 223 references to truth in the
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New King James Version, in 210 verses. And repeatedly, you have
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God's Word declared to be truth, and true. I just cited a few. Psalm 119, 142,
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I don't know how many ways it's expressed in Psalm 119. Dozens of ways. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is truth.
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That's what truth is, by definition, God's Word, God's law. Similarly, Psalm 119, 151, you are near,
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O Lord, and all your commandments are truth. God's definition. All God's words are truth.
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The entirety of your Word is truth, wrote the psalmist. And then
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Jesus, in His prayer to His Father, sanctify them by your truth. Your Word is truth. The Word of God, the
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Holy Scriptures, the Bible that you have in front of you, is the embodiment of objective truth that God has given to us.
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How does truth relate to people? Well, consider, first of all, what truth brings to believers.
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It is a means that God brings benefit and blessings to us as believers.
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The truth has the ability to set us free, is what the Lord Jesus declared.
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The truth shall set you free. We are saved upon the hearing of the truth, Ephesians 1.
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God begot us, that is, caused us to be born again by the proclamation of the truth.
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God continues to work through us and in us through His truth, sanctifying us.
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What about the truth with regard to the unsaved, non -Christians? We read that they are destitute of the truth.
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It is not in them. Believers do not obey the truth. Although some unsaved people have come to some knowledge of the truth, they may hold that truth in unrighteousness, professing
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Christian only, not true Christians. Or they may be openly opposed to the truth.
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Some even go so far as to change the truth of God into a lie. That is what the
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Antichrist does, according to Paul, and presents that lie as though it were truth.
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It is truth. Other unsaved people are said to be ever learning, but never coming to an understanding and knowledge of the truth.
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So what then should our attitude be toward the truth? Scripture says we are to think upon whatsoever things are true.
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We are to examine the scriptures daily so that we might know the things we hear are true.
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The scriptures are to be the basis of our assessing values and truth claims that we hear in the world.
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We are to be fellow helpers of the truth. We are to walk in the truth.
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We are to be obedient to the truth. We are to be girded about with the truth, clothed with the truth.
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We are to speak the truth in love. We are to worship God in spirit and truth.
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We are to heed the warnings of truth. Why? Because some can go astray from the truth.
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And because every one of us has a propensity to turn our ears away from the truth, even in churches.
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And for those who go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, these are apostates or hypocrites.
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What can they expect? A certain terrifying expectation of judgment. Truth is all -important, the truth of God.
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Given the emphasis that Scripture places on this matter, we should be ever mindful, ever vigilant regarding the truth.
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We should be seeking it out, checking out ourselves, lest we go astray, or that we might correct ourselves if we have gone astray.
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The view of truth by unbelievers, Paul wrote of the unsaved, that they will be deceived by the man of lawlessness.
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We read in 2 Thessalonians 2, for through wicked deception those who are perishing refuse to love the truth and so to be saved, is what
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Paul expressed. Those who will be saved on the day of judgment will be ones who love the truth.
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Those who don't will be damned. Paul wrote to Timothy that he would have to address the problem of truth deniers who were in the church.
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1 Timothy 6, 2 -5, Paul is giving instruction to Timothy as he is getting ready to go pastor the church at Ephesus.
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If anyone teaches otherwise, in other words contrary to sound doctrine, and does not consent to wholesome words, in other words true words, even the words of our
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Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is in accordance with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds, and here it is, destitute of truth.
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We suppose that godliness is a means of gain. That verse negates all of the health and wealth nonsense.
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If you are godly, it is going to be a way to gain things in this world for yourself and yours.
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They suppose godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. You have no business giving attention to those teachers in teaching.
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Those who teach or behave in manner contrary to what Paul had just laid out to Timothy are ones who have serious attitudinal and behavior problems.
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He seems to speak more about the nature of these ones who are rebels in heart. These ones who reject what he has written, or reject other words of scripture, even the words of the
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Lord Jesus, Paul declares, are persons who would give Timothy a great deal of difficulty. They would be a heartache to the church where Timothy would be serving.
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Paul was speaking of ones who were in the church. When he said, Timothy, you are not going to be able to get along with these people in the church.
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The fact is, there always have been, always will be, those who claim to be
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Christian, but there is no really common ground for a relationship with them. Their beliefs about God, beliefs about themselves, and the way to live manifest their attitudes and actions, and it really renders them who will always resist you and the life that you advocate as a
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Christian. The idea that everyone who claims to be Christian is supposed to get along with everyone else who claims to be a
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Christian is not in accordance with scripture. Paul told Timothy, you are not going to be able to get along with these people.
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In fact, you need to separate from them. You need to avoid them. For there must be a common set of values, beliefs, and principles if peace is to be maintained.
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It has to be based on truth, or there is no common ground. Paul was writing specifically of false teachers that Timothy would encounter and have to address.
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And you recall our Lord Jesus addressed his disciples, told his disciples, beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing.
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What does he mean by sheep's clothing? They are coming as though they are Christians. They are in sheep's clothing.
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Now they are not real sheep, they just look like sheep. They are pretending to be sheep. But Jesus warns his disciples about them, for inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
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He says you will know them by their fruit. Two ideas, you will know them by the doctrine they teach, and you will be able to recognize them by the way they live.
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Because trees bear fruit. You are going to be able to see it in their lives and see it in their teaching. Paul wrote
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Timothy about the offenses of those who reject the truth. We won't go into detail because of the time, but he teaches this one, this evil person, teaches contrary to the revealed truth.
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If anyone teaches otherwise, other than the truth. Secondly, he does not consent to wholesome sound words, even the words of the
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Lord Jesus. Thirdly, he does not embrace doctrine that leads to godliness. He basically advocates, hey, it doesn't matter how you live, really how you believe, as long as you believe in Jesus, you are okay.
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He then describes the character of those who reject truth. This man is a proud man.
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It is a proud man that dismisses or rejects teaching that comes from the word of God. He sees himself as having the ability to know what is true and right better than the words recorded in the
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Bible. Listen to me, I am the one who can tell you what is true.
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Don't read that Bible, because that will lead you to think otherwise. I am the one who is the representative of God, and I will tell you what to think and believe.
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That never comes out okay, does it? He knows nothing. He may be a very educated man.
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He knows nothing with regard to truth. He may have many degrees and many honors.
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He may have much knowledge. Some of the most intelligent men
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I have sat under as professors in seminary, I don't believe were true Christians.
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And they knew the Bible far better than any of us. But it was apparent they weren't true
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Christians by what they taught, and by what they didn't teach. That was in seminary, a neo -Orthodox seminary.
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He is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words. He is really picky, and he just gets in and zeroes in on some obscure point and tries to make an argument.
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He muddles matters so that the truth becomes unclear and uncertain in the minds of those listening. He casts doubt in people's minds of truth claims that have long been held.
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And then Paul speaks of the problems that those who reject truth bring to the church.
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They cause envy among the people. They promote wrong attitudes.
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They cause strife among the people through their influence and teaching.
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They cause reviling among the people. There is antagonism, hostility. They cause evil suspicions that arise in the church.
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They stir up useless wrangling of men, dissension, confusion, and conflict. What is the heart of the problem of these false teachers?
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Well, they have corrupt minds. See, their whole understanding of relationship to truth is corrupt.
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In fact, they are depraved minds. Paul is saying basically they are unregenerate.
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They are not born again. How can a true Christian be so filled and moved by attitudes and actions that are contrary to everything that is holy and good?
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They are not true Christians. Their minds are set on sensual, selfish things.
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Peter wrote about false teachers in 2 Peter 2. They want power, authority, and recognition.
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They are not concerned with the glory of God. What moves them is their own glory. They want the praise of men.
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Their whole way of thinking is messed up. They are like Simon Magus who through his behavior revealed he had no clue of what true
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Christianity was. Remember Simon when he saw the apostles, they laid their hands, and the Holy Spirit was imparted upon those new
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Christians in Samaria? What was Simon's reaction? Hey, I want that power. Here, I will give you some money if you give me that power.
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Peter says, you are so corrupt, you have no part or lot in this matter. You are not a
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Christian, Simon. You could even think in these terms, in these ways. You don't have a clue as to what true
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Christianity is about. Not only do they have corrupt minds, but again they are destitute of the truth.
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The truth is not in them. And this probably speaks to the fact that God has withheld truth from them because of their wicked condition.
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To know truth is a gift of God, isn't it? There is no greater blessing than to know the truth.
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And the truth is of God. But these men are destitute of truth.
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And it was an act of God's judgment that they be so. Because God must reveal truth to us.
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Truth is of God, and He must reveal it to us. Jesus glorified
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His Father for His sovereignty in this matter of revealing truth. He said, I thank you,
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Father, Lord of heaven and earth. Not because you have revealed these things to us, but because you have hidden these things from the wise and the prudent.
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The wise, of course, this is, you know, this is, he is being sarcastic here. The wise in their own estimation.
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But you revealed them unto babes. The humble, teachable
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Christians. God reveals truth. Even so,
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Father, for so it seemed good in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the
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Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and He to whom the
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Son wills to reveal Him. The Son, God is sovereign in this matter, and He trusted the
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Son of God to reveal the truth of God to His people who are humble, teachable, who love the truth, desire to know it.
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And that ought to be our attitude always. Down on the bottom of page 7 we have secondly, the second major division, those who will be saved are ones who receive the love for the truth.
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Now, the apostle once expressed his own desire regarding the truth, which is also the desire of every true
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Christian who is thinking rightly. You can have true Christians that are not thinking rightly. He wrote these words,
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We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth. If the Christian is thinking rightly, he says,
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Amen. We can do nothing against the truth. That goes so much against the great, it's just not even a possibility.
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The idea of compromise, the idea of presenting something that is not exactly or fully true in your understanding is treachery and evil, especially coming from the pulpit.
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The reason Paul could write this, We can do nothing against the truth but for the truth, is because he possessed a love for the truth regarding the knowledge of God.
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Now again, we should understand the apostle was speaking directly about the truth of the gospel, the good news of salvation from sin through Jesus Christ.
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And so Paul was speaking about the truth of the gospel and the love for the gospel. Actually, in order for the gospel to be saving to us, savingly brought to us, there are actually three elements that must be clear to our understanding or apprehension.
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First, there must be knowledge of the truth. Nothing may come to the heart but by the mind, wrote
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Thomas Manton. I love Thomas Manton, Puritan 17th century.
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Nothing can come to the heart except to the mind. There has to be knowledge, understanding.
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Our Lord Jesus said, You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. You have to know the truth.
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You have to have knowledge of the truth or truth will not help you. God sent
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John the Baptist to give knowledge of salvation to his people and the forgiveness of their sins. Knowledge is essential, but knowledge is only one of three ingredients with respect to the truth.
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If truth is going to bring any benefit to us whatsoever, not only must you have knowledge, but secondly, there must be faith in that knowledge.
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Of the Israelites who died in the wilderness, it said, for indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
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They had knowledge, didn't they? It was preached to them, but it was not mixed with faith and so it brought no profit to them.
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Truth will not profit you unless you have faith that it is
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God's truth. They had knowledge, but they had not faith.
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They refused to believe that gospel and therefore failed to enter the promised land. They perished in the wilderness.
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This faith and the knowledge of the truth is always demonstrated, by the way, in obedience. God told the
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Israelites, you go in and take that land, because they did not believe God, they disobeyed God. Faith is always shown in obedience.
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But you can have knowledge and you can have faith, but there is a third element that you must have if truth is going to bring benefit to you.
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And that is what Paul is emphasizing here in 2 Thessalonians 2. There must be love of that knowledge.
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Paul wrote of the damned who are those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth so to be saved.
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You have to have knowledge of the truth. You have to have faith in the truth. But you have to love the truth.
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It has to be precious to you, important to you. May we strive and pray to receive the love of the truth that is expressed by godly men and women in Scripture.
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Consider this psalmist in Psalm 119 and it is expressed so many different ways. I rejoice that your word is one who finds great treasure.
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Is that how you regard the word of God, the gospel? Do you regard the gospel as more valuable and important than the greatest treasure that you could possibly attain or find or obtain in this world?
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It is, isn't it? I hate and abhor lying, but I love your law.
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Why? Your law is true. Seven times a day I praise you because of your righteous judgments. Great peace to those who love your law and nothing causes them to stumble.
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Lord, I hope for your salvation. I do your commandments. My soul keeps your testimony. I love them exceedingly.
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He loves the truth, the truth of God. Thomas Manton wrote of these three elements, these three aspects that must possess us if we are to receive benefit from truth, knowledge, faith, and love.
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Well next to faith there must be love for apprehension. And here's your word for the day.
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He means application of the truth. Our acts of the understanding only, but love belongeth to the will.
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And we must believe with all our heart. There may be knowledge without faith, as in heathen may understand the
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Christian religion, though we believe it not. I could name you professors in seminary,
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Christian seminary, who understood the Christian religion but believed it not. And there may be faith without love, for there is a dead faith,
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James 2 .20, which rests in cold opinions without any affection to the truth believed.
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Love pierces deeper than the truth, into the truth, and makes it pierce deeper into us.
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That is, make the truth pierce into us. Love for the truth. As a red hot iron, though never so blunt, will run farther into an inchboard than a cold tool, though never so sharp, love makes it more operative.
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Love for the truth. And so love for the truth is essential, absolutely essential.
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Without it we perish, with it we shall be saved. And so how may we receive the love for the truth?
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Now here I want us to pay close attention to verse 10, because I don't think the
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ESV translates it best. I think the New King James does. The translation of verse 10 in the
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ESV, English Standard Version, reads, And with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth, so to be saved.
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But the New King James gives a better translation of the Greek text. It reads,
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Those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
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And I think that's an important difference. Instead of they refused the truth, it reads, they did not receive the love of the truth.
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And this conveys a truth that's very important about truth. Namely, you and I do not have the capability in us to love the truth.
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That has to come from God. We have to receive it, or we're not going to love the truth.
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They're just cold words on a page. They don't enliven us, they don't inspire us, they don't move us, they don't stir our hearts, they don't elicit love from us.
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That takes the work of God's Spirit, doesn't it? And these people refuse to receive the love of the truth.
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Don't you fail to receive the love of the truth. Only the
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Lord can give true love for his word. This heart within us cannot produce love for the word.
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It's a result of God's grace being given to us. And I might say that love for the word is an acquired love.
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Through neglect of reading the word, just give up, just stop reading the
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Bible and just see how cold and indifferent you're going to become to the truth of God in very short order.
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On the other hand, those that are very diligent to be in the word and read the word, increasingly their love for the word will be enhanced and inflamed.
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It's because the Lord imparts this love for the truth. But he only gives it to those who seek him and desire the truth and desire to know him.
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The love for the truth of God is an aspect of God's saving grace that he bestows on his people. Please ask yourself seriously this question with regard to yourself.
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Do I really love the truth of God's word? How do you answer that? If you are indifferent to it, if it means nothing to you, if you can walk away from it and not read it and hear it or reflect upon it and consider it, you're in a world of hurt.
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You're in a bad position. How does
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Christ teach his people to love the truth? Well, Christ teaches us because he's our prophet.
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He teaches us externally about the truth through his Bible. But thankfully he teaches us inwardly by the blessed
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Holy Spirit. The Lord told his disciples he would send them the
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Holy Spirit to teach his disciples about these matters of truth. This is a supernatural thing that God must produce in us.
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We have to receive this truth, this love for the truth, or it's not going to well up within our souls.
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And therefore we need to be humble before the Lord. We need to confess, God, my heart is cold and indifferent to the things of your word.
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I don't love the truth as I should. I know that. Forgive me of my sin and my hardness of heart and indifference.
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And be merciful to me and stir my heart and then give yourself over to reading upon it and reflecting upon it and meditating upon it and you will be receiving the love of the truth that the
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Lord Jesus imparts to his people. Christ teaches his people as their prophet.
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He teaches us to know our own hearts. He convicts us when we're mindful that things aren't right.
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My heart is indifferent to the things of Christ, the things of his word, the things of his people. Christ teaches us the vanity of the creature, the worthlessness of all the world.
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We would know Jesus. Christ teaches us to highly prize and value the things of God.
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He gives the soul a sight of glory. He puts within the soul a desire to know him and to know his truth.
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I can stand up here and teach you knowledge, but I pray that the
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Lord blesses that knowledge. You're going to have to have more than knowledge of the truth.
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You're going to have to believe it. I suspect there are some here that don't fully.
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You set yourself up as an arbiter of what is true. Well, I just don't agree.
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I just don't believe or I see things differently. In reality, you've become a judge of your own mind as to what's true and what's not true.
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You have not submitted to the truth of the word of God. You don't have faith in it. And then again, we could ask ourselves seriously whether or not we have love for the truth.
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Christ teaches the heart. Others may reach the mind.
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I can do that in a measure. May reach the ear, but only Christ teaches the heart.
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I can't do that. I pray that he do it for us, for me, for each of us.
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He gives a desire for the word of God. It's one thing to hear the word preach is quite another to taste it and delight in it.
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And Christ teaches us easily. In other words, he can do it quite easily. He can open up just all of a sudden awareness.
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Uh oh, things aren't right here. Lord have mercy on me. Just like he opened up David.
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David was not right. And he'd been committing adultery with Bathsheba. He killed Uriah, one of his 30 mighty men, one of his loyal subjects.
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And he was hiding it as though somehow God wasn't watching and seeing. But the
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Lord revealed to him his wickedness and he came to acknowledge it. Christ teaches us to obey as well.
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But he can easily do that if we're humble before him. And he wants to do so with regard to his people.
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The scriptures have treasures within it that delight this heart, delight the soul.
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And, you know, the psalmist, Psalm 119, he says, with by the word I am more informed, more understanding than my teachers.
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You know, the word of God, it's a it's a it's a treasure mine that yields great treasures to the soul.
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How dare we neglect it or have little value applied to it?
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And thankfully, Christ makes us willing to learn, too. He gives us the desire, doesn't he?
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He puts within our souls the desire and he animates us with his truth.
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It's a living truth. Let's conclude with this idea, a warning to those who have no love for the truth.
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The truth is defined by scripture. The apostle wrote of this great evil, the man of lawlessness, who would deceive and destroy the souls of many.
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And we also read of God who in his judicial dealings with souls causes them to be deceived by the deceiver if they receive not the love of the truth.
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Verse 11 and 12. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that they may be condemned who do not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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God's truth that is his word is to be loved and believe the word of God. The scriptures are an expression of his nature.
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His purpose is his will to reject. His word is to reject him.
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To neglect his word is to neglect him. To refuse or fail to love his word is a failure and refusal to love him.
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And he will cause those who disregard him and his truth to be deluded so that they believe the lie.
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Basically, they think they're okay, that they're right with God. It's a judicial hardening of the heart and mind that Jesus Christ performs.
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Consideration of the words of Hebrews in closing. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
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The idea is here's a port and you're in a boat and you're drifting because the tide winds are drawing you farther and farther away.
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You have to take heed. I'm from the coast of California, Northern California, where it's very, very rough.
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You can hardly see where the entrance to the harbor is and the tides and wind blow you.
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You can be a half mile, a mile, five miles in just a matter of minutes. And so you got to keep the points.
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You know, you have the tower on the hill up on the mountains and you've got a peninsula there and you keep those lined up.
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You know, you're right in front of the harbor. And then you also keep an eye on the depth gauge because you're out of Fort Bragg.
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You know, I know where the plateau is. And when you get to that certain plateau, you know you're right in front of the harbor.
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But you take heed of those things because sometimes I tell you what, the fog rolls in. You don't know where you're at.
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And so you have to take heed and you need to keep your eyes open. How much more are we to guard our faith?