Why Should You Care About Heresy?.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] If you have your Bibles, go ahead and open them up to 2 Timothy, chapter 2. [0:05] If this is your first time here or you haven’t been here in a couple of weeks, let me just [0:09] lay the groundwork for what’s going on in this series called Cow Tipping. [0:13] What we did a few months ago was we opened an anonymous section of our website up and [0:19] asked the members of Village and whoever happened upon our website to submit questions to us [0:24] about anything where the Bible was concerned, God, sin, lifestyle, whatever.

[0:30] And what we did was we looked at it and came up with 6 weeks with the most popular topics [0:36] that were brought up that we’re going to cover and then on week 7 we’re going to cover [0:40] a whole slew of topics that week. [0:43] And this week what we’re dealing with is the question of why should you care about [0:48] heresy? [0:49] And where this came from is when we went through 1 John, which was the last series that we

[0:53] had, went through the entire book of 1 John, when you get to chapter 4, the very beginning [0:57] of chapter 4 deals with the issue of false prophets that John was dealing with in a specific [1:03] church who had actually left that church and were doing great damage to the churches [1:07] in that region. [1:08] And so through that sermon, going through that series, we took a time to uncover some [1:16] false teachers in our culture.

[1:18] And we named some names and after that sermon I got more questions about that than any sermon [1:25] I’ve given about why I thought that was necessary, what does false teaching look like, how do [1:32] I identify false teaching, and for some people why should we care about such an issue. [1:37] And so this morning my goal is a very simple goal. [1:40] First and foremost I want to glorify God through His Word and then after that I hope that when [1:45] you leave here today you understand, number one, what heresy is.

[1:50] And then secondly you understand that as a follower of Jesus that we must always be [1:56] on the guard for heresy and we must always understand that knowing and communicating [2:02] truth to others about what is true and what is error is the loving thing to do because [2:10] there is a lot at stake with people’s very souls. [2:14] And so what I want us to do is I want us first to kind of read through the text that [2:19] we chose for this morning and then we’re going to jump start from there.

[2:23] So join me in 2 Timothy chapter 2 and I’m going to start reading in verse 14.

[2:29] Remind them of these things. [2:32] Charge them before God not to quarrel about words which does no good, but only ruins [2:39] the hearers. [2:41] Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to [2:48] be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. [2:52] But avoid irreverent babble or in the Greek that could also be translated godless chatter.

[3:01] For it will lead people into more and more ungodliness and their talk will spread like [3:07] gangrene. [3:08] Among them are Hymenaeus and Phileetus who have swerved from the truth saying that the [3:17] resurrection has already happened. [3:20] They are upsetting the faith of some, but God’s firm foundation stands bearing this [3:26] seal.

[3:27] The Lord knows who are His and let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from [3:34] iniquity. [3:35] Pray with me. [3:37] Father, we come before you thankful for and asking for more grace. [3:45] Lord, that this morning you would drive our hearts to be united with yours. [3:51] That our passions and desires would begin to be conformed with you as we repent more

[3:56] and more of the sin that has us dead. [4:00] And that we would trust in the cross of Jesus, cling to the cross of Jesus, and find our [4:05] hope in a relationship with you that has been reconciled by His work alone. [4:10] And that in that we would grow in our knowledge of you and we would grow in our love for you [4:15] as we seek your truth in your word. [4:18] Be merciful to me a sinner, Father.

[4:21] Give me words. [4:22] In the name of Jesus I pray. [4:24] Amen.

[4:27] What is heresy? [4:29] The simplest definition that I can come up with is point number one this morning is [4:33] that heresy is a defective vision of the Christian faith. [4:40] Heresy is a defective vision of the Christian faith. [4:43] And let me just pause there. [4:44] I forgot one thing.

[4:45] There’s going to be a phone number on the screen throughout the service. [4:49] What that phone number is for is that if during the sermon or even right now you have a question [4:55] about what I’m speaking on or the topic of heresy or anything, text your question into [5:00] that number and as soon as the service is over we will have a time of Q&A where I will [5:05] attempt to answer those questions. [5:09] All right.

[5:09] I won’t be offended if your phone’s out. [5:11] I’ll just assume you’re texting in even if you’re not. [5:13] All right. [5:14] Number one, heresy is a defective vision of the Christian faith. [5:19] Heresy represents an act of discernment on the part of the church of Jesus, that’s us, [5:27] that a certain set of ideas are ultimately destabilizing or destructive.

[5:33] Now an important distinction needs to be made as to what heresy is. [5:37] Heresy is not unbelief of the gospel. [5:41] Heresy is not atheism. [5:45] Heresy is false teaching or false ideas about God and the gospel that arise from within [5:53] the church that can get the church off of the track that truth is on and can have the [6:02] church going into areas that destabilize the church from the mission of Jesus, that are

[6:08] destructive to the gospel of Jesus in the hearts of those who trust it and lead people [6:13] astray into areas that God does not mean for them to go on. [6:19] Now in Matthew chapter 7, Jesus warns us of such false teachings infiltrating the church [6:24] when he says in Matthew 7.15, [6:26] Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous [6:32] wolves.

[6:33] You will recognize them by their fruits. [6:37] Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? [6:42] In other words, Jesus is saying that inside of the church there will come people and throughout [6:48] the history we’ve seen that this actually has happened who come in seemingly having [6:53] good hearts, seemingly there to worship Jesus, seemingly there to trust and follow Jesus, [6:58] but their intentions are actually very sinister and I can go as far as to say they are satanic

[7:04] in that they seek to actually come in for reasons other than the gospel, whether it [7:11] be to grow their name, to grow their wealth, to grow their fame, to get power, whatever [7:16] it may be they come in with something other than the gospel, with something that is counterfeit. [7:23] Now the interesting thing about heresy throughout history is that what we see is that it is [7:26] actually the hijacking of the Christian belief system. [7:30] In heresy you will find many commonalities with an orthodox Christian belief system,

[7:36] but there is a divergence at points of critical importance despite holding things in common.

[7:45] It’s the idea that there will be just enough of what you are familiar with in Christianity, [7:52] there will be just enough scripture used, there will be just enough of the name of Jesus [7:58] or talk of the cross and talk of the gospel, but on points of serious matters there will [8:05] be a divergence to get you away from the gospel to trusting something else. [8:10] Friends, there are many people who use the name of Jesus, but they are not talking about [8:16] the Jesus of scripture at all. They are speaking of a Jesus of their own making, a Jesus of

[8:22] their own definition, but ultimately there are serious problems with that. [8:27] Heretical teaching is an idea or belief that perverts the foundation and direction of Christian [8:35] doctrine. [8:36] The term itself did not necessarily start in a negative manner. The term heresy simply [8:42] means choosing or factions. Its current connotation as false teaching came from factions within [8:50] the church inventing or embracing doctrines that undermined and changed the objective

[8:55] truth of the Christian message. [8:58] And frankly it didn’t take very long for these factions to form. You see in less than [9:04] one generation when the New Testament is being written we already have factions rising up [9:09] within local churches who are attempting to redefine what the apostles had the authority [9:15] to define and did define as people who walked with Jesus, who followed Jesus physically, [9:20] who saw what Jesus did. And these other people came into the church and said, you can’t

[9:25] really trust what they are saying, I’ve got a new idea or a new revelation for you to [9:31] follow. Just as a side bar, if anyone tells you they have a new revelation, that’s bad. [9:39] I can’t think of any other word to say it. They are going to lead you down a bad path [9:43] and don’t listen to them, frankly. [9:48] God has given us a revelation ultimately in His Son Jesus Christ and then through His [9:54] Word which the church has accepted from the first century. It wasn’t just ratified in

[9:59] the third century, but that’s for another day. [10:02] So why does this matter? We make comments in the church sometimes and I think they [10:09] are well-meaning comments by well-meaning people who love Jesus such as, Jesus didn’t [10:16] die so that we would have good theology. The reality though is that as well-meaning as [10:23] I think such a phrase can be, it is not right. It is a wrong statement. Jesus did die so [10:30] that we would have a good theology, since it means the study of God. Jesus died so

[10:36] that we would know God and knowing God is knowing a person. Therefore what we believe [10:42] about Him is of extreme importance as God has revealed who He is and what He is doing [10:48] in this world. [10:50] Point number two this morning, here it matters because God is a person with an identity.

[10:58] If you walked around telling people that one of the pastors, the one that speaks most [11:03] of the time is a short thin man with dark hair, they will never find me. They could [11:11] come in the building and I am the only one here and they will not find me. Because that [11:16] is not who I am. I am a person with an identity. I am a large person. I prefer to put it that [11:22] way. It is a nice way to say it. With red hair, the reality is that often times to [11:31] our own detriment we begin to form a vision of God that looks a lot like us. Because

[11:39] that is the easiest way for us to understand who God is. He must be a lot like me. Ultimately [11:45] He is not on very important matters. But the reality is that God has not been so unloving [11:52] or so out of touch nor is He so transcendent above us that He has left Himself undefined. [11:58] Throughout the scriptures and throughout history God has made Himself known and made His identity [12:04] to us known as well. In Exodus chapter 3 we see one of these specific revelations of [12:12] who God is. God reveals Himself to Moses in a sensational way. This is the moment

[12:17] where Moses comes before a bush that is burning yet it is not being vanquished. Rather the [12:24] bush is still made whole but it is engulfed in flames. God says to Moses, I am who I am. [12:31] And He said, say this to the people of Israel. I am has sent me to you. God also said to [12:38] Moses, say this to the people of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God [12:42] of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever [12:47] and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. God is who He says He is.

[12:55] In Exodus 3 God reveals Himself to Moses. He identifies Himself as I am. In that statement [13:01] He is not being mystical or mysterious as much as He is being descriptive. God has an [13:07] identity that has been eternal, unchanging, all powerful, all knowing, supreme. The same [13:14] God who called Moses ancestors and has been working for Israel. He wants Him to know [13:19] that He is there and that He is in control. God is. God describes Himself to Moses as [13:29] authoritative in sending Moses to do His will. What we see in that text is mysterious, was

[13:35] not so mysterious in that day and age. To say that you are in the way that He is saying [13:41] is a continuous phrase of I am the most supreme being that has ever existed. In fact I am [13:49] so above humanity that I had no beginning. I have no maker. I have no need. I am God. [13:58] And I am the same God who worked in your ancestor Abraham. The same God that worked with Jacob. [14:04] God describes Himself as the one who throughout history has come in order to save a people [14:11] for His own possession. So when we are beginning to attempt to understand who God is the most

[14:18] important thing that we can ask is who does God say He is? Not who do I think God is. [14:28] Because then I set myself up as the authoritative one who has the ability to myself describe [14:35] God. God does not need my description. God offers one for Himself and has continued [14:41] to do so throughout history. He does not appeal to Himself as something new but rather He [14:47] appeals to history to reveal Himself, making Himself clear that in order to know Him they [14:52] had to look to who He is and has always been. In knowing who God is we must look to what

[14:58] God has done in order to understand where He will be leading us. [15:03] In 2 Timothy back at the main text this morning in verses 14 and 15 we see some very important [15:10] distinctions. In verse 14 we are at a place where Paul has unpacked the message of the [15:16] gospel of Jesus. So in the previous text, let me just set it up for you for one moment. [15:21] In the previous verses what he has done is he has just given basically a manifesto to [15:26] Timothy as to here is what the gospel is all about. It is about Jesus. It is about the

[15:33] cross. It is about redemption. It is about the resurrection. I am making this clear to [15:38] you and then in verse 14 he turns a little bit and then makes the statement that some [15:43] within his church have gone into areas that have nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus [15:50] in attempts to define who God is. He says in verse 14, remind them of these things [15:57] and charge them before God not to quarrel about words which does no good but only ruins [16:02] the hearers. In other words you are not to speculate or pontificate on what you think

[16:10] the gospel is going to be in the future or what you think God is going to change about [16:16] himself or what new revelation we are going to get from God that can reach us right here [16:21] and right now. Instead you are to look to what God has done and what God has made clear [16:27] and only there does God want you to give description to who he is.

[16:34] And ultimately Paul points the pastor Timothy to the cross. He says do you want to understand [16:42] a starting point for understanding who God is? Well the great starting point is in the [16:48] cross because that is where God took Israel. The God that described himself to Moses as [16:54] the one who is continuing his work of redemption for the nation of Israel. This is the God [16:59] who is taking the history of the world all the way to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That [17:05] in the cross redemption for our sins is made known and in the resurrection its sureness

[17:10] and certainty is made clear. Because this is the God that does not only have the power [17:15] to take sin and die for it. This is the God who has the power to defeat sin and defeat [17:20] death by rising from it. But then he says some within your church are seeking discipleship [17:28] in new ideas that God is not interested in. You say well that sounds a lot like to me [17:33] like he is telling them don’t argue over theology. That is not what he is telling them. Look [17:38] at verse 15. He says do your best to present yourself to God as one approved. A worker

[17:43] who has no need to be ashamed rightly handling the word of truth. Maybe you have heard it [17:49] that at the beginning it is a study to show thyself approved. They are both great translations [17:54] but the reality here is what Paul is saying is you will defeat much of this unprofitable [18:00] chatter that is taking place inside of your church if your people will know the validity [18:05] and the truth about the gospel that has been defined and revealed by God. Speculation [18:11] is taken away when you just simply have the truth of what is right in front of you. So

[18:17] what he is saying is that truth can be known and has been defined. It has been made known [18:23] and defined fully in Jesus. It is all about Jesus. But what is taking place in this church [18:30] is that a few have come in to redefine that. And that two men specifically have come in [18:38] and made great claims about the gospel in which they attempted to mire or mix Greek [18:45] mythology with Christianity. What Paul is saying is that if you are going to talk or [18:53] argue about anything it will be that you are the one who is defending truth against

[19:00] error. In other words what Paul is saying is that you have truth therefore defend truth [19:08] from error. Everything else is pointless. We find ourselves at a day and age in the [19:15] church where we will argue about a great number of things. But rarely is it to defend the [19:22] truth of the gospel. Much of our arguing is about preferences or personal tastes. That [19:29] we want to do it this way. We want to experience community like this. We want to experience [19:33] the spiritual disciplines like this. We want to experience music like this. Paul says

[19:41] what are you focusing on? Where are your passions? Because often times our first statement about [19:50] anything that we think or anything that we want to do is, well I believe this way. Well [19:57] here is what I believe. As if my belief in something has any authority whatsoever. Paul’s [20:04] point is it doesn’t matter what you believe. It matters what God has said. So our belief [20:14] about God number two this morning must come from knowledge of God. When we come into [20:23] faith in the gospel we must understand that part of repentance is repenting of false beliefs.

[20:31] Each and every one of us in here have been preconditioned by society to believe certain [20:36] things about ourselves and about God that have absolutely nothing to do with what God [20:41] has said about Himself. The gospel of Jesus is a great call to repent of such pointlessness

[20:53] and to embrace the truth of God and love the truth of God. We must have knowledge of who [21:03] He is from what He has said. I mean often times I have met many people, well meaning [21:11] people who believe certain things about God yet they have never looked to see in scripture [21:16] if that belief has any validity whatsoever. Friends don’t form what you believe about [21:22] God simply by what I say. Form your belief about God from what He has said Himself in [21:29] the scriptures. Here at Village Church we believe that God has revealed Himself both

[21:33] through Jesus who is the ultimate revelation but also through His written word in scripture. [21:40] We must trust His word because His word reveals Jesus that’s why it is true. But we also must [21:49] believe based on knowledge that God has given us what He has revealed about His plan as [21:54] well as His purpose. Nothing that is true about God is unprofitable. The scripture is [22:01] one story about one God who works throughout the history of His creation that has rebelled [22:06] against Him in sin in order to redeem and restore to His vision as the great designer

[22:11] to give Himself ultimate glory and worship forever. He does this through intervening [22:16] in the lives of people in order to move them through their trust in Him so that He can [22:21] make Himself the sacrifice and take the penalty for that sin as the person of Jesus Christ [22:27] on the cross and then prove His power over sin and the consequence of death by rising [22:32] from the dead and redeeming through the message of His great action accomplished for us so [22:37] that we can live eternally in His kingdom living for His purposes. That is the story

[22:42] of scripture as a whole. And often times the way in which we attempt to understand scripture [22:49] is to find our place in this world right now what I am struggling with and hopefully God [22:54] can give me a verse to inspire me for what I am dealing with. We begin to enter into [23:02] the world of the Pharisee often times when we begin to think that the scripture is a [23:05] story about us. The scripture is not about you, the scripture is about God. The Bible [23:13] is the story about a God who loves those who have sinned against Him and seeks through

[23:17] His actions to redeem those people. Often times the things that you are facing in life [23:23] do need the testimony of the gospel but it is only in repenting of our sinfulness and [23:29] embracing the gospel that we will find the purpose for our lives that we have always [23:33] been looking for. Otherwise it is just a race with ourselves to find a meaning that is [23:41] not there because we are seeking for a meaning that will validate our choices rather than [23:47] call us to repent of our sinfulness. Friends do not be so prideful as to think that all

[23:56] of your choices are good. Thirdly this morning God has spoken and given clarity to His plan [24:04] and His purpose. Look in 2 Timothy again verses 16 and 17. But avoid irreverent babble.

[24:16] Have you ever been in a conversation where you felt that is just a word that describes [24:19] the things you hear? I have never had a conversation like that with any of you. For it will lead [24:28] people into more and more ungodliness. You see what is so serious about what Paul is [24:36] saying here. He is saying there are conversations that you can have about God that will actually [24:42] lead you to be ungodly. He says, and there is a lot of people who are saying that God [24:49] their talk will spread like gangrene. If you do not know what gangrene is, it is bad. It

[24:57] is pretty much as bad as it can get. It is where your flesh and your bone are so infected [25:04] that they are dying and rotting and it is spreading through your body and it will ultimately [25:10] if left unchecked will cause you to lose limbs and die. It is about as serious a word as [25:17] anything Paul can use to describe what is going on in Timothy’s church. Paul’s admonition [25:25] to Timothy is not, if you just do not deal with it, if you just assume everybody is [25:31] loving and everybody is going to be alright, then it will be ok. Paul is saying you need

[25:38] to deal with this as you would deal with it if you had gangrene. Friends if you look down [25:44] and your foot is turning shades of green and smelling of rottenness, I am pretty sure [25:50] you would go to the hospital and say, deal with this, help. And that is what Paul is [25:59] describing false teaching and false doctrine that spreads throughout his church. He is [26:05] expressing that it is an emergency situation in which you need to deal with and you need [26:10] to have surgery on your church. And then he calls out two men who are spreading false

[26:15] teaching throughout the church. Hymenaeus and Philetus. He has dealt with them in his [26:22] first letter to Timothy and I do not know if Timothy did not get the message in 1 Timothy [26:27] where Paul says, I have given those two guys over to the devil. That is what he says in [26:32] 1 Timothy about them. And then in 2 Timothy, I do not know if Timothy just did not listen [26:37] to him, but he is looking at Timothy and he is saying, look what they are doing inside [26:41] of your church is a gangrene that you need to excavate. So he looks to them and he says

[26:50] that they are spreading something that is swerving people from the truth. I doubt they [26:59] came in that first day and they said, hey by the way the pastor is wrong, I have a new [27:03] revelation. That is not how the devil works. The devil will get into a village group. [27:10] The devil will give someone a new idea. We have seen this happen and we have had to [27:13] deal with it. We have had to exert church discipline on people for this. And they come [27:19] in with some mystical idea that is completely unbiblical. And the only loving thing to

[27:25] do is to deal with it head on. You understand, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus are pastoral [27:31] epistles. So what you get to view through this text are letters to pastors. And he [27:40] is teaching them how to lead the church. There are those who will take parts of scripture [27:46] and twist the meaning. Taking it out of context from the whole of the Bible to suit their [27:51] pursuit of fame and fortune. In verse 16 Paul warns that the church must avoid godless chatter, [27:58] but how do we know the difference between what is useful and what is not useful? Because

[28:04] we are not all theologians. There are those in the church who are not speaking of doctrine [28:13] in order to aid people in truly following Jesus and making disciples in order that [28:17] the world would know the gospel. Their philosophies were leading people away from the actual gospel [28:22] to living a life of meaningless speculation and worthlessness. God’s revelation number [28:29] one is sufficient. See you must know the word to protect yourself. There will come those [28:39] who do not believe that what God has revealed is sufficient and that we need something

[28:45] more. New mysticism and religious disciplines not described by God are offered to us by [28:52] many people who attempt to mix new age practices with biblical Christianity. Paul writes that [28:58] these things will spread like gangrene if left unchecked. Oh, prayer and scripture and [29:07] fellowship in the church, it is not working for you is it? Well, why don’t we just do [29:14] this new practice that I have developed, this new meditation and call the spirits in to [29:20] give us a new revelation that can really lead us into new truths. You say I would never

[29:28] fall for that. Thousands do every week. Thousands. If you just sow this seed you will reap a [29:42] hundred fold. If you just send me this check God will give you. He will pay off every debt [29:50] that you have. He will heal you. Friends, that is nowhere in scripture. So what we [30:00] will do is oftentimes we will attempt to mix karma with Christianity. Well, if I will just [30:04] read my Bible for three days this week I will get that job I want next week. That is not [30:09] biblical. See, oftentimes we want God to give us his gifts rather than giving us himself.

[30:16] God says the most loving thing that he can do is give us himself and that is what he [30:20] does in Jesus. He is so loving that he won’t let us have less than who he is to satisfy [30:30] the deepest longings of our soul. We must understand that there is scriptural synergy inside of [30:40] this book. The whole of scripture is greater than the sum of its individual passages. [30:46] Therefore you must compare scripture with other scripture in order to understand the [30:49] entire meaning of the Bible. When we take one verse or even one part of one verse and

[30:54] attempt to form an entire understanding of God we are entering into godless chatter that [31:00] will not end with God but with heresy. Ultimately if it is not all about Jesus then it is all [31:07] about prayer. The reality is that we attempt to form our lives around one verse or one [31:13] part of one verse in scripture and we say, well that one verse says, and so I believe [31:18] that what I sow I will reap. What is the context of that verse in the chapter, in the context [31:23] of that chapter in the book, in the context of that book, in the whole of scripture? Because

[31:27] the scripture is not 66 disconnected stories. Rather it is one story of one God on a relentless [31:34] pursuit to redeem humanity to Him in His glory so that we can be with Him forever [31:39] in His kingdom and worship Him forevermore. So when we look and we say sowing and reaping [31:48] clearly means that whatever I put in the plate this week will come back to me tenfold. We [31:54] are banking on a promise that God did not make. So what was the heresy in this church? [32:00] Because when we look at that it is pretty meaningless to us. They said that the resurrection

[32:04] of the dead has already happened. What they are doing is that these two men came inside [32:09] of this church and they brought Greek religion with them and they did not repent of it fully [32:14] to embrace Jesus and instead said, well let us synergize our Greek understanding of religion [32:20] and the Christian faith. And what we believe is that we are not physical beings once we [32:27] embrace Jesus Christ. That is the resurrection from the dead. That which is physical is evil. [32:33] Therefore reject anything physical so it leads to a stoic and ascetic lifestyle of

[32:40] rejecting anything physical to the point where you say Jesus did not physically rise from [32:44] the dead. He spiritually rose from the dead. And if we hope to follow Him we have to deny [32:48] everything physical. What this led to was that some were being swerved from the faith [32:54] and saying, why don’t we just leave this world right now? That which is physical is evil.

[33:03] And Paul says it is going to destroy their lives. Because ultimately false belief leads [33:10] to false living. In 1 Timothy chapter 1 to begin the pastoral epistles he writes to [33:18] the young pastor Timothy and he says, now we know that the law is good if one uses it [33:22] lawfully. In other words, we know that the law of the Old Testament is good if somebody [33:27] uses it right. Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for [33:33] the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for

[33:38] those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who [33:42] practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to what? To [33:49] sound doctrine in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed and the holy [33:57] blessed God in which I have been entrusted. See what Paul says? Paul is saying that in [34:04] order to understand how you are to live, it does not just begin with you doing anything, [34:10] it begins with what you believe. What you believe influences how you live. And if you

[34:17] do not grasp the gospel, if you do not seek to know who God is, if you do not seek to [34:24] know God through His word and seek to be discipled in truth, then you will not endure [34:30] in a good, wholesome, holy life of worshiping God.

[34:38] First Timothy 1 reveals that ultimately when we disobey God it is because we have had [34:41] false beliefs about God. In this text Paul gives a litany of problems that come from [34:46] false doctrine. We can misuse the scriptures for things it is not meant for and we can [34:51] live sinful lives because we have misdefined the scripture. The point frankly is that [34:56] truth matters. Everything that we believe about God must be reflected in how we live. [35:04] Why do we as a church care about the things that we do? Why do we call people to repentance?

[35:09] Why do we preach from the scriptures? Why do we love the gospel? Well because that is [35:14] what God has revealed throughout history that He is passionate about. We care about the [35:19] mission of Jesus because God has shown His great care to redeem those lost in sin through [35:24] Jesus as well as giving the mission to the church to spread throughout the world and [35:27] throughout history to deny His mission. It is to deny something about God.

[35:33] So we do not understand when we say we believe something, when we say we can or cannot live [35:39] a certain way, when we say we will or will not submit to the gospel of Jesus, we are [35:44] saying something not so much just about us but we are saying what we believe about God.

[35:51] You say where do I start? I do not know anything. I am an ignorant fool. Welcome to the party. [35:59] So am I. It is one of my favorite pet names for myself.

[36:06] Steve you ignorant fool. I think everyone would be healthier if at [36:14] least I was. It just reminds you of who you really are without God in your life. Left [36:20] to myself, ignorant fool. In Deuteronomy chapter 6 God speaks to Israel [36:26] and He says this, He says, Hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love [36:30] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might. And [36:35] these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently

[36:40] to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by [36:45] the way, when you lie down, when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand [36:50] and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost [36:56] of your house and on your gates. What Moses through the inspiration of the [37:03] Holy Spirit is writing, he is saying, understand that your life must be saturated with me because [37:10] of you. How do you prevent heresy from happening in your life?

[37:17] I want to go through just a few things, not an exhaustive list, but how do you protect [37:21] yourself from heresy? Well right there he tells the nation of Israel, [37:25] he says, number one, study the scriptures. But then number two, submit to the scriptures. [37:33] You can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you are not submitting to what scripture [37:37] says about you and about your life, it is worthless. It is what scripture calls your [37:44] puffed up and vanity of your knowledge. It is not a good knowledge. It is eroding who

[37:49] you are because you are not letting it sink into your life and affect who you are.

[37:55] Thirdly, continually be aware of and repentant of your sin. Do not assume that the desires [38:04] of your heart that you naturally have are good desires.

[38:09] When you are seeking to know God, you are seeking to follow God. [38:13] Just because you have a dream or a goal, have you compared that dream and goal with scripture? [38:21] Have you compared your vision for your life with a vision that God has for your life that [38:24] he has revealed? That will protect you from heresy. [38:28] Because ultimately when we look at the prosperity gospel that is so rampant in America, it is [38:32] a bunch of people with unchecked visions and dreams for their lives thanking God as their

[38:36] cosmic genie. Ask me about that in Q&A.

[38:42] Number four, I think this one was radical for our lives. Know what the people influencing [38:49] your life believe. Time really goes fast. Know what the people influencing your life [38:55] believe. A lot of problem that I think is happening [39:00] in the lives of the people who are trying to follow Jesus today is because we are being [39:04] influenced by everyone but Christians. We think there is something wholesome about [39:12] that. I mean this from business to education.

[39:21] If you are a Christian businessman, I praise God because we need Christian businessmen [39:24] to be successful, to reach that segment of the world for lots of reasons. [39:28] But if the only thing informing your business decisions are men who do not believe that [39:34] Jesus is God, how will that affect your life? If those influencing the most important decisions [39:42] in your life do not claim Jesus as God and Messiah.

[39:53] Are you considering the belief systems of those who educate you and your children? [39:59] Does it matter? I make no pronouncements. I ask questions. Are you even considering

[40:08] it? Because the world has a different belief [40:11] system than we do. Matthew chapter five says that we are salt and light. Do you understand [40:15] what salt and light are? They are distinct. They are distinct. We are to be a distinct [40:23] people. Are you considering those who are influencing [40:29] your life compared to scripture? Should they be? [40:34] I just want to give a quick list also of don’t be.

[40:39] If you want to protect yourself from heresy, don’t be these things. Don’t be unteachable. [40:45] I know you brought a whole list of things that you think in here. That’s okay. I did [40:50] too. But you and I, we need to be teachable. Understand that you have to unlearn some [40:58] things in order to follow Jesus. Secondly, don’t be uncorrectable. That’s [41:05] a little different than unteachable. To be taught means that you are gaining knowledge. [41:10] To be corrected means you were wrong. It’s okay. Why do we think being wrong is such

[41:21] a terrible thing? It’s only a terrible thing when you won’t get right. I think a lot of [41:29] us are having a tough time getting right because we won’t understand that we got wrong.

[41:36] Don’t be self-centered. Be God-centered. He’s more important than any of us. [41:44] Finally, don’t be gullible. Paul looked to the church of Berea and he said, [41:51] I’m so glad that you compared what I said to what the scriptures say.

[41:56] Sometimes we just accept whatever anybody tells us. [42:04] Two final things before I close. It is loving to know truth from error. [42:11] Paul writes in Titus 1.9, he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught so that [42:16] he may be able to give instruction and sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradicted. [42:22] There is a calling on the life of a pastor to rebuke those who bring in error. That’s [42:27] why heresy matters. If you’re the heretic, repent of it and we’ll be good.

[42:41] The reality is that every day there is heresy all around us. Half of the churches you pass [42:47] this morning probably teach heresy. I don’t say that to be braggadocious. [42:54] Nor do I say that simply to be critical. I say that because unfortunately in the United [42:59] States that’s true. In that sense, it should matter to you what [43:04] the church you go to and are a part of believes. It should matter to you. [43:10] It brings me great joy when people want to know what I believe because it’s like, oh,

[43:13] you know that it matters. OK. Finally this morning, the church must be protected [43:22] from heresy. The New Testament does not take false doctrine [43:25] as lightly as we do. Acts 20, 28-30 says, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to [43:30] all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers or pastors. [43:35] To care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood, I know that after my departure [43:39] fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

[43:43] And from among yourselves will arise men speaking, twisting things to draw away the disciples [43:48] after them. It tells the apostles, it says, protect the [43:53] flock. Protect the flock. [43:56] Acts 20 reveals that pastors are to protect sheep from wolves who are false teachers. [44:00] As we have seen growing as a follower of Jesus means knowing the truth about God. [44:04] Therefore, when wolves reveal themselves, we must work to expose them.

[44:10] But the hope is that repentance is always available. Believing heresy isn’t the worst [44:17] thing in the world. Being unwilling to repent of heresy is. [44:21] It’s all about Jesus because he’s God and he’s the God who saves sinners. [44:28] The sin of heresy is not left out of that equation. You don’t have to know it all, [44:35] but there must be a willingness to admit that you have a lot of growth needed. [44:40] The starting point of good doctrine is the realization that you are a sinner in need

[44:45] of being saved by God and the good news is that Jesus saves. [44:50] That’s the good news, Jesus Christ. But in our hearts we must understand that God [44:57] is worshiped by being known. And he wants to be known by us, his people, [45:05] whom he has called to redemption. You can trust him today.

[45:13] Doctrine ultimately matters then finally because of Jesus.

[45:19] Scriptures describe him as the word. He who came to make God known to the world. [45:26] And when we misdefine or redefine who Jesus is, friends, we do a very unloving thing [45:33] that leaves many, many people astray. But this foundation of God is firm and we [45:39] can know God and you can know him today. As the guys come up I want us to take a [45:45] moment to reflect on truth. I want us to take just a brief moment to [45:50] look at the body and blood of Christ. We sang earlier that nothing but the blood

[45:54] can save us. In the bread we have the broken body of Jesus [46:02] and the cup we have his shed blood. And it represents a metaphor of the life [46:09] of Jesus entering into our life and our continued participation and love for the life of God [46:16] as his followers. If you’re a Christian today, if you’re one [46:20] who says Jesus is God, he has saved me, these six tables all around the room are open for [46:27] you to come and proclaim your faith to others. But if you’re in here and you don’t know him,

[46:34] if you’re in here and you don’t believe in him, then I’m going to ask something else [46:38] of you. I’m going to ask you to believe in him today. [46:40] I’m going to ask you to trust in him today. I’m going to ask you to come talk to me or [46:44] someone in the foyer. And I’d love to unpack the truth of the gospel [46:48] for you to know God today. When you’re ready, come. [46:53] We’re going to go ahead and speed things up a little here this morning as you’re still

[46:56] taking communion. That’s alright. [46:58] I got a little wordy, I guess. I also want to call the ushers forward real [47:02] quick for offering. We’re going to take our offering here. [47:05] This is a part of those who call Village Home to another way that we worship by giving [47:10] back our resources to God. If you’re visiting with us this morning, please [47:14] feel free to let those plates pass you by or we’d love to get a connect card from you

[47:18] this morning. But we are going to do the best we can with [47:22] some Q&A here. And we have no way to get to all the questions [47:25] we got. So thank you guys for that. [47:27] I do want to say starting off, if we don’t answer your questions specifically, Steve [47:31] will be hanging out over here. He’d love to talk to you. [47:33] We’d love to get an email from you. Please do follow up with these if we didn’t

[47:37] get to answer your question. [47:39] Yeah, and if you saw when you came in the backpacks, we’ve not started a school. [47:44] What that is, is we’re helping some friends of ours at Nueva Esperanza Church and helping [47:52] them pass out school supplies to their neighborhoods, which are low-income neighborhoods. [47:58] And I just want to thank everybody that took part in that. [48:00] And I want you to know that those backpacks are going to go to Spray in the Gospel.

[48:05] If you were not able or you just didn’t know about it, you could probably still give this [48:11] week and we’ll get it to them. But we’ll have something for you next time. [48:13] So just be prepared for that. [48:15] Alright. We’ll get going here.

[48:19] Does it mean you’re not a Christian if you believe or teach heresy? [48:23] Not necessarily. And that’s something that, yeah, and you’re [48:28] like, huh? [48:29] Not necessarily, because I think every one of us at some point in our Christian life, [48:34] we’re going to probably buy into a little bit of heresy. [48:37] That’s because we’re sinners. Alright?

[48:39] And so here’s the deal. [48:42] What matters is, is that once that is exposed to you, like you can be ignorant. [48:47] And that’s not a bad word, by the way. [48:49] That just means you don’t know better. [48:51] Alright? [48:51] Like somebody that the first time they ever heard the Gospel was from someone, and they

[48:55] actually, God used it where they heard the real Gospel through someone that teaches false [48:58] doctrine. And they really got saved. [49:00] Well, they just don’t know any better. [49:02] And along the path, when they’re confronted with truth, what will happen is, is that they’ll [49:06] repent of that heresy. [49:08] Okay?

[49:09] And I think some people who even teach it can be well-meaning. [49:12] And I wanted to stress that throughout the sermon. [49:14] Since people are well-meaning in what they do, they just don’t know better. [49:17] What really makes the difference is when that error is exposed, and it’s like, clearly [49:23] that’s unbiblical. [49:25] And so that’s where you see the truth of someone’s faith.

[49:28] It’s like you don’t have to know what the Trinity is to get saved. [49:34] You know what I mean? [49:35] But then along the path, if you just become, and this is a theological word, Wikipedia [49:39] or something, if you become a modalist along the way, somebody that denies the Trinity, [49:43] well, you’re denying the faith.

[49:47] So your conversion wasn’t legit, is what I’m saying.

[49:51] So it’s not about knowing everything at the beginning. [49:54] It’s about sometimes repenting of false beliefs along the way.

[50:00] What’s the difference between a heresy and just bad interpretation? [50:05] Yeah.

[50:09] It is a bad interpretation to say, Jesus wept, so I need to be really emotional all the time. [50:17] It’s a bad interpretation, alright? [50:20] It’s a heresy to say, Jesus wept. [50:23] So if you want to be saved, you better cry when you do it.

[50:28] That’s what I would say the difference is. [50:30] And I really just came up with that. [50:33] So, if that worked, praise God.

[50:38] This next question kind of flows right along with that actually then. [50:41] Because is heresy only about salvation issues?

[50:45] No, no. [50:47] It can get there to where ultimately blaspheming and false teaching, [50:54] I think all heresy will eventually get to a place if it’s unrepented of [50:58] to say, if you don’t do this, you’re not saved. [51:03] But I think sometimes it’s little heresies that start piling up that get us there. [51:07] So not necessarily.

[51:09] I mean, you can be a total heretic about what the church should do. [51:15] You can say, well, we’re the one true church. [51:19] That’s a heresy. [51:21] But you need to be corrected of that. [51:22] But I think some people really believe that [51:24] and it’s just because they haven’t been reached with truth.

[51:27] So I would say, they’re followers of Jesus. [51:29] They just need to be discipled.

[51:35] You kind of answered this, but I’ll give you a chance to expand on this. [51:38] Aren’t some heretics just misguided? [51:41] Yes. [51:43] Yeah, they’re just people who’ve been taught wrong.

[51:49] Early on in my life, I came to faith in Jesus Christ [51:53] by people who embraced what I now refer to as the KJV only heresy. [51:58] And that is that the King James Version is the only version of the Bible that’s right. [52:04] It’s the inerrant. [52:05] And so when I went to seminary and I grew in knowledge and I took Greek, [52:10] number one, I was like, well, that’s stupid.

[52:12] But then number two, I understood what you’re actually saying when you believe that [52:16] is that you’re calling the KJV translators apostles. [52:19] You’re saying apostolic succession actually took place [52:22] and the Holy Spirit picked a bunch of new apostles to write an authoritative text. [52:27] No, they were translators. [52:29] And we’ve got better translations now, by the way.

[52:31] So if you’re KJV only, let’s chat because I probably just offended you. [52:35] Okay? [52:35] And I want to talk to you because because I know where you’re coming from. [52:40] All right. [52:41] And I’ll be honest, very early on when I was like 18 and 19, [52:45] that’s a heresy that I spread.

[52:48] But I repented of it, which is what you do when you find yourself a heretic. [52:53] I was just glad they didn’t burn people at the stake anymore.

[52:56] You’ve been in trouble. [52:57] I’ve been in trouble.

[53:00] This could be a long answer and we’re going to respect you guys this time. [53:04] But I did get it quite a bit. [53:07] What are some examples of more prominent modern day heresies in the church? [53:12] Yeah, I made mention of one that since I’ve been pastoring,

[53:19] the prosperity gospel is the most dangerous heresy in the United States. [53:23] It’s dangerous. [53:25] It is violent to the faith of Jesus Christ. [53:28] And what I mean by prosperity gospel, [53:29] I mean people who say that if you follow Jesus and you’re faithful to Him, [53:33] you’ll be healthy, wealthy and wise.

[53:37] Okay, number one, it’s unwise because it’s dumb. [53:40] But I mean, you know, I saw one picture of Joel Osteen a few weeks ago [53:44] saying that in order for me to be a blessing to people, I have to be rich. [53:48] And unfortunately, Jesus said that the widow who only had two mites [53:51] had given more than even the most wealthy of that society.

[53:56] Joel Osteen, he’s satanic.

[54:02] And Nate, I’ll be blunt because I think we’re going to use a second recording. [54:07] But Nate, Nate Post, Nate, Nate contradicted some of his teachings on Facebook this week [54:15] and people unfriended him.

[54:20] All right. [54:21] I don’t like Facebook, so I don’t do that. [54:23] So, so the reality is Joel Osteen teaches a gospel that is not the real gospel. [54:29] It’s the gospel of lies.

[54:33] Your suffering is godly if you have faith in Jesus.

[54:41] I hate the prosperity gospel. [54:44] I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. [54:46] And it is what so many people hold to for their hope [54:50] and then they don’t understand why their faith is never secure, [54:54] why they’re always disappointed, why they’re always confused [54:57] and it’s because they don’t know the gospel.

[55:04] I just want nothing to do with that guy. [55:06] I want nothing to do with Creflo Dollar. [55:08] I want nothing to do with Joyce Meyer. [55:10] And these are people who seemingly sometimes can give me inspiration [55:14] for where I am in my life right now [55:16] but ultimately they will lead you down a long road.

[55:20] If you believe what they say, it can be a long road to hell, man. [55:25] So I’m warning you as a pastor, these are people to stay away from. [55:30] That and I would call the emergent church, [55:34] you know, the hipster thing where it’s a syncretism really [55:38] of societal sins that are becoming more acceptable [55:42] in our culture with faith in Jesus

[55:45] and even mixing pluralism in with saying [55:48] that it’s not always about Jesus, many roads lead to God. [55:52] That’s what the emergent church, [55:53] if you don’t know what it is, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. [55:55] But if you do, it’s a heresy, so let’s talk about it. [55:59] But it’s bad.

[56:00] Rob Bell, when he teaches things like hell doesn’t exist, [56:03] the atonement is unnecessary, the virgin birth, [56:05] why do we even say that that’s necessary? [56:08] Well, mostly because that’s why Jesus is God [56:10] because he doesn’t have an earthly father, that’s why. [56:12] So he begins teaching these things

[56:14] that are just really historically very bad and unorthodox [56:17] and it leads people down a very long road [56:19] to what I call, what scripture [56:21] and what church history will call pluralism. [56:24] It’s very unhealthy and there’s probably more, [56:26] but I’ll leave it to that.

[56:28] I would say at this point, for sake of time, [56:31] I mean, we can’t go through every, [56:33] we got a lot of questions of is this heresy, [56:34] is this heresy, please email us. [56:37] Like really, and we want to answer those questions, [56:40] so we don’t have time to answer all those that we got,

[56:42] but we want to answer those, [56:43] so please get in touch with us about that.

[56:47] Final thing and then we’ll be done. [56:50] I wanted to hit this one. [56:52] How can I know the scriptures if I’m just not a reader?

[56:59] Say, I got to compose myself.

[57:06] Here’s, and that’s a legit thing to say, [57:09] but I think a lot of that is cultural for us, [57:12] that we are so attuned to doing certain things [57:17] because of how we’re socially preconditioned, [57:21] that we don’t exercise the abilities [57:24] that God has given us where reading are concerned.

[57:27] What we value, [57:30] we will work hard at. [57:33] You know what I mean? [57:34] And for some of us, [57:38] studying is a little naturally, [57:40] and it’s not like you need to study everything,

[57:42] it’s just know the word. [57:43] And what I mean by that is like, [57:44] I have people who know every starter [57:49] on a college football team, [57:52] their stats from last year, [57:54] all these things about these different sports,

[57:57] and they’ll be like, [57:58] but I’m not a reader. [57:59] Yeah, you are, you read all that.

[58:02] So really, [58:03] and this is why repentance is so healthy. [58:07] We don’t feel like it is, but it is. [58:09] We need to repent of what we care about [58:13] towards what God wants us to care about.

[58:18] And I like sports, [58:19] I love all types of things, [58:21] but we’ve got to embrace what God chose [58:24] to use the written word to give us His revelation. [58:28] And so what that tells me is [58:30] that that is an attainable way for all of us to know God.

[58:34] And frankly, why we need to fight things like illiteracy. [58:37] You know why the Reformation happened [58:38] is because it was translated into their language [58:41] and they started teaching people how to read. [58:43] And man, the gospel just blew up. [58:45] It’s like, wait, I can read the Bible?

[58:48] So you want to change the world, [58:50] sometimes you need to change what you read. [58:53] And don’t think it’s going to be easy. [58:55] It’s going to be tough, but it’s worth the effort.

[58:59] I think we’re out of time. [59:01] Please email us. [59:02] Please email us. [59:03] Please email us. [59:04] [59:05] Right now, our service is going to be over.

[59:07] Steve’s going to pray for us. [59:07] I do want to encourage you, [59:08] stick around for Group Link. [59:09] It’s just going to be a few quick minutes. [59:11] If you’re in a group, [59:12] especially if you’re a group leader,

[59:14] you already know this, [59:14] but if you’re in a group, [59:15] go find your poster and hang out there for a few minutes. [59:18] Meet some people who are looking for groups. [59:19] But it’s going to be, [59:20] we’re going to start kind of right here,

[59:22] just a few minutes after [59:22] we’ll give the room a chance to clear out. [59:25] But then I’m going to encourage you [59:26] just to kind of mingle around the room [59:27] and talk to some people in some village groups. [59:29] So I’d love for you to stay after for that.

[59:31] Would you pray for us Steve? [59:32] Hey guys, let’s pray. [59:33] Father, thank you so much. [59:35] God, I just pray that this week [59:37] that you will give us a passion for you. [59:40] Help us to repent of our sins and love you.

[59:43] In the name of Jesus, I pray. [59:44] Amen.