Abiding In The The necessity of obeying the teachings of Christ instead of the teachings of man. Abiding in the It is a shame but many churches today have centered their worship around entertainment. The main focus of their assemblies is not to simply worship God but rather to make the audience feel good. What goes on is more of a stage production than a worship service. You can see plays, concerts, comedians and motivational speakers regularly as a part of their worship service 1
Abiding in the It seems the thought process behind this is: if we can keep them entertained, then we can keep them coming back. If we can keep them coming back then we can continue to solicit their financial support. The idea of teaching false doctrine for money is nothing new. 2Co 2:17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ. Abiding in the 1Ti 6:5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Tit 1:11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. This still goes on today as it did in the early days of the Church. 2
Abiding in the With some teachers and churches this seems all to obvious With others it is not so easy to see. Those that appear to be obvious scammers are not that much of a danger to us because we recognize them for what they are. But those who closely resemble the Truth and seem sincere in their beliefs could possibly deceive us into believing false teaching. Abiding in the John tells us how to recognize deceivers. 2Jo 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. 9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 3
Abiding in the First, John tells us there are many deceivers or false teachers in the world Secondly, because there are many deceivers then we need to looking to or examining ourselves to make sure we are not following their deceits. If we are then we could lose those things we have worked for (Heaven) Thirdly, John tells us how to distinguish the truth from error. Abiding in the Those that don t abide in the doctrine of Christ do not have God. Without God they will be lost! Those that abide in the doctrine of Christ have both the Father and the Son. In other words they will be saved! We see here how important the doctrine or teaching of Christ really is. Very few today place much emphasis on the details of the doctrine of Christ. 4
Abiding in the They say those who do place emphasis on the details of the Law of Christ are legalistic. Many times they compare them to the Pharisees. They will apply verses like Luke 11:42 to those who say we should keep all of the Law of Christ. Lu 11:42 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. Abiding in the The Pharisees went into great detail to keep some parts of the Law of Moses Even so far as to tithe of the smallest of these herbs Jesus condemns these Pharisees for overlooking Justice and the Love of God. The false teacher today wants to condemn some who claim we need to keep the small details of the Law of Christ. 5
Abiding in the However if we look at the rest of this verse we will see that Jesus says the Pharisees were right in keeping these details. Lu 11:2 "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. In other words, you only did part. You should have kept the whole Law! Abiding in the What about us today? Are we to just abide in part of the doctrine of Christ? Or are we to keep all of the doctrine of Christ? The word abide in 2 John 1:9 comes from the Greek word meno Meno: to stay, continue, remain In order for us to save our souls we must stay in, remain in or continue in the whole doctrine of Christ. 6
Abiding in the We can t remain in it in some areas and then depart from it in others and expect to be pleasing to God. The doctrine of Christ is a defined area. It is defined by the Word of God as revealed in the New Testament. In matters of religion, if we can t find authority for it in the scriptures then we cannot participate in it and still abide in the doctrine of Christ. Abiding in the Pray 7
1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing, Abiding in the Pray Sing 8
Jas 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Eph 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 9
Abiding in the Pray Sing Attend Worship Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 10
Abiding in the Pray Sing Attend Worship Give 1Co 16:2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 11
Abiding in the Pray Sing Attend Worship Give Lord s Supper Ac 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 12
Abiding in the Pray Sing Attend Worship Give Lord s Supper Teach the Gospel Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. 13
Abiding in the We can do all of these things and others while abiding in the doctrine of Christ because we are taught to do them by the doctrine of Christ. Can we do things not taught in the doctrine of Christ and still be abiding in it? NO! Only the scriptures define the doctrine of Christ. If we do things in matters of religion that we are not taught to do in the scriptures then we are no longer abiding in the doctrine of Christ! Abiding in the Pray Sing Attend Worship Give Lord s Supper Teach the Gospel Choirs Singles Parties Sports Leagues Plays Toy Drives Comedians Retreats Bands 14
Conclusion Many churches are doing many things as a part of worship today that simply go beyond the doctrine of Christ. God simply is not pleased with this. He expects us to do things His way and not ours. 2Jo 1:9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. 15