THE COMING APOSTASY GUARDING THE TREASURE Damon Life Group 10.09.11
Ole Wives Tales Give an example of something you grew up believing to be true, but now you know isn t
Ole Wives Tales Why do we believe these things to be true? What makes them believable? Some times it is the messenger Sometimes the message has a hint of truth In theological terms, what do we call that? So, how do you distinguish between what is truth and what is not? You must engage in proper training!
Train Yourself What do Olympic athletes give up to represent their country? What does Ohno mean when he says, no regrets? How would your own training in godliness compare? How much do you give up to represent the Lord? How are you living your life before the Lord with no regrets Today, we will examine Paul s admonition to he student, Timothy, to train yourself in godliness http://www.time.com/time/video/pl ayer/0,32068,65386042001_1960 715,00.html
Last Week: Training on The Basic Message The Basic Message He appeared in a body, Was vindicated by the Spirit, Was seen by angels, Was preached among the nations, Was believed on in the world, Was taken up into glory. Our Responsibility Believe 3-Word solution - Abide in me. ( If then statement in John 15:7) To the world? Remember you, the Church, are God s household You, the Church, are God s called out assembly of representatives You, the Church, are the pillar and support of Truth When you act like THE CHURCH (as God intended) the Gospel is made known
This Week: The Coming Apostasy First, what is apostasy? a-pos-ta-sy (uh-pos-tuh-see) A total desertion of or departure from one s religion, principles, party, cause, etc. As we continue to look at this instructional letter (from Paul to Timothy), Paul begins chapter 4 with an insight from the Spirit that some would abandon the faith and follow hypocritical liars who teach false doctrine This has greater gravity than believing old wives tales So Paul instructs Timothy to HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH these wives tales, but rather TRAIN in godliness
Basic Training Read I Timothy 4:1-10 Look at v.1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons We don t know if Paul received inspiration from the Spirit as he was writing this letter, or just picking up on prophecy, but he was clear Paul didn t misunderstand his time or ours and lays out that Some will abandon the faith Will follow deceiving spirits Will believe doctrine taught by demons Let s break each of these down (next slide)
Paul s Warning Abandon the Faith the faith is the essential teachings of the Gospel (some of what we covered last week) This phrase is used in multiple places Acts 6:7, Acts 14:22, Colossians 1:23, 1 Timothy 1:19, and Jude 1:3 Follow Deceiving Spirits These are demonic spirits (angelic beings who have rebelled against God) who seek to device men and women and entice us away from the truth Doctrines Taught by Demons Speaks to specific teachings of deceiving spirits Never forget that demons are theology majors and have systems of doctrine Remember the first demonic doctrine? In Gen 3:4-5 You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God. What are modern day doctrines crafted by these same demons?
Two Specific Doctrinal Concerns Look back at vv. 2-3 and we see a couple specific doctrinal concerns Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. First, he calls out those speaking hypocrisy and ½ truths He says their consciences had been seared what does this mean? 2 things Refers to ancient practice of branding a criminal on the forehead with a distinguishing mark Also referring to the fact that it was dead (as Paul s was before Damascus Road) Second, he calls out 2 specific doctrinal heresies they were teaching Forbidding to marry Forbidding to eat foods Both of these had to do with embracing legalism Let s briefly deal with each (next slide)
The Little Engine Could Not Speaking of heresies & old wives tales I think I can is not good theology (the OT points us to this) The legalism behind the prohibition against marriage and food strikes this chord In early church history, we see Monks that went out to desolate desert places to show how spiritual they were and tortured themselves (not eat cooked foods, lean against sharp rocks to not sleep, neglect themselves) They thought this would not only show others how committed they were, but also thought that some how it would win favor with God Legalism at it s worst says that if I give up something for God (marriage, food) then somehow God owes me that He becomes indebted to us This takes us back to the original doctrine of demons that we are our own gods
Refuting Legalism This takes us to vv.4-5 For everything God created is Good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. What can we eat? Anyone recall the discussion between God and Peter in Acts 10:9-16? Was God clear? 3 times Through Christ, all things had been made clean this takes us back to the original spoken word of God (before sin) in Gen 1:29 See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be food And after the fall in Gen 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.
God, bless this Food we are about to receive These things were sanctified by the word of God (both spoken and the Word that became flesh ) AND they are sanctified by prayer It is proper that we pray before our meal When we pray over our meal, we are not asking God to bless the food rather, we sanctify (set aside) the meal by thanking God for the blessing of providing food for us to eat
Fulfilling Your Call? In v. 6, Paul gives instruction to Timothy that lets him know if he is fulfilling his call as a minister of the Gospel If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good minster of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. Notice here the central charge of the pastor of instruction (in a broad sense) to the brethren The only way to give that instruction is to be nourished on and anchored in the truths of God s Word The same is true for you and me How often do you draw nourishment from God s Word? When the seas of life are tossing you to and fro, does God s Word serve as your anchor? Drawing strength from and being anchored in God s Word (abiding in Him) will give you discernment to detect wives tales and help you keep your priorities straight (vv. 7-10)
Setting & Keeping Your Priorities Vv. 7-10 are key in this study Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. First, Paul is telling us that our priorities must be on God s Word (not man s) Negatively, Paul tells us to have nothing to do with godless myths (wives tales) Positively, what does he tell us to do? TRAIN!
What Paul is NOT SAYING About Training Camp Now, before we talk about all the ways we can train, let s be sure we are clear on what Paul is NOT SAYING Let Scripture interpret scripture Paul just got through teaching us about the heresy of legalism SO, it wouldn t make sense for him (a few verses later) endorse a just get out thee and train harder and you can be right with God model! No, both the OT and the NT point to the insufficiency of man and the sufficiency of Christ Zech. 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, by by MY SPIRIT says the Lord Phil 4:13 I Can! No, it says, I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength Rom 3:20 Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in God s sight by the works of the law; RATHER, through the law we become conscious of our sin Isaiah 64:4-9 How then can we be saved? All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
What Paul IS SAYING About Training Camp Ancient Greek and Roman culture placed a high value on physical exercise (training) Paul is communicating that the same work and commitment that one puts towards physical training should be put towards the pursuit of godliness training The word godliness comes from the Old English word Godlikeness to have the character and attitude of God This was a worthy goal, much more worthy (and lasting) than physical training This loops us back to the need for proper nourishment (abiding in) to draw our strength and proper beliefs
In His Steps SO, Next Steps is NOT about you doing something that makes you right with God (Christ alone has done that), but next steps says put your foot in the footprint of Christ and walk as He walked I John 2:4 Whoever says, I know Him, but does not DO what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys His word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did
Hope in the Living God V. 10 answers an important question about why we TRAIN That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially those who believe. We can NOT put our hope in anything this world has to offer Certainly not our good works Certainly not the training of our physical bodies No, the only hope we have is Christ The reason we labor and strive is because we want to be more and more like Him not to fall for the false demonic doctrine of becoming our own gods, but to give our lives to His in response to giving His life for us
ABC s to Avoid Apostasy Abide in Christ Christ is the vine, you are the branches Good (proper) fruit will flow from that relationship Believe with hope I Tim 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. Rom 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame, because God s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. See Psalm 25 (particularly vv. 16-21) my hope, Lord, is in you. Commit to train Not for ourselves, but for His glory From Apolo (Ohno) to Paul requires sacrifice, commitment, no regrets Run the race to win THE prize Well done