Carl wrote:
> =
> The following is a sermon by Ray Stedman which is both an exhortation a=
nd a
> warning about those who have departed from the Christian faith and have=
> embraced false doctrines. Some of what Ray Stedman touches upon deals w=
ith
> the political correctness which is so rampant today but was less so in =
1981
> when this sermon was originally prepared and presented. However the Bib=
lical
> truth Ray Stedman presents is timeless and I urge my Christian brethren=
to
> read this and take heed to the Biblical lessons.
> =
> May God bless,
> Carl
> my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
> my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
> =
> ---
> =
> FRAUDULENT FAITH...................
The universe revolves around the earth.
Stars are pinpricks in the heavens.
The world is flat (and on pillars)
Bats are a kind of bird.
Rabbits chew their cud.
There is enough water to flood the entire planet
Women were created from a man's rib
Rainbows are a promise from God
[Acknowledgements to 'James, Seattle'
> by Ray C. Stedman
> =
> Chapter four of First Timothy begins with dramatic and intriguing words=
=2E The
> apostle says:
> =
> Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from=
the
> faith by giving heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, {1 T=
im
> 4:1RSV}
> =
> As a young Christian, in my early 20's, I remember reading that verse i=
n the
> King James version, which uses the phrase, "the latter times," rather t=
han,
> "the later times," was taught that this meant that before the Lord's re=
turn,
> in the last days, there was to be a departure from the faith, a great
> apostasy within the church. That was the time of the
> fundamentalist-modernist controversy. The fact that so many were then
> turning toward a liberal Christianity was regarded as fulfillment of th=
e
> great apostasy that is predicted by the Spirit, and many church leaders=
at
> that time were saying so.
> =
> As we draw near to the end, before the return of the Lord, there may co=
me an
> increasing departure from the faith, but I do not think this passage is=
> talking about any one great departure. In fact, other Scriptures sugges=
t
> that the departure from the faith will occur at the time of the appeara=
nce
> of the man whom Paul, in Second Thessalonians, calls "the man of sin" {=
2 Th
> 2:3 KJV}, the so-called "antichrist" {1 Jn 2:18}, who will lead this gr=
eat
> departure from the faith.
> =
> This verse in First Timothy, however, is more properly understood when =
it is
> translated, "in succeeding seasons there will be many departing from th=
e
> faith" -- i.e., this is something that is going to go on, the apostle i=
s
> suggesting, throughout the whole course of Christian history, in succee=
ding
> seasons of time. Just as there are several seasons in a calendar year, =
so in
> the calendar of history God has seasons for human events -- seasons of =
war,
> seasons of peace, seasons of unrest in society, when everything seems t=
o be
> torn apart (we are going through such a season now); seasons of discove=
ry,
> when the human mind breaks through into new vistas of truth, geographic=
al
> discoveries, scientific discoveries; seasons of retrenchment, when
> everything seems to quiet down; and, as the apostle clearly says here,
> "seasons of deceit," when error breaks forth afresh; like a fountain, i=
t
> seems to gush out a whole new spectrum of untruth. I have lived long en=
ough
> to have seen several such seasons.
> =
> These seasons of deceit were predicted by the Holy Spirit, we do not kn=
ow
> how. Perhaps Paul learned this in some of those direct visions and visi=
ts
> from Jesus himself. Perhaps it came through the prophetic ministry of s=
ome
> of the New Testament prophets. At any rate, the Spirit had precisely st=
ated
> that there would be succeeding seasons of deceit.
> =
> Many of you may welcome the view of Archbishop Trench, one of the great=
> teachers of the church. He explains this word as it appears in the orig=
inal
> Greek, in this way:
> =
> The seasons are the joints or articulations in the times, the critical,=
> epoch-making periods, foreordained of God, when all that has been slowl=
y,
> and often without observation, ripening through long ages, is mature an=
d
> comes to the birth in grand, decisive events which constitute at once t=
he
> close of one period and the commencement of another.
> =
> In the last part of the 19th century, there was a pronounced season of
> deceit, when new cults that have occupied the scene ever since emerged =
here
> in America. Mormonism was born then; Jehovah's Witnesses came into bein=
g
> during that latter part of the 19th century; Christian Science emerged.=
All
> of these claimed to be Christian, yet they distorted biblical Christian=
ity.
> That period in the 19th century was followed by a period of quiet, when=
no
> new cults emerged. Error was being taught but no new organizations were=
> formed.
> =
> Suddenly, in the mid-60's, it all broke loose again. A torrent of error=
> began to flood our churches and the media. The Moonies came into existe=
nce
> under the Korean leader, Sun Myung Moon; the Hare Krishna, those young
> people in saffron robes with shaved heads, started appearing in air****t=
s,
> passing out literature and pinning flowers to lapels; Scientology, with=
its
> strange and cruel doctrines, was born; Transcendental Meditation came i=
nto
> popularity then.
> =
> Here the apostle is explaining that strange phenomenon to us. He says t=
hese
> things will occur in successive seasons of time. During those times, Pa=
ul
> says, many will depart from the truth, depart from the faith as it is
> presented in the apostolic Scriptures.
> =
> These groups make their appeal in various ways: some appeal to the emot=
ions,
> some to the intellect, some to the will, to the pride of mankind. But t=
hey
> all have one common characteristic. This characteristic is indicated in=
this
> passage by the way the apostle moves from the central truth of Christia=
nity,
> "the mystery of wholeness" (the person of our Lord and his work) expres=
sed
> in Chapter 3, Verse 16, to the sharp and stark contrast of this "depart=
ure
> from the faith." Thus Paul seems strongly to suggest that the central f=
ocus
> of all error is to present a different Jesus; that is the key mark of
> deceit.
> =
> If you want to know whether a group you are listening to, or are in tou=
ch
> with, is preaching and teaching true Christianity, ask yourself: "What =
do
> they say about Jesus? Who is he? Is he God appearing as man? Did he com=
e in
> the flesh? Is he the Savior who has in himself accomplished all that Go=
d
> requires for the redemption of humanity?" Ask yourself, "What part does=
the
> blood of Jesus play in this teaching? What is said about his Person?"
> =
> The central deviation of all religious error is a negative testimony to=
the
> centrality of Christ in the universe. Even the unseen forces of life kn=
ow
> that Jesus is central. Jesus is truly Lord, so the thrust of error is t=
o
> attack him.
> =
> This is why in a university like Stanford it is possible to teach Buddh=
ism,
> or some other teaching, and find it widely approved and sup****ted by th=
e
> faculty and the administration. Someone told me this morning that he to=
ok a
> course at Stanford University on Druids and Druidism and the religion o=
f
> King Arthur. It became evident through the course that the teacher beli=
eved
> these things and was actively propagating a belief in Druidism -- and n=
obody
> objected. But when Jesus, when true Christianity, is presented, there
> immediately is sharp and subtle opposition against it. This is what the=
> apostle is pointing out.
> =
> Paul reveals the ultimate origin of these cults as coming from "deceitf=
ul
> spirits." Men do not invent errors like this. They come through men (Pa=
ul is
> going to say something about that in a moment) but the actual origin of=
> these distortions of reality about our Lord are coming from deceitful
> spirits, lying spirits, whose very nature is to lie.
> =
> When we compare this teaching with other parts of Scripture we learn th=
at
> these are fallen angels. At a time even before the world was created, t=
hese
> angels followed their leader, Lucifer (Son of the Morning), highest of =
the
> angels of God, into a rebellion against the will and purposes of God. T=
hus
> they became identified with Lucifer's nature, which Jesus himself infor=
ms us
> is that of a "liar and a murderer," {John 8:44}.
> =
> Yet that being, that strange, malevolent, being who is by nature a liar=
and
> by intent a murderer, is called everywhere in Scripture, "the god of th=
is
> world" {2 Cor 4:4}. That is a frightening thought. The god which the wo=
rld
> ignorantly, and innocently, in many ways, follows blindly, like an anim=
al
> being led to the slaughter, is a murderer and a liar. These hosts of
> spiritual beings, which Paul recognizes in Ephesians 6 as the ones with=
whom
> we Christians wrestle -- "Not flesh and blood but principalities and po=
wers,
> wicked spirits in high places, the rulers of the darkness of this world=
"
> {cf, Eph 6:12 KJV} -- are the very ones who originate these false and
> twisted ideas about Jesus.
> =
> We learn from Scripture that these spirits have access to the inner tho=
ughts
> and feelings of men, including Christians. We are all affected by stran=
ge
> urges, feelings, and desires that arise within us. But those desires do=
not
> always originate with us. We need to learn that all the thoughts that c=
ross
> our minds are not necessarily coming from us. Those thoughts are what P=
aul
> calls, "fiery darts of the wicked one" {Eph 6:16 KJV}, against which fa=
ith
> must continually wrestle. These strange, sinister, unseen beings who ha=
ve
> access to the minds and hearts of men, mislead and misdirect by what se=
ems
> to us and to many to be logical and essential things that human nature
> should accept and even require. All that becomes expanded and sup****ted=
by
> intricate arguments and rationalizations until it takes the form of wha=
t
> Paul calls, doctrines, i.e., formally reasoned presentations. But Paul
> clearly calls these, "doctrines of demons."
> =
> These doctrines are not always overtly religious either. What Paul is
> talking about in that 1st century day is clearly religious, and he is
> warning Timothy about it, but these "doctrines of demons" oftentimes co=
me
> cleverly disguised as scientific theories, psychological approaches, or=
even
> economic theories. But the result of them is always the same: they conf=
use,
> they mislead, they distort reality; and they end, ultimately, in the
> destruction of human life. One way or another, that is the devil's aim.=
> =
> Take, for instance, humanism. This is probably the most widespread
> philosophy of our day. All the great institutions of our country, such =
as
> Stanford University, are almost visibly dedicated to the propagation of=
> secular humanism. Humanism says that man is his own god, there is no be=
ing
> greater than man, we are able by our intellect and by our technological=
> abilities to control the universe to our purposes, that this is the who=
le
> purpose of life and nothing is greater, etc. This exaltation of man, th=
is
> wor****pping at the shrine of human wisdom and human knowledge is a "doc=
trine
> of demons." It is not reality; it denies reality. It denies the greates=
t
> fact of the universe, that there is a Creator from whom we came and to =
whom
> we are ultimately accountable. It is a doctrine that is widespread,
> propagated by lying spirits.
> =
> I believe evolution also to be such a doctrine. Evolution finds recogni=
tion
> and honor in the scientific community, yet hardly a shred of evidence l=
inks
> evolution to empirical facts of the material universe. Yet evolution ha=
s
> been accepted, propagated widely, and taught in all our schools as thou=
gh it
> were truth. When compared to the actual findings of scientific endeavor=
it
> can never find sup****t. It is a doctrine of demons.
> =
> Some thirty or forty years ago the idea that we could spend our way out=
of
> poverty into prosperity -- deficit spending -- took root in our nation.=
That
> too is a doctrine of demons. It ought to be recognized immediately as f=
alse.
> We ought to laugh it out of court, but it is widely accepted; political=
> movements and parties have it in their platforms. Yet the end result of=
this
> philosophy is that we are burdened with a terrible load of debt that cr=
ushes
> and destroys us. It sets one family against another. resulting in viole=
nce
> and disturbance, and ultimately death, in society. That is a doctrine o=
f
> demons.
> =
> We are not engaged in a Sunday School party. We are in a deep and abidi=
ng
> war that is being fought with spiritual weapons. We are up against thes=
e
> spiritual "principalities and powers," these "rulers of the darkness of=
this
> world."
> =
> Paul narrows this discussion to religious error particularly. He says t=
he
> doctrines of demons in Ephesus were making their appearance through hum=
an
> beings whom he says, in Verse 2, are:
> =
> ...pretentious liars whose consciences are seared, {1 Tim 4:2 RSV}
> =
> Ultimately these errors come into human knowledge through human beings.=
It
> looks like people thought them up, but the apostle tells us they did no=
t.
> People themselves are deceived victims of a propaganda that has been pl=
aced
> in their minds by these invisible beings.
> =
> The apostle suggests two things about these human propagators of error =
that
> are always identifying marks:
> =
> First, they deal in pretentions. These people come to us with lofty-sou=
nding
> claims. They appear to offer something extremely attractive and allurin=
g,
> something that everybody would want. They make claims for themselves as=
> having special prerogatives as teachers of truth. They have access to
> information that is denied the rest of us, they say; they have a specia=
l
> pipeline, a privileged relation****p to deity, that the rest of us do no=
t
> have. These are pretentions, the apostle says. They are merely claims p=
eople
> make.
> =
> Along with this these people are always characterized by some degree of=
a
> "seared conscience." That means they no longer have moral scruples; the=
y no
> longer can be restrained by appeals to their conscience. They will stop=
at
> nothing to accomplish their end; they are without compassion or mercy. =
They
> become cruel, voracious, impossible to stop. Though they may veil it wi=
th a
> velvet glove, behind their teaching is an iron fist.
> =
> Yet the word "seared" clearly suggests that there was a time, perhaps, =
when
> these people's consciences were active. When they began they probably w=
ere
> simply egotists, men and women who were convinced they had abilities an=
d
> powers beyond what they really possessed. They were out to get ahead. T=
his
> is a widespread phenomenon in human society; we all suffer from it to s=
ome
> degree.
> =
> If you read the life of Adolph Hitler you discover that, as a young man=
,
> there were many admirable things about him. He was intelligent,
> knowledgeable about life; he had good morals, respect for the church, a=
ll
> these things, but he was an egotist. He always had to be dominant; he h=
ad to
> be in charge of everything he had anything to do with. Gradually, feedi=
ng
> that insatiable maw of egoism, he dropped his moral scruples, until at =
last
> his egoism climaxed in the killing of six million Jews, just because th=
ey
> were in his way.
> =
> A seared conscience is what the apostle says becomes characteristic of =
men
> who give themselves to religious error. What a tremendous revelation al=
ong
> this line was given to us here in this area just a few years ago in the=
> story of Jim Jones and the People's Temple! This was the story of a man=
who
> began with certain restraints and moral scruples. Nevertheless, by feed=
ing
> his own ego he soon lost all those scruples, and ended up in that terri=
ble
> scene in the jungles of Guyana.
> =
> Paul says the specific methods of these 1st century cultists are that (=
Verse
> 3):
> =
> ...[they] forbid marriage and enjoin abstinence from foods which God cr=
eated
> to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the trut=
h. {1
> Tim 4:3 RSV}
> =
> One of the strange marks of religious error is that it is so often
> accompanied by ascetic practices, i.e., denial of certain normal, natur=
al
> human enjoyments. One of them is marriage. A number of groups have been=
> characterized through the years as forbidding marriage to their adheren=
ts,
> with the idea that *** is unclean, and those who indulge in it are cert=
ainly
> less dedicated than those who refrain.
> =
> Foods come under this heading too. I do not mean to imply at all that t=
here
> is anything wrong with diets. It is obvious that some people need dieti=
ng.
> There is nothing wrong with studies on nutrition, proper eating, etc.
> Nevertheless, through the course of human history there has been a stra=
nge
> affinity between food restrictions, food fads, and religious error.
> =
> The reason is that at the heart of asceticism is a conviction that
> self-denial somehow pleases God. It can be very earnest, very sincere. =
Often
> Christians fall into this error in their early Christian days, thinking=
that
> if they deny themselves in some way God is going to be pleased, and the=
ir
> status in his sight will be advanced. That is why some Christians love =
to
> get up early in the morning, or memorize hundreds of verses of Scriptur=
e, or
> pray on their knees for long periods of time, etc. These practices, whi=
ch in
> themselves are not wrong, nevertheless become wrong because their motiv=
e
> (that of gaining God's favor by self-denial) is wrong.
> =
> This is a good example of the subtlety by which error begins. When a
> deviation enters a stream of truth, at the first point of deviation, er=
ror
> looks like truth; it is very hard to see it as error. This is what has
> misled so many people. They never recognize error until they became
> engrossed in it. Down the line they begin to suspect that it is error, =
but
> by that time they are already hooked. This is what many cultists use to=
day
> to gain followers, and hold them in bondage.
> =
> There is a difference between self-denial and denying self. Jesus said,=
"If
> anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross d=
aily
> and follow me," {Luke 9:23}. That is denying self. But that is easily
> confused with self-denial, which says, "I will give up this thing or th=
at
> thing." "I will not do this or stay out of that, because I want to reve=
al my
> dedication." "I want to be admired for my zeal." "I want to gain a spec=
ial
> mark of favor before God." "I want to influence God to do something for=
me
> in return." That motivation renders it no longer denying self, but
> self-denial.
> =
> How subtle the differences are! Self-denial is an attempt to earn favor=
> apart from faith in the gift of righteousness which makes us wholly
> acceptable before God right at the very beginning of our Christian life=
;
> while denying self is a refusal to heed those silken arguments of the i=
nner
> ego that makes its appeal to us to show how good we are by giving up
> something, or to insist on having some right that we are defending.
> =
> "You are not your own," First Corinthians 6 says {1 Cor 6:19b RSV}. To
> acknowledge that is to deny self in a proper and true Christian way: I =
do
> not belong to myself any more. I am not in charge of my life. Another i=
s my
> Lord, not me. Another has the right to the final word as to whom I marr=
y,
> where I go, what I do and how I behave. I am not my own. Acknowledging =
that
> is to deny that insistent claim of the flesh within: "You are your own.=
> Don't let anybody tell you what to do. Don't let anybody take that
> position." That is what the Lord Jesus calls us to deny; that is a true=
> denying of self. This other is self-denial, which becomes an expression=
of
> the pride and egoism of the flesh.
> =
> Paul answers these teachings in very simple, very beautiful words. He g=
oes
> back to the doctrine of creation, saying that these teachers.
> =
> ...enjoin abstinence from foods which God created to be received with
> thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything cr=
eated
> by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
> thanksgiving; for then it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.=
{1
> Tim 4:3b-5 RSV}
> =
> Paul says it is simple to handle these strange pressures and urges of t=
he
> flesh within us, by cultivating the habit of thanksgiving. See everythi=
ng
> coming to you as a gift that you have no right to, but it is yours by t=
he
> grace and mercy of God.
> =
> Thanksgiving is a recognition that you do not possess anything in yours=
elf,
> that everything comes as a gift from a loving God. When you do that you=
> recognize two wonderful things: First, that God gave these things to ou=
r
> race for our enjoyment and enrichment. He did not give them that we mig=
ht
> practice denial of them; he wanted us to have them.
> =
> But God wanted us to have them in ways that do not feed our ego and min=
ister
> to our self-im****tance; and the only way that we can do so is to receiv=
e
> them with thanksgiving. That is what "for then it is consecrated by the=
word
> of God and prayer," means. Consecration means to put something to its p=
roper
> use, and thus to render it safe for you to use.
> =
> The habit of giving thanks accomplishes that. When you take everything =
as a
> gift of God -- your life, your breath, your family, your friends, your
> clothing, your food, your cir***stances, your trials, your pressures, y=
our
> problems -- and thank God for them, then they are rendered safe. You no=
> longer are the king on the throne, dictating to the rest of the world h=
ow to
> behave; you are a humble recipient of the gift from the Father's hand.
> =
> I love to see families giving thanks around the table before they eat. =
Food
> is the basic element of life. We are to give thanks for our daily bread=
> because,
> =
> "Back of the bread is the snowy flour,
> and back of the flour the mill.
> Back of the mill is the field of wheat,
> the rain and the Father's will."
> =
> That is why we thank God. Everything comes from his hand.
> =
> Let me share with you these words from a young man of thirty-two years =
of
> age whose wife fell ill. As she slept by his side one morning he mused =
in
> these words:
> =
> She may die before morning, but I have been with her for four years. Fo=
ur
> years! There is no way I can feel cheated if I didn't have her another =
day.
> I didn't deserve her for one minute. And I may die before morning! What=
I
> must do is die now. I must accept the justice of death and the injustic=
e of
> life. I have lived a good life, longer than many, better than most. Ton=
y
> died when he was twenty. I have had thirty-two years. I couldn't ask fo=
r
> another day. What did I do to deserve birth? It was a gift. I am me. Th=
at is
> a miracle. I have no right to a single minute. But some are given a sin=
gle
> hour, and yet I have had thirty-two years.
> =
> Few can choose when they will die, but I choose to accept death now. As=
of
> this moment I give up my right to live and I give up my right to her li=
fe.
> And so it is morning. I have been given another day. another day to hea=
r and
> breathe and smell and walk and love and glory. I am alive for another d=
ay.
> =
> On the wall of one of my rooms at home is a little plaque that says:
> =
> There is no thought worth thinking
> Unless it is the thought of God.
> There is no sight worth seeing
> Unless it is seen through his eyes.
> There is no breath worth breathing
> Without giving thanks to him
> Whose very breath it is.
> =
> What paupers we are in ourselves! What rich people we are by the gift a=
nd
> the grace of God; and what we do to preserve sanity when we utter
> thanksgiving in God's name!
> =
> Copyright =A9 1981 Discovery Publi****ng, a ministry of Peninsula Bible
> Church.This data file is the sole property of Discovery Publi****ng, a
> ministry of Peninsula Bible Church. It may be copied only in its entire=
ty
> for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file mus=
t
> contain the above copyright notice. This data file may not be copied in=
> part, edited, revised, copied for resale or incor****ated in any commerc=
ial
> publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other
> products offered for sale, without the written permission of Discovery
> Publi****ng. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addre=
ssed
> to Discovery Publi****ng, 3505 Middlefield Rd. Palo Alto, CA. 94306-3695=
=2E
|
