How many of you have enjoyed this year’s
football season!? It has been an exciting year, full of surprising victories.
You may claim that some wins (or maybe loses) were attained by certain calls
made during the game. As a referee, their job is to throw flags when the
players “step out of bounds” or play unfairly. You see many of these flags
called during a game, however; you do not usually see the ref huddle the teams
together to discuss the reason for a players actions: “Yah the player clipped
the guy, but he is going through a really difficult time… so maybe, we should
let this one slide?” No, that doesn't happen… because it is the ref’s job to
make sure the entire game is played according to the rules. There isn’t a “grace”
quarter.
As Christians, we called to do the same
thing- not just in the lives of others, but more so in our own lives! We should
have more of a right to throw flags when the people we love, or even ourselves are
associating or partaking in unbiblical territory. However; we often ignore the “gray
areas.” We make excuses for ourselves and for others simply because may be
labeled: judgmental, prude, arrogant, or intolerant. But the Lord tells us that
we are to speak the truth and not to fear, but throw flags out of love!
Ephesians
4:25 Therefore, having
put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for
we are members one of another.
In
Second Peter, we are warned about false teachers and the tolerances so many of
us have towards false teachings from our world.
2
Peter 2:1-3 But
there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be
false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive
heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing
swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their
depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into
disrepute. In their greed these teachers will
exploit you with fabricated stories. Their
condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not
been sleeping.
I.
Why does Truth
Matter?
1.
Before
you can identify what is false, you have to know and understand the truth.
i.
We
often accept the lies to avoid conflict. (We ignore or fail to address the
truth)
2.
We
have a subtle belief that the truth is good, but it can be harsh & heavy.
i.
No one wants to share their true opinions on matters
like abortion, pre marital sex, drinking, politics, or religion during
thanksgiving dinner because you might spoil the turkey
3.
So
maybe what we really need is a little less truth and a little more love
i.
But,
we cannot pin the two against each other and see who wins, because they are
really the best of friends. They work together to bring unity in the church
ii.
When
you separate the two, you are actually causing rifts in the body.
Ephesians
4:14- Then we will no longer be
infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every
wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful
scheming.
Tolerance (what Paul calls “child-like”)
is the first step on our downward spiral. Think of a child playing at the beach. Innocently,
he decides to dip his feet in the water. The rush of the waves feel good
crashing on his toes so he decides to go a little deeper, now at his knees, all
the excitement pushes him to go further… out to his waste, then shoulders, then
he is no longer standing. Eventually he realizes he is so far away from the
shore and the current is too strong to swim back and he begins to drown in the
water that once felt so good!
This is our fate when we down play the
truth! We allow things to continue, even when we know it is not biblical or spiritually
uplifting. It feels good and we often enjoy it so either we partake in the lies
or maybe we are not participating, but we allow them to continue around us.
Tolerance is the first step- this is right where the enemy wants us to be! We
are so easily swayed by the latest guru, TV show, blog, or motivational speaker
and when we are tolerant of the lies we see/hear, it is only a matter of time
before we begin to believe them.
The
opposite of Tolerance- Ephesians 4:13
As believers we are to cling to the
truth and become mature in our faith. We
are called to love God with all your: heart, soul,
strength, and with all your mind. Why: because, you cannot love what you do
not know-
John
Owen- “The good which the mind cannot discover, the
will cannot choose, and the affections cannot cling to- the deceit of the mind
is commonly laid down as the principle of all sin.”
Above
all those matters, Truth matters because of Christ! “I am THE Truth.”
Truth is not just an opinion that varies
from time to time, from person to person, but it is embraced in Christ and it
can be believed on in Him! Peter urges us to know the Truth, to know Jesus as
Savior! He warns us of the false teachings to come and of the naïve believes
many people buy into!
II.
Marks of False
Teachers/False Teachings:
1.
False Teachers will come from within (2Peter 2:1)
2.
False Teachers will secretly teach destructive
heresies
i.
There
is no disclaimer.
ii.
Greek
word for Heresies is Heresies and it means opinion. Peter says- “destructive
opinion”
Live
in an age where the one thing you are entitled to, is your opinion. And we are
taught to respect ALL peoples views- that one is no better than another.
iii.
There
are wrong beliefs/practices (even within the church) and by ignoring, we bring
destruction on ourselves.
We
are all guilty of tolerating these destructive heresies. We become that child
drifting out to sea because we tolerate or maybe even believe the lies our
world tells us. We begin to play the “how far is too far game… how close to the
line can I get without crossing it.”
3.
False Teachers will be appealing
i.
Once
our desire to please the Lord is removed, our next “natural” desire is to
please man. We are easily enticed by an alluring message.
ii.
2Peter
2: 14 & 17-19-
False
teachers:
·
Seduce
the unstable
·
Appeal
to the lustful desires of the flesh
·
Entice
people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
·
Promise
freedom while they themselves are living id depravity
·
People
are slaves to whatever has mastered them!
False
teachings tend to be more appealing when we are in the middle of difficulties-
when we are more vulnerable. It is during these times that we find TEMPORARY
comfort in the lies our world feeds us.
iii.
Why
are false teachers attractive?
·
We
can physically see them/feel them
·
The
farther away from the lord, the less we feel the conviction from the Holy
Spirit
·
We
have an emotionally based faith!
4.
False
Teachers will be bold, convincing, and fake
i.
Exploiters
that use fabricated words.
ii.
Greek
word for false= plastos (where we get the word plastic from) – They feed us
“plastic words.” Words that can be fabricated or manipulated to suit a
false/hidden agenda
III.
Modern
Conditions: Lies we face today
With all that being said, I want to
address this modern idea of relativism.
Relativism:
Points of view have no absolute truth or validity.
Having only relative, subjective value according
to differences in perception, consideration, and opinion. Where in a
relativistic mode of thought, principles and ethics are regarded as applicable in only limited context.
Example-
In my Sunday school class this week, I blind folded some volunteers. I handed
them a can of diet sprite. While blind folded, I asked them to describe/guess
what they were holding and then convince the class that they were holding_____
(whatever it was they guessed). Both volunteers guessed a type of soda- one an
orange soda and the other a Dr. Pepper. I asked our class… who is telling the
truth?
Although they were both incorrect, they
were telling us what they deemed to be true based on their perceptions. This is
exactly how false teachers operate. False teachers or even false teachings are
not always bad/evil. They often believe they are speaking the truth and many
make it sound convincing.
Many times, they provide a partial truth.
Just like this example, they were correct, they were holding a soda, but they
did not know which type. The kinds they claimed to hold might feel the same in
weight and size, but a diet sprite tastes completely different from an orange
soda or Dr Pepper.
This
leads us to the idea of Relative Christianity- This way of living/believing
allows us to live almost a double standard life, where we pick and choose which
part of the word we want to follow and which parts to ignore. I believe this is
why so many non-believers are turned off to church. When we start to become a
“relative” Christian church, we might contradict each other and I can see how
it would be confusing. Heck- we even confuse ourselves! Our pluralistic society wants to avoid the idea that
there really is a right and wrong.
When
the “I am glad that is true for you… but it isn’t true for me” phrase begins to
seep into the church or in our lives, We will move away from biblical doctrine
and move towards things more mystical that we can make personal to us. We make
our own rules for the “gray areas” of life.
THE
PROBLEM WITH RELATIVISM- Robs us of the truth of Christ and provides fertile
soul for heiresses!
1 Peter 3:17-18
For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
