Ephesians 4:11-17

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-17)

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Knowing Him



The last point of my series is an extremely important one, and on it hinges the validity of all others.  It is impossible to be a disciple of Christ if you do not know Him.  At first glance, this seems like a completely obvious and almost unnecessary statement.  Think about it for a moment, though:  what does it really mean to ‘know God’?  Can a living man ever truly know Him?  And if two people believe two separate creeds but both believe they are Christian, can they both know Christ?

On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7: 22-23)

This is a real danger.  Jesus warns us that there will be people who believe that they are Christian and follow Christ, but have no relationship with the real God and do not do His works.  The people in this example are not “lukewarm” – by their own account, they have dedicated their lives to their faith.  Jesus’ response, though, shows us that their faith is in a false Christ.

If one believes in a false Christ, then, what does it matter if he has faith, or works, or love?  His faith is in a false god – an imaginary creation at best.  His works are not only useless, but possibly harmful, depending on the nature of the false teaching.  And while he may have agápe love for his neighbor, he cannot love the true God.

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  (2 Peter 2: 1-2)

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

It is very easy to be deceived by a false teaching.  They are desirable by nature:  each one is a sweet lie that appeals to a person’s sinful nature.  By example, a budding Christian might believe the popular televangelist who preaches “God wants you to be wealthy and successful!” partially because he desires to be rich.  A person believes, “I can sin all I want and still be saved,” because they enjoy sinning and don’t want to be changed.  A person believes “God saves everyone, not just Christians,” because they don’t want God to be the divine Judge.

In addition to being desirable, though, they are believable.  False teachers take advantage of the common man’s lack of biblical knowledge and string together arguments which, by themselves, sound strong.  Instead of testing those teachings against the Bible, the victims then take the false teaching into their heart as a replacement for biblical knowledge.  This is how a person can truly believe that they know Christ without actually knowing him:  in their heart is a lie.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Bible is the ultimate source of truth in this world.  It is directly out of the mind and mouth of God, being breathed by God.  It is complete, whole, non-contradictory, and infallible.  Man’s interpretation of it, though, is fallible, so a strong understanding and knowledge of the Bible is essential to being able to discern truth from fiction.  Anyone can take a verse or passage out context and use it to prove whatever they want.  It takes real biblical knowledge to have a strong defense of faith.

Do you believe any false teachings?  Answer that question to yourself, right now, aloud.  If you said “No,” then question yourself:  is the doctrine that I believe something that a person taught to me, or did I also verify it against the Bible?  BE CERTAIN.  It is foolish to trust any man, or any church, without verifying their word against God’s Word.  You are responsible for your own soul and your own creed.

For His glory,
Mark
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