The Face of the Enemy (2 Corinthians 11:1-15) February 22, 2009
Posted by roberttalley in False Doctrine, False Teachers, Religion, Satan, Second Corinthians, Sermons, Spiritual Leadership.add a comment
THE FACE OF THE ENEMY
(2 Corinthians 11:1-15)
The hardest enemy to face is the one that you do not recognize. This is what Paul fears in this passage. He identifies both the characteristics of the enemy as well as those of the true preacher of the gospel, so that the Corinthians might not be deceived by the enemy. He begins by asking them a very interesting question…
I. Why do you put up with the enemy (verses 1-4)?
A. Their teaching is defiling (verses 2 and 4).
Paul emphasizes the importance of a pure message. There were those in Paul’s day who preached an impure message. Paul describes this as “another Jesus”, a “spirit” and a “gospel” of a different kind. This was a huge problem in those days. It is still a problem today. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul describes those who preach a different Jesus as storeowner who waters down the wine that he sells.
This is a serious charge. In 2 Corinthians 10:6, Paul says that he was ready to punish, to take vengeance on those who pollute the gospel of Christ. Paul is not having an intellectual debate in this book. He is battling for the purity of the church.
In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul mentions that his gospel message was unadulterated. The question we need to ask ourselves is this: “What adulterates the gospel? What makes the true gospel another gospel?” Based on 2 Corinthians 11:4, I would say any of the following adulterate the gospel:
1. Any presentation of Jesus other than what is presented in the word of God corrupts the truth. The Bible tells us that Jesus is God who became man, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for my sins as predicted by the Old Testament, was buried and rose again according to the Old Testament, and ascended to heaven to take His rightful place as Lord of the universe. Any direct or even indirect denial of Christ’s character defiles the truth.
2. Any reception of a new Spirit other than that taught in the Scriptures is also suspect. When I hear that I must have some experience with the Holy Spirit that is superior to trusting Christ and receiving the indwelling of the Spirit, I have reason to doubt the truth.
3. Finally, when I see a list of what one must do to be saved, even if the list is of good things, I am aware that another gospel is being preached. In other words, an addition of any means that makes salvation possible other than solely by God’s grace. This applies to those who believe you have to live righteously to stay saved. If I teach that I have to live right to be saved or to stay saved, then I am adding a human means to my salvation. That, in God’s estimation, is rotten fruit (Ephesians 2:8-9).
B. The enemy is deceptive (verses 3-4, 13-15).
In this way, Paul connects these people with Satan. In the same way that Satan deceived Eve, these false teachers try to deceive God’s people. He says that they like Satan transform themselves. They are not what they appear to be nor are they who they say they are. They are liars and are not to be trusted. They are deceptive. This should not surprise us. Satan’s tactic never really changes. He deceived Eve in the garden and since that day he has continued to deceive the world, being so effective at it that Paul says, Satan, the god of this world has blinded their eyes.
C. Their end is destruction (verse 15). They share not just their character with Satan but also their end. Jesus warned in Matthew 25:41 that those judged by God will have their place in the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his messengers. Although there are multitudes who are following Satan and his messengers into the lake of fire, it is specifically reserved for Satan and those who preach for him, even if those messengers are naming the name of Christ.
II. The other side of the question is this, why do you reject your spiritual father (verses 1-2 and 5-11)? You should trust me to put a stop to Satan’s doomed deceivers who are trying to destroy your purity.
A. Why? Because I have been a jealous father to you (verse 2).
What was in those days the great desire of every father for his daughter? That she be taken care of, that she given to a man, to a husband, who would care for her, protect her. Great gifts of money as a dowry were provided in order to guarantee that the daughter would have a good husband. Paul is saying, I greatly desired to find a husband for you who would care for you, who would protect you. I have labored and sorrowed, preaching Christ at every opportunity, just so that I might present you pure with a full dowry to Jesus Christ. Paul took his responsibility for the church very seriously.
The pastor or missionary and other ministers of the gospel often have two families, the physical family and then the people for whom he cares spiritually. That is a very difficult task to handle and Paul chose not to get married for that very reason. He had his hands full with his spiritual family.
B. I have also been a generous father to you (compare verse 3 with verses 5-9). My knowledge (verse 6) and my sacrifice (verses 7-9) speaks for itself.
We reveal through our knowledge of God whether we are true ministers or not (verse 5-6). This is a constant. Effective ministry is not based on numbers of attendees or whether people like us or not. It is based on God revealing Himself through us. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:5-11. If people do not see Christ revealed in our lives and our message, our ministry will be in vain. People have to see more than good morals. That’s why Paul condemned these false teachers. They made themselves the standard of good morals. That’s why upholding the Ten Commandments as a standard to live by is, in and of itself, a dead end. The best they can learn through the Ten Commandments is how evil and vile they are. People have to see Jesus in us.
Jim Elliot once prayed, “Father, make me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road. Make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.”
How then do we make sure than not only our message but also our lives reveal Jesus Christ? One way is through sacrifice. Paul mentioned several times throughout his epistles, that he did not take advantage of those to whom he ministered because he feared that would hinder the ministry. Paul is not saying that ministry does not deserve or need money. What is saying is this, our ministry must not be motivated by money or the need for money. To the extent that our ministry is money dependent and not God dependent, to that same extent our ministry will be suspect.
C. I have been a loving father to you (verses 10-11).
There was nothing more important to Paul than to please His Lord. He had a passion for preaching the gospel because he had a passion for Christ. He also had a passion for people because he had a passion for Christ. That, of course, is why he was passionate to protect those people from the false teachers. He was looking out for them to protect them because he loved them.
NEXT WEEK: WHEN CAN YOU BOAST IN SUFFERING? (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)
Christmas Controversies December 4, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in C.S. Lewis, False Doctrine, False Teachers, Religion.add a comment
Remember last year’s controversy over the Gospel of Judas? Here’s an update.
This year’s controversy is “The Golden Compass”. For a fair look at this movie and the books on which it is based, see this post by Al Mohler.
Links on Mother Theresa September 3, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Doubt, Faith, False Doctrine, Personalities, Religion, Roman Catholicism.add a comment
Had intended to get the answers up to Revelation 10 but that will have to wait. Here are some interesting links that do not all agree with each other but have something worthwhile to say.
Rick Phillips (a take on Mother Theresa unlike any I’ve ever read)
Dr. Al Mohler (the problem of faith and doubt)
The Prosperity Gospel August 20, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in False Doctrine, False Teachers, Personalities, Prosperity Gospel, Religion.add a comment
Especially look at the various links at Ron’s Reflections on this subject. I found the video very powerful but you should read Ron Ethridge’s post or Piper’s sermon first.
I get angry when people pollute the gospel of Jesus Christ. I remember when we were in Germany working with Iranians, how that a certain religious figure would ask the asylum-seeking Iranians (who were dying to find a country that would take them) if the believed in Jesus. They never understood, if he even explained to them, the gospel. If they said, “Yes”, he would baptize them and they thought that they were Christians or at least thought that they could pass themselves off as Christians. We have the most wonderful message of hope and love and freedom from sin and this man failed to communicate it. In fact, he communicated “another gospel” that is not a gospel. A verbal confession or a prayer without understanding and faith in Christ is nothing but empty words! Well, I’ve ranted enough. Look at the video and read the posts and the sermon and evaluate the “prosperity gospel” for yourself.
Isaiah 29:13 with Matthew 15:7-9 August 16, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Bible, False Doctrine, Hypocrisy, Isaiah, Matthew, Religion.add a comment
In my devotions, I am slowly reading through Isaiah and am understanding some things that I had easily overlooked before. Jesus quotes Isaiah 29:13 in Matthew 15:7-9 when He criticizes the traditions of men that were being followed in his time. The last part of the quote is, “And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Is my worship, both the motivation for it and the expression of it governed by God’s Word or by men’s expectations and/or commands? Why do I obey God, fear God? The commandment of man? The commandment of God? That is the difference between hypocrisy and reality. The end of man’s wisdom is made clear in the following verse of Isaiah 29, verse 14 (which is quoted by Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:19). It will perish.
How important it is to follow God and His Word which will not perish but is eternal rather than to follow man whose best wisdom is illusory and ends ultimately in destruction.
How to know if God is revealing Himself (From Sermon Series on God’s Word) August 5, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Antichrist, Bible, Depravity, Deuteronomy, Eternal Security, False Doctrine, False Teachers, First John, Gospel, Hell, Holy Spirit, Jehovah's Witnesses, OT Preaching, Perserverance, Prophets, Satan, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare, Truth.3 comments
TRYING THE SPIRITS
1 John 4:1-6 and Deuteronomy 13:1-5, 18:21-22
Lying spirits exist and we are to test the spirits (verse 1). Now God has given us the final word but God has chosen to allow competition, to allow false spirits to speak their false doctrine through false prophets, to allow the lie to coexist on this earth with the truth.
It is not always easy to discern the false from the true. Just as counterfeit money is meant to be spent, false doctrine is intended by Satan to be believed and that means he must make it believable to the human mind and appealing to the human heart. That is why it is of eternal importance that we look into God’s Word and find out how to determine the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
TESTING SPIRITS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
There are two passages in the Old Testament law in the book of Deuteronomy that discuss testing the spirits who claim to speak the truth. Now, it is easy to say that the Law was for then and not for today, for example in the law against eating pork which is also in the book of Deuteronomy (Deut. 14:8). We understand though that the law is more than the Ten Commandments and when Jesus said He came to fulfill the law He meant all of it, not just the moral code but also the civil and ceremonial aspects of the law. Not only that but as we saw about a month ago, “All Scripture is…profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). So how do we apply the Old Testament tests? By finding and investigating the timeless principles that apply to the subject of testing the spirits as taught in 1 John. (Ideas in this paragraph with thanks to Paul Lamey of Huntsville, AL.)
Test #1 -
If one part of the prophecy is proven untrue or inaccurate, then it is not of God (Deuteronomy 18:20-22).
“Here’s a Help Wanted ad you may find interesting: Spokesman needed for international firm. No experience necessary, no education required. Must be between 20-85 years old. Full- or part-time…Will meet often with the CEO who will instruct brief you on what to say to the public. Important that you be able to move in all circles of society–from the highest to the lowest. Good vocabulary a must, ability to speak in colorful images a big plus…Unlimited opportunity for advancement…Must be willing to endure ridicule, persecution, slander, and occasional beatings. This job carries only one significant negative aspect: Make one mistake and you will be stoned to death….That ad describes the biblical role of the prophet…The test for a biblical prophet was 100% accuracy. Make one mistake and you would be stoned to death…(T)he Jews had a well-defined procedure for stoning. The victim was stripped naked, with hands bound, paraded out of town and placed on a scaffold nine feet high. The first official witness pushed the victim off the scaffold. The second witness dropped a large stone on his head and chest. Bystanders then pelted the dying man with the stones. The corpse was then buried in a special place along with the stone that inflicted the fatal blow. No mourning ceremony was permitted. False prophets had to be stoned. The Law commanded it…(P)rophecy was not a growth industry in the ancient Israel. It was a risky way to make a living. Today prophecy (and messages from God) is big business–and not nearly so risky.” (Thanks to Ray Pritchard)
(In fact, you can make the New York Times Best-Seller List and become a fixture there.)
A WORD ABOUT DREAMS AND OTHER MODES OF CLAIMED DIVINE REVELATION
Not only does a prophet sent from God speak the truth with 100% accuracy but he knows that his message is 100% accurate and does not try to hide that fact. When someone says that they have a vision or dream or message from God and they temper their claim with the possibility of human fallibility then I know that I need not be afraid of that person. God does not speak to every subject but to every subject that He speaks, He speaks authoritatively and without error.
Test #2 -
If the prophecy leads away from the truth, then it is not of God (Deuteronomy 13:1-5).
Actually, this whole chapter deals with the seriousness of following anyone who would lead us away from the truth. In verses 6-10, if a family member attempts to lead away from the true and living God, they were to be stoned. In verses 11-18, if Israel heard that one of their cities had turned from following God, they were to go against it and destroy it with all its inhabitants, all its livestock, and to destroy everything in it. They were not to take anything for plunder. Obviously, we are not to apply the extreme measures that are commanded to the Israelites but we are to take this seriously.
APPLYING THIS TEST TODAY
How do we recognize the spirits (verses 2-6)? In other words, how does this apply today?
The Spirit of truth identifies…
…Jesus as God and man (verse 2). Any person or any group that denies that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man is not of God. The Bible is very clear. One of the reasons that we have started studying together the book of Colossians in the adult and junior high and junior aged Sunday School classes is the vital importance of this doctrine. If Jesus is not God then Christianity is a lie and if Jesus is not man then Christianity is a lie and the Bible is a lie. I do not have a problem with the Jehovah’s Witnesses refusal to celebrate birthdays. That is not an eternal issue. I do not have a problem with their refusal to salute the American flag. That is not an eternal issue. I do not even have a problem with their refusal to take blood transfusions. I think they are wrong and that it is an unfortunate belief but that belief will not send them to the lake of fire. I do have a problem though with their refusal to acknowledge Jesus Christ as God, not a god, but Jehovah God Himself. That is why I fight for the Virgin Birth. If Jesus was not Virgin Born, He was not God. That is why I fight for the Bodily Resurrection of Christ. If He did not rise bodily from the dead then there is doubt that He was really man. He was and is both. That is also why it is so important that we hold to the Bible as given by God without error. If the Bible is in error in any area, then how can we trust what it says about Jesus Christ and the message in verse 2 about Jesus Christ is only to be found in the Bible?
NOT JUST THE PERSON BUT ALSO THE WORK OF CHRIST IS PART OF THE TEST.
The Spirit also identifies the redemptive work of Christ as sufficient for eternal salvation (verses 9-10). I understand that John is not addressing this directly but it is addressed in other places in the Scriptures: the first half of the books of Romans, the epistles to the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the books of 1 Timothy and Titus, the book of Hebrews. I am saying that it does matter what we believe about Christ’s saving work.
The word “propitiation” here means to appease God. We are sinners, we deserve the eternal punishment of the lake of fire but Jesus Christ came and died to appease His Father. That is the good news that we are to believe. If you believe that salvation comes any other way than through Jesus Christ alone, you are in the trap of the spirit of error. If you believe by being good you can satisfy God, then you believe the spirit of antichrist. If you believe that trusting Christ and being baptized to wash away your sins, then you are trusting a ritual. Paul said in Galatians of such rituals that they make the crucifixion of Christ of no effect. Either Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection was sufficient or it is not. If you believe the Church provides you appeasement before God, you are trusting the doctrine of the world. If you believe that the Lord’s Table which we partook of earlier in this service will impart God’s saving grace into your life, then you are trusting the doctrine of a false spirit. It is through Jesus Christ alone.
Acts 5:12 says that there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. He does not need my help, He does not need your help, and he does not need the help of any ritual, good deeds, or organization. He is capable through His death alone of saving us and according to these verses, He does this because He loves us.
The Spirit of error… (verse 3-5).
…contradicts in some way the Spirit of truth (verse 3a).
Why? Because the spirit of error is of this world (verses 3b-5). This is not a new phenomenon (verse 3b). Since time began, Satan has been lying to humankind. Although it is true that as we get closer to the end, evil men will get worse and worse, it is a matter of degree and not of quality. The quality of the counterfeit is always bad. Some are more effective in their deception than others but counterfeits are always a lie.
WHAT IF I QUIT BELIEVING?
Believers in Christ have protection within them from false prophets (verse 4). In 1 John 2:18-27 we find specifically what he means by this verse. Some have asked me, what happens if I quit believing in Jesus Christ. According to these verses that will not and cannot happen. If you quit believing in Christ it is because you never truly believed in Him. I am not talking about doubts. I am not talking about those who give up in frustration and quit trying to live for Christ. I am talking about those and the text is talking about those who teach the truth and then turn their backs on it and attempt to drag others with them on their path. That is what John is addressing here. We, however, are protected. We are protected because we have the Holy Spirit living within us. We are protected because we have the truth in us.
The world has no protection from the false prophets because they think just like them (verse 5). This is an awful thing to think about but the Bible plainly teaches that the natural mind follows after the lie of Satan. The lie appears in all kinds of forms but every form is deadly. Which will kill you a bullet through the heart or a knife through the heart? So it is with the lie of Satan. There is no hope unless they are awakened by the Holy Spirit and believe the truth of the Word of God concerning Jesus Christ.
ANSWER THESE THREE QUESTIONS
When someone clearly sees and rejects the truth we know that they are not of God (verse 6). If you are here this morning, you have heard the truth. Did you understand it? If you understood it, have you accepted it or rejected it? If you have accepted it, how are you going to react when you hear the lie? That is our invitation this morning.
Links to sermons from Deut. 13 and 18 and 1 John 4:1-6 August 3, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Bible, Deuteronomy, False Doctrine, False Teachers, First John, Jonathan Edwards, Links, Prophets, Sermons, Truth.add a comment
Not a sermon but a short paragraph to get you started on the importance of Scriptural doctrinal statements.
http://against-heresies.blogspot.com/2007/07/affirmation-of-truth.html
http://www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/John%27s%20Epistles%201-2-3/05b.htm Sermon by Ligon Duncan
http://www.biblebb.com/files/edwards/je-marksofhs.htm by Jonathan Edwards
http://www.gracegems.org/Law2/d01.htm by Henry Law
http://www.pbc.org/library/files/html/0161.html by Ray Stedman
http://www.keepbelieving.com/sermons/read_sermon.asp?id=553 by Ray Pritchard
A Prayer Reminder of the Work to be Done in Resistencia, Argentina July 20, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Argentina, Biblical Ministries Worldwide, False Doctrine, False Teachers, Missionaries, Prosperity Gospel, Roman Catholicism, Steve and Becky Diem.4 comments
Below is the blog of a young missionary couple preparing to go to Resistencia, Argentina. After reading the text, please write out a prayer for the Diems and for the work in Resistencia, Argentina.
http://carpediemargentina.blogspot.com/
Here is a link with general information about Resistencia itself.
Learn about Resistencia Argentina Steve and Becky Diem with Biblical Ministries Worldwide plan to begin language school during the first half of 2008. They will then assist a veteran couple in the church planting work in this city of over a quarter million people with a metropolitan area of over 350,000 people. The church is growing steadily. A facility has been acquired, renovated, and expanded to include a home, a guest house, and a large former warehouse that houses meeting and recreational space. A focus of this ministry has been to reach Argentine men. English classes are also used to make many contacts, as well as personal home Bible studies focusing on the Gospel of John. One of these currently being conducted has the potential of constituting the nucleus of a new church. Services and Bible studies have been conducted in a nearby fishing village with the intention of training an Argentine believer to establish and pastor a church there.
This work is part of a larger plan that includes Corrientes, which is across the river from Resistencia. In this city in a province of the same name, the flagship church was recently nationalized. Though it continues to struggle with the transition into autonomy, the congregation is seeking to establish several new churches in the city in the years ahead. Another small fellowship in the newer suburb of Laguna Seca serves as a training ground for emerging leaders from the main church. They currently have a single worker in Corrientes who is working with national believers and heavily involved in discipleship and leadership training. (Info from http://www.biblicalministries.org/countries/argentina.html)
General religious situation: Resistencia is known as being one of the most evangelical provinces in Argentina but it is not certain if they are truly trusting the gospel of Christ because the methods used to see a truly phenomenal religious movement. These methods include playing down the “unpleasantries” of the gospel like eternal damnation and preaching what essentially is a “Prosperity”/”Name It Claim It” Gospel. This may have been easy in some groups because of the syncretism of various forms of Christianity with witchcraft and shamanism. In some ways, this may make the spreading of the true gospel more difficult in some cases because this has led in some cases (according to a Harvard researcher’s thesis that was available but no longer is at www.cid.harvard.edu/cidstudents/includefiles/thesis%202003/ThesisChapt2-2003.doc -, see especially pages 7 and 22) to a group of people who are nominally evangelical but who are not actually practicing their faith. The area is still overwhelmingly Roman Catholic in spite of the evangelical revival of the 90’s.
Don’t forget to post your prayer for them and this area of spiritual need in the comments section.
Nigeria, where Christianity is outgrowing Islam (a good thing?) July 18, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Character, False Doctrine, False Teachers, Nigeria, Prosperity Gospel, Quotes, Roman Catholicism.2 comments
Christianity in Africa
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/12.22.html
Should we be offended by the Pope’s honesty?
Al Mohler is neither offended nor surprised at the statement approve by Pope Benedict XVI that the Roman Catholic Church is the only institutional form in which the Church of Christ subsists. On the contrary, Mohler appreciates the Pope’s candor and sees this as an opportunity to discuss one of the defining issues of our division with respectful candor and clarity. (Thanks to Justin Taylor).
Are we a friendly church?
http://wabcmsal.org/pastorblog/?p=483
A Convicting Quote on Character
http://www.fireandknowledge.org/archives/2007/07/15/what-is-character-gladwell/
The Bible position on Global Warming July 13, 2007
Posted by roberttalley in Day of the Lord, Environment, Eschatology, Evangelicalism, False Doctrine, Genesis, Global Warming, Gospel, Judgment, Promises of God, Romans.3 comments
Will probably use part of this article in the sermon on Sunday. Try to figure out which part of this article best fits in with Psalm 19. Let me know if you figure it out before Sunday.
must-read (Thanks to Tim Challlies at Tim Challies)
