“A lie is never harmless; the smallest error is the seed of death for the soul and dishonor to God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“False doctrine creeps in subtly and may look like truth, but it robs God of His glory and enslaves men to delusion.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
Tackling error isn’t always as challenging as we think, but other times once you begin digging to expose error you find heresy hidden beneath and the threat is greater than you realized. It has so woven itself and entangled itself in every other area of doctrine that even what appears sound has been corrupted.
False doctrine gets as close to the truth as possible and holds many of the same theological tenants as Historical Christianity. It seeks to have its roots in the past though when we look more closely we can see where those before us recognized the evil and slayed these giants in their own age.
Lazy men have fell asleep during the battle and have ignored the warnings of those in our age warning that these giants have arisen once again—they are not new. They are the same old heresies just repackaged.
They take root in Genesis and develop their theology through the end of Revelation. They seek to rob God of His glory on every page and in every age.
Men boast of their courage, their faith, their humility, while they allow false doctrines to enter in without correction, rebuke or tearing down lies that threaten the sheep.
Not all false doctrines are built off isolated verses; many begin in Genesis and aim to rob God of His glory from the beginning to the end. Their theology runs counter to God, deifying man and demoting God.
It is no lazy man’s work to exhaust the pages of Scripture and test one’s own beloved beliefs. Those who care about the truth cannot be lazy but diligent to study the Word, be changed by it and test all things according to what the text says and means.
“True joy is not found in the satisfaction of our desires, but in the enjoyment of God Himself, who alone is our exceeding delight.” ~ Jonathan Edwards
“To look to ourselves for comfort is idolatry; to look to God is the cure for despair.” ~ R. C. Sproul
“The soul that trusts in God finds joy in His sovereignty, peace in His providence, and hope that is never confounded.” ~ Richard Baxter
Some seek to unburden their hearts by sharing what they are going through with others but they find no hope, no joy—just those ready to tell them how great they are and how amazing they are. It gives no real comfort; it only adds to the burden. The truth is, we’re not the heroes in our own story, and while we may feel empowered from such conversations, they simply don’t last long til we realize how “not great” and “not amazing” we really are. These may be trying to help, but they just made us our own hero and god in our lives. We just don’t need that! We are not God!
Others run to “Christians” who comfort them much the same but now doing it in God’s name. They tell them to “remember who you are,” “you are made for more,” “you have authority over this,” “your words are powerful, so use your words to come against what is after you and bind satan and rebuke what is attacking you and speak life into your situation.” I mean, who needs God when they just gave them equal authority with God and they can speak and do what they so desire? They are now “like God”.
But then there are those Christians who listen, come alongside, and who remind you who God is. They don’t promise what they cannot promise to try to make you feel better—health, wealth, job promotion, family reconciliation, or whatever you desire. They remind you who God is: He is sovereign, and He is working all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. You don’t know how He is working it out but you know that while what you look at hurts and is not as you would like it to be—and though it appears out of control and hopeless— He is God and He is sovereign. To that Christian, that is enough, because He is enough. No matter what happens, He is enough, and we know that He is in control.
We have joy in our circumstances—good and bad—because we have God. It is not a pursuit of God to have what we desire so we may have joy. No! He is enough. No matter how things work out, He is our joy; He is enough.
We do not abandon prayer; rather, we are all the more encouraged to pray because He is sovereign, and we have certainty in the midst of what looks uncertain. God is Sovereign, and we can trust Him.
“A wife’s submission is not her weakness, but her strength under the mighty hand of God.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Rather than seeking to usurp her husband’s role and responsibilities, a godly wife submits to God in her role and prays for her husband, understanding that he will give an account to God for how he led—or didn’t lead—his household.
A man leaned over and jokingly teased the husband and wife saying, “Oh, I forgot; she’s the boss isn’t she?” She smiled and gently said, “Oh, no sir. God has made him to lead and I understand the weight of that responsibility. I don’t seek it; I support him in it.” The older gentleman smiled and agreed.
A godly wife knows she is different from culture and she is pressured to conform. But she knows the beauty of God’s order and she knows the sinfulness of her own heart. Her desires are being sanctified by the truth and the more she studies her Bible the more she sees the beauty and glory of God in all He has created and in His order.
The world speaks to her sinful heart and tells her she is oppressed and lumps her in with those who have taken the truth beyond its beauty and corrupted it by adding to it—Legalism.
She wants God’s will in her home. The more she studies the more her mind and heart are changed. She begins to love what she once hated and desire what she once disdained. Rather than desiring her husbands role and responsibility, she recognizes how she can be of support to him or by her pursuing what is not her role, she can make his burden heavier when he stands before the Lord to give an account.
Did he lead well? Did she make that easier for him or harder? Did she walk alongside him and help and encourage him to obey the Lord as she obeys the Lord? Did she adopt the lies of the present evil age and place stumbling blocks before him?
If he’s not saved, did she pray for him? While her role was harder, did she trust God and continue to obey Him or did she stand in the way of her own prayers by her woeful and willful disobedience? Did she trust God who is sovereign or did she brazenly seek to take authority even from God and try to save her husband herself with her words, her declarations, her perceived power?
It’s not easy being a godly woman in a culture that hates God and Biblical womanhood. But, it is easy when we are led by the Lord and trust Him, understanding that the culture is led by satan and his lies and sadly, many in the church as well.
“We are never so sure of our salvation as when we see the corruption of our own hearts and the need of Christ.” ~ Richard Baxter
It is not humility to say, “I wonder if I’m saved, look at what I’ve done.” Neither is it humility to say, “Today I am assured more than yesterday of my salvation because I’m doing pretty well.”
There’s a fatal flaw here. We are not saved by our good works and we do not lose our salvation because we have a “bad day”.
You may say, “But does the Scripture not say to examine ourselves? Does that not require then that we look at our lives and test to see if we are saved? How can we do that and not be discouraged one day and hopeful the next? What are we examining then, if not works?”
Great question!
You would perhaps agree that we are not saved by works. Right? How then do we examine ourselves and see if we are in the faith, apart from works? Where is there any encouragement in that? Won’t we find ourselves unworthy sinners and once again “need salvation”?
We examine ourselves to see if we are truly saved by evidence of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in us. We are looking for fruit. We are testing to see if we have believed the truth or embraced a counterfeit. We are testing to see if we have adopted one of many forms of works-based righteousness or if we have truly been born again.
No truly born-again Christian ever examines himself and finds himself worthy of salvation. He never achieves such success. Upon examination, he may find what assaults his conscience and threatens his assurance but he is once again driven to Christ. He remembers Christ and he grieves how he has sinned against God. He repents and finds no hope in his good works but in Christ alone.
The Christian knows he is saved by grace alone and not that he has ever merited such Grace. We are not looking to see if we have paid off Grace. We are not looking to see if we have now earned our salvation. We are looking to see if we have truly been born again by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. We are looking to see if there’s evidence of new life in us that assures us that God has saved us and He is working in us making us more like Him.
When we examine ourselves, we may be discouraged to see how we are not growing or maturing as quickly as we thought we would, or we may see remaining sin dwelling in us. The Christian does not see such an examination as a failure to maintain their own salvation, but sees the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf and repents of their sins.
We cannot earn, keep, or lose our salvation—it is a gift of God. We don’t earn it. We can’t keep it by our works. We can’t lose it because salvation is of God. We test ourselves to see if we are truly born again.
The man who looks at his works—good or bad—and says I am saved because I do good works or I am lost because I have sinned, is trusting in his works for salvation. The Christian examines himself to see if his faith is in Christ alone and when he sees in himself remaining sin, he cries out against his own heart, repents of his sin and trusts in Christ alone. He runs to Christ! The man with religion and a works-based righteousness will ever be in despair or pride.
The Christian’s trust is in Christ alone—Who He is and what He has done. We praise God for His grace that is sufficient. We weep over our sins that remain in us and we long for that future glorification when there will be no more sin, especially our own.
The moment we begin to look at our works and think we are good with God because of our works or we may lose our salvation because of our works, we are in danger and we MUST hear and remember the Gospel again!
It is not humility that says, “I think I am saved because I’m doing good,” or “I think I may lose my salvation because I’m not doing well.” That is to call God a liar and to say that what Jesus did on the Cross wasn’t enough.
The Christian hates his own sin more than any other sin. Examining oneself is painful. We see our sin for how putrid and wretched it is. We understand the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. We boast not in our works. We remember Christ! We remember the Gospel. We repent of our sins and we trust in Christ alone. We are motivated to live godly lives and we are enabled to do so because of what Christ has done and by His ongoing work of grace in us by the Holy Spirit.
Our salvation is the result of the Triune God and for His glory alone.
“It is a fearful thing to ascribe to man that which belongs to God alone. Let the saints tremble at such blasphemy.” ~ John Owen
What if she was wrong?
She loved you. She spoke with such tenderness, and her very presence radiated with such peace and light that you just believed that what she said must be true.
When you were discouraged, her words were water that refreshed your thirsty soul. She spoke with such confidence that it stirred in you a confidence that you wanted to believe could be true even for you, though as much as she believed it, and as much as she believed it for you, you still struggled to believe it for yourself. You wanted it to be true, even if not for you, for her.
You began to survive off her words. She spoke “life” into you when you felt only death. She spoke hope in you when you felt only despair. You began to lean in to hear her speak words into you.
She seemed to have a direct line to God and heard Him speak to her with such regularity as no prophet in Scripture ever heard God. She spoke on behalf of God with such regularity that you’re convinced she prophesied even in her sleep.
She prophesied over you. She spoke life into you. She spoke declarations with such authority that you were convinced all of hell trembled at her words. She spoke with such authority that her words did not return void but went out to achieve and accomplish all they were sent to do. She was anointed such as she was extraordinary. She was no regular Christian. She was anointed with an anointing ordinary Christians stand in awe of. They flock to her and sit at her feet to hear from her and receive from her what they cannot get apart from her. She teaches them her ways so that they too can carry such an anointing, such power, such authority.
Friend, my heart is ravished within writing these words. There are so many who are so deceived by such evil teachings of Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel and NAR that you and I “know her”! She’s the prayer group leader, the pastor’s wife, the Women’s Ministry director, the Sunday School teacher, the Bible Study teacher, the small group leader. She’s your aunt, mother, grandmother. She’s your neighbor, local business owner, missions trip organizer. Maybe, she’s you.
When she’s spoken of, she is placed at such prominence as only belongs to Jesus. When you hear of her, it is as you expect those words to be attributed to God alone, but they are spoken of her. The Holy Spirit, who it is said guides us in truth and does not speak of Himself but of Christ, is spoken of very much in regard to her and is always pointing to her—her words, her authority, her anointing.
Oh, does it grieve your heart to hear God so blasphemed? Attributes belonging only to God being ascribed to man.
How do we not tremble when those who are mere men are venerated as if they are in the place of Christ? How do we have no fear when mere man dares speak words on behalf of God that He has not spoken?
We have one Lord, one Savior. We need no other. No need to apply.
As influential as she is, if she is deceived, then you are in danger. Follow not her ways. Call her to repent. If she does not, do not be led astray by what has deceived her.
Seek truth. Desire truth. Test all things according to sound doctrine. Stand firm.
“Behold the terror of the Lord, and let His holiness make your soul tremble; grace alone delivers from wrath.” ~ John Owen
If I never tremble, I have never feared such holiness that intrinsically is so pure that there’s no other appropriate action than to put me away, and under just punishment for all eternity.
Why eternity? I’ll never be able to enter such beauty, such perfection, such holiness, such righteousness on my own. Even my best efforts are self-motivated and stained. If God lets me into His presence, as I am on my own, then He cannot be holy, righteous, or just. The only way to enter in is by stripping Him of His Divine Attributes— which so many are willing to do—or to be stripped of any hope in oneself, agree with God that we deserve His wrath and enter in the only way possible, through Christ.
Many love a Jesus today. He’s their BFF, their life-coach, the one stripped of His Divine Nature and merely a man like us: He gets us. In any attribute of divinity that He is allowed to maintain it is equally ascribed to man as well. He has taken the hand of these and raised them to be just like Him—equal in authority, power, position, honor and favor. He saw them as victims of their sins, raised them up, and has given them the call to be savior of the world and to go out with authority and power that cannot be distinguished from Christ Himself.
We don’t tremble anymore. We don’t stand in awe. God has been made to be so like us that we feel we are doing God a favor, that He needs us, that He is trying His best but unless He finds someone to partner with He can’t accomplish His will. We’ve never studied the Perfections—Attributes—of God. We don’t know Him. If we did, we might fear that our next breath would not be a gift and we could face His Holy Righteous Undiluted Wrath that we justly deserve. We don’t tremble. We don’t know Him.
God has been so demoted and stripped of His uniqueness that He is just like us. He must save us because if He doesn’t, He’s not loving. We put demands on God. We don’t even need Him. We have authority and power to speak what we desire and to command sickness to obey us, Satan to fear us and obey us, finances to obey us. We have become our own god.
We speak of God but He is not the God of the Bible. He has similarities but He exists for our good and to give us the desires of our hearts that we baptize in Biblical language and call good and claim is pleasing to God.
We have no fear of putting words in His mouth and claiming He speaks to us with such regularity that sometimes we are annoyed with Him for interrupting our sleep, our meal, our message. We are special because we hear God speak to us outside of Scripture and we need not fear that we could be the false prophets Scripture warned about. We are above the Scriptures; those warnings simply don’t apply to us.
We don’t need the Gospel or Christ. We may give Him appearances in what we speak but He really just gets in the way of our anointing, our power, our authority, our greater miracles than His. It is our time to shine.
Are you grieved? My heart despises writing such words and yet they are realities that plague the church. Such pride reeks in our pulpits and pews, prayer meetings and Bible studies. Many do not fear God because they do not know God. They have a Jesus, a gospel and another spirit.
“The soul that knows its own misery will glory only in the mercy of God, and in nothing else.” ~ Thomas Watson
The fool says, “I need no such grace to change this heart of stone and seek God for my own—for if it be my will to do so, I freely trust that I can as I will when I so desire”. The wicked heart is deceitful, such as even to convince the wretch he has in himself such a desire for God that can be pleasing to such holiness. The man of whom has come to know his own wretchedness cries out against his wicked heart and rejoices only in such grace that could move his heart to know such love and such joy in another that once his sinful heart despised.
The wicked boast in their ability and their autonomy, their willingness to choose righteousness. They know not the depths of their own depravity or the beauty of such holiness that, if not now, will soon cause such horror to their mind that they lash out for all eternity against it. They do not later come to love God; they continue in their hatred toward Him. They neither love God now nor will they love Him then.
We know not how sinful we really are. His commands are plain to all, for He has revealed them to us. We know not how bound our will is and how evil our hearts toward Him. We are free, yes—free to the slavery of our will bound in sin. The fool says, “Let me choose when I will”; whereas the one who has come to know the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit cries out against his heart and cries out only: Grace! Grace! Amazing Grace!
“Faithful men finishing well is a demonstration of God’s sustaining grace, not the merit of the man.” ~ R. C. Sproul
Earlier this week, I heard Tom Pennington’s tribute to John MacArthur. While truly beautiful, I was profoundly encouraged when he said, “We needed to see one who finished well.”
Many men have fallen in various theological camps in recent years. Many of those were not surprising, as their theology proved them false long before their secret, sinful private lives were publicly revealed. Others it did come as a surprise, as their theology was sound, but in private they were living in unrepentant sin. We pray that among these are those who are truly regenerate, as few among them—made known publicly—have submitted themselves to church discipline and stepped out of the pulpit.
Praise God for the encouragement to the saints to see men who submit to church discipline and are truly repentant. Far too many don’t and further victimize victims, while portraying themselves as the victim. Wolves often have a very loyal support system in place among other pastors who minimize their sins, exalt them such as the kingdom of God “needs them,” silence anyone who warns of them and silence the voices of any possible victims. They also have very loyal, deceived followers.
Often, it is evident, to the Biblically discerning, that these men are not called of God—as their false teachings make it plain. They are also often recognized as supporting others who teach falsehood, blaspheme God, and are caught in sin. They give their support of restoring these men to the pulpit as if the church cannot survive without them. They are wolves protecting one another.
Then there are those that their theology was sound. We tested their teachings. They were otherwise doctrinally solid. But in their private lives, they were living in unrepentant sin.
God is gracious, and if they do not repent, He exposes them—for their sake and the sake of the purity of His bride. He removes them from their position and puts another in their place.
Among wolves this does not happen. They are exposed, but they play the victim. Other wolves restore them. Their concern is not for the purity of the bride, faithful exposition of the Word, or the glory of God. Their concern is for their position, their influence, their supposed anointing, their power, and their authority. They convince their followers that the church “needs them.” God does not need them! They are replaceable. They are wolves!
So many in the church have been so influenced by false Word-Faith, Prosperity Gospel, and NAR teachings that they truly believe that the church will fail in her mission without these men. They excuse their false teachings, behavior, and sin that brings reproach on the name of Christ to a watching world and that blasphemes God, exalts man, demotes God, preaches a different gospel, and leads many astray. Why? They believe that without these men the mission of the church will fail and they promise all their sinful hearts desire NOW!
While God permits these wolves to continue in their work that is contrary to the truth, it is not because He needs them, but rather, they are part of God’s judgment against those who reject the truth. He does make use of them, but not as many have wrongly believed. The church has long stood against their false teachings, and it has served to strengthen the church in the truth as she stands against error and heresy. They are not the hero’s the church is looking for. We have one hero—Christ Jesus our Lord.
We may be encouraged that He is sovereign and every Word He has spoken is true. We have His Word by which to test every other word said in His name. His promises are true, and His children find assurance and confidence in them.
We can trust that God has gifted the church with Biblically qualified men and that He has given to His bride the ability to test all things to see if what is taught is true. He has not elevated the man in the pulpit such as the church cannot survive without him—by which all his sins and false teachings can be excused. It is a humble calling and a beautiful gift of God, sustained by God’s grace and one of which will bring glory to God as these men submit themselves to the Word in their own lives and to faithfully expositing the Word in the pulpit, trusting God with the results. A reward awaits these few and faithful men.
Be encouraged, dear saint, when we see them finish well, as it is to the glory and praise of God who has kept them to the end. It is all the Grace of God and no man has room for boasting. And let us likewise praise God for His grace even in revealing wolves that were in our midst.
“We do not pray to change God’s mind, but to be conformed to His eternal, perfect purpose.” ~ John Owen
Some would foolishly say that they cannot pray that God’s will be done, because to do so, they believe, is a lack of faith. Is it ignorance of who God is, or is it something worse that would lead to such a foolish statement?
Have we no understanding of the Sovereign, Efficacious Will of God—that will by which He decrees all things according to His good pleasure and His wise counsel, which cannot be thwarted or frustrated by man?
Have we no understanding of the comfort to the children of God, that we can trust that God is sovereign, and that He is not reacting to circumstances but He governs all things according to His will? Have we no understanding that our faith is not in a god that is irrational, capricious, or whose decisions are contingent upon what man will do?
To strip God of His sovereignty, or of governing all things after the counsel of His will, proves the ignorance, arrogance, and foolishness of man. It is to deny that God is God.
God is not a god of disorder; rather, He is a God of order. He didn’t just wind things up and leave it up to man to keep it going by taking up our supposed authority and power over all things. God is still God.
While it may seem unsettling to some that God is even sovereign over the weather, over sickness, and all things, to the child of God that ought to encourage our faith. God is sovereign. If He were not, then what reason would we have at all to pray?
When we learn more of who God is, our faith is greatly encouraged. We do not have a blind faith or wishful thinking, for our God has revealed Himself in Scripture and in creation. He has made Himself known to us.
The ignorant cling to beliefs that demand of them a faith that leads them after counterfeits and to practices that dishonor God and blaspheme His name, His character, who He is, and what He has done. What they think they do to honor Him, in reality strips Him of the glory He is due and of who He is. But even this is not outside His will. He allows such things, and all according to His will, and ultimately for His own glory.
Those who hate the God of Scripture will create many counterfeits and lead men after them. Their god is ascribed many of the Attributes of God, but none are perfect, and all are corrupted by man. They have a gospel much like the gospel in Scripture, but it is corrupted. No man has ever been able to recreate a god of their own that is like the God of Scripture. Man always creates an imperfect counterfeit that, when compared to Scripture, proves false. Many come close, as they adopt so much of the language, beliefs, and practices of the true, but the imperfect will never compare to what is holy and will always be nothing more than a cheap counterfeit.
God, in His perfect will, ordains all things. What we understand as the Attributes of God, are best known as His Perfections. God’s will is not something we can bend or manipulate. It is perfect. We pray, and we are changed and conformed to His will. The more we learn of who God is, we do not want to change Him, and the more we want to be changed by Him.
“True religion is not a fanciful zeal, but a heart turned to God in truth and obedience.” ~ Richard Sibbes
Do I hate what sins my own betray my Lord, or do I merely hate their hindrances to my desires I think myself now to deserve, and to give me would please my Lord? Do I feign examination that I may find what may be a sacrifice in order to win the favor of my Lord, that my humble examination and sacrifice may curry His favor and He may be pleased to bless my sacrifice? Do I despise my sin, or do I sacrifice what hinders my greater desire that I may grow in favor to gain what I truly love and desire? Do I love God?
What if my beliefs are the very thing that are the vile, putrid meditations of my sinful heart that I delight in day and night, convincing myself that the pollution that reigns in me is a pleasing aroma to my Lord? Does my faith honor Him, or is my faith part of the vain imaginations of my own mind? Is my faith genuine and pleasing to God, or is it corrupted by my sinful heart and what assures me each day that I shall have what I desire and it pleases God for me to have it? Is my faith pure and undefiled? I have faith. I may have great faith. But is my faith born of God?
Am I worse than my neighbor who has no faith of which he ascribes at all? Does my worship, praise, and sacrifices repulse God? Do I offer them in His name, having found what works to give me what I desire? Do I ascribe to Him praise and sing truth to Him, offering what is otherwise good to Him but my sinful heart rests solely in rebellion, convincing me that God is pleased with me because of all I do for Him and how I give, worship, and sing to Him? How could He not give me what I desire?
But for His mercy, would my worship offered to Him, rather than bring upon myself the favor I think I have earned, now justly cost me my life? Do I know and love the God I claim to know? Has my own heart deceived me? How do I love it so?
Do I pray, sing, worship, and give with zeal, passion, and sincerity, yet my faith is not born of God but rather earns me no favor with God and only adds to His just wrath against me? Do I boast of my faith—that my own heart has deceived me is pleasing to God—and yet does violence to His name? Do I love God? Does it please Him when I call Him my Lord?
The man with a counterfeit is often full of pride, self-deceived, and lacks introspection. He takes personally any objective correction and denies himself the truth that would humble him and command him to repent. He thinks himself of great importance to the mission of God. He thinks that God needs him and the mission would fail without him. He has made himself of such importance that he’s convinced others that he is irreplaceable. He bears all the marks of a lost man with religion and not a man who has been born of the Spirit—truly regenerate—and is becoming conformed more to the image of Christ.
The counterfeit walks as parallel to the holy as possible. Many are deceived and follow after what is false, and worse, doing so in God’s name, offering Him false worship, false praise, and offering to Him false obedience and false sacrifices.
Lest God be gracious, he be damned. Oh, may God be gracious and merciful toward sinners such as ourselves, and above all, may He receive the worship and praise He is rightly due. May our praise bring Him glory.
Sanctify us in the truth, Oh Lord; Your Word is truth.
Leaving Beyond - Grounded In Scripture 