7 Great Lies in the Church Today Nov. 17, 2013
Introduction
A Video from Youtube on Atheist Mega-Churches.
1 On Sunday, gathering like this happened in San Diego, Nashville, NY, & other US cities.
a Trying to raise $800,000 to start congregations all over the world.
b 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (NASB) 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
2 After last Sunday’s message I felt there was still meat on the bone.
B In North Korea on Sunday, Nov. 3. 80 people were executed.
1 Taken to stadiums, tied to a pillar, bag over their head & shot dead by machine gun fire.
a Reason: Watching South Korean T.V. possessing pornography, & possessing Bibles.
b They were shot before 10,000 witnesses!
2 N Korea mixes Marxism with the worship of N Korea’s founder Kim II Sung & descendants.
C We are entering into perilous times as believers and need to be aware of the season & dangers that are clear and present.
1 We must know what we know & why we know it.
a False teaching creep in for two main reasons:
aa A Biblical truth is taught to the exclusion of other biblical truths, producing imbalance.
bb A Biblical truth is taught in an exaggerated way, often going beyond what the scriptures teach.
b When either of these happen, the flock is left vunerable & exposed.
2 Paul warned us
2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NASB) 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
a Today, churches in America as a whole, are dangerously close to embracing such myths.
b Before we lose any more souls, it’s critical we identify the 7 greatest lies that have infiltrated the church and have led to a very dismal state.
c Pray
I An overemphasis of prosperity.
A Carnal prosperity preaching encourages God’s people to seek after riches/money/wealth - or to seek after God for the purpose of riches.
1 Often, preachers & those who follow their messages will look at your clothes, car, house to judge your spirituality.
a Prosperity preachers will back their prosperity messages with scriptures like...
aa The covenant God made with Israel.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 8, 11-13 (NASB)
1 "Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 "All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:8 "The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.11 "The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. 12 "The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 "The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully.
bb (Give alot, work hard, faithful to God, blessing will come your way.)
Psalm 112:1-3 (NASB) 1 Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (NASB) 9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine.
cc Luke 6:38 (NASB)38 "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
b Paul wrote about financial principles of sowing & reaping.
1 Corinthians 9:11 (NASB) 11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
Philippians 4:10-12 (NASB) 10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
2 What prosperity preachers neglect in their preaching is balance.
B Jesus had some grievous warnings about money and the pursuit of it.
1 He cautioned about storing of treasures on earth & wanting too much.
Matthew 6:19-24 (NASB) 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.23 "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Luke 12:15 (NASB) 15 Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
a Jesus emphasized taking care of the poor.
Matthew 25:37-40 (NASB) 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ~'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ~'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'
b Paul and John both emphasized we shouldn’t live according to this present age.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 (NASB) 29 But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none; 30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
1 John 2:15-17 (NASB) 15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
2 Prosperity preachers have totally ignored Paul’s powerful warning to Timothy.
1 Timothy 6:9-11 (NASB) 9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
a I’m not against us having money but I am adamantly against money having us.
b When a preacher tells you to give & your mortgage will be paid - lie.
aa Give to God & He has to give you back 100 fold - lie
bb Abraham’s covenant is prosperity - lie... justification by faith.
Genesis 15:6 (NASB) 6 Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
cc Jesus is a billionaire - lie
Matthew 8:20 (NASB) 20 Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
dd Healing is based on giving
Matthew 10:8 (NASB) 8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
II Exaggerated view of Grace (cheap grace)
A How can too much grace be bad. Little off a lie.
1 Hyper grace teachers rightly emphasize the scandal of grace.
a We are saved by grace & not by works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
aa While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8 (NASB) 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
bb We are no longer sinners in God’s eyes, but saints.
1 Corinthians 1:2 (NASB) 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
cc Having begun in the Spirit we can’t become perfect by human effort.
Galatians 3:3 (NASB) 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
dd We are sons/daughters of God, joint heirs with Jesus.
Romans 8:15-17 (NASB) 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
b They have taken an undeniable, glorious truth about God & presented it in such an exaggerated way that they have evens aid Jesus’ words of warning don’t even apply to New Covenant believers.
2 Like the false teachers Jude confronted.
Jude 1:4 (NASB) 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Jude 1:4 (NIV) 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
a All sin is forgiven, (past present, future) so you no longer have to deal with sin. (confess, repent, the Holy Spirit no longer convicts)
b Preach God is love, never condemns, judges your conduct - given people permission to sin, you’ll be forgiven anyway.
B The reason why we hear so many “backsliding” testimonies is because we’ve taken a “kicked back” view of God.
1 Anytime you hear that testimony you can always trace it back to a hyper-grace permission.
a You wanna sleep with your girlfriend? Talk about a bro/sis? Don’t wanna tithe? Miss church? - Go ahead, God is full of grace.
b We’ve talked people out of the freedom of holiness into the bondage of the human sin.
2 That doesn’t sound “Baptist” - It sounds Bible. (17 million Southern Baptists & we can’t find 9 million of them!)
III Antinomianism
A Big word with a simple meaning - “against the law”
1 For several years we’ve heard the term “cheap grace” but now we have met “cheap grace’s” brother “cheap law.”
a Cheap law means anything goes - your under grace, not the law - since Jesus saved you.
b Jesus’ death for us broke sin’s power on our lives so now, by the Spirit we can live out the righteous requirements of the Law.
Romans 8:1-4 (NASB) 1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
aa Preachers who feed this poison to their flocks fail to realize that Jesus calls us beyond the requirements of the law.
bb Example: Adultery isn’t just about the physical, also about the heart.
Matthew 5:27-28 (NASB) 27 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY';28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
2 God’s law isn’t the problem: sinful flesh is the problem.
a Sin...
aa Will take you further than you wanted to go.
bb Cost you more than you wanted to pay.
cc Keep you longer than you wanted to stay.
dd Will promise you everything & leave you with nothing.
ee Will love you for a season & cure you for eternity.
b Jesus didn’t set us free to sin, He set us free from sin.
B God’s law never negotiates with sinners!
1 His law is holy, righteous, good - not patient with law-breakers.
a As people who have been justified by faith why do we feel authorized to lower the bar of law?
b How important is the law to God? His son died to fulfill it!
IV Deification of Man
A For many congregations, Christians, their view of God starts with them.
1 They go to “their church” to sing songs “they like” to call the shots as “they” see fit.
a They would be fine if we were the most important person here... but we’re not.
aa We are in God’s house to give Him worship & allow the Holy Spirit to lead.
bb God is holy... He is righteous... We are not!
cc We are under His judgement & in need of mercy & mercy comes from the cross.
b In America, we’ve made church/gospel all about us!
aa We built things bigger & better!
bb The American gospel says Jesus came to make us bigger & better - That is NOT the gospel of Jesus!
2 Matthew 16:24-25 (NASB) 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 25 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
B The ecclesiological ramifications are obvious, yet the prophetic ramifications are what worries me.
1 There is coming one who will have the same view of the church that many church goers already have.
a The Antichrist will also say, “It’s all about me!”
b When you hear Christians say “This is my church.. They’ll carry me out in a casket... I’ll get my way!” - All spirit of Antichrist.
2 As the church/culture becomes accustomed to worshiping Man, it will be a simple maneuver for the Antichrist to move into a position of worship. (Most churches/Christians have it about them already - evicted God from His throne.)
a Headlines call politicians “the one, savior, messiah” - stars, athletes, IDOLS!
aa Heaven’s gotta cringe when we throw these words around about men/women.
bb There is ONE, SAVIOR, MESSIAH, ANOINTED - Not Obama, Clinton, Huckabee, Christie, Perry, Limbaugh, Beck, O’Reilly.
b His name is JESUS!
V Challenging the authority of the Word of God
A Challenging God’s Word goes back to the Garden of Eden starting with the serpent’s challenge to Eve.
Genesis 3:1-5 (NASB)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'" 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
1 The satanic challenge was two fold.
a Did God really say that?
b God didn’t really mean what he said. You won’t die.
2 This twofold challenge continues to this day.
a Best selling authors will tell us...
aa The Bible isn’t reliable, Bible contradicts it’s self.
bb We can’t know much about the historical Jesus.
cc Collection of religious traditions & God is nothing more than a myth.
b In the church, the challenge is subtler (flows out of deification of man) which says “The Bible must live up the my standards.”
aa I’ll judge God of the Bible based on my morality rather than the God of the Bible judging me based on His morality.
bb In other words, if the Scriptures contradict out feelings/preferences rather than crucify our ourselves & bowing down before God & His Word, we question His Word.
B If our feelings/preferences contradict Scripture, we are wrong... not the Word.
1 (IL) Lighthouse & battleship.
a 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB) 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
b This church is order to be a New Testament church MUST submit to scripture.
2 Not BFM, Constitution, BOB-
a The Bible wasn’t given to us for information, but for transformation.
b Don’t just go through the Word of God, let is go through you.
VI Rejecting Hell
A Nowhere is the questioning of God’s Word seen more clearly than when it comes to the subject of hell & future punishment.
1 Preaching has become lop sided.
a God’s love, grace, mercy - totally ignoring the fact that God is holy, just, & must punish sin.
b We don’t have room for hell/future judgement in our theology.
2 Where pulpits are silent on hell, Jesus’ words are strong when describing hell.
a As a real place with people weeping, wailing, & gnashing their teeth.
Matthew 8:12 (NASB) 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
b Matthew 5:29 (NASB) 29 "If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
c Other N.T. writers talk about Hell as the wrath to come.
Ephesians 5:1-6 (NASB) 1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
B It’s one thing to debate the exact nature of the future punishment & it’s another thing to downplay or eliminate hell although.
1 This much is clear about Hell in the Word:
a Irreversible (The moment you die without Christ your eternal home is Hell)
b Dreadful
c Eternal Consequence (Once you’re there, there is no hope of leaving)
2 Hell may seem old-fashioned, uncomfortable, not good for business, hurt your self esteem... But Hell is real.
a Today, Hell isn’t preached much anymore, less people believe in a literal hell... that doesn’t mean hell is any less real or hot!
b Revelation 20:11-15 (NASB) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
You can’t erase it, wash it away... You can’t avoid it!
VII Universal Reconciliation
A Universal Reconciliation is different than Universalism which teaches all paths lead to God.
1 Universal Reconciliation promotes that in the end everybody gets a “get out of jail free” card because of Jesus’ death on the cross.
a U.R. teaches that there may be some form of punishment but it’s only temporary.
aa Colossians 1:20 (NASB) 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
bb Romans 5:12, 15, 17-19 (NASB) 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
b The U.R. preachers would say “Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot, Madalyn O’Hara, etc” are going to eventually be in heaven.
2 Abomination! Yet it is the fundamental teaching in this great lie that is gaining momentum in the church today.
a This lie is found in nearly all denominations from Charismatic to Catholic.
b Growing in acceptance!
B Not everyone is eventually getting to heaven.
1 Only those who have surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 When all these lies are heaped on the church it’s only a matter of time before the roof caves in.
Conclusion
A Today we’ve exposed the 7 greatest lies in the church today.
1 Over Emphasis of Prosperity
2 Exaggerated View of Grace (cheap grace)
3 Antinomianism (cheap law)
4 Deification of Man
5 Challenging the Authority of the Word
6 Rejecting Hell
7 Universal Reconciliation
B Let’s stay pure, spotless, without blemish - A storm is coming!
1 Don’t allow false teaching, errorist doctrine to seep into our lives, His church.
a I love the church & will do anything/everything in my power to prepare her for the groom.
b We (me) don’t play to please the people in the stands, we play to please the coach.
2 Jesus warned,
Matthew 24:24 (NASB) 24 "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
a But not you... you’re too smart, too well equipped for that.
b Pray
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