You're listening to Key Life Fellowships Pulpit ministry
podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we
learn from God's Word together. If you would like more
information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our
pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.
Amen. I ask the early service this
question and I'll ask you as well.
How many of you appreciate those songs that draw attention to the
Lord Jesus Christ and magnify Him.
I say that in opposition to the many things that we see today
labeled Christian music, that exalt man and that point to man
that are self-centered, only to leave Jesus as a footnote or A
tag on the end. But I'm thankful for songs that
remind us of where we ought to be biblically exalting Him,
exalting his name, and for all that we do to be about no one
else but Christ. If you have your Bibles, if you
will turn to First Timothy chapter 4 as we begin the 4th
chapter in this pastoral epistle, again in a series
entitled Biblical Ministers and Biblical Ministry, I pray that
God is ministering to you as we go through this.
We're going to see in this message today a warning.
We're going to learn what this warning is all about.
Paul is going to issue that warning.
He is going to issue the fact that there is a threat and then
there is a threat of something known as apostasy.
What apostasy is it is the abandoning of the true faith.
It is the departing from true Christianity is spoken of in
Scripture in other places as a. Falling away.
However, in our modern age, like many other things that we see in
Scripture, it's been rebranded, it's been softened a little,
it's been retitled from apostasy, what many are calling
it deconstruction or to be deconstructing from the faith
instead of departing or falling away.
No, no, I want to say this and I want to make this very clear as
we get into this today, no matter how you want to label it,
it's a departure from the true faith.
If you can call it whatever you want to call it, you can box it
in whatever package you want to box it in.
We're going to see that Paul is warning about a departure true
falling away. And I want you to understand
that because many people think that when we deconstruct as we
define it in these days, we're, we're just simply finding a
faith that works for us instead of the faith that our fathers
handed down to us. And in that we err because it
then becomes about us. And when one departs from the
true faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And to the inventions of man, even though they may be labeled
Christianity. We're going to see in a moment
that the enemy is very crafty. He's very cunning in this.
He doesn't label heresies that lead people into apostasy as
heresies. He labels all of them
Christianity. But these things are deceiving
many. And John says this in his first
epistle. In the 2nd chapter.
He says this about the apostate so that you're not mistaken.
When people depart from the faith, they abandoned the Lord
Jesus Christ. They walk out of the church
never to return in repentance and faith know this.
He says this in first John chapter 2 verse 19.
They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us.
It's not as if they lost salvation.
They never had salvation. They never belonged in the 1st
place. For if they had belonged to us,
Scripture says they would have remained with us.
But they're going out showed that none of them belonged to
us. This is tragic and tragically
under the label and the idea in our time of what many are
calling deconstruction. There are people departing from
the one true faith by the multitudes.
Now I know this, I know many of them seem to return at another
time. But John says that if they
departed from us and went out from us, it proves that they
were not of us, because if they were of us, they would have
remained with us. But they're going out showed
that none of them belong to us. Now, what's unfortunate about
the modern day reconstruction that the Bible is obviously
calling it departing from the faith apostasy.
When they return, often times they return on their own terms
with their new found faith, and then they intermingle this new
found faith with the true Christian faith, making it not
the true faith at all. And so we see very quickly that
apostasy presents a tragic threat.
To the church, it presented a threat to the church there in
Ephesus, as Paul is writing this in his day, and it presents a
threat in our day as well. You better make note of that.
You're none of us. We're.
Above this threat, we need to pay close attention to what this
message says. Now, I know some of you you're
going to say this alarms me. It should.
This is an alarming message. It should be alarming to the
individual as well as the entire congregation.
It's ought to shake us to the court, ought to wake us up.
It ought to cause us to do strict inventory of our
professed faith to make sure that we truly are of the faith.
Because you know what, there are many who depart from the faith
and they still sit right here. So we need to see it as threat.
That it is First Timothy chapter 4.
Paul says this. It says in verse one.
The Spirit clearly says that in latter times some will abandoned
the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by
demons. Such teachings come through
hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as
with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and
order them to abstain from certain foods which God created
to be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and who
know the truth. For everything God created is
good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
Thanksgiving. Because it is consecrated by the
Word of God and prayer. He goes on in verse 6 and he
says if you point these things out to the brothers, you will be
a good minister of Christ Jesus brought up in the truths of the
faith and all of the good teaching that you have followed.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you, thanking you for your Word and trusting in Your
Word. God, we know that today Your
Word is going to speak to our hearts and to our minds.
And for the believer who's here today, they will receive Your
truth and their lives will exemplify that as you mold them
and as you shape them into who you desire for them to be.
For the unbeliever today, Lord, I pray that they hear the truth
of the gospel, that you by your Spirit, use the truth in the
preaching of the gospel to open their blind eyes and open their
deaf ears. That they would see and hear the
truth of Jesus Christ. That you would regenerate them
to new life, drawing them out of darkness into your life,
exposing their sin, causing them to see their need for repentance
and their need for faith in Jesus Christ.
And this very day, Lord, you would save them because of the
truth that has gone forth, because of the sacrifice that
you made on their behalf. And I pray that all things be
done according to your will, that Your will be accomplished
above all things. Equip us, strengthen us by your
word now through the power of Your Spirit.
And we pray and we ask these things, the mighty name of
Jesus, Amen. So we look today at the threat
of apostasy. If we're going to do that, we're
going to simply just take what Paul has already spoken here.
We're going to break it down verse by verse and see what he's
saying. And the first thing that I think
we need to take note of and that we need to realize is the
reality of apostasy. He says in the first verse, he
said, the Spirit clearly says, yeah, there's nothing foggy
here. There's nothing in code.
This is not a mystery. The Spirit clearly says that in
the latter times Psalm will abandoned the faith.
So what Paul is saying is he's saying the Spirit has revealed
this truth and there's nothing that you can do to change it.
It is a reality and it must be embraced as a reality.
Why? So that you don't fall into the
trap of thinking that you're not susceptible to this, so that you
see the seriousness of it, and so that you would truly examine
yourself and test your faith to see if you are truly in Christ
Jesus this morning. So we must be constantly aware
of the reality and the threat of apostasy in our personal
Christian lives, not only in our personal Christian lives, but as
a whole, as a church. Don't think for one second that
for some reason apostasy is not a danger that we at Key Life
Fellowship faced as a threat simply because we're sound and
doctrine at this moment in time. Sound and doctrine at this
moment in time counts for nothing 20 or 25 or 30 years
down the road from here. And so we need to see the
reality of apostasy and doing that.
We need to see that it is first an inevitable threat.
Paul says this is what is going to happen.
And this has been revealed to him not because of some opinion
that he he gathered from someone else.
No, he says, I have received this directly from the Spirit.
That's why he's passing it on to to Timothy there in Ephesus,
who's pastoring that church. He said, I want you to be aware
of this and I want all your people to be aware of this, that
this is an inevitable threat to the church apostasy.
We need to constantly be aware of it.
Now. Stop thinking that if we ignore
it, it's going to somehow go away.
Stop relaxing and thinking, well, it surely doesn't apply to
us just because we're biblically sound.
The threat of apostasy is here and it is real.
How do I know that? Because it was there and it was
real. And Ephesus, when Paul wrote to
them and he'd received word from the Lord that this needed to be
addressed. Because it's an inevitable
threat. Jesus spoke on this in Matthew
chapter 24. He says this in verse 24.
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform
great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even.
The elect he's talking about in the latter times, in the end
times. And let me just make this clear
for you, right? Because people ask, ask me from
time to time, are we living in the end times?
Yes, since the ascension of Christ we have been living in
the end times and we will live in the end times until Christ
returns. And so we need to take note of
this. If we are living in those days,
Jesus said this, that there is going to come a deception and
many will fall away, and that deception will be so strong that
if it was possible, it would even deceive the elect.
Now I'm thankful that it's not possible to deceive the elect.
They are secure in Christ. But you know what it is capable
of doing. It's capable of deceiving people
who aren't the elect into thinking that they are the
elect, resting in false assurance and false salvation
based on some work that they did.
You know, they walked an aisle and they prayed a little prayer
and asked Jesus into their heart.
But you'll find that nowhere in Scripture.
Please don't preach that. Please don't use that when
you're evangelizing. It is not biblical, period.
Get rid of it. I know some of you have had.
It for decades. It's time to lose the things
that are unbiblical. Why?
Because of the inevitable threat of apostasy.
There are many. People who will spend an
eternity in hell. I believe this having said and
repeated parroted a sinner's prayer because someone told them
in order to be saved, this is how you must do it.
You will find that nowhere in. Scripture.
I've searched high and I have searched low.
It's not to be found, and Jesus says beware.
That there's going to be false messiahs and false prophets,
people that preach things that aren't biblically sound.
They'll do great signs and wonders and if possible, they're
going to deceive the elect. Be aware of this.
Paul actually points out in Second Timothy the inevitable
nature of this falling away. In Second Timothy chapter 3, he
says this in verse one. But mark this, there will be
terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal.
Not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited.
Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, you say?
Yeah, Kirk, that's talking about the outside world.
Of course that's what they're going to be.
Read on. Having a form of godliness but
denying its power. And these are people who claim
to have a form of godliness. These could be people within the
walls of a church. He says they claim to have a
form of godliness, but the denier deny the power thereof he
says have nothing to do with them.
You know what the power that he's talking about is the power
of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for
all who believe. First for the Jew, then for the
Gentile. They're actually denying God's
power to save and putting the emphasis on people and their
works, just as Paul is addressing those here in Ephesus
who would do the same thing. And he wants them to know the
reality of apostasy by making it very clear that it is an
inevitable threat. Not only is it an inevitable,
inevitable threat is also an imminent threat.
This is this is a threat and that is always knocking at the
door trying to get you to go down the path that leads toward
destruction to walk away from the true faith.
That's why Jude in writing his letter, he said this in the
third verse of that one short chapter.
He said, dear friends, although I was very.
Eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt
compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that
was once for all entrusted to God's holy people.
Jude riding to the church saying I, I want you folks to fight for
the faith because there are people constantly coming at the
one true faith, constantly knocking on the door, constantly
trying to lead people down the wrong path, constantly even
coming into the church and saying you have Christ.
But let me tell you about a little something more that you
don't have. And they can label it any
spiritual thing that they want to label it.
But if it leads people away from the one true faith found in
Jesus Christ, the one true gospel, we have a problem.
Don't we? And so this is an imminent
threat and anyone in any church at any time can be LED astray at
any moment, even this church, even this man.
I want you to understand that I am a human being and I'm nothing
more than that. And if I don't solidify what I
teach in scripture, I could teach you error at.
Any moment. And some of you, because many of
you follow without question, some of you would fall into a
trap along with me. And so you have to be very aware
of this imminent threat. I say that because I was
involved in a church where this happened.
I don't tell a whole lot of. Personal stories from the pulpit
Think there's a time and place for personal stories?
That's lunchtime or dinner time. But I'll share this one because
maybe it'll help some of you. I was in a church that was
passionate about reaching loss to people with the gospel, and
it breaks my heart every time I think about this.
And one year they baptized over 300 people by simply preaching
the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And then in slipped a little heresy here, a little false
teaching there, a little pride over here, a little arrogance
over here. And before you knew it, the
leaders in that church, many of them who are still in an
apostate state, giving no regard to the Word of God, doing
whatever it is that they want to do, many of them were led.
Astray and LED others astray. You can go back to that church
today and it is just a remnant of what it once was.
So I want you to see the nature of this threat.
Apostasy will always, until Christ returns, pose an imminent
threat. No one is above this, not until
you are glorified and in the presence of Christ.
That's why it's our duty to constantly examine our
profession of faith and constantly examine the Scripture
and constantly study the Word of God.
This is an eminent threat. Not only is it an eminent threat
and an inevitable threat. It's an increasing threat.
When we all. Agree that since the ascension
of Christ we have drifted closer and closer to the return of our
Lord. I loved a moment ago when we
sang How great thou art and Christ shall come.
That ought to be the longing of all of our hearts.
But until then, know this. There's going to be an
increasing threat of apostasy as the day draws nearer and nearer
to Christ's return. Apostasy is going to grow.
Deception is going to grow. How do I know this?
Because Scripture tells us this. Second Timothy, chapter 4.
Verse 3 Paul says this he says for the time will come when
people will not put upset with sound doctrine.
Instead the suit to their own desires.
They will gather around them a great number of teachers to say
what they're itching ears want to hear.
They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to
myths. The word of God speaks and he
says this it's going to continue to escalate into this direction.
Be very aware of that. This threat is increasing all
the time. Deception more and more we can
all agree, couldn't we? Looking at our modern culture,
looking at so-called modern evangelical churches, we could
say this very easily, yes. Many of them have completely
apostatized from the faith. They're not teaching the truth
of the Word of God. They're not standing on sound
doctrine. They're not teaching sound
doctrine. And they may have been a place
that once did, but now they have traded sound doctrine for self
help psychology. They have traded bold gospel
preaching for entertainment. This increasing threat is all
around us, inching in day by day as we approach the coming of the
Lord. It's progressively getting
worse. We can see it, can't we, In our
time, like Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 520, where he says this
woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness
for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for
sweet and and sweet for bitter, he said.
But Kirk, isn't that talking about those outside of the
church? Possibly.
Aren't we seeing many signs of that within the church?
Arguing about things that the Bible specifically says they are
wrong and then somehow trying to justify it theologically and
biblically when scripture has spoken on it and it's black and
white. God says woe to these people.
This threat is increasing and will continue to increase
progressively getting worse. Second Timothy chapter 3 verse
13 he says while evil doers and impostors will go from bad to
worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Oh, if the deception that those that Ephesus were going to face.
Was escalating in nature increasing as a threat?
Well how much more as we are approaching the return of Christ
are we seeing a greater deception?
Please know this church, everything labeled church is not
the church. Everything labeled Christian is
not Christianity. Everything labeled Christ.
Is not Christ? How do we distinguish
distinguish what is true? We go to the word of God over
and over and over again, but many have been lulled to sleep
regarding the threat of apostasy.
That's why I want you to realize that it is a.
Reality. It's here, an inevitable threat,
an imminent threat, an increasing threat.
It's nothing to play with. It's nothing to just look some
other direction and play like we're not prone to it.
You have to see the serious nature of it except the fact
that it is an ever present reality.
Secondly, Paul gives us the reason for apostasy, and I want
you to pay close attention to this.
He goes on there in the next part of the first verse.
I'll read the entirety of it again.
It says the Spirit clearly says that in the latter times some
will abandoned the faith and follow deceiving spirits and
things taught by demons. Such teachings come through
hypocritical liars whose consciences have been seared as
with a hot iron. He says what they do, He says
they forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from
certain foods which God created to be received with Thanksgiving
by those who believe and who know the truth.
And Paul's instructing the church to be aware of the
reasons for apostasy. He speaks of exactly how people.
Will abandoned the faith here. Here specifically, he's talking
about people that were coming in and they were teaching some kind
of ascetic legalism, telling people that if you're going to
truly be saved, you you can't get married and you have to
abstain from certain foods and you have to do this and you have
to do that. And all of this is because of a
demonic influence. Now.
Now I know many of you you get freaked out by that, but can I
let you in on a secret that many people just want to stick their
head in the sand and play like it doesn't exist?
There is a dark and demonic world that you cannot see with
your human eye. You better be aware of this.
Why is this important? Because Paul says that our
struggle there in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 12, our
struggle's not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this Dark World,
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
What is he saying? We was riding to the Ephesians
there and they thought that the tyranny of Rome was their enemy.
And he's saying this, No, you got a greater enemy.
In fact, all the rulers and all the authorities of Rome, they're
controlled by these dark and demonic forces in heavenly
realm. And so you need to be aware of
that when we talk about apostasy.
Why He says because there will be people who follow deceiving
spirits and things taught by demons.
This is demonic influence. What does that look like?
It looks like Antichrist deceptions, these Antichrist
deceptions that were here when Jesus was on this earth.
But we know that John covers them in his first epistle.
He says this in first John chapter 4 verse 1.
He says, dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether they are from God.
That would do you well to do that because many false prophets
have gone out into the world and this is how you can recognize
the Spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
He goes on and he says, but every spirit that does not
acknowledge. Jesus is not from God.
This is the spirit of Antichrist.
What you have heard is coming and even now is already in the
world, those anti Christian deceptions that we see all over
the place. That are born out of demonic
influence and second John he continues to speak of this and.
17 He says. I say this because many
deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the
flesh have gone into the world. Any such person as the deceiver
and the Antichrist. He says it again.
He wants people to know how true this is.
And so there are those anti Christian deceptions.
You know what's sad about those anti Christian deceptions?
They're labeled Christianity. They're labeled the right way.
Many people often forget this, that the narrow gate which leads
to heaven has the same label on it as the wide gate which leads
to destruction. They're both labeled eternal
life. They're both labeled to
Christianity. That is how crafty this demonic
influence is. Because our enemy Satan is
cunning and he's roaming the earth seeking whom he may devour
as a roaring lion. So you you need to understand
the reason for apostasy. It is a demonic influence, anti
Christian deceptions, false religious systems stemming from
so-called enlightenment by these people who are receiving this
new enlightenment. Now I got a word from the Lord.
Show me chapter and verse or you didn't get a word from anyone.
Show me they can't produce anything and the word that they
say that they received contradicts the scripture that I
hold in my hand that is infallible and is inerrant and
so I have to make this choice. Is the word of God infallible or
inerrant? Or.
Do all these people who receive this enlightenment, do they
trump the word of God? Let me just tell you where I
stand in case you don't know this.
I stand on the word of God because it is the one absolute
truth in this world, but yet many false religious systems
stem from so-called enlightenment or knowledge that
they receive out of. Thin air, folks.
Listen to me, you men who study with us on Thursday nights, You
know this. That's Gnosticism repackaged,
isn't Isn't it much of the Charismatic movement, the Word
of Faith movement, is Gnosticism in a different package, leading
people away from the true gospel, leading them away from
sound. Doctrine leading them into full
blown apostasy all while calling it biblical teaching.
You need to be aware of this. The demonic influence that we
see in these systems. Second Corinthians Chapter 11
Paul says this. He says in verse 14.
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an Angel of
light. It is not surprising then if his
servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Their end will be what their actions deserve.
Please know this. We're dealing with demonic
influence that poses as light. They may be standing in the
pulpit, they may be in some ministry role or some leadership
role. Introducing this demonic
influence, sometimes even Pagan idolatry, into the church.
How do they do this? Paul doesn't leave us guessing
here. He says they'll follow deceiving
spirits and things taught by demons.
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars whose
consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
The reason for apostasy first is demonic influence, but we know
that it enters into the church and into the life of the
believer through heretical instructions.
People who come and they teach things that are not consistent
with biblical truth. They are hypocritical liars
claiming to be free while in bondage to their own lies.
Paul doesn't pull any punches here.
He calls them exactly what they are, hypocritical liars, false
teachers with. Seared consciences, and he says
this about them, these false teachers, these hypocritical
liars with seared consciences will bring in these strange
teaching another place in Scripture.
He calls them secret teachings. Things that are secret that they
introduce secretly bringing these destructive heresies in
without anyone knowing. Second Peter, chapter 2.
Verse one says, But there will also there were also false
prophets among the people just as there will be false teachers
among you and they will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift
destruction on themselves. Peter here talking about these
secret and destructive heresies. What what do I mean by that?
Here's how they creep in and you're in the middle of a reach
group Wednesday night Bible study in home.
You're looking at the scriptures as they are laid out plain and
simple. And someone then speaks up and
says, I know that says that, but I believe this.
And someone else says, you know, I thought about that, too.
That's why hopefully our Reed St. leaders will stop that
conversation right there and say, hey, hold on.
Nope, that's not working here. They come in secretly if it
doesn't happen like. That you know where else that
happens afterwards? Out in the parking lot.
And I know that the pastor taught you this this way, but
isn't it better if we see it another way?
Can I tell you this? I do my best.
I strive to never give you my opinion about anything.
If my opinion doesn't matter, I give to you, plain and simple,
the word of God's sound doctrine.
Why? To guard against such things,
right? I don't want to be a heretical
instructor. I don't want to be some false
teacher who leads myself and others into.
Error. I don't want to be the one that
Jesus describes in Matthew Chapter 7 verse 15 where he says
watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
Again we see that secretive nature.
They come and they pose as sheep.
But inside, they're wolves. Oh, we see it in our day, don't
we? They pose as sheep.
They pose as angels of light. They don't really care about
your soul. All they care about is your
pocketbook or theirs. They just want to get to yours.
They'll tell you everything under the sun.
Right? If you want a miracle.
And can I ask you this? If someone in here was suffering
from cancer, wouldn't you want a miracle?
They prey on people like this. Are you in a wheelchair?
You were born there. You want to walk?
Well, yeah, I want to walk. I've never done that.
And they tell you, well, if you want to do these things, if
you'll sow seed into my ministry, walk out the door.
Then if you can't walk, get somebody.
To will you out, you're not a place you need to be.
These are radical instructors are hypocritical liars,
promising things that they can't deliver, seared consciences.
They don't care about people. They don't care about people's
souls. All they do is care about
themselves. Jesus warns that in Matthew
2411, many false prophets will appear and deceive many people
who are living in it. Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
What is he talking about? The true.
Love for God, to just love Christ for who he is, to love
the Father for who he is, to see them in Scripture and to be
content with that. You know what's interesting?
The church nowadays as a whole is not content with Christ.
They're trying to find new and fancy things.
Now let us be content. In fact, let us be consumed with
Christ. These are radical instructors,
false teachers, bringing destructive heresies,
proclaiming false gospels. And we already know what Paul
thinks about false gospels. Galatians chapter 1, he covers
this very thoroughly. He says, I'm astonished in verse
6 that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you
to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different
gospel, which is really no gospel at all.
Watch how this happened. Evidently, some people are
throwing you into confusion, hypocritical liars with seared
consciences and are trying to pervert the.
Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an Angel from
heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to
you, let them be under God's curse, anathema.
We have to be aware of these hypocritical instructors, these
teachers, these blind guides leading people away from the
true gospel, leading them to legalistic heresies, antinomian
heresies, again, ascetic heresies like we see here all
things that lead you and point you away from Christ by seeming
spiritual. But in the end, they're not the
one true faith. It's demonic influence through
heretical instruction, preaching, false teachings and
false doctrine. They're contrary to what Jesus
taught. They're contrary to what the
apostles taught. They're contrary to what we find
in the 66 books of canonized Scripture.
They're false. They're just exactly what Jesus
and what the apostles are warning about.
The third reason that we see the reason for apostasy, demonic
influence, heretical instructors, and this is a big
one. I want you to pay attention to
it. Biblical illiteracy.
People do not know the word of God.
Now they have access to the Word of God, but they have a lack of
scriptural knowledge. If you have a lack of scriptural
knowledge, you are vulnerable to the attacks.
Of the heretic because a path of heresy and eventually heresy
will always, if left unchecked, lead to apostasy.
A path is paved with biblical illiteracy.
People just don't know. They are ignorant.
And the problem to me is this. There's a deficiency in the
pulpit which has has over time resulted in a deficiency in the
Pew. I will take the responsibility
and I will blame the pastor's. Why?
It is our job as under shepherds, under Christ, to
protect you from the false teachers who come with that
demonic influences influence the deceiving spirit.
It's our job to call a wolf a wolf, even if he looks like a
sheep. Even if you don't like it.
Even if you don't like me. It is the pastor's duty to do
this, and the pastors have not done what they are supposed to
do. How do I know this?
Because Ephesians chapter 4 tells me exactly what we're
supposed to do. Verse 11 it says so Christ
himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the
pastors and teachers. Why did He give them?
To equip his people for works of service.
So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach
unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, and
become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of
Christ. Then we will no longer be
infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and
there by every wind of doctrine or teaching, and by the cunning
and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in
every respect the mature body of Him who is the head that is
Christ. It is the pastor's job.
To make sure that you are hearing the truth of the word of
God, that you are being encouraged to study the
scriptures on your own, to show yourself a Workman who is
approved rightly dividing and handling the word of truth.
It is my job to teach you those things.
And if I don't teach you those things because I would rather
have a golf outing with my friends or to go on a vacation
and to just enjoy life. Instead of being concerned about
your soul, the responsibility rests with me.
I'm thankful that we don't have a church full of biblically
illiterate people, that we have people that are eager people who
are excited about learning the Word of God.
But I don't think for a second that the enemy is OK with that.
And so I know at the threat of apostasy, the threat of heresy,
I know that those things are real.
We can't stand for biblical illiteracy.
We must study to know the Scriptures.
Where does if we're to distinguish the truth from all
of the lies and man, aren't there many lies being tossed out
right now? If we're to know and to
distinguish the difference, we have to know the truth backward
and forward. Our men on Thursday night have
spent months learning about ancient heresies that have not
gone away, though they've been condemned for seventeen, 1800
years. Why is that important?
So that those things don't creep into their home, creep into
their family, ultimately creep into this church, ultimately
lead us away from the truth of sound biblical doctrine, the
true gospel, and lead us down the road of apostasy.
The pastor ought to be concerned and concerned enough for
people's souls that he demands biblical literacy.
And we learn the Scriptures, we learn the Scriptures together,
we learn the Scripture with every opportunity that we have.
And for some, you say, well, the Bible's boring.
You need to be saved. You need to be saved.
There's nothing boring about the Word of God that he has
preserved and he has kept through the blood of the martyrs
so that we can have it in our hands, so that we can hear
directly from him. Nothing boring about that.
A third reason for apostasy Biblical illiteracy.
John Owens speaks of this in a book that he wrote about
apostatizing from the Gospel. He says this.
He says if the teachers are blind and the people are blind,
they will both end up in the eternal ditch of hell.
Isn't that true? I know that I received much
ridicule because I stick to the Scriptures.
I take it very seriously. Number one, I don't want to
spend any eternity in hell teaching something that leads my
own life astray, believing something that leads me astray.
And I don't want you to spend any eternity in hell.
But even more important than that, I'm going to answer to
Christ one day. When I answer for every word
that comes out of my mouth, I want to air on the side of every
word that came out of my mouth was the word of God or pointed
people to the word of God. I can't tolerate biblical
illiteracy in the church. What's the reason for the
apostasy that we see today? Those who are deconstructing
right now, because of their lack of a biblical foundation, their
parents didn't build them a sound foundation.
The church didn't build them a sound foundation.
They were never. Built on any foundation that was
scriptural. Now you couple that with some
false conversion to false ideology and you have a lot of
people saying, you know what I've deconstructed from my?
Faith. It's not your faith, it's real.
It's a gift from God so that no man can boast.
It's him saving you, not you saving yourself.
Those who are deconstructing in evangelical churches today are
simply doing this because they were biblically illiterate.
And no one cared. You know what I care about?
I care that every single children's classroom this
morning they're receiving sound doctrine.
I care about the fact that tonight and our student
ministry, there's not going to be a whole lot of entertainment,
though it will be fun. They're going to receive sound
doctrine. On Tuesday nights when our
single adults meet, they're not going to meet just to hang out
and find a spouse, though many of them hang out and find a
spouse. We're going to be taught sound
doctrine. Why?
Because we don't want them to be biblically illiterate.
Because we don't want them falling into the trap of
apostasy, going off to college and somebody giving them a
better way of thinking. There's no better way of
thinking other than thinking biblically to being in line with
the will of God, to having your mind renewed by the Scripture so
that you can know the will of God.
This is true and everything else is a deceitful concept, demonic
influencing, heretical teaching. Be careful of biblical
illiteracy in your life. It's important that you know the
word of God. It's not important that you know
the word of God so that you can look like a Christian who has
knowledge and somehow impressed people.
It's important that you know the word of God so that every day
you can go back through the things you know and you can
examine your life by that palm line.
Am I truly a Christian? I believe the truth of the
gospel as defined by Scripture. Am I walking in those truths?
Is there evidence in my life? Am I producing fruit?
You can know with confidence. So we see the reasons, the
reason for apostasy. Thirdly, what do we do with
this? Did we do like so many and say,
OK, it's a threat, but let's talk about something that
applies to my life? This applies to your life, your
very soul depends upon what you're hearing today.
And so when we look at apostasy, we have to say this.
There must be a response. But if we brought to the
knowledge through Paul that there is a real threat called
apostasy, and it is from the the ideology of demons, from the
teaching of these heretical liars who are deceiving us,
leading us to stray, shouldn't we respond to this?
Isn't this important of? Course it is.
Paul does just that. He teaches us how to respond.
Apostasy says in verse 4, for everything God created is good,
and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with Thanksgiving
because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good
minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the
faith and the good teaching that you have followed the fact that
the threat of apostasy is real and is a present danger in the
church. Calls for a response.
If we just sit back and refuse to acknowledge the threat, it's
already overtaken us. You're as good as gone.
Your eternal existence and livelihood is at stake.
How should we respond? Well, first, biblical truth.
Here's how Paul counters these people who were teaching this
aesthetic legalism. He says this.
No, wait a second. Everything God created is good.
How do we know this? How did Paul know this?
He went back to the word of God. When God created it, he said
it's good. And so if God said it's good,
you know what it is? Good, Good.
Paul's speaking into their lives and he's giving them some
biblical literacy here. He's saying, look, this person
is saying that things are bad, but God says they're good
because this was this idea that had crept into the church and
was trying to creep into the church, leading people astray.
That spirit is good, matter is evil.
Let me be. Clear on this, that heresy has
been condemned for a long, long time.
And Paul says everything God created is good and it's not to
be rejected. If it's received with
Thanksgiving, you recognize where it came from and who
provided it, Who put it from his hand into your mouth, providing
your every need, He says. Because it is consecrated by the
word of God and prayer. God said it's good in his word,
and you said thank you Lord, for the good things that you have
given me. Right.
That's where the people say don't eat this kind of meat,
don't do this kind of thing. You must fast 3 * a month, 4 * a
month, making up their own rules and their own set of ideas.
Paul says Nope, you need to respond to that with biblical
truth. That's what Paul does.
He stands on the Scripture in order to defend against the
confusion that these teachers were bringing into the church
and ultimately leading people into apostasy.
Because he was. Leading them away from the true
gospel. The true gospel is what?
Grace alone, the faith alone, and Christ alone.
Now it was grace alone through faith alone and Christ alone.
Plus, don't eat this, don't eat that.
Observe this day. Don't observe that day.
You see what just happened, All the alone's that you said prior
to that don't matter anymore because they're no longer alone.
They've changed the entire idea of the gospel, but we have to
stand on biblical truth. That's how we have to respond.
What does the Word of God say? That ought to be your number one
question of everything you hear from the mouth of someone who
claims to be a Christian or a preacher or a minister of any
kind. Is what they are saying
consistent with the Word of God? Now here's the problem.
If you don't know the Word of God, you're in trouble, aren't
you? You just have to take their word
for it. And there's so much deception
out here. It's running rampant.
You can't just take people's word for it.
You have to be like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17.
You remember the Bereans. I, I don't know much and you
don't know much and we don't, we can't gather much about these
people. But it says this in Acts chapter
17, verse 11. Now the Berean Jews were more
out of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they
received the message with great eagerness.
He's talking about the gospel and examine the Scriptures every
day to see if what Paul said was true.
Now let me just tell you what's going on there.
The apostle Paul, you're reading first Timothy chapter 4 and over
half of the New Testament that the Lord used him to pen.
These people are even questioning the apostle Paul.
Smart move. They're going back to the word
of God and they're saying, is what this man's saying is this
true? Please listen to me.
If they, the Bereans, had to question the apostle Paul,
question me, it's not going to offend me.
Go back and take the word of God and say, is what Kirk Hall's
teaching true? Not is it true based on your
feelings or based on your upbringing or based on your
ideology or tradition? Is it true according to the
Scripture, that's what the Bereans did.
We're going to learn a lesson from them.
We're going to respond to apostasy.
We have to respond with biblical truth.
We have to know biblical truth. We have to weigh things out
according to the Word of God. Again, first John chapter 4, let
me remind you, we read it a moment ago, but I'm going to
give you one of those verses again.
First one, dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test
the spirits to see whether. They are from God because many
false prophets have gone out into the world.
There it is again. Nowadays people think, well,
this person, they have a church and they have a tie and they
stand in a pulpit. We should take what they say at
face value. Oh, please don't.
This person has a following. Be careful of that.
But you don't understand, pastor, They have more
subscribers to their YouTube video than anyone else.
That ought to be your first warning.
You laugh. There will come a time when men
will not endure sound doctrine. You're not going to have a whole
lot of subscribers. You're not going to get a whole
lot of life. They're not going to be a whole
lot of thumbs up. You're not going to get a little
hard. We have to stand on biblical
truth. We have to test the spirits.
When that person on social media or that person on some religious
broadcasting network spewing lies, you need to be sitting
there with your Bible wide open and you can watch them if you
want. You better be there with your
Bible wide open and you better say, Nope, that's wrong.
Nope, that's wrong. Nope, that's heresy.
That's heresy. That's been condemned for 1800
years. That's been condemned for 1400
years. That's apostasy completely.
They're turning people away from the one true faith.
They themselves are in danger of hell.
Biblical truth. That's how we ought to respond.
Respond to apostasy. Secondly, bold teaching.
What's what Paul says this verse 6, what he says here, he
straightens them out on their thinking and he uses the word of
God. Then he says this.
If you point these things out to the brothers, you'll be a good
minister of Christ Jesus. If you point them out, he he, he
didn't say, you know, if you just don't worry about ruffling
feathers, He didn't say, just ignore those things and maybe
they'll go away. No, he said, point them out.
Show them the error of this teaching.
Show them why it is error. Name names if you have to.
Do not let people fall victim to the threat of apostasy just
because you're trying to be a nice guy, he says boldly teach
them. Paul's approach is bold.
He's teaching a bold approach, just as he teaches kindness.
And Titus chapter one, verse 9, he says we must hold firmly to
the trustworthy message as it has been taught so that he can
encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who
oppose it. Paul saying, point it out.
If you, if you have to give a refute, if you have to contend
for the faith, that means to get in the ring and fight.
Stand on the truth of the word of God and boldly teach it and
don't worry about what is going to happen after that.
Can I tell all of you this? I am firmly aware of this.
Most people don't like me, they just tolerate me.
That's OK. I I do the same with me.
But I am firmly aware of this, especially.
In today's time, when you stand on biblical truth and you boldly
teach or preach the Scriptures, people are going to despise you
for it. And let me remind you of this.
They despised our Master, they brutally tortured him, they
kneeled into a tree and they executed him.
They did the same to those who followed him, and they'll do the
same to everyone else who boldly teaches the word of God.
You don't believe me? You asked the martyrs around the
world who were being persecuted or even dying for their faith.
Right now you have it easy in America.
We must respond to apostasy with bold teaching.
We can't back down, he says. If you point these things out to
the brothers, he said, you'll be a good minister of Christ Jesus.
You know what the opposite is? If you're so worried about
people liking you and accepting you that you won't do these
things, you're not a good minister of Christ Jesus.
I told you a moment ago that one day I'm going to stand before
Christ and I'm going to give an account.
It's very obvious. And I say that with trembling
lips and tears in my eyes, and I don't apologize for that.
It's serious to me, and I'm going to give an account whether
I boldly taught the Word of God without exception and put my
neck on the line, the glory of God, or did I cave to the
pressure of the apostate church in America more than anything in
all my life. I want to finish the race under
his Paul did, fighting a good fight, holding on to the true
faith, finishing my course. I want to hear well done, good
and faithful servant. We must be bold in our teaching.
We can't ignore the threat of apostasy just because no one
else is talking about it. It's not a big deal to anyone
else. Oh, pastor, you preach on those
things. Your tithes are going to go
down. Give me a break.
Keep your 30 pieces of silver, Judas.
We're going to boldly continue to teach the Word of God.
We're not going to apologize to anyone for it.
Say. Well, pastor, you seem a little
overboard on that. That's easy for a person to say
when you're not going to stand to give an account, but I am.
How do we respond to apostasy, biblical truth, bold teaching?
He doesn't stop there. Consistent training.
He says if you point these things out to the brothers, you
will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the
truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have
followed. You know what Paul's telling
Timothy to do? Be consistent with that which
you have learned. Lean on the sound teaching that
brought you up. In fact, in Second Timothy
chapter 3, Paul goes into great detail about this.
He says to Timothy, But As for you continue in in what you have
learned and have become convinced of because you know
you know those from whom you learned it and how far how from
infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to
make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
He said Timothy, you know the truth and the.
Truth that saves the Sinner. Stay true to it, stay consistent
in it, grow in it. We must receive the truth of the
Word, the truth of the gospel, and we must continue
consistently walking in that truth.
Don't throw Jesus and the Gospel away just because it's not
fashionable anymore. Most modern church movements
that I would even label apostasy have started because Jesus just
wasn't enough for the people anymore.
No Paul saying to Timothy, go back and revisit Christ.
Go back and revisit the gospel. And then when you're done, go
back again and go back again. You want to grow in Christ.
Keep going to Christ, keep looking at His word, keep
looking at the truth. Preach the gospel to yourself so
that you can have confidence where you really are and you can
bring confidence to other. So we're going to confront,
respond to apostasy. It needs to be through
consistent training, receiving truth, continuing in that truth,
abiding in that truth, not only for our sake, but also for the
sake of those who are teaching Colossians 2 verse six.
He says this. So then, just as you receive
Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him,
rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith.
As you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness,
he didn't say. Go looking for new doctrines.
Go looking for new things. See through that no one takes
you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.
What are they deceiving you from Christ?
The gospel, which depends on human tradition and the
elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on
Christ. What did he say?
Hypocritical teachers and demonic influence.
So just as you receive Christ, he says continue to live your
lives in Helm, consistent in training.
I just don't understand why y'all go to church every single
week. We want to hear about Christ
again. We want to know about Christ
more. We want to agree with other
believers how he's worthy and worthy to be praised.
And he's worthy to be praised because he died, He was buried,
and he rose again. He ascended into heaven where he
sits at the right hand of the throne of God living to make
intercession for me. And one day he's going to return
and he's going to bring his beloved along with the rest of
his beloved into his presence, glorified forever.
Remind yourself of these things. Why?
So that other people don't lead you astray.
Persevere in the truth that you believed first.
Why? Well, because if you don't, it
proves some things. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 12 he
says see two of brothers and sisters, that none of you has a
sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God,
but encourage one another daily as long as it is called today,
so that none of you may be hardened by sins, deceitfulness
we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original
conviction firmly to the very end.
You hold that conviction firmly to the very end.
There are many they made a hollow profession with their
mouth of Christ at one point in time have who have wandered away
from the truth. Proving this, if they never
repent and they never return, it is going to prove to us one
thing they have apostatized from the true faith.
Don't try to pretty that thing up.
Say what it is. They've wandered back out into
the world. They were never truly saved.
They are like Demas and Paul mentioned.
He says Demas has forsaken me. Having loved this present world.
The world meant more to Demas than Christ ever meant to Demas.
Because if you're truly in Christ, Christ is your world and
you will remain in Christ your entire life.
That is the doctrine of perseverance.
That is the preservations of the Saints.
God promises that this will happen for those who are in
Christ. That's why it's important that
you examine your life. You examine your life and you
see what you really are. There are people who are trying
to distract you constantly. Matthew 24 Jesus again says this
verse 4. Jesus answered.
Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my
name, claiming I am the Messiah and will deceive many.
You'll hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you
are not alarmed. Such things must, must happen,
but the end is still to come. He says nation will rise against
nation and Kingdom against Kingdom, and there will be
famines and earthquakes in various places, and all these
are the beginning of birth pains.
Then you'll be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and
you will be hated by all nations because of me.
It's interesting that Jesus says will be hated and everybody
wants to be liked. At that time.
Many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate
each other. Many false prophets will appear
and deceive many people because of the increase of wickedness.
The love of most will go cold, but the one who stands firm to
the end will be saved. What's Jesus saying?
That's the true believer. That's the true believer.
He did not fall to the threat of apostasy, but because of Christ,
he rose up in the midst of that threat.
He endured to the end, proving that his salvation was in fact
of God, was in fact authentic. So we must respond to this
apostasy through biblical truth, bold teaching, consistent
training. What does the Word of God say?
Know it, study it, go back, study it, know it, live there
and abide in the truth. So we see as we wrap this up
that apostasy is a real threat, is it not?
And it can't be ignored. It can't be ignored.
It can't be ignored in your life.
It can't be ignored in the life of this church.
I don't think for one second that this is not the only time
that I think about apostasy. I think of apostasy all of the
time. Our staff thinks about apostasy
all of the time. Can't be ignored.
We must guard against it with the truth of the scriptures.
We must guard against it with the truth of the gospel.
We must preach the gospel with boldness and passion that others
would be rescued and LED away from this darkness To the
believer. I say this to you as we close
today. Examine yourself.
Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. What does that mean?
Do you have the works to back up your claim?
Do you? I can't answer that question for
you. I simply say examine yourself.
And Paul was questioned about the authenticity of his faith
and his apostleship. You know what he told the other
people? To test yourselves to see if
you're of the faith ought to be something that we're constantly
doing in our life, taking the gospel, preaching it to
ourselves, and examining ourselves in light of the truth.
Why? So that we don't fall to the
threat of apostasy. Once you come to that
conclusion, keep coming to that conclusion.
Guard yourself over and over by knowing the Word of God and
standing in the Word of God, having true hope in the gospel
and that alone. Walking in the power of the Holy
Spirit, contending for the faith.
Say, preacher, are you calling us to fight?
Yes. I am not with the methods of
this world, not with the means of this world, but with the
might and the power of the Word of God.
I am calling you to fight, and God's Word is calling you to
fight. Because when we cease to fight,
apostasy will rule. To the unbeliever, my prayer for
you is that you hear the truth of the gospel, that if the Lord
be drawing you today internally, oh, and if He is, you'll know
He's drawing you unto himself internally, revealing to you
your sinful condition, your wretched state, your need for
cleansing, your need for Savior. If He's bringing you to that
knowledge today, He's bringing you to that knowledge because
His desire is to save you. His desire is that you would
call on Him in desperation, that you would cry out to the Lord
Jesus as your only hope of salvation because He is the only
hope of salvation before you fall to eternal apostasy.
My prayer for you is that the Lord would have mercy on your
soul today, that He would usher you out of the darkness of your
sin into His marvelous light. He would grant to you
forgiveness and cleansing of your sin.
And all the other promises that are included in the finished
work of Jesus Christ on the cross through His death is
buried on His resurrection at the day alone today.
And from this point forward, that you would trust Christ
alone as your Lord and Savior, that you would keep trusting in
Him the rest of your life and for all eternity.
Let's pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus, we
come to you. We thank you for your word.
Lord, I know this. I have no power to take your
word and to transfer it into the hearts of men.
But you do. And I ask that you would, that
you would accomplish your will through it now, that you would
bring men and women out of darkness, that you would shore
up the faith in those who are believers, that they would rest
in the confidence of Christ in that alone, that you would be
glorified in our lives. We praise you for it in Jesus
name, Amen. You've been listening to Key
Life Fellowships Pulpit ministry podcast.
Join us each week for more teaching from God's Word.