[0:00] The pastor was invited to a church to be a guest speaker on a Sunday. And the more he preached, as he was preaching, the people were very loud and responsive, and they kept saying amen.
[0:10] And the more they would say amen, the longer he would go. And as he was going longer and longer, the pastor of the church on the front row started yelling, amen, Pharaoh, amen, Pharaoh.
[0:22] And so the service went long, and as he was preaching, he thought, I don't know why the pastor's saying that. So he ended the service, and afterwards, he went into the pastor's office, and he said, hey, if you don't mind, why didn't you go from saying amen to saying amen, Pharaoh?
[0:36] And he said, the reason I said Pharaoh is because I wanted you to let my people go. And so Pharaoh, Pharaoh, let my people go. You probably have heard that before.
[0:47] If you saw the Ten Commandments, Charlton Heston, that was a big line in it. There's songs about it. That's a part of the story that most people know. Pharaoh, Pharaoh, let my people go.
[0:58] But do you know what happens next after that's said? Six times in the book of Exodus, it tells us what is supposed to happen. Pharaoh, let my people go. And the next line is, so that they may serve me.
[1:11] See, being let go is only part of the equation. Being let go so we could pursue God and serve him is the story of the great Exodus. It's in that we have a picture of what godliness is, is that we have been let go by the hold of sin, and the truth has set us free.
[1:29] And in setting us free, we are now able to pursue knowing God. In Titus, chapter number 2, verse 14, it says that we are a peculiar people and that we are zealous of good works.
[1:41] What God has been doing in our heart from his word has changed us and has made us different, distinct, and a holy people in this world that are able to pursue good works.
[1:55] God's purpose in the gospel is to create for himself a God-loving and a God-like, godly people. When God saved us, he saved us for himself.
[2:07] So, Pharaoh, Pharaoh, let my people go so that they may serve me. See, that teaching of God's word, it leads to godliness. The truth of God's word sets us free, and in that, we're now able to pursue God and know him.
[2:19] But false teaching that is contrary to the word of God, that is not the result that it has. It does not bring liberty. It does not bring godliness. It brings bondage.
[2:31] It doesn't lead to humility, but it leads to pride. Titus 1, 16 says, They profess to know God. False teachers, a group that we're going to look at today. They profess to know God, but in their works, they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work, reprobate.
[2:49] False teaching, false understanding of the Bible does not produce in you what the word of God can and should and truth. So, today, we look at how truth will lead us to godliness.
[3:01] Two groups of people on this island of Crete, two groups of people in this world. One of them being here, as my new neighbor called me. I told him that I attended church, and I studied the Bible, and I don't know that I'll say it correctly.
[3:15] His name is Muhammad, and in the Quran, we are referred to as al-al-qtab, which means people of the book. That I am part of Christianity, which means that I am a follower of a god that has a divine book.
[3:31] And I was thinking, that's about the nicest thing that anybody's ever said to me, all right? We, as your neighbors, we are the people of the book. And being people of the book, there are some implications that ought to be true about us.
[3:44] Last week, we looked at the description of the elders and saw some of those things that the neighbor ought to see. Because I'm a person of the book, and because I'm a person that teaches this book, he should see a person that's blameless.
[3:55] He should see the husband of one wife. He should see faithful children, not accused of riot or unruly. And being a steward, not self-willed, not suiting angry, not giving the wine, no striker, not giving the filthy lucre.
[4:07] Those are things that he should expect out of my life. But in chapter number two, which we'll get to in the weeks to come, if I told him I was a Christian, didn't tell him that I was a Bible teacher, didn't tell him that I was a pastor at a church, there's also a description of things he could look for to see if I was truly a person of the book.
[4:25] And it says, if those that sound doctrine ought to lead to aged men being sober, grave and temperate, sound in faith and charity and patience, the women likewise ought to be behavior becometh holiness, not false accusers, not giving the much wine, teachers of good things.
[4:42] And the young women, it speaks about, and the young men. And the reason is that the word of God be not blasphemed. That I should live a life that would make, that would show that the word of God is powerful, that the word of God is changing and dictating.
[4:59] My neighbor should see that I am a better neighbor because I am a person of the book. We had a great time at the men's retreat together, men's events this weekend.
[5:11] I really enjoyed my trip back with some of the men that were in the car. That doesn't mean there were some in the car I didn't enjoy my trip back with, all right? I enjoyed the group of men that were in my car.
[5:22] I enjoyed my trip back with you, okay? And I was just so thrilled. Some incredible testimonies. When Bo was 12 years old right here, Pastor Bo, or Bishop Bo, if you want to call him that, all right?
[5:34] When he was 12 years old, his dad was in church, and he was challenged to read the Bible, begins to read the New Testament. By the time he got out of the Gospels, he was ready to repent of his sins and put his faith in Jesus.
[5:46] A few years later, Bo will become a believer. Just testimony of the word. Nick, where are you at in here today? Nick, raise your hand. Nick, 18 years of his life, San Marino, California.
[5:58] If he had a Christian friend, he didn't know it. Nobody ever talked to him about God's word. Nobody ever invited him to a church event. Goes off to college. His brother's in another college. Gets in church.
[6:08] Comes to know Christ. Starts sending sermons to him and messages to him. He starts reading the Bible. He puts his faith in Christ. Dudley grows up around church, but it's not until the college years of life that he really begins to ask himself, what does this mean to me personally?
[6:24] Recognizing that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. Sam, in the back, I like to call Uncle Sam. Started to clean his life up in his mid-20s.
[6:35] Moves here about 35. But at the age of 50, he comes to know the God of this Bible. He comes to this church in a different building. He said, I never heard a message from God's word.
[6:46] I'd never seen an invitation. And I couldn't get enough of it. And God changed his life in just a beautiful manner. And I was so grateful for it. It was awesome to get to hear that and to minister the testimony of the word.
[7:00] You may mention of it already, but joy, which I'm told we call her joyful now. God keeps sending joy to our church. We have Tyler and Joy around here somewhere. God keeps sending people named Joy here to our church.
[7:11] And we welcome all the joy that will come. And so joy, or the other joy he calls joyful. It was the testimony last Sunday night of not her, just the word of God having free course in changing lives.
[7:24] Such cool testimonies. But as I heard those stories, Nick, I thought, and I want the teenagers of our church, I don't want them to have friends in school that say, I never knew anybody that took the word of God seriously.
[7:36] I never had a Christian friend. Teenagers, pause. There should not be a person at your school that is within the reach of your influence that could graduate and say, at the age of 18, I had never met a Christian.
[7:49] You ought to think about that for a moment. Uncle Sam, as you talked about coming into the church and hearing a person who believed the word and taught the word and how it changed your life, it convicted me. And I say, Father, make that always true.
[8:01] And the short amount of time you allow me to be here on this earth and the next generation, may they always find people that believe the word of God. So that's one group of people. The people of the book. That's who we are today.
[8:12] We are the people of the book. But then we get into a description of the wrong type of influences. We call them false teachers. And it says that there are many. 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 10, it says that there are many of them, not just in that time, but all throughout the generations.
[8:28] Don't be so short-sighted to see that a person would be, you would think they must look like they have a long beard, look like a Jewish Pharisee or rabbi, and they show up and they're saying, hey, I'm a false teacher and I want to argue with you.
[8:40] Don't have such a small limited view of that, that in every generation there are going to be people that are going to try to take you in a wrong direction and away from the things of God. So it says there are many, verse 10, that are unruly and vain talkers, deceivers, especially of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not for filthy lucre's sake.
[9:02] This can't get any more plain than that. They teach things that they ought not to teach. So our description here, unruly, that means that they're unwilling to place themselves underneath the authority of God's Word.
[9:16] This spirit of unrestrained independence is that at the core of man's sinfulness. What does Satan say to Adam and Eve in the garden? Did God really say, is that really what he said?
[9:28] Are you sure about that? Just wanted to move them ever so slightly, questioning the authority that is there. Then vain talkers. You know, I was told this often as a kid. Those that don't talk a lot are not the only people who don't say much.
[9:43] All right? Those who don't talk a lot aren't the only people who don't say much. And I think they were trying to say, Trent, you're always talking, but you're not really saying anything. All right?
[9:54] And I was a talkative kid. And so here, these vain talkers here, they're not saying anything. Paul was warned about the same kind of danger. First Timothy 1.6.
[10:04] He says, for which some have swerved, have turned aside into vain jangling. Vain jangling. That's just kind of fun to say. Let's say that together. Vain jangling.
[10:15] All right? And so they swerved. It wasn't where they started. But now they just went off center. They went away from God's Word. And now they're just being people that are just vain talkers. They're just empty talkers. Talking about things that don't matter.
[10:27] Getting us distracted from the gospel. The simplicity of Christ. And then it says deceivers. That's literally saying mind misleaders. Deceivers.
[10:38] Mind misleaders. They put wrong thoughts into the mind of their listeners. So it gave that description. It says especially they of the circumcision.
[10:49] Of the religious crowd that we speak. That we speak. We spoke about often and from the book of Galatians. From people that ought to be teachers. But they're teaching the wrong things. They have swerved away. Now they are being people that are teaching the wrong thing.
[11:02] And it says even their prophets know that they're trouble. And so I've said before that there's two different understandings of this. One could be that it was the prophets of their name. That's their poets and the people of their day.
[11:14] They say that they're liars. Or it could be that among them were bold preachers. Which were willing to identify that they are lying. And he says as you have said it's true.
[11:25] I didn't say it. They've said it of themselves. But they're true. They're liars. Evil beasts. And slow bellies. Just lazy people that only want to indulge.
[11:36] And to take in. Such descriptive language. So there's that influence in this world. There's many. And there always will be. And that's that. And so in 2 Corinthians 2.11.
[11:47] We are told that we need to know about the devices. We shouldn't be ignorant of the activity of the enemy. That the devil is like a roaring lion. 1 Peter tells us.
[11:58] But we should be knowledgeable of their devices. 2 Corinthians 2.11. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. So we can read the Bible.
[12:09] And we can find some things that we know. That are common among people that teach false things. The influence that Satan would like to have in this world. Carson would you mind coming up here. My kids were always like.
[12:19] Dad could you use me more as a sermon illustration. I don't feel like I'm used enough. You know in church. I just want to serve in that way. And I appreciate it so much. I meant to bring a football today. But I didn't because I'm from Kentucky.
[12:31] And I only have a basketball. We don't know much about football. And all the Georgia fans in here. Be quiet. Alright. And so my son plays football. And if I was. I don't know much about football.
[12:42] And I wish I had one here with us. But you can imagine. Shaped like an egg. Alright. And so I was to give Carson a football here. And I was to tell him. You are going to have to run outside of this building.
[12:54] Alright. And you got to pick one of these lanes. In which you're going to run. I wouldn't go that way over there. Because Nathan back there. Is like a defensive coach. He would have that group. Quite ready for you. Alright. I wouldn't go in that direction.
[13:04] I wouldn't advise that. But you're going to have to pick. One of these aisles. The run down. Which one are you going to run down? Oh down the middle. That's a good idea. Alright. You're not afraid of Hudson right there. It's going to come at you.
[13:15] Alright. And so. If he was going to run a football today. There would be a couple things. That I would tell him. What is the first thing. That you tell a person. When you hand them the ball. What are they supposed to do.
[13:26] They were supposed to. Hold on to the ball. Is that what you said? Perfect. Alright. Miss Whithome. I don't know how you thought you knew this answer. This isn't Bible trivia time. We're talking football. Alright. Alright.
[13:37] And so you would say. Hold on to the ball. Alright. Or just run. Just that would be good advice too. Just run. Alright. But hold on to the ball. Give him the ball. The coach would smack it.
[13:47] And hit it. And he would just have to learn. When you have the ball. You have to hold on to it. Tightly. Bad things have. When you have it. So you have to hold fast. Then also we would tell him.
[13:58] To not listen. To the wrong side. Don't listen to the critics. Don't listen to other people. Let's say it's not. I don't have a football. But what if. He's not a football player anymore.
[14:09] He's just my son. And he's going through. You can have this here. He's just going through. His childhood. And I got to get him. Into adulthood. And there's all kinds of influences.
[14:20] In his life. There's going to be some of you. That are going to stand up. And you're going to block. And you're going to protect. And then there'd be other people. In this world. That would want to see him. Stopped. And distracted. And sent in another direction.
[14:31] Which way should he go. And what would be. My advice to him. It would be to hold fast. To the word of God. And to silence those. Among you. That are teaching wrong.
[14:43] Is to listen to the right voice. The word of God. And to silence the voices. In your head. That are telling you. To get off track. But he has to hold fast. To the word of God. You did a fantastic job son.
[14:54] Thank you so very much. Let's give Carson. A round of applause. All right. That one's. That will cost me. Okay. All right. Now I need Tinsley. To come up here. Just kidding.
[15:04] All right. He's the football player. But she's the one I'm afraid of. All right. And so. We have two different groups. Of people here. False teachers. And. In chapter number two.
[15:14] I want to speak to you. About how. You should be helping him. The crowd. The church should be helping. We should be a defensive line. Helping our young people. Get into adulthood.
[15:25] But today. What I want to look at. Is as holding fast. And ignoring the crowd. And I. Don't want you to say. Amen Pharaoh. And. But I'm going to. Get into this.
[15:35] As quick as I can. But I want to make sure. You don't miss it. Verse nine. It says. Holding fast. The faithful word. As he has been taught. That he may be. Able by sound doctrine. Both exhort. And evince the gainsayers.
[15:46] So what are we to hold on to? Three descriptions. The faithful word. God's word is trustworthy. It's inerrant. It comes from him. We have it here. It's what we have been taught.
[15:57] I have been needed. I have needed people in my life. To teach me. God's word. It's a beautiful picture. Because. The descriptions of an elder. Were told. And I'm supposed to teach the bible.
[16:07] But it tells me that the church. Was the one that taught me. And so. There was a generation of people. I had a responsibility to teach me the bible. And now I get to be part of a group. That teaches the next generation of the bible. And it continues here.
[16:18] I have been taught. The word of God. And in sound doctrine. Sound here. Speaks about health. It's a word that has to do with like. Having proper hygiene. It's healthy.
[16:30] And it's life giving. Three descriptions. Of the word of God. Which I am to hold fast to. And so. What does holding fast to it look like? Well holding fast to it. It means that. It says in verse 9.
[16:41] That you may be able. By sound doctrine. You can do something. That you may be able. Stephen probably remembers. In college. We had a professor. And he had this nervous habit. Of always saying.
[16:51] To be able to. To be able to do this. To be able to do that. Over and over. I got in trouble one time. Because a friend of mine. Had a calculator. And every time he said it. He would hit the button. And we were like. Up in like the 300's.
[17:02] All right. He had said it in a class. To be able to. Don't miss that. In this passage. That you may be able to. You're not going to be able. To exhort. And convince. The gainsayers.
[17:13] Unless you hold fast. The sound doctrine. We need to exhort those. That are speaking contrary. The scripture. Some people speak about. The word of God. Unintentionally.
[17:25] In a wrong manner. And they just need to be. Exhorted. Men's retreat. We. I was at lunch with Eric. And we were talking about. Apollos. And how the Bible spoke about him. He knew some things from the Bible.
[17:37] It speaks well of him. But he needed. Another family in the church. To help him better understand things. I've needed people like that. All of my life. I thought I knew something. But then God's people.
[17:48] Showed me from God's word. And I readily accepted it. And I said. You're right. I didn't know that. But I know that. Now. That's that ministry. Of exhorting. One another. There's a quote. We'll put up here on the screen.
[17:59] But it says. By Hubmeyer. A pastor. Many years ago. But he said this. He says. I may err. I am a man. But a heretic. I cannot be. Because I ask constantly.
[18:10] For instruction. In the word. Of God. That should be the position. Of all of our hearts. As it says. I want to know God's word. If I miss. If I don't understand something properly. And you can show me from God's word.
[18:22] I'm ready to accept that. You may not know. In here today. As Sam Wilson prayed. And said. We are. That Israel is part of God's. Timetable. For his return. And that we should be looking. For his return. And you'd say.
[18:32] Well I hear that in church. And I don't understand. But if you would show me from God's word. I would readily accept that. So many areas of our lives. We say. I need teaching. We should exhort one another. Many of us just don't know better.
[18:44] Until somebody shows us. God's word. And I'm grateful. Those that do. But then there's another group of people. That intentionally are teaching wrong. And what they shouldn't do. Shouldn't be teaching.
[18:54] And we are told. That we should refute. We should rebuke. We should convince. Matthew 22 34 says. But when the Pharisees heard. That he had put the Sadducees. The silence.
[19:05] They were gathered together. We should give them. No audience. We should make them. Silent. In our lives. Because the goal. Of a false teacher. Is confusion.
[19:17] The goal. Is the cause. You to move away. From the things of God. God will lead to godliness. And going away from the God. Will lead to a life. That is not pleasing to the Lord. We're all going to worship.
[19:27] You just have to determine. The direction. In which you're going to worship. A false teacher. A false teacher. Wants you to worship. But he wants you to worship yourself. Or something that is false. So let's look briefly. Galatians chapter 5.
[19:37] Verses 7 through 12. And for time's sake. I'll just go through this quickly. I think it's all here. On one screen for you. But I want you to see. This here's some descriptions. Of people. Or influences in their life.
[19:49] That are false. And what they're trying to do. You did run well. Who did hinder you. That should obey the truth. First thing I want you to see here. Is that false teaching distracts you. From obeying the truth.
[20:00] Of God's word. That it will hinder you. It will not help you. But it will hinder you. This persuasion cometh not of him. That calleth. So a false teacher wants you. To be more concerned.
[20:10] About what they're saying. Trust me. What I'm saying. More than they want you to. Take what you have received. From God's word. They want to become. The authority. There's many ways.
[20:21] That they become the authority. In your life. They want to. But they want to put themselves. Between you. And God's word. If you think about false religions. If you grew up in one. If you grew up. Not in understanding the gospel.
[20:31] Or in some different. Church. Or some different influences. In your life. You could see. That there's somebody. That wanted to put themselves. Between them. And God's word. Then it says. A little leaven.
[20:42] Leaveneth the whole lump. It just takes a little bit. Of false teaching. To create a problem. The greatest lies. The one that is. Closest to the truth. Satan doesn't come to you.
[20:53] Typically. And say. I know that you want to do this. Why don't you do this? He says. God's word says this. But did God really say this? And he just wants to move you. Slightly. Having confidence.
[21:04] Verse 10. You through the Lord. That you will be. None otherwise minded. But he that troubleth you. Shall bear his judgment. And whosoever be. A false teacher leads to fear. Which causes confusion.
[21:16] And discouragement. One of the great tools. In those that are teaching false. Is to use fear. As a tactic. To trouble you. And then verse 11.
[21:27] And if I brethren. Yet preach circumcision. Why do I suffer persecution? Then is the fence of the cross ceased. There was people in Paul's day. That were trying to say. Things that weren't true about Paul.
[21:38] They said. They were talking about the way he taught. And they said. What he said. That isn't what. Is what's being taught. And Paul says. What they're saying about me. Is not even true. They're trying to misrepresent. The position.
[21:49] Of those that are teaching. The truth. In the verse 12. He says. I would. They were even cut off. Which trouble you. That's strong language. I wish that. That group of people. That influence in your life.
[22:01] It was shut down. If you're in here today. And you have children. You have adults. Have adults. You have teenagers. Who will Lord willing. Become adults. You know. There's somewhere between.
[22:11] Tadpole and frog. At this stage in life. All right. And you're hoping. That they're going to become. Adults someday. You think about. How you want to monitor. All the influences. That come in their life.
[22:21] I want to know your friends. I want to know your friends. Parents. I want to know what you're looking at. Online. I want to know what you're watching. You want to know. And the reason is. You know that there's many different ways. To their heart. And you want to protect them.
[22:33] Well I want to encourage you. As adults in here. That's still true of you as well. You need the same thing going on. It says. I wish that they would be stopped. Verse number 11. Whose mouths must be. Stopped.
[22:44] First Peter 4. 11. Is a passage that I pray. On Sunday mornings. If any man speak. Let him speak. As the oracles. Of God. In any of our life groups. Or Sunday school classes.
[22:55] Any children's church. If the day. Somebody stands up. Before a group of people. That they are going to teach. What God has revealed. From his word. But Paul tells Titus.
[23:06] That just teaching. Is not enough. You also have to silence. Certain people. Among you. Certain influences. And so some of you. Who were once critics.
[23:17] Have already had your mouths. Shut. By the truth of God's word. Romans 3. 19. Now we know. That what things. So ever. The law saith. Is saith to them. Who are under the law.
[23:29] That every mouth. May be stopped. And all the world. May become guilty. Before God. Some Paxton over here. Whose sister was a believer. Was telling him about Jesus.
[23:40] And he would ridicule her. And he would criticize her. Till his mouth. Was stopped. And he recognized. That he was a sinner. Innate. Of a savior. And now his mouth.
[23:50] Is given. To praising. The Lord. The truth. Should silence. And why do they need. To be silenced. The passage tells us. There's a story. The story of Odyssey.
[24:02] Homer. Probably had to read. A chapter of it. In school growing up. You read enough of it. To tell the teacher. That you knew the story. But remember the story. Of this island. Where there's the sirens. It was a group of. They were like monsters.
[24:13] But they also look like. Beautiful women. Depending on if you could hear. Their song. And so. The captain of the boat. Said. You need to plug your ears. And put wax in it. So you can't hear them. Because if you hear them.
[24:24] Then you're going to want to leave the boat. And go over there. And they will destroy you. They will devour you. But he wanted. To hear them. So he said. Tie me to the mast of the boat. And no matter what I say.
[24:35] Don't let me down. I want to hear it. And he goes. As he goes through. He hears it. He sees something different. Because of what's happening. And then after they get past it. He comes back to his senses.
[24:47] That there are. What you hear. Has great draw. And influence. In your life. And so you need to protect. Your heart. And what you hear. Because verse 11 says.
[24:58] Their mouths need to be stopped. Why? Because they subvert. Whole houses. Subvert. You know the word sub. Means underneath. Not a six foot inch sandwich. That's a different word.
[25:09] All right. And sub. Underneath vert. Which means to. The take away. The change direction. It really speaks about. An undercurrent. Having. There is an undercurrent.
[25:20] That takes families. Away. Men's retreat. I talked about Clark. You went around. But there was. Your dad. We went whitewater rafting. Like 20 years ago. And Kevin's a big football player.
[25:30] A guy. And I've always been. Kind of small. And I thought. Well here's my chance. To get Kevin. And we were about to take off. On this whitewater rafting. And Kevin was close to the edge. So I just kind of. Kicked him overboard. All right.
[25:40] And when I did. The guide of the tour. Looked at me. And said. That was a bad idea. And for the next. Like 30 minutes. I realized. It was a bad idea. As my friend. Was just bobbing. Along the stream.
[25:51] As we tried to get him. But the water was shallow. And I didn't think. That it could be that powerful. But there was an undercurrent. That was so strong. That was going on.
[26:01] We live in a world. That has a very strong. Undercurrent. Where Christians. Play with things. And jump out of boats. And shallow water. And they don't realize.
[26:12] How strong the current is. And how much it can affect. Our lives. So one reason. We need to silence that. Is by. How much it influences. Our family. And then says. Also for their sake.
[26:23] This witness is true. Rebuke them sharply. That they may be sound. In the faith. People that are teaching you wrong. You need to stop them. You need to silence them. You need to confront them with truth.
[26:34] For their sake. As well. And so the Bible would tell us. How we would do this. How would you silence people. That cause this kind of confusion. In your life. First Timothy 4. 4.
[26:44] 6. Tells us that. We should be nourished up. In the words of faith. And of good doctrine. That's what verse 6 says. But then verse 7 says. That's what you take in. Take in God's word.
[26:54] It nourishes you. And you need to avoid. Profuse. Profane. Empty. And old wives fables. And exercise thyself. Rather unto godliness.
[27:06] I picture Paul and Timothy. Going through a church potluck. And he says. Eat this. Take this in. You want to avoid this. People in their life. Need people that say. Take this in. But avoid this.
[27:16] In your own life. You ought to know. Yes. This is on the list of things. I should be eating. And taking in. And this is on the list of things. That I should be avoiding. In the second letter to Timothy.
[27:27] Paul tells them that. Evil men. They will seduce. And show. Wax. They shall get worse and worse. And deceivers. Of those things. But you need to continue. And the things that you've been taught. This timeless wisdom.
[27:38] So there's an obligation. On the part of us. As Christians. To give voice to some. And to silence others. And we silence them. By taking away. Their platform.
[27:49] The first. Thinking of platform. You probably think. Is what I'm standing on the day. And there's a responsibility. To give platform. To those that teach God's truth. And to not allow the platform.
[27:59] To be a place. That would teach false doctrine. This is one place. That that applies to. But there's other things. That are considered a platform. Right? What is social media? But it's a platform. What is what you read?
[28:11] But it's a platform. What you listen to. The people you talk to. These are all platforms. That you are giving somebody. An audience. In your life. And you need to decide. What differences here.
[28:22] Make a difference. Not giving yourself. The Jewish fables. And commandments. And you need to go ahead. And decide. That there's some. Non-negotiables. In your life. That God has taught some things. And if people teach.
[28:33] Contrary to it. Then they are not teaching. A sound doctrine. I wrote down four. And I can give you more. Marriage is according. To God's design. It's between man.
[28:43] And a woman. That's what God's word says. People that would teach. Contrary to that. Are people that are not. Teaching sound doctrine. And they should be silenced. In my life. God has preserved his word.
[28:55] It's without error. That is sound doctrine. If you don't believe that. And you don't teach that. Then you don't have an audience. And a platform. In my life. Salvation is a gift of God.
[29:06] Not of works. If you teach differently. Then I will want to silence you. With the truth. Jesus was born. Of a virgin. That the sinless life. Died perfectly for you and I.
[29:17] And he rose again. If you teach contrary to that. Then you would have no place here. To teach in our church. And you would have no place. To have influence. In my life. And then so one.
[29:28] Is we do not give influence. In our lives. If you cannot physically. We're not in a position. Nor should we physically. Cut out tongues. But we can decide. What we give our ears to. That is another way. Of silencing people.
[29:39] Then a second way here. Is to live an irrefutable. Holy life. First Peter 2 15. For so is the will of God. That with well doing. You see that. With well doing.
[29:50] You may put to silence. The ignorance. Of foolish men. Paul. Then Peter. Are simply repeating something. That Jesus said on numerous times. By their fruits. You will know them.
[30:01] False teachers. Are motivated by. Filthy gain. By filthy lucre. Wanting to take. But my life. And your life. Should demonstrate. Through our well doing. That the word of God.
[30:12] Has moved us. Towards godliness. And so there's a way. To do a diagnostic. Upon your heart. A way to check. What's going on. Verse 116. Of Titus.
[30:22] They profess. That they know God. But in their works. They deny him. Being abominable. And disobedient. That this false teaching. Has not led to godliness. But it has led to a life. That would not represent God.
[30:34] And the way in which. He should be represented. And so false doctrine. Will never produce. Godly lives. I mentioned earlier. Sound doctrine. Is this word. Hygiene.
[30:45] I don't know if any of you. In here are germophobes. Actually I know a few of you. And you are germophobes. All right. I'm looking at you right now. All right. Germophobes in here. What if I told you. I was like. Hey we went to this restaurant. And they had a very low.
[30:56] Health score. It's like. It's like a 60. And all that. I'm like. But don't worry. They use locally grown. Organic ingredients. It's going to be okay. You would say.
[31:07] It doesn't matter. I just saw that teenager. Come out of the bathroom. And not wash his hands. Or whatever. And you're like. It doesn't matter. Because if their hands are dirty. Then whatever they touch.
[31:18] Will be corrupt. Consider that. Titus 1 15. Unto the pure. All things are pure. But unto them that are defiled. And unbelieving is nothing pure. But even their mind and conscience is defiled.
[31:29] That verse kind of gives you an idea of what the conversations were going on among creep. The idea that people follow rituals. An outward way of doing things. And adherence to it.
[31:40] But there's no making outward things of your life. Holy and godly. If you are not pure on the inside. That this false teaching that was going on. Which was not motivated by a love for God.
[31:52] Which was not motivated by wanting to serve God. But it was motivated by gain of filthy lucre. That because the root was wrong. That everything that it touched. Is going to produce things that are ungodly.
[32:03] So false teaching. A wrong understanding of the gospel. No matter how sincere it is. No matter how rigid it is. It is never going to produce in you. A godly life that is pleasing to the Lord.
[32:15] False religion emphasizes adherence to the rules. But never any real heart change. It uses filthy lucre. For the sake of dishonest gain. And God is a means to end.
[32:26] He is a means to houses or cars. Or to a better life. That would be one version of religion. That would teach you prosperity. Or maybe it would teach you not so much about wealth. But maybe it will teach you to live a moral life.
[32:36] A well behaved life. One that if you follow all those rules. Then your family will be what it is supposed to be. But if it isn't the truth of God's word. It will never produce what God would have for us.
[32:47] So this false religion. It leads to the opposite of godliness. Instead of being grateful. It produces pride. Instead of full surrender where Jesus is Lord. It leads to a relationship where we are always negotiating.
[32:59] A false religion keeps you busy. Rituals, commands, and words. But it never curbs sin. If anything it encourages it. Look what John Bunyan said. Run, John, run.
[33:11] The law commands. But gives us neither feet nor hands. Far better news the gospel brings. It bids us fly. And gives us wings. There are false gospels on every corner.
[33:24] There is false teaching about God's word. And it will never produce in and through you what God would have. That only the truth of God's word will provide through you.
[33:35] So let me give you some application. Some encouragement for response here. Before I pray together. And then we'll stand and sing. I would like you to evaluate the religious teaching that you're receiving.
[33:47] Do not be so naive to believe that the only way in which you're receiving religious teaching is what's happening right now. Or when you choose to turn on religious programming and watch something. Everything you watch has an intent to it.
[34:00] Everything you watch has a purpose. It is not just there to entertain you. But it has a purpose to shape you. You need to consider the programming that you're watching. The influences in your life.
[34:11] And say what is it trying to shape me into. And if it's not in the godliness. You ought to give it. You ought to silence it in your life. And then second in here.
[34:22] You should evaluate the sincerity as a believer. Paul says in verse 1. The acknowledging of truth which is after godliness. Have you acknowledged the truth in your life.
[34:33] And is it leading you to godliness. Not to being perfect. As much as any time in my life I recognize my shortcomings. But acknowledging the truth of god's word.
[34:43] Has created inside of me a desire for holiness. It is a desire to please him. It's a desire to pursue him. It's a desire to serve him. And if that has not been born in your life.
[34:56] Then you should ask yourself. Have you acknowledged the truth of god's word. Or have you just accepted some other version. Of the gospel. That was not life changing.
[35:07] And so there's a question for every one of you in here. Those that are believing. And those that are not. The truth of god's word should be leading to godliness. Have you acknowledged it in your life.
[35:18] Let's pray together. With every head bowed. And every eye closed. And let me speak to you believers. You pray there in your seat. Ask God to evaluate your heart. To recognize and say. Father I want to grow in knowing you.
[35:30] Ask him to look at your heart. And to make yourself open to him today. And say I don't want to be influenced by things that take me away. From the truth of god's word.
[35:41] And evaluate those areas in your life. Do you need the silence. False teaching in your life. Is there something that is pulling you away. From knowing and serving him.
[35:53] And believers as you are praying today. I want to speak to you in here today. If you do not know where you stand. And you say I grew up. And I knew some things about church. I know some things about the bible. I know some things about the story of Jesus.
[36:04] But I don't know if I know the truth of god's word. I would like to encourage you today. To let this be a stepping point in your life. To say I want to know. The gospel truth.
[36:15] I don't want to be influenced by things in this life. That are not going to take me. To where god would have me to go. And I would love to be. Somebody that would help you there on your journey.
[36:26] At the back there is a table. We get information. Meet with you throughout the week. Help you understand. What god's word says. About knowing Jesus Christ. Heavenly father.
[36:37] I thank you for your word today. I thank you for how it is effectual. And it works in our lives. Thank you for how you have been making. This group of people. People of the book. Fathers I think about my friends.
[36:50] And on that drive this week. And how the word of god has worked in their lives lord. Lord I pray that can be true. And said among all of us in here. That the word of god is leading us into godliness.
[37:01] Father if there be any among us that do not know you. I pray that today would be the day of salvation. If there's any in here today. Lord they're just confused. And they just want some help. They want to know what the word of god says about a matter.
[37:14] Lord I pray that today would be the day. That they would take their step. And find those answers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.