Well, good morning. I hope you have a copy of God's Word with you today.
If you do, please join me in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
Two weeks ago now, I began preaching a series of sermons, which is not a thing we do normatively here, expressing our need to build a resilient church culture.
The first week was an overview, at which time I made the case that we live in days of growing, soft totalitarianism, particularly concerning anthropology, how we came to be, why we exist, etc.
This is largely a problem concerning the very definition of mankind, and it is making inroads into our culture at a sweeping pace.
I think perhaps you all know already what I've been talking about.
There's going to be a pressure felt against Orthodox Christianity already being felt, but being felt in greater measure than I believe ever before in this country.
If you haven't heard the past two sermons, I think you'll be well helped by listening to their recordings.
For the sake of time, I can't rebuild each case as we're doing this.
You should be able to find those on the website.
But each week, I've begun with three prerequisite statements.
Of course, I could say that correctly, prerequisite statements.
And I think that they bear repeating once again.
So I'm going to do these three things quickly before we get to the topic for today.
Number one, as a general practice, we preach expositional sermons.
Most simply put, this means that we take for the sermons point or points the main point or points of that week's text.
We typically preach verse-by-verse exposition.
And I'm looking forward in the fall to get started on the book of Romans with you.
We want to be especially careful not to read into a text what we want the text to say.
This is called eisegesis, right?
We want to exegete the text.
Many errors have arisen through the practice of eisegesis.
And so, with that in mind, as we think about a text and we think about it topically,
I just want to warn you to be especially discerning.
Secondly, I am not trying to be an alarmist.
But there are times in which we need to be thinking carefully and looking forward well.
And because of this, your elders feel a burden to prepare you for challenges that we believe are coming.
We love you very much.
We want to teach you well from God's Word for your good and for the glory of our God.
And to be frank, if we're entirely wrong,
all the things that we're going to be talking about are just good and proper things for the church to be doing anyway.
So, we'll be okay.
Third, the six total weeks we're going to be spending thinking about building a resilient church culture
will not be enough time to exhaust the topic.
Nor will each week be enough time for the particular thing that we're talking about.
I feel that like I want, you know, three times as many pages of notes as I presently have.
But I hope that it will prime us and get us talking and thinking.
We're going to need to do so both formally and informally, day to day.
And above all, we would ask that you would spend time with the Lord and His Word as you consider the days in which we live.
So, how do we build a resilient church culture, right?
A church that is going to stand against the rising tide of this soft totalitarianism, right?
A requirement to toe the cultural line.
We're going to have to build it, right?
It's not going to just happen, right?
It will be spirit-empowered if it's valuable at all.
But we're going to have to do some things in order for it to happen.
We will have to be strong, right?
Because the tide, the cultural tide, it will be destructive.
And it will have to be cultural.
It's going to have to be ingrained into every part of who we are as a people set apart for God's praise.
So, this morning we're going to consider the second of five things your elders believe we need to be working on.
The first was clear mission.
The second, robust theology.
The third, accurate history.
The fourth, sacrificial hospitality.
And the fifth, healthy family.
Today, we're going to consider robust theology.
Now, many people, when they hear the word theology, think, oh, that's for the theologians, right?
That is for the high-minded in places of academia.
But theology is merely the study of God, of our Creator.
If we are to rightly answer the questions, how were we created?
For what purpose were we created?
How ought our lives to be ordered?
If we're looking for any meaning or purpose at all, then we're going to have to do so theologically.
Even the atheist makes a theological statement in declaring there is no God.
That is a form of theology.
Not only will we need to be theological to stand against the rising tide of soft totalitarianism,
but we will have to do theology robustly.
We're going to have to do it well.
Our theology will need to be strong, and it will need to be healthy.
It will need to be altogether biblical.
We will need to know what we believe, why we believe it,
and be able to recognize attacks at the very core of our Christian faith.
So, let's begin this morning with our text.
2 Timothy chapter 3.
I'm going to read the entirety of chapter 3 and into verse 5 of chapter 4.
Let me remind you that the subheadings and the verse numbers and the chapter numbers are not inspired.
They're very helpful to us, right?
We all arrived at the same point in our English text by saying chapter 3, verse 1, but not inspired.
And I want you to see the flow of Paul's reasoning here to his disciple Timothy.
Before I begin reading, let me remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us.
It was written for his glory and our good, and so we would do well to approach it with reverence,
to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
2 Timothy 3, verse 1 and following.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents,
ungrateful, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control,
brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having the appearance of godliness but denying its power.
Avoid such people.
For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women,
burdened with sins and led astray by various passions,
always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.
Just as Janice and John Brace opposed Moses, so these men also opposed the truth,
men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.
But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love,
my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra,
which persecutions I endured, yet from them all the Lord rescued me.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed,
knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word.
Be ready in season and out of season.
Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching,
but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering,
do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
So, this is known as Paul's last epistle, the last letter that he wrote.
He's on his deathbed, he's anticipating his soon coming end,
and he's issuing these final words to Timothy, who is serving as a pastor,
but that doesn't mean that the words here only apply to Timothy and his particular ministry.
Notice that he says that this time is here and it is coming.
Timothy himself experienced this and the practical application that he needed in his day,
and we also need to consider it.
So, to do so, we're going to do it in a two-point simple outline,
which is as follows.
Number one, two exhortations,
and number two, three reasons for the two exhortations.
We've got all those numbers.
Number one, two exhortations.
Number two, three reasons for the two exhortations.
We won't look at this text exhaustively.
Remember, I'm driving to a point, right?
Trying carefully to exegete, not eisegete.
Be discerning.
We can't pick up every little detail that's found in this long bit of text.
But I want to draw your attention first to two exhortations.
So, number one, continue.
Paul is urging Timothy, right?
That's what it means to exhort.
He's urging him to continue, right?
In something specific, right?
He says, but as for you, right?
In contrast to these type of men,
you continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed.
Paul tells Timothy that there will be difficulty in the last days
because of ungodly people.
And his response to that is to instruct Timothy
not to withdraw from society or abandon his work to start a new one,
but to continue, right?
To settle in, to keep moving forward.
It's what many of the Puritans called plotting, right?
Stay on the path.
Just keep going.
Continue.
Timothy is told, right, to continue in what he had learned and believed,
which we see as Paul continues is the Word of God.
In verse 15, Paul calls this the sacred writings,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
It says that he was familiar with them from a child, right?
We know that his mother and his grandmothers were followers of Christ
and taught him the Old Testament text that he might come to faith in Christ.
And then in verse 16, we see Paul call this the Scripture,
who has God as its very source, right?
Breathed out, expired by God himself.
If we are to continue, then we are going to have to continue by God's Word,
which means we're going to have to study God's Word, right?
We will need to know the sacred writings.
And beloved, we live in a tragic day of biblical illiteracy.
Too many people who claim to be a people of the book do not know the book they claim to be a people of.
This is our text, and we ought to know it much more than we presently do.
We will need to do robust theology.
Not merely to know things, right?
Not to be high-minded, not to be academic.
This is not the great end of reading the Scripture,
but rather to know personally our God.
To know his purposes in the world,
and know how we are to walk in his will.
This is the end, the practical application of the knowledge of our God.
And it will take work on your part.
In a survey released by Lifeway Research,
showed that evangelical Christians, only 36% say that they read their Bibles daily.
What a shame.
What an absolute shame.
It's going to take work on your part.
But it is also a community project.
So if you will, listen.
Ephesians chapter 4, beginning in verse 11.
Jesus gives to the church apostles, prophets,
which I'll argue is the Scripture.
But for another time.
The evangelists, the shepherd teachers,
to do something specific,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ.
Right?
So there's gifts given to the church
to equip the saints, all of us,
for the work of ministry,
which is what?
It's building up the body of Christ.
And we're to do this work,
verse 13 tells us,
until we all attain to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God
to mature manhood,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Which means that this work will not be done this side of glory.
Right?
We're going to have to do robust theology
until the Lord returns
or takes us home.
Right?
One of the two.
And it has a point,
verse 14 of Ephesians 11 tells us,
so that
we may no longer be children
tossed to and fro by the waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine.
And doctrine just is a great word for truth.
By human cunning,
by craftiness
and deceitful schemes.
So how will we stand
against the tide of soft totalitarianism
against all the ideas
that are out there in the world
that are assaulting the church?
We will do so
by doing robust theology
and doing it together in community.
Speaking the truth to one another.
This takes all kinds of forms.
Right?
As the clear mission of the church
is to make disciples,
we do this in big and public ways
and we do this in small and private ways
to press on together in the truth.
To continue.
In what we have learned
and firmly believe.
Right?
The scripture itself.
That's the first thing
Paul is exhorting Timothy to do
is to continue.
But secondly,
he exhorts him to preach.
Chapter 4 and verse 2.
He says,
preach the word.
Not only is Timothy exhorted
to continue in what he has learned,
but he is also exhorted
to proclaim the word to others.
To declare it to others.
And I want to say to you
that this is preaching,
but you are also meant to preach.
You are meant to proclaim the truth
to others.
Right?
See Ephesians chapter 4.
Timothy is told in this text
that there will be difficulty
and he is to respond
to that difficulty
by continuing in the truth
and by proclaiming the truth.
He is told to reprove,
rebuke,
and exhort.
Or,
if you prefer,
correct,
warn,
and urge others.
And to do this
all the time.
And to do this
with patience
and with careful instruction.
Speaking the truth
to one another
has to be
and has to continue to be
and grow in measure
built into who we are
as a people.
Always helping,
always directing.
We have to,
as a church,
have a louder voice
than the culture's voice.
Right?
For what the truth is
and what it is
not.
The second main point,
let's look and see
the reasons
for these exhortations.
Number one,
three reasons
for two exhortations.
Number one,
to avoid
licentiousness
and
legalism.
Right?
Bear with me.
If we are
off the mark
of how we are meant
to respond to the truth
as gospel people,
it will be one in two ways.
We'll either become
licentious,
right?
We'll take for granted
the grace of God
and we'll throw off the law
and we'll think
that we can live
however we'd like to live
in response to God's grace.
Right?
God has forgiven me
of my sin,
therefore I can sin abundantly.
Paul says,
may it never be.
The other temptation
is to trend off
toward legalism.
Right?
To think that
we can earn our favor
and what we seek
is for other people
to look like us
and not like Christ.
Right?
To add to the law
in particular ways
and demand the same
from others.
So,
walking
in gospel response,
obedient lives
is like walking
a tightrope
and there's always
two ways
to fall off.
Look at chapter 3
and verse 2,
2 Timothy.
I won't read
the whole list
but you'll see
people will be
lovers of self,
lovers of money,
proud,
arrogant,
abusive,
disobedient
to their parent,
jump down
without self-control,
treacherous,
reckless,
lovers of pleasure
rather than
lovers of God.
So,
you see all of this
licentiousness
in the text
and then you see
hints of legalism
as well,
them being proud
and arrogant,
having the appearance
of godliness
but denying
its power.
And these are people
who are part of
this fellowship
of faith,
right?
they're to be
found out,
they're to be
discovered,
they're to be
avoided.
This is not just
the culture
at war here
but the culture
infiltrating within
God's very people.
Down through verse 7
and Paul elaborates
further but I think
you can see the point.
There is a promise
of wicked people.
They will be
around us
and within us.
and because of this
there's also a promise
of persecution
for the faithful.
This verse is the
hammer blow
to the prosperity gospel.
This verse,
most who believe
the prosperity gospel
and see that what God
is seeking to accomplish
for us here
is the avoidance
of suffering,
they have never heard.
And I challenge you
with this.
When you meet somebody
who's been at
prosperity gospel churches
ask them,
have you ever heard
2 Timothy 3, 12?
This doesn't preach
in a prosperity church.
Indeed,
all who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus
will be
persecuted.
It will happen.
It is inevitable
that the world
is going to push back.
Ungodliness pushes back
against godliness.
We are disciples
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why do we think
that our path
will look any different
than His?
Hated in this world,
suffered and died
for our sake.
Why would we think
that this world
will love us
and accept us
for all that we have
to offer?
It will not.
Those who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
And it's on the heels
of this
that He then says
to Timothy
in verse 14,
but as for you,
this will happen.
It will be going on,
but as for you,
continue
in what you have learned
and firmly believed.
We must be careful
not to believe
that we have
already arrived.
We still may be tossed
to and fro
by the wind.
We're going to have
to press in
and continue on
because we want
to avoid
licentiousness
and we want
to avoid
legalism.
Right?
We are susceptible
to such errors.
Listen for a moment
to Paul's farewell words
to the Ephesian elders
recorded for us
in Acts chapter 20,
verse 28 and following.
He says this
and this is just,
this strikes me,
especially as an elder,
as a warning
for me
and for all of us.
He says,
pay careful attention
to yourselves
and to all
the flock.
To yourselves
and to the flock
in which the Holy Spirit
has made you overseers
to care for the church
of God
which He obtained
with His own
blood.
I know
that after my departure
fierce wolves
will come in among you
not sparing
the flock.
Okay.
So we're going to
pay attention
to ourselves
and to the flock
because wolves are coming.
Right?
You can see this language
being picked up here
in 2 Timothy chapter 3.
Right?
This type of activity
is going to be happening.
This ungodliness
coming in,
taking people captive.
We must be careful
but then in verse 30
He says,
and from among
your own selves
will arise men
speaking twisted things
to draw away
the disciples
after them.
So both from without
and from within
and so we are
then to be careful,
to pay careful attention
to ourselves
and to the flock.
To avoid licentiousness
and legalism.
The second reason,
the second reason
for these exhortations
is to do the opposite
of that
which is to pursue holiness.
Right?
We want to avoid
sinfulness
but we want to
also pursue
holiness
for the glory
of our God
to be a people
set apart
for His praise
in a dark
and a twisted generation.
Verse 16
is our classic
sufficiency
of Scripture text.
I hope you don't
grow tired of it.
all Scripture
breathed out by God
and profitable.
It comes from Him.
He is its source.
Carrying along
the pens of men,
it is His
word
and it is
profitable.
It is the very thing
we need
to teach,
to reprove,
to correct,
and to train
in righteousness.
In order to pursue holiness,
this is the text.
It is empowered by the Spirit
that we might
live in a way
that is pleasing
to our God.
And verse 17 says
that the man of God
may be
complete
and you can see there
the word proficient
would be another way
to translate that word.
that the man of God
may have all
that he needs
to be equipped
for every
good
work.
Every good work.
There is not a good work
outside of what
this book
instructs us
to do.
The Bible
is the sufficient
source for all things
pertaining
to godliness.
You want to know
how to please our God?
Look to His word.
He has
spoken.
He has
condescended
to become
an author.
And I just want you
to stop
and think about
that for a moment.
In our culture,
to become an author
could make you famous.
God is
infinitely famous
and yet He became
an author
to write us
a book.
A book that we
ought to pay attention to.
We ought to have
our lives
shaped by this book
for our eternal good
and for His
eternal
glory.
So this exhortation
to continue in the word
and to preach the word
or proclaim the word
has this as its
second reason
that order that we
might pursue
holiness.
Third,
we ought to continue
and to proclaim
to help others
pursue
holiness.
Now this
is a way
in my life
that the chapter break
did not serve me well
in my reading of
2 Timothy.
that I separated
the end of chapter 3
from the beginning
of chapter 4
for a lot of years.
But he flows
right from this
incredible,
incredible words,
right?
The man of God
may be complete,
equipped for
every good work.
And then he says,
I charge you
in the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus
who is to judge
the living
and the dead.
There will be a judgment
that will come.
There's something
to be warned
against.
And by his appearing
in his kingdom,
what?
Preach the word.
Be ready in season
and out of season
all the time.
Reprove,
rebuke,
exhort
with
complete
patience
and teaching.
many of you
know that I am
not in my
natural self
a patient person.
One of my
high values
in my flesh
is efficiency.
I love doing
things efficiently.
And let me tell you,
the church
is not efficient.
It is
anything but
efficient.
So the Lord
has had to do
a lot of work
of grace in me
and is still
completing that work.
The end of
verse 2
knocked me down
when I first saw
the connection here
that we are
to proclaim
the word
to one another
with complete
patience
and teaching
which means
instruction.
And why?
Why are we
to do this?
Verse 3
and into 4
tells us
4
the time
is coming
when people
will not endure
sound teaching
but having
itching ears
they will
accumulate for
themselves
teachers to
suit their
own passions
and they will
turn away
from listening
to the truth
and wander
off
into myths.
Beloved,
those who
claim to
follow Christ
will not
endure
Bible teaching
and the
response to
that is
that we
continue
to teach
with complete
patience.
We press on
we keep at it
we keep going
we keep
proclaiming
God's
word.
This blew my
mind open
I don't know
if it does
for you
but as I
have tried
to teach
things
and teach
things
and teach
things
over the
past 13
years
and just
things that
don't seem
to stick
like what
is happening
why is
none of
this
sticking
why are
people not
hearing
these good
exhortations
from the
scripture
right why
is it
not
I'm not
saying you
guys are
all not
enduring
and you
have itching
ears
but it
happens
it happens
in this
fellowship
and the
exhortation
to me
and to
you
is to
keep
at it
just
keep
proclaiming
the truth
just
keep
doing
theology
for the
good of
people
and for
the glory
of God
that we
would help
others
to pursue
holiness
now I
know
broadly
as a
church
we love
theology
what a
good thing
what a
wonderful
thing
you bear
with me
the fact
that you're
even here
means you're
willing to
tolerate
some
theological
presentation
on the
Lord's
day
get up
and some
people have
said I'm
more like a
lecturer
than a
preacher
I don't
know what
to do
with that
I
sometimes
feel like
good
preaching
is a
lecture
but
we're
going to
have to
continue
or we're
going to
have to
press
and we're
going to
have to
see that
each and
every one
of us
plays a
part
in doing
this
well
together
so I'm
going to
cover again
and I'm
going to
do it
in brief
because
it's
already
new
a
concept
called
theological
triage
I'm
going to
do it
quickly
we've
done it
before
if you
happen to
have a
bulletin
I just
quickly put
notes on
the back
for you
if you
want to
scribble
on the
back
of
that
I want
to tell
you that
this concept
is not
explicitly
found anywhere
in the
Bible
although
you could
argue it
is
implicitly
I
I think
the term
was
invented
by
Albert
Moeller
the
president
of
Southern
Seminary
but it's
a practice
that has
been
happening
and we
can read
about it
throughout
the history
of the
church
triage
is the
assigning
of
importance
right
we have
a number
of medical
professionals
in
in the
church
and so
you know
exactly
what
triage
is
but if
you
note
if an
entire
bus
was in
an
accident
and there
were a lot
of varied
injuries
in that
accident
and that
entire
bus load
was taken
to the
emergency
room
somebody
there
the doctor
in charge
or maybe
the charge
nurse
would quickly
do
triage
they would
assign
importance
to the
injuries
right
somebody
bumped
their head
they can
sit to
the side
and wait
right
somebody's
got a
piece
of
bus
frame
through
their
abdomen
they're
getting rushed
to the
back
right
it's an
assigning
of
importance
how much
time
and energy
do we
give
to different
areas
of
theology
right
so you
have
in a
tier
you've
got
primary
secondary
tertiary
and
one of my
favorite words
in the
world
quaternary
doctrines
right
now I
want to
address
these
just in
brief
and I'm
going to
take them
in opposite
order
so we're
going to
build from
least
important
to
most
important
so
firstly
quaternary
theology
or
doctrines
are just
this
frankly
they're
unimportant
they don't
matter
it's the
kind of
stuff
that sometimes
people like
to sit
around
and muse
about
lots of
quaternary
conversations
on seminary
campuses
right
let's just
think and
muse
my classic
example is
is there
life on
other
planets
I don't
care
the Bible
says nothing
about it
maybe
so if
you're a
college
guy
this is
college
guys
question
I like
to ask
this
question
I won't
take a
meeting
with you
to ask
this
question
it doesn't
matter
it's
unimportant
there's
other
things we
can talk
about
but
not
that
tertiary
doctrine
these
kinds
of
things
are
important
so
they're
not
unimportant
but
they're
important
for
you
and
possibly
those
you
have
some
measure
of
authority
over
this
is
those
gray
areas
of
the
scripture
that
we're
all
trying
to
navigate
how
exactly
am
I
meant
to
do
such
and
such
so
an
example
how
will
you
navigate
October
31st
in our
culture
do
you
celebrate
in
what
measure
do
you
do
you
do
something
else
do
you
do
an
outreach
do
you
hunker
in
your
home
and
turn
off
all
the
lights
what
are
you
going
to
do
and
your
family
and
with
your
children
navigate
the
holiday
of
October
31st
do
you
have
any
particular
convictions
concerning
food
or
drink
is it
okay
to
consume
alcohol
in
moderation
is it
not
okay
to
consume
alcohol
in
moderation
let me
give you
an
example
of
tertiary
type
of
thinking
from
1st
Corinthians
chapter
8
this
is
Paul
here
reasoning
!
the
Corinthian
believers
they were
having
some
conflict
over
whether
or not
it was
okay
to
eat
food
that
had
been
offered
to
idols
right
so
this
meat
was
offered
to
idols
and
then
sold
in
the
marketplace
and
there
were
some
who
thought
that
was
okay
and
some
who
thought
it
was
entirely
unacceptable
listen
to what
he
says
therefore
as to
the
eating
of
food
offered
to
idols
we
know
that
an
idol
has
no
real
existence
and
that
there
is
no
god
but
one
so
he
basically
saying
we
know
that
food
offered
to
idols
it
doesn't
matter
because
there
there's
no
other
gods
for
although
there
may
be
so
called
gods
in
heaven
or
on
earth
as
indeed
there
are
many
gods
and
many
lords
yet
for
us
there
is
one
God
the
father
from
whom
all
things
and
from
whom
we
exist
and
one
Lord
Jesus
Christ
through
some
people
haven't
matured
in
this
way
just
yet
but
some
through
former
association
with
idols
eat
food
as
really
offered
to
an
idol
and
their
conscience
being
weak
is
defiled
so
people
who
have
been
converted
to
Christ
were
once
idolaters
and
they
don't
think
this
is
okay
this
feels
like
an
offense
against
the
one
true
God
Paul
says
then
food
will
not
commend
us
to
God
we
are
no
worse
off
if
we
do
not
eat
and
no
better
off
if
we
do
but
take
care
that
this
right
of
yours
does
not
somehow
become
a
stumbling
block
to
the
weak
for
if
anyone
sees
you
who
have
knowledge
eating
in
an
idol's
temple
will
he
not
be
encouraged
if
his
conscience
is
weak
to
eat
food
offered
to
idols
and
so
by
your
knowledge
this
weak
person
is
destroyed
the
brother
for
whom
Christ
died
so
they
be
sinning
in
their
own
conscience
thus
sinning
against
your
brothers
and
wounding
their
conscience
when
it
is
weak
you
sin
against
Christ
therefore
if
food
makes
my
brother
stumble
I
will
never
eat
meat
lest
I
make
my
brother
stumble
catch
that
reasoning
there
right
this
is
the
kind
of
thing
this
issue
is
the
kind
of
thing
that
characterizes
many
churches
!
picking
a
tertiary
doctrine
and
making
it
your
hill
to
die
on
you
are
going
to
convince
others
that
you're
reading
the
Bible
correctly
on
this
particular
gray
issue
it's
not
unimportant
but
it's
not
ultimately
important
right
you
may
have
more
maturity
or
in
some
cases
less
and
don't
we
do
well
trying
to
navigate
the
gray
areas
together
right
pressing
at one
another
making
our
case
and
moving
on
Paul
here
is
willing
to
become
a
vegetarian
for
the
sake
of
others
I
don't
know
I
don't
know
that
I'm
there
it'd
be
a
tough
one
for
me
notice
his
position
on
this
lesser
ordered
matter
right
so
that's
tertiary
!
tertiary
things
there
ought
to
be
a
lot
of
different
views
in
that
tertiary
fashion
in the
life
of
the
church
lots
of
diversity
lots
of
levels
of
maturity
we're
growing
in
faith
we're
moving
on
together
all
right
secondary
doctrine
very
important
this
category
particularly
for
local
church
unity
right
my
classic
example
concerns
the
ordinance
of
baptism
how
are
we
as
a
church
going
to
practice
the
ordinance
of
baptism
it
matters
what
do
we
believe
the
bible
teaches
about
this
so
we
are
credo
baptists
which
means
we
believe
that
christians
people
who have
made
believable
professions
of
faith
should
be
baptized
we
are
not
pedo
baptists
who
baptize
infants
we
can
extend
a lot
of
charity
right
to
our
pedo
baptist
brothers
and
sisters
it's
really
difficult
to be
in
fellowship
when
you
disagree
about
how
this
particular
ordinance
is meant
to be
practiced
so
that's
a good
classic
secondary
example
lastly
primary
doctrine
right
this is
important
right
this is
high order
importance
these
are the
hills
to die
on
right
this is
where we
stand
and say
no further
we will
not
compromise
in any
measure
on
these
things
things like
penal
substitutionary
atonement
right
Christ
died
in
our
stead
and
paid
the
price
for
our
sin
non
negotiable
if
you're
going
to be
in
the
faith
right
the
humanity
and
deity
of
Christ
is
hypostatic
union
not
negotiable
right
the
gospel
falls
apart
at
every
point
if
he
wasn't
both
human
and
God
the
inerrancy
infallibility
authority
and
sufficiency
of the
Bible
justification
by grace
alone
through faith
alone
in Christ
alone
and the
list
goes
on
these
are
the
things
right
these
are
the
things
that
ought
to
unite
us
hold
us
together
keep
us
pressing
on
together
right
these
are
the
things
that
those
other
matters
are
brought
in
to
distract
us
from
to
tear
us
apart
what
a
great
work
of
the
enemy
right
to
bring
in
tertiary
particularly
but also
secondary
doctrines
and cause
us
to
divide
over
the
primary
doctrine
that
matters
most
I
think
this
is
what
Jude
is
talking
about
in
verse
three
where
he
says
beloved
although
I
was
very
eager
to
write
to
you
about
our
common
salvation
I
found
it
necessary
to
write
appealing
to
you
to
contend
for
the
faith
that
was
once
for
all
delivered
to
the
saints
right
the
faith
once
for
all
delivered
to
the
saints
those
non
negotiable
things
this
process
we're
going to
have
to be
good
at
you're
going
to
have
to
be
able
to
decipher
where
does
this
disagreement
fall
is this
a thing
that we
can be
kind
hearted
about
charitable
toward
one
another
yeah
I'm
going to
consider
your
case
here
and
we're
going to
press
at
one
another
are
we
going
to
take
things
that
are
tertiary
and
call
others
not
Christian
because
they
don't
see
it
the
way
we
see
it
I
have
been
called
unfaithful
more times
in this
church
than I
care
to
tell
you
and
I
saw
this
I'm
done
doing
it
men
who
think
they
know
the
Bible
and
can
call
me
unfaithful
and
I
don't
see
it
the
same
way
which
is
them
calling
me
not
a
Christian
catch
that
I
see
the
Bible
this
way
you're
not
obeying
it
this
way
I
don't
read
it
that
way
well
then
am
I
not
a
Christian
it's
what
they're
declaring
in
doing
that
we
need
to
draw
a
firm
line
about
this
kind
of
behavior
I
love
people
who
love
the
word
but
you
need
to
understand
where
the
doctrines
fall
what
ought
to
divide
us
when
and
how
should
we
declare
somebody
outside
the
faith
be
cautious
about
how
you
practice
theological
triage
this
is
why
we've
been
working
for
quite
some
time
!
a
more
robust
statement
of
faith
which
we're
going
to
bring
to
you
as
a
church
you'll
be
in
the
process
as
a
congregational
church
I hope
sooner
than
later
we've
picked
up
the
1689
second
london
baptist
confession
we've
been
working
hard
on it
we've
been
making
some
small
changes
we've
been
adding
some
things
some
substantial
sections
to
it
Zach
Skilling
as
a
pastoral
assistant
has
been
doing
a
through
this
to
bring
it
to
you
as
a
rough
draft
for
your
thought
and
we
hope
your
approval
maybe
some
minor
changes
need
to
be
made
and
this
document
will
contain
within
it
those
things
primary
and
those
things
secondary
it'll
be a
document
that
says
as
a
confessional
people
this
is
what
we
believe
the
Bible
teaches
on
these
matters
and
it
will
also
say
what
we
are
not
going
to
divide
and
we
are
not
going
to
be
getting
in
fights
over
such
a
thing
and
perhaps
we'll
discover
new
things
we
have
to
pick
up
and
think
about
together
perhaps
they
need
to
be
added
to
such
a
confession
this
type
of
robust
theology
thinking
together
about
what
the
Bible
teaches
us
is
going
to
be
very
important
in
the
coming
days
this
week
I
managed
to
see
!
a
long
range
mountain
view
if
you've
lived
up
here
very
long
you
have
those
moments
where
you're
driving
along
and
the
sun
breaks
through
the
clouds
in
the
perfect
way
and
out
somewhere
in
the
distance
you see
a
view
of
the
mountains
and
it
was
one
of
those
awe
inspiring
moments
where
you
go
what
a
view
and
I
think
as
people
generally
we're
compelled
by
big
grand
long
views
I
just
started
thinking
about
what
it
was
in
me
that
caused
that
and
then
I
used
how
I
also
really
love
things
up
close
so
how
I
enjoy
finding
something
little
in
the
woods
bright
red
mushroom
don't
eat
it
you know
particularly
colorful
bug
I mean
it's
just
an
amazing
amount
of
diversity
and
creativity
and the
creation
in which
we
live
it's
just
also
awe
inspiring
to
me
and
I
started
thinking
about
how
everything
in
the
middle
all
the
middle
ground
I
don't
pay
that
much
attention
to
it's
not
inspiring
and
unbeautiful
I
just
don't
really
pay
that
much
attention
to
it
and
I
kind
of
translated
this
over
into
my
Christian
walk
all the
stuff
in the
middle
all the
days
in which
I'm
walking
all of
the
trials
that I
go
through
the
work
that's
out
ahead
of
us
seems
to be
a
burden
seems
to weigh
me
down
my
once
a
day
scroll
through
twitter
makes
me
feeling
so
discouraged
the
day
in
day
out
interactions
that
don't
seem
to
go
the
way
you
want
them
to
go
the
physical
suffering
that
we
experience
from
time
to
time
in
doing
robust
theology
I
get
these
grand
views
of
our
God
and
his
promises
to
us
the
life
that
exists
beyond
this
life
and
I
also
am
shown
in
great
focus
the
things
that
are
up
close
the
way
that
God
is
working
in
the
minutia
of
my
life
it's
a
scripture
worked
in me
by the
spirit
that
helps
me
to
see
this
and
what
it
does
is
it
brings
all
of
the
middle
into
focus
it
brings
clarity
to
everything
else
that
I'm
walking
through
we
need
to
do
robust
theology
right
so
that
we
can
see
the
big
and
the
grand
where
God
is
glory
of
his
name
let's
pray
together