Not as the world gives

“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

~ John 14:25-27

I have a friend who lost her daughter in a car accident. One question that I've asked myself many times since then is how she got through that. What I mean by that, though, is how she got through it when I am not sure I could have. Not the way she did, and not at that time in my life. She had a focus on the Lord—an amazing reliance on him, and trust in his goodness. I didn't see the anger or bitterness that can accompany times of extreme hardship and loss.

I know of no way to explain her ability to get through something so tragic apart from the Lord. A bigger question is why we cannot all find the same strength to get through times of disappointment and pain. It is not simply being Christian that draws us through it; there is something more elusive that allows us to experience his peace. If we have it, we find ourselves drawn into his presence by pain and hardship. If we don't, we can wander away from him and find ourselves doubting his goodness.

One of the arguments that atheists use to discount Christianity is that it provides a placebo effect for people who are afraid of dying. There are some obvious problems with this (you could use similar logic to discount any position simply because it meets a need, including atheism), but trusting in Christ does bring comfort. But it offers more. It can bring incredible power, transformation, and joy. It can bring a peace like my friend had, to overcome any obstacle in life. None of these are merely emotional states; they are a side-effect of God's active presence within us. None of these are a given. All of them require a steadfast heart, resting in the Lord and yielding to his sovereign will.

In John 14:25-27, Jesus is letting the disciples know he will be leaving them. He also knows the fate they will each face as they follow his path. It would cost them everything. But he didn't expect them to do it on their own; they would have help through the Holy Spirit, who would be sent in his name (v. 26). By “name” Jesus is referring to the same authority he had before the Father. The disciples would have the same source of power that he did, to accompany them through their own hardships and suffering.

That help would be experienced as peace (v. 27). It was not the kind of peace the world offered—not mere solemnity, acceptance, and quietude. Those things do not bring us through tragedy, persecution, and death. What Jesus was offering was his peace. And by that he means, the same peace that he possessed through the same Holy Spirit. It is not “his” in the sense that it is from him; what he is telling them is that they would receive the very same peace he had himself, on the eve of his own death.

When we follow Christ, he doesn't simply offer comfort. He offers a transforming, inner work of the Holy Spirit. What we have isn't just a hope of eternity, it is everything we need to carry us to the day when we will meet him there. It is courage to stand up for him, overwhelming joy in the face of sorrow, power to proclaim his truth to an empty world that offers nothing but temporary satisfaction. We can change lives through love, just as he did. It's not of ourselves. When we begin to think of the Christian life as nothing more than a collection of ideas, we lose the greater purpose for our faith. We are here to accomplish the same things Jesus did. God offers us power, peace, and His indwelling presence to do that, if we will set aside our agenda and take on his.

My friend shares her testimony widely, and is able to help other parents who have lost their children. What she shares with them is not simply a story, but an example of someone that God led through that experience. Her ministry now touches people all over the world, but his power working through us and his peace within us are both part of the same thing. Rest in the Lord. Follow him along the path he walked before you. Yield your will to his greater plan.

He is there waiting for you, a short way ahead.

Lord, grant me your transforming peace in the middle of what I am facing. Use the circumstances in my life to make me more like you. Open doors for me through my difficulties to glorify you. Amen.

~ Michael Cranford has a heart for equipping others to follow Christ in today's world. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the University of California at Irvine, a Master of Divinity from Talbot School of Theology, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion and Social Ethics from the University of Southern California. Visit his website at OneSteadfast.com and follow him on Twitter at @OneSteadfast and Facebook.

Mourn Over Your Sins

 

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

Spiritual mourning is laden with blessing, and we are to go after it and get as much of it in our lives as we possibly can. The more you know of this mourning, the more joy you will experience in your life.

Six Ways to Mourn Over Your Sins

How does one receive the comfort that comes from spiritual mourning? Here are six ways to mourn in a blessed way:

1. Spiritual mourning names particular sins.

True spiritual mourning begins by naming one or more sins, stating them clearly without excuse and without evasion. Declare them immediately, and admit they are an offense against God. Get used to identifying particular sins when you read the Bible. You will begin to see what God sees, and you will get to know what grieves and offends him. Once you have named the sin as being really in you, you are ready to enter into spiritual mourning.

2. Spiritual mourning involves heartfelt sorrow.

Take a long, hard look at the cost of this sin, and you will enter more deeply into spiritual mourning. First think about other sins into which the sin you are mourning has led you: sins of deception and pretense. Then consider what this sin of yours has cost others. Finally, think about how costly the sin you are mourning was for Jesus, as he bore your transgressions on the cross.

3. Spiritual mourning arises from humility.

To develop heartfelt sorrow toward some attitude or action that has held (and may still hold) a powerful attraction, you must become poor in spirit, recalling your own inadequacy and recalling your sins as the motive for Christ’s sacrifice. Seeing our sins as costly to Jesus takes us back to the first two rings; naming our sins and feeling sorrow for our actions humbles us and gives us momentum to come before our God to confess and to depend on him.

4. Spiritual mourning is infused with hope.

When you mourn your sins, seeing them for what they are, it can be easy for you to despair. Instead remember that when God shines the light on your sins, his great purpose is to lead you to Jesus, the friend of sinners. In him you will find hope. Hope is a signature mark of spiritual mourning, and it arises from faith in Christ and all that he has accomplished through the cross.

5. Spiritual mourning happens at the cross.

True spiritual mourning always leads you to the cross. That is where you forsake these sins and break a pattern of habitual sin. Naming and confessing your sins will lead you into spiritual mourning, but knowing the love of Christ will take you further. And the love of Christ is always found at the foot of the cross.

6. Spiritual mourning will lead you to forsake sins.

Spiritual mourning is the key to breaking sin’s compulsive power. This is why we can speak of spiritual mourning as being a blessing. Do this work of spiritual mourning thoroughly, and you will have strength to overcome the sin that has defeated you, and to forsake it at the cross.

The Power of Spiritual Mourning

When a sin has become habitual or when its repeated pattern has become engrained as an addiction, spiritual mourning will be your key to breaking its compulsive power, and it is for this reason that we can speak of the blessing of spiritual mourning. Do this work of spiritual mourning thoroughly and you will have strength to overcome the sin that has defeated you, and to forsake it at the cross.

"Total Depravity"

While often misunderstood, the doctrine of total depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. It penetrates to the very core of our being so that everything is tainted by sin and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18).

The total depravity of man is seen throughout the Bible. Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19; John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” (Romans 8:7).

The Apostle Paul summarizes the total depravity of man in Romans 3:9-18. He begins this passage by saying that “both Jews and Greeks are all under sin.” Simply put, this means that man is under the control of sin or is controlled by his sin nature (his natural tendency to sin). The fact that unregenerate people are controlled by their selfish, sinful tendencies should not come as a surprise to any parent. What parent has to teach his or her child to be selfish, to covet what someone else has or to lie? Those actions come naturally from the child’s sin nature. Instead, the parent must devote much time to teaching the child the importance of telling the truth, of sharing instead of being selfish, of obeying instead of rebelling, etc.

Then in the rest of this passage Paul quotes extensively from the Old Testament in explaining how sinful man really is. For example, we see that 1—no one is without sin, 2—no one seeks after God, 3—there is no one who is good, 4—their speech is corrupted by sin, 5—their actions are corrupted by sin, and 6—above all, they have no fear of God. So, when one considers even these few verses, it becomes abundantly clear the Bible does indeed teach that fallen man is “totally depraved,” because sin affects all of him including his mind, will and emotions so that “there is none who does good, no not one” (Romans 3:12).

There is a common misconception regarding total depravity. Total depravity does not mean that man is as wicked or sinful as he could be, nor does it mean that man is without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong. Neither does it mean that man does not or cannot do things that seem to be good when viewed from a human perspective or measured against a human standard. It does not even mean that man cannot do things that seem to conform outwardly to the law of God. What the Bible does teach and what total depravity does recognize is that even the “good” things man does are tainted by sin because they are not done for the glory of God and out of faith in Him (Romans 14:23; Hebrews 11:6). While man looks upon the outward acts and judges them to be good, God looks upon not only the outward acts but also the inward motives that lie behind them, and because they proceed from a heart that is in rebellion against Him and they are not done for His glory, even these good deeds are like “filthy rags” in His sight. In other words, fallen man’s good deeds are motivated not by a desire to please God but by our own self-interest and are thus corrupted to the point where God declares that there is “no one who does good, no not one!”

Since Scripture is very clear that all of man is affected by sin and so much so that “no one seeks after God,” then how can anyone possibly become a Christian? The answer is that God must overcome man’s depravity in such a way that man is able to recognize his spiritual state and his hopeless condition apart from the grace of God. Man’s spiritually blind eyes must be open and the bondage of sin that renders him hopelessly enslaved must be broken so that he can respond in faith to the gospel message and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Some Christians believe that God accomplishes this through some type of universal grace whereby God brings man to a condition where he has the ability to choose or reject Him. Others believe that for a man who is “dead in trespasses and sins” to be able to understand and respond to the gospel in faith, he must first be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3). It is only after God infuses spiritual life into a dead sinner that he can “see the kingdom of God.” Those that hold this view see this as being a sovereign act of God, whereby men are born again “not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

However, even when the doctrine of total depravity is properly understood, many people will reject the doctrine, but that fact should not surprise us, since the world generally thinks of man as being basically good. Therefore, the idea that man by nature is a depraved sinner runs contrary to most modern religious, psychological and philosophical views of the basic nature of man. But the fact is that the Bible does teach the depravity of the human heart, and the root cause of man’s problem is not the environment he is raised in but his wicked and selfish heart. Properly understood, the doctrine of total depravity will destroy the hopes of those who place their faith in any type of works-based system of salvation and will recognize that God’s sovereign grace is man’s only hope. While the doctrine of total depravity destroys man’s self-righteousness and any misconceptions about man’s ability to be saved through his own free will, it leaves one asking the same question the disciples asked of Jesus in Matthew 19:25-26: “Then who can be saved?” Of course the answer remains the same: “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).

As the first of the five doctrines of what is called “Calvinism,” the doctrine of total depravity correctly focuses man’s attention on the rest of these “doctrines of grace” which declare the wondrous work of God in the salvation of sinners.

"Perspective of God's time: 1000 years=1 day"

 2 Peter 3 [whole chapter]

The false teachers have been swaying Christians into believing that the second coming of Jesus is simply a myth and there will not be a final judgment. Peter has systematically destroyed these teachings showing that judgment is certainly coming and that Jesus is going to return. The apostles did not follow cleverly devised myths when they taught these events. Peter has explained that these scoffers deliberately overlook that the world was previously destroyed by water. The heavens and earth are now reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. Now Peter continues by explaining why the earth has continued as long as it has.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Verse 8 is perhaps one of the top ten verses lifted out of its context and misused in several ways. First, we need to recognize that this statement borrows from the Old Testament, the words of Moses in Psalm 90, speaking about God.

You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:3-4; ESV)

Notice that the psalmist is comparing the eternal nature of God with the brevity of the life of humans. Peter uses this point: these scoffers are overlooking God’s perspective of time. God is eternal! God is not bound by time. God is not bound by our schedules. What is perceived by humans to be a long time is not a long time to God. We cannot bind God to our time constraints, or by when we think the Lord should return. Two thousand years seems like a long time to us. But this is not a long time for God. The illustration of a thousand years is like one day is simply to help us understand the concept of eternity. We cannot fully wrap our minds around eternity because everything in life is finite and comes to an end. But not so with God. So Peter is using a thousand years being like one day to help us see that, to an eternal being, our thousands is not long to God.

Before we can leave verse 8 we also need to take care of a fallacy. Peter is not offering a new definition of time. Too often this verse is misused to distort clear Bible teachings. Some have said that the six days of creation could be thousands of years because “one day is like a thousand years” to God. Some will examine passages that say that something will quickly take place (like judgment or like the book of Revelation) and say that to God it is quick, even though thousands of years have passed.

Peter is not teaching us that we cannot trust God when he tells us a period of time. Peter is not saying that we have no idea what God means when he says that something lasts a day, a month, or a year. First, Peter’s letter was not written until the mid-60s A.D. Nearly all the scriptures had been written by this point. Peter is not teaching to go back to Genesis and change days to thousands of years. Second, if we play fast and loose with days and years like this, then what we are saying is that God is incapable of speaking to humans. God does not know how to relate time to his creation. This will not work. God knows what a day is to us. God knows what a year is to us. God knows what a thousand years is to us. God knows what it means to us to say that something will happen quickly or will take a long time. Peter is not saying that we have no idea what the timeline is if God says something will happen quickly.

Christians must stop using this verse to keep their false interpretations about the end times or apocalyptic texts. If God said something would happen quickly, that is what he meant for us to understand. If God said he created the world in six days, then six days is what he wanted us to understand. Peter is saying that people overlook that God has a different perspective of time than humans. What seems long to us is short to God. But when God tells us something will happen shortly, then that is what he means.

Now, in verse 9 Peter continues to explain why so much time has gone by. It is not that God is being slow. Time is not a consequence to eternal beings. Rather, there is a reason for this so-called “delay.” God does not want any person to perish. This is the reason why thousands of years have passed by since the time Jesus first came to the earth. God wants all people to reach repentance. God is longsuffering and patient. God is being gracious, not indifferent about the coming of Jesus and final judgment. The great length of time does not show that judgment is not coming. Rather, it shows the great patience of God. He wants to give more time so that one more person can receive God’s grace and be granted eternal life. God wants every person to repent. Repentance is to change your life purpose to no longer be living for yourself but to put God first in your life and decisions. It is the mind that decides to turn away from sin and turn toward God. Amazingly, we turn God’s love for us into a reason to think he does not exist or is not returning. God loves every person and is patient, wanting all to repent rather than perish. We would do well to implement the same attitude of patience. If God loves every person and is patient with them, so must we.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

I believe this verse ought to be read with the emphasis on the words “will come.” Even though God is patient and does not want anyone to perish, do not think that Jesus is not returning. The day of the Lord will come. Notice in this verse that Peter says the word “will” four times. The Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will pass away with a roar. The heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved. The earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. These things will happen. Do not mistake God’s patience as inaction.

Further, the day will come like a thief, that is, suddenly and unexpectedly. We have crackpots running around trying to predict when the end of the world will come. They write books, scaring people about being left behind, drawing charts and graphs, and combining Daniel, Revelation, and today’s newspaper. Every little thing that happens in this world is frequently seen as the beginning of the end. Friends, that day is coming as a thief comes. A thief gives no warning. There are no signs of when a thief is going to strike. The element of surprise is required. To try to predict when the day of the Lord will come is as ridiculous as trying to predict what day the thief is going to rob your house.

Peter goes on to explain what is going to happen on that day. Everything is going to be burned up. Back in verse 7, Peter said that the earth is reserved for fire. Peter now declares that when the day of the Lord arrives, everything about this creation is going to be burned up and dissolved. So why do we invest in this present world? It is all going to burn up! Why put your hope and happiness in your house? It is going to burn. Why put your joy in new cars and trucks? It is going to burn. Why put your hope in accumulating wealth? It is going to burn. Why put your hope in anything on this earth? It is all going to burn! Yet we foolishly continue to place our happiness and hope in the physical things of this world, ignoring the fact that it is all going to be burned up and dissolved. What a terrible investment! You are putting all your time and effort into something that will not last.

Further, everything done on earth is going to be exposed. This same idea is brought out in the book of Revelation.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12; ESV)

Judgment is coming and we will be judged according to our actions while we were alive on the earth. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10; ESV). It is this thought that leads into the next few verses.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Since all of these things are going to happen this way, how do you think we ought to live our lives knowing that this world is not going to last? Our lives need to be full of holiness and godliness. We need to live our lives in devotion to God since all these things are going to be dissolved. We cannot live with our eyes blind to the fact that a judgment is coming. The time until his return continues because God is patient, not wanting any to perish. But do not forget that all these things are going to be burned up. Do not live for this world. Live a life of holiness. Do not live for the weekend. Live for God. Do not live for your job. Live for Jesus. We need to be fully devoted to the Lord knowing that it is all going to be burned up. The second coming and impending judgment should motivate us to live a holy life.

Verse 12 brings out an interesting thought. Not only are we to be waiting for the day of the Lord to arrive, but we are also hastening the day’s arrival. These are words that cause me to raise my eyebrow: we are speeding the day’s arrival. The point seems to be rather natural: God is waiting before bringing the day of judgment because he wants all to repent. Therefore, we not only wait for the day to come but speed the day along by living holy lives and teaching others to repent. We often think of God’s judgment coming quickly as the world grows eviler. We should also consider that God’s judgment will come quickly as more come to Jesus. At some point, judgment will come. But since God desires all to repent, it is up to us to bring that to reality by preaching and teachings our friends and neighbors. Everything is going to burn. We must share this message with everyone that we have the opportunity to speak.

New Heavens and New Earth

Peter ends this section of thought by saying that we are waiting for a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells. What is this new heavens and new earth that we are awaiting, given according to God’s promise? This text has often been the cause of the teaching that the earth is going to be renovated, not destroyed, and we will live in paradise on the earth. But I think this misses how the new heavens and new earth are used in the scriptures.

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. (Isaiah 65:17; ESV)

The context is describing the new order and system that will arrive when the Messiah comes and brings his kingdom. God is pictured as being with his people and pouring blessings upon them (65:18-20). Notice the peace in God’s kingdom being pictured as the wolf and the lamb lying together (65:25). I believe this is prophesying about the new covenant and restored kingdom and blessings that will come to the people when the Messiah comes.

For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. (Isaiah 66:22; ESV)

The context is the same as in Isaiah 65. There is going to be a new order coming. A new system will arrive and things will be different with the Messiah arrives.

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:1-3; ESV)

Again, this image pictures a new system and new order. God is going to dwell with his people. I think we need to apply the same meaning to what Peter is saying. Peter is not saying that we are going to live on a renovated earth or that paradise will be on earth. Rather, Peter is saying that we are not looking forward to this physical world. It will all be burned up. We are looking forward to the new order and arrangement, our new lives when Jesus comes a second time. This fits the theme of this chapter and the theme of the letter. We are awaiting the return of Jesus. Things are going to be different when he comes. We will not have the same life or same world when he comes. We are looking forward to new lives and a new arrangement, a place where righteousness dwells. That is not on the earth but in eternal life.

Conclusion:

1. Do not invest in this present world. It will not last

2. Do not listen to crackpots concerning the end of the world. The day of the Lord will come like a thief.

3. Live your life knowing that everything will be exposed. We should live in holiness and devotion to God, looking forward to and speeding up his coming.

4. Are you Born Again? {Romans 10:9-13}

Revealing God in His Word

 Deut. 29:29

Revelation may be defined as that process by which God imparted to human beings truths that they otherwise could not know. The details of creation in Gen. 1 & 2 are an example of revelation. As the first human was not created until the 6th day, we could not have possibly known the events occurring prior to this until God gave the facts to Moses. 

We know that God spoke to the human writers of the Bible; but just how did He speak? Was it in Hebrew? Greek? Angelic language? He spoke to them in their own language. God's call to young Samuel in the temple [1 Sam. 3:1-10] proves this, for the boy at first mistook God's voice of that of aged priest Eli. Sometimes God spoke through angels; Gabriel was sent from Heaven to tell Mary she would give birth to The Messiah [Luke 1:26-37]. On other occasions, the Lord spoke directly to individuals, as He did to Noah concerning the Great Flood [Gen. 6:13-21].

One of God's methods of communication in Scripture is to reveal His message through dreams and visions. The wise men [Matt. 2:12] were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, while Peter was later instructed in a vision to minister to Cornelius [Acts 10:10-16]. God has communicated in many different ways. He revealed Himself to Moses from a burning bush [Ex. 3:4] and to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam out of a cloud [Num. 12:4-5]. 

One of the most important ways that Divine truths were given in the OT was through the Angel of The Lord. Most Bible students perceive this Heavenly Messenger to be the Preincarnate Christ Himself, for example, it is the Angel of The Lord who reassured Joshua on the eve of a battle [Josh. 5:13-15].

Apostasy

 'Apostasy'

Apostasy, from the Greek word apostasia, means “a defiance of an established system or authority; a rebellion; an abandonment or breach of faith.” In the first-century world, apostasy was a technical term for political revolt or defection. Just like in the first century, spiritual apostasy threatens the Body of Christ today.

The Bible warns about people like Arius (c. AD 250—336), a Christian priest from Alexandria, Egypt, who was trained at Antioch in the early fourth century. About AD 318, Arius accused Bishop Alexander of Alexandria of subscribing to Sabellianism, a false teaching that asserted that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were merely roles or modes assumed by God at various times. Arius was determined to emphasize the oneness of God; however, he went too far in his teaching of God’s nature. Arius denied the Trinity and introduced what appeared on the surface to be an inconsequential difference between the Father and Son.

Arius argued that Jesus was not homoousios (“of the same essence”) as the Father, but was rather homoiousios (“of similar essence”). Only one Greek letter—the iota (ι)—separated the two. Arius described his position in this manner: “The Father existed before the Son. There was a time when the Son did not exist. Therefore, the Son was created by the Father. Therefore, although the Son was the highest of all creatures, he was not of the essence of God.”

Arius was clever and did his best to get the people on his side, even going so far as to compose little songs that taught his theology, which he tried to teach to everyone who would listen. His winsome nature, asceticism, and revered position as a preacher also contributed to his cause.

With respect to apostasy, it is critical that all Christians understand two important things: (1) how to recognize apostasy and apostate teachers, and (2) why apostate teaching is so deadly.

The Forms of Apostasy

To fully identify and combat apostasy, Christians should understand its various forms and the traits that characterize its doctrines and teachers. As to the forms of apostasy, there are two main types: (1) a falling away from key and true doctrines of the Bible into heretical teachings that claim to be “the real” Christian doctrine, and (2) a complete renunciation of the Christian faith, which results in a full abandonment of Christ.

Arius represents the first form of apostasy—a denial of key Christian truths (such as the divinity of Christ) that begins a downhill slide into a full departure from the faith, which is the second form of apostasy. The second form almost always begins with the first. A heretical belief becomes a heretical teaching that splinters and grows until it pollutes all aspects of a person’s faith, and then the end goal of Satan is accomplished, which is a complete falling away from Christianity.

A 2010 study by Daniel Dennett and Linda LaScola called “Preachers Who Are Not Believers.” Dennett and LaScola’s work chronicles five different preachers who over time were presented with and accepted heretical teachings about Christianity and now have completely fallen away from the faith. These pastors are either pantheists or clandestine atheists. One of the most disturbing truths highlighted in the study is that these preachers maintain their position as pastors of Christian churches with their congregations being unaware of their leader’s true spiritual state.

The Characteristics of Apostasy and Apostates

Jude was the half brother of Jesus and a leader in the early church. In his New Testament letter, he outlines how to recognize apostasy and strongly urges those in the body of Christ to contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3). The Greek word translated “contend earnestly” is a compound verb from which we get the word agonize. It is in the present infinitive form, which means that the struggle will be continuous. In other words, Jude says that there will be a constant fight against false teaching and that Christians should take it so seriously that we “agonize” over the fight in which we are engaged. Moreover, Jude makes it clear that every Christian is called to this fight, not just church leaders, so it is critical that all believers sharpen their discernment skills so that they can recognize and prevent apostasy in their midst.

After urging his readers to contend earnestly for the faith, Jude highlights the reason: “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). In this one verse, Jude provides Christians with three traits of apostasy and apostate teachers:

First, Jude says that apostasy can be subtle. Apostates have “crept” into the church. In extra-biblical Greek, the term Jude uses describes the cunning craftiness of a lawyer who, through clever argumentation, infiltrates the minds of courtroom officials and corrupts their thinking. The word literally means “slip in sideways; come in stealthily; sneak in.” In other words, Jude says it is rare that apostasy begins in an overt and easily detectable manner. Instead, it looks a lot like Arius’s doctrine—only a single letter, the iota, differentiates the false teaching from the true.

Describing this aspect of apostasy and its underlying danger, A. W. Tozer wrote, “So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly being mistaken for each another. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which is Abel.” The apostle Paul also speaks to the outwardly pleasing behavior of apostates and their teaching: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14). In other words, do not look for apostates to appear bad on the outside or speak dramatic words of heresy at the outset of their teaching. Rather than denying truth outright, apostates will twist it to fit their own agenda, but, as pastor R. C. Lensky has noted, “The worst forms of wickedness consist in perversions of the truth.”

Second, Jude describes apostates as “ungodly” and as those who use God’s grace as a license to commit unrighteous acts. Beginning with “ungodly,” Jude describes eighteen unflattering traits of apostates: they are ungodly (Jude 1:4), morally perverted (verse 4), denying Christ (verse 4), ones who defile the flesh (verse 8), rebellious (verse 8), people who revile angels (verse 8), who are ignorant about God (verse 8), those who proclaim false visions (verse 10), self-destructive (verse 10), grumblers (verse 16), faultfinders (verse 16), self-satisfying (verse 16), people who use arrogant words and false flattery (verse 16), mockers of God (verse 18), those who cause divisions (verse 19), worldly minded (verse 19), and finally (and not surprisingly), devoid of the Spirit/unsaved (verse 19).

Third, Jude says apostates “deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” How do apostates do this? Paul tells us in his letter to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:15–16). Through their unrighteous behavior, the apostates show their true selves. Unlike an apostate, a true believer is someone who has been delivered from sin to righteousness in Christ and who refuses to continue in sin (Romans 6:1–2).

Ultimately, the sign of an apostate is that he eventually falls away and departs from the truth of God’s Word and His righteousness. The apostle John signifies this is a mark of a false believer: “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19).

Ideas Have Consequences

Every New Testament book except Philemon contains warnings about false teaching. Why is this? Simply because ideas have consequences. Right thinking and its fruit produce goodness, whereas wrong thinking and its accompanying action result in undesired penalties. As an example, the Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s were the product of the nihilistic worldview of Jean Paul Sartre and his teaching. The Khmer Rouge’s leader, Pol Pot, lived out Sartre’s philosophy toward the people in a clear and frightening way, which was articulated in this manner: “To keep you is no benefit. To destroy you is no loss.”

Satan did not come to the first couple in the Garden with an external armament or visible weapon; instead, he came to them with an idea. And it was that idea, embraced by Adam and Eve, that condemned them and the rest of humankind, with the only remedy being the sacrificial death of God’s Son.

The great tragedy is that, knowingly or unknowingly, the apostate teacher dooms his unsuspecting followers. Speaking to His disciples about the religious leaders of His day, Jesus said, “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14, emphasis added). Alarmingly, it is not only false teachers who go to destruction, but their disciples follow them there. Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard put it this way: “For it has never yet been known to fail that one fool, when he goes astray, takes several others with him.”

Conclusion

In AD 325, the Council of Nicea convened primarily to take up the issue of Arius and his teaching. Much to Arius’s dismay, the end result was his excommunication and a statement in the Nicene Creed that affirms Christ’s divinity: “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten of his Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.”

Arius may have died centuries ago, but his spiritual children are still with us to this day in the form of cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others who deny Christ’s true essence and person. Sadly, until Christ returns and every last spiritual enemy has been removed, tares such as these will be present among the wheat (Matthew 13:24–30). In fact, Scripture says apostasy will only get worse as Christ’s return approaches. “At that time [the latter days] many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another” (Matthew 24:10). Paul told the Thessalonians that a great falling away would precede Christ’s second coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3) and that the end times would be characterized by tribulation and hollow religious charlatans: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be . . . holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; avoid such men as these” (2 Timothy 3:1–2, 5).

It is critical, now more than ever, that every believer pray for discernment, combat apostasy, and contend earnestly for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints.

"Times up"

 "Time's up!"

Matthew 24

When we were in school we all had to take exams. Call them what you want, quizzes, tests, finals, exams. But the really big, stressful tests were the timed tests. You had a certain amount of time in which you were to take your test, and then you were told "Put your pencils down", and you were done whether you were done or not! Kids would frantically write all they could before the teacher would say firmly "I SAID PENCILS DOWN!".

Life is like that timed test, with some major differences. We don't wear a watch that tells us what time the test will be over. We don't even know how much time we have--it might be 10 minutes, 10 years, or 110 years. But we are all graded on how we do on the test. Lazarus passed the test by faith, the rich man did not.

How so? Well, when we die we are judged on what or Who we believed and trusted in. If you trusted and believed in Christ, then you go to Heaven. If you rejected Jesus Christ then you go to Torment, then eventually to Hell. This is called the Judgment of Faith.

At a point afterward, there is what is called the Judgment of Works. In short, your life will be reviewed and you will receive judgment based upon what you did with your life. For the Christian, we will receive a reward at the Bema (pronounced bay-ma) Seat Judgment. For the lost, as we studied last week, judgment will also be based upon works but will be used in a fair way to determine the eternal punishment of the person.

We have precious few days to make an impact in life, even if we live 110 years, in the grand scheme of things. Eternity is longer than trillions of years, and the judgments of God are everlasting. Those that are saved by Jesus, then we must work for Him. Those that are unsaved we give warning to, because we know their eventual fate should they not repent and turn in faith and trust toward Jesus Christ.

We never know when our life is going to be abruptly taken--when we will, for the last time "put our pencils down.

I) Judged According To Their Works

As we have discussed, there are two judgments for each person--Judgment of Faith and Judgment of Works. Here we see the latter, the Judgment of Works, for the unsaved masses called the Great White Throne Judgment.

Erwin Lutzer, Pastor of Moody Church in Chicago, related of a nice, kindly old man that told him "If your God is the type that would send anyone to Hell for eternity, then I want no part of him." I have heard a lot of people voice the same sentiment. Other variations include statements that begin with "Well, my god would never...". Notice that I intentionally did not capitalize the g in god here, because these people have a false god! The first and second commandments deal with "other gods" and with "false images". When we make God out to be anything that He is not, he then becomes a false god.

Here is a statement that may shock some people, but it is entirely true: The Doctrine of Hell glorifies God. Yes, it does. You may ask how. ALL people have no idea how repulsive sin is to our righteous, sinless, holy God. God is without sin, and sin angers God. In fact, it repels God, and God's wrath is held only in check by His great long-suffering. You see, each and every sin will be punished by God; in fact, the wrath of God builds up against each person that is against Him:

Rom 2:5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, NKJV

The Greek word for "treasuring" means to "amass or reserve". The wrath of God has been building up and will be cut loose during the Tribulation and at the Great White Throne Judgment. It will be tempered to a degree by the moral works of the individual. Note these are moral works, not "good" works. While it may be seen as splitting hairs, it is not. Only God is good, and only good works are done by Him. The good works that we do are done with the empowerment and will of the Holy Spirit.

In short, we have no idea just how repulsive sin is to God, and how much it angers Him. We often want to make God only the God of love, but in truth, He is the God of wrath and justice as well. Hell is the place of exclusion of all that is offensive to Him. It is a place where no good thing dwells.

Hell glorifies God by revealing both His attributes of wrath and justice and Heaven (and the New Earth--Rev 21 & 22) will glorify Him by revealing his love and mercy.

II) Only God Knows The Heart

And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:12b-15 NKJV

What if you had someone said he was your friend and loved you with all of his heart, but never called you or talked to you, or ever visited your house unless he wanted something? Would you call that man a friend?

In a similar way, some people do the same with God. If you ask them if they are going to heaven, they just might tell you that they love God, do good things, and that He answers their prayers but in the same breath tell you that they don't think you need to attend church to be saved. In fact, when pressed to ask them what "good" things they do for God, they either have no answer or stretch the truth.

Tell me, would either of the above examples be considered valid friends? Would the man be a friend of yours? Would the so-called Christian be really in a relationship with God?

God will judge each and every work at the judgment. At the Bema, He will judge all works done by the believer from the time they were saved until they either die or are raptured--the reward is at stake. At the Great White Throne Judgment, He will judge each and every work done by the individual, and the level of Hell will be at stake.

During our lives, God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows the true intentions of the heart, which can easily deceive us through our rationalizing sin (Jeremiah 17:9):

Ps 44:20-21 If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. (NKJV)

The books mentioned contain each and every moral and evil work, thought and word uttered by each person that stands before Jesus at the Great White Throne Judgment. No deed will be ignored.

Some say that God is not fair by sending people to Hell. The problem with this line of thought is, again, a misunderstanding of how much God hates sin, and how often people sin against Him and just rationalize it away or just plain ignore it. We are, in fact, born in sin and corrupt from the very beginning of our lives (Ps 51:5). Truth is, God has shown great mercy and long-suffering by allowing the corruption of the world to go on this long!

In addition, there will be so-called "ministers" that will stand at the Great White Throne Judgment (Matt 7:21-23). Although they do ministry work, Jesus never "knew them"; He never had a saving relationship with them.

III) The Second Death

Rev 20:14-15 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Romans 6:23a states "The wages of sin is death...". In other words, the paycheck at the Great White Throne Judgment is an all-expense-paid trip to Hell for all eternity. Before we are saved, we already have a one-way ticket to Hell:

John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. NKJV

Thankfully, for the believer, that trip was canceled and our destination changed and paid for by Jesus Christ (Is 43:25, sins blotted out).

In Romans 6:23a. death does not actually mean death in the physical sense but instead "second death". Death means separation, and we would normally understand that to be a separation of the body from the soul and spirit here on earth. However, at the Great White Throne Judgment, it will be--once and for all--separation from God forever. And it all adds up to an eternity with not one good thing about it.

Only God is good (Matt 19:16-17), and He is the fountainhead of all that is good. Each and everything that we enjoy in life we find the source is God. Sometimes these are things that are perverted by Satan and the sinful hearts of men, but God created things good and all good things come from Him. That triple chocolate brownie ice cream that you love? Made good by God. The hug from a loved one? Made good by God. That song that you love on the radio? Made good by God (unless it is off color, which is a perversion of God's good gift of music). Basically, everything in life is good until it's use is perverted by sin.

When a person experiences second death, it is a trip to Hell with no second chances, no possible chance of return (no matter what Hollywood says). There are no "do-overs". In this passage, we see that Death and Hades (those that died at the last war in Revelation 20 would be Death) are cast into the Lake of Fire, which would be "Hell Proper".

There is much misinformation about Hell, both on the liberal side and on the legalistic side. Here are a few of them, covered in brief:

"I'll see you in Hell, and we will have a big party." Not at all. First, there will be no parties in Hell, no good pleasurable thing will be experienced in Hell. In addition, one of the horrible features in Hell will be the isolation of each person.

"Satan and his demons will flay your flesh, and torture you day and night". I have gone through the Scriptures on references to Satan, demons, and Hell, and have found no Biblical support for this position whatsoever. I think that some people are either sensationalizing their stories or their witnessing, and this is a grave error. With a knowledge of how bad Hell is, there is no need to embellish the story.

IV) Two Things You WON'T Do In Heaven

Folks, I long for the day when I am with Jesus in Heaven. The longer I tread this soil here on Planet Earth, the more I realize that I sure do not belong here. That being said, it is important to know that there are two things that you won't do in heaven. It is a given, of course, that we will not sin and we will not die. We won't miss anyone that is in Heaven because we will be with them anytime we want.

The first is revealed in the passage above: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." We are given the Lord's Supper as a remembrance; we won't need to "remember" Jesus as we will be face to face with Him. So then, we will not partake in Communion since it is a memorial to Jesus, and we will be with Him.

The second thing is simply this: once you go to heaven, your called duty to witness to the lost will be finished. Paul wrote, "To live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21). In other words, we live for Christ and in service to Christ now but we make a great gain when we go to be with Jesus. We will indeed have work in Heaven; of what nature, for the most part, we do not know. But there will be no unsaved people in Heaven; thus, no one to witness to!

Give this some careful thought: if you were to die today, all of those people--family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even enemies--you should be witnessing today will not hear the gospel from you.

Now picture in your mind one person that you know needs to hear the gospel. Would it not break your heart to know that you would not see that person ever again if you died right now and did not share Jesus with them? Even worse, knowing what you know about Hell--even in the smallest degree from what we have discussed this week--does that not give you the desire to share Jesus with them? 

In short, then, don't wait. Tomorrow might be too late...and once you die, your witnessing days are over.