Beware of those who forsake the truth
1 Timothy 4:1-5; BCBC/IOUC; 1/23/2022; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
Beware, the earliest meaning is to prevent the water above the embankment from breaking the embankment and flooding the downstream villages. Because the person responsible for the dyke breach was to be held accountable, the concept of precaution was developed. The cognition from things to people is Kant’s contribution. He moved the ontology of Greek philosophy to the stage of epistemology, opening the precedent that all knowledge, including the revelation of God, can be recognized. Of course, we are not evaluating Kant today, but pointing out the responsibility of man in knowing the truth. We, ourselves included, should watch and pray lest we fall into temptation. Let’s look at the first point:
This is what the Holy Spirit clearly says
God has a special channel of communication with His people, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. That is to say, in the last days, there will be people who abandon the truth. First, this is the word of the Bible. There will be people who will forsake the truth. It is not someone’s whim, but the word of God. God said so, and it is bound to happen! Paul said in Romans that it is of God that one person is saved and another person perishes. Theologians have come up with different points of view, trying to prove that God’s salvation never changes. What has a profound impact on our Chinese church is once saved, forever saved! The obsession of believers is whether the prayer of determination I do counts? Today’s scriptures clearly state:“ In later times some will abandon the faith. (1 Timothy 4:1) ” This is what God said, and that is the truth! There are many propositions that can be discussed, but the conclusion is the Word of God!
Second, this is the clarification of the Holy Spirit. When we express the leading of the Holy Spirit, we usually say that it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That is, the work of the Holy Spirit is often invisible. But what Paul said in today’s passage: “the Spirit clearly says”. What’s the meaning? That is to say, the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and the word of God have become one, and they both express the same message. Those who forsake the truth will “Follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” You might say, how can there be so many evil spirits and demons? In fact, Satan is not far from us! Does every thought, every word, every decision come from God? If it is not from God, or it is Satan’s breach, abandonment of God is at hand.
Finally, here are the visible observations. The simplest observation is to compare it with the Bible! God’s holiness and righteousness, love and mercy, the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, etc., are all obvious in the Bible, right? It is also obvious whether the words of our mouth are from God or not. What comes from Satan must not come from God! It’s easier for us to leave ourselves a breach that this is just my personal opinion. Although it is not in line with God’s will, you know it. But, doesn’t it mean that Satan means it? Do you know? There is no middle ground between God and Satan, and there is no way of one’s own. Everything that is contrary to the Bible is of Satan! Let’s look at the second point:
This is hypocrisy
Who are these people? Why do you forsake the truth? Judging from God’s revelation to Paul, those who forsake the truth must be hypocrites. First, conscience is destroyed. Conscience is a person’s sensitive tentacles for sin and a barometer for identifying good and evil. Because of the sin of the first patriarch Adam, the function of conscience has been deficient! However, the function of our conscience is still partially preserved. That’s why sinners are not necessarily bad people, right? But if one chooses to forsake the truth, one becomes a hypocrite. Such people no longer have the ability to give their sincerity to God and man, and the Bible says that their consciences have been wiped out as if they were branded with an iron. On the one hand, they claimed to have believed in Christ Jesus, but on the other hand, they colluded with the Antichrist, slandered and betrayed the Lord for glory. The great grace of Christ who gave his life for them, yet they turn a blind eye and have no sense of Christ at all! Christ died for him, but they would not give up their name for Christ. Some people sing praises for the Antichrist on the Internet, unite the front and divide the body of Christ. Some have even been reduced to national security and national security informants, tipping off the Antichrist regime, framing believers, and demolishing churches.
Second, get used to abandonment. Some of them were actually the minions of Wu Yaozong and Ding Guangxun who bit and murdered people, and they had also betrayed friends who used to be in the same dormitory in the seminary. He thought that when he went abroad, changed his environment, and infiltrated overseas Chinese churches, no one would know his details. If he confesses his sins and repents, and confesses his past sins to the church, there is nothing that the Lord’s authority cannot forgive. The problem is a sinner’s habit. If his sins are not cleaned up and passed through the body of Christ, that is, the forgiveness and release of the church, he will still be bound by Christ in heaven! He will definitely go back to his old business, continue to commit crimes, and go back to his old business: selling friends for profit and selling God for glory! Or introduce antichrists into the church and wait for an opportunity to destroy the unity of the church.
Finally, practice legalism. One thing these hypocrites have in common is that they do not have the life of God. So what do they do? The best pretense is to practice legalism, like the Pharisees of the day. What they love is to demand that others follow rules that they can’t even make themselves. For example, they forbade marriage, and also abstained from food. In addition, these hypocrites are especially fond of gangs. In the administrative operation of the church, they always have their own advocates against the church. At the church membership meeting, he would say, whoever follows me can leave with me! This kind of phenomenon has appeared in many Chinese churches all over the world, and it is no longer an accidental event. Let’s look at the third point:
Only follow the truth
What should the church do when it encounters such people who have abandoned the truth? The solution given by Paul is to follow the truth. How to do it? First, know the truth more and more. It is really troublesome to meet people who have abandoned the truth! In particular, this person is still in an important position and is easy to prove and clear. The involvement is also quite tricky. The barnyard grass and the wheat grow together, and it is also God’s will that they come to train God’s people. The best way to identify counterfeit banknotes is to recognize genuine banknotes. Therefore, we must know God more and more and understand the truth! Daily devotional prayer to get close to God, weekly discipleship to understand the truth, weekly Sunday nourishment of God’s word, and weekly prayer meeting to pray for each other, Christ is among us!
Second, all things are received with thanks. Today’s world is no longer the same as the past, with frequent plagues, earthquakes, and disasters. Do we still feel thankful in our hearts? The number of epidemics in the United States is severe, and some people can’t sit still. Start to sing praises for the clearing of the wall country, as if the numbers reported in the news are so credible and amiable? People’s mood is controlled by the data of politics in command of our rationality. It seems that millions of people are infected with the virus every day, so there is nothing to be grateful for? After 850,000 people died, do you say that God does not exist? Then, the death of hundreds of millions of people in the war of the last century, and the death of tens of millions of people in three years of “natural disasters” in the wall country, what are the reasons for these? God is still in power, do you believe it? God is here, so be thankful, do you agree?
Lastly, Beware is to be alert, not to give up. The last days are terrible, Judas is hateful, and the feelings that go with Judas are disgusting. Think about how the Lord still had a look of compassion and expectation towards Judas at the Last Supper! Even if you are the one who is ungrateful, crosses the river and demolishes bridges, and repays the kindness with revenge, because of Christ’s eyes on you, I will never give up on you! Beware, is to protect the rest of the sheep. Beware, is to be on the alert, lest one also be deceived. Beware, build yourself up in the most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit!
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters, beware of those who forsake the truth, who are seeking the will of God. May God help us to identify those who forsake the truth, the hypocrites. Only by knowing and obeying the truth more and more can we understand and beware of those who forsake the truth. It is still for the sake of restore, for salvation, and for God’s sake!
Let us pray……
