I am committed this morning to press the importance of being able to identify and confront the abounding threat that heresy poses to the church. Can we just turn a blind eye to those who preach a false Gospel? Can we allow people who proclaim a false god, a false version of Christ, a false version of the Spirit, or a false message of salvation to go unopposed? In the face of these, can we afford to be ignorant to the full counsel of the Word? Can we afford to just be polite and quiet and allow people to be misled? Are we to let our friends and neighbors, or our brothers and sisters, to believe these things without a word of caution from us? No! We must be resolved that in these matters: Lives are at stake!
Spiritual matters are not quaint little things. They are not merely the subject of opinionated and philosophical discourse. They are not matters that can simply reside in light-hearted conversation. These are eternal matters, and as such, they ought to be given the greatest attention and approached with true gravity – Both personally, and in our communication with others. 1Tim. 4:16 commands – “Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.” All things considered, none of us can afford to do less.
Our society has grown lax and flippant in eternal matters while simultaneously it has become serious and grave about temporal issues. The times we live in do indeed demonstrate the grave nature and consequence of ideologies and beliefs on the livelihood and well-being of man in this world. And people are beginning to awaken to the necessity of being well-informed and able to communicate on those matters. Are we to think that spiritual concerns take a back seat to those temporal concerns? Ought not a right view of God and eternity to inform and shape our views of everything else? If lives are at stake in issues of politics, pandemics, and propaganda – Are not their souls still yet of greater concern? If we are to make the most of our time because the days are evil (Eph. 5:16), we cannot afford to be spiritually negligent in this hour.
Look, people are dying every day. Whether they die from disease, or old age, or oppression – They are dead just the same. But the end to their physical life is nothing compared to what is coming for those who do not rightly know Jesus, who do not know the truth about God, and His true means of salvation. That salvation is the only true hope for mankind. If you can alleviate people’s suffering by some degree in this life that is wonderful and good, but woe to us if we neglect souls! The truth is that the end is coming for all of us. And there is but one hope for man in what comes next. That hope will not be found in a politician, it will not be found in societal reform, and it will not be found in a vaccine. The means of salvation is a precise message of unshakable repentant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished. That all-important message that supersedes everything else is being marred, misrepresented, and misshapen by countless heresies. I beg you then to see the true ideological battle! I beg you to pour over the Word and to press into the faith. I beg you to seek the Lord and to know Him well. Don’t assume you have this ability naturally – A man only grows in true discernment by the thorough and constant use of the Word of God. Being immersed deeply in that Word you have the means of discernment. Then you will be able to think rightly about societal issues. Then you will be able to identify heresy, and have the tools to confront it, and point others to the truth. O please grasp this fact – This is the true battle, and it is a matter of eternal life and death.
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