Sound Doctrine-2

Sound Doctrine – 2

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (NIV84)

1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:

2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

2 Timothy 4:2 (AMP)

2Herald and preach the Word! Keep your sense of urgency [stand by, be at hand and ready], whether the opportunity seems to be favorable or unfavorable. [Whether it is convenient or inconvenient, whether it is welcome or unwelcome, you as preacher of the Word are to show people in what way their lives are wrong.] And convince them, rebuking and correcting, warning and urging and encouraging them, being unflagging and inexhaustible in patience and teaching.

We, like Timothy, are to proclaim the Word. Be careful not to obscure God’s Word with empty, powerless, and ineffective words that do not accompany or bring about salvation.

3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Itching = κνήθω knēthō 1x = to have itching ears, to desire to hear what one wants to hear, to be desirous of hearing.

Itching ears. Ever have itching ears? You put whatever it takes in your ear to relieve the itching.

Those with spiritual itching ears will put whatever it takes in their ears to relieve the itching.

The carnal man can have no true interest or appreciation in the gospel apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and yet this miracle takes place in the heart of a man through the gospel preaching which he at first disdains.

Some theorize that our present culture cannot tolerate the type of preaching that was so effective during the great awakenings and revivals of the past.

We live in a culture bound by sin like bands of iron.

Moral stories, quaint maxims, and life lessons shared from the heart of a beloved pulpiteer or spiritual life coach have no real power against such darkness.

We need preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ who know the Scriptures, and by God’s grace face any culture with the cry, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Titus 2:1 (NIV84)

1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.

What is sound doctrine?

Sound = ὑγιαίνω hygiainō = to be correct or accurate, conceived as being free from infirmity or disease; to be correct, to be healthy. (Uncontaminated)

Doctrine = διδασκαλία didaskalia = instruction, teaching; the content of what is taught.

Paul was commanding Titus to communicate the things that will make believers healthy, well, uncorrupt, and true. This would be the only way the church would be healthy. There will not be right living where there is no right teaching.

Sound doctrine is spelled out in this chapter.

For the next few weeks, the Lord willing, we will take a break from the Fasting series and look into what constitutes sound doctrine.

Titus 2:2 (NIV84)

2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

Paul instructs that older men (men 60+ years old) should be taught to be temperate (sober-minded and vigilant, especially regarding wine), worthy of respect (dignified in behavior), and self-controlled (prudent in governing passions and desires), while being sound (spiritually healthy and doctrinally correct) in THE faith (the objective body of Christian doctrine), in THE love (the unconditional divine love produced by the Holy Spirit), and in THE endurance (the Spirit-given fortitude to withstand hardship)—all according to God's standards as defined by His Word rather than human definitions.

These instructions to the older men parallel the instruction given for the qualification of elders.

It is from this group that elders should be chosen.

Titus 1:5–9 (NLT)

5I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.

6An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious.

7A church leader is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.

8Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.

9He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

Luke 17:1–2 (NIV84)

1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come.

2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

Teachers of the Word and elders must take absolute care that what they say does not lead others astray or cause one to think that they’re saved, when in actuality they are not because of a watered down, what’s in it for me, bless me gospel presentation.

If you want to follow Christ right into heaven, here’s the message:

Deny yourself

Take up your cross

Follow Him

Do you hear that in the contemporary gospel?

Do you ever hear that in a message a television preacher or an evangelist gives?

Do you ever hear anybody stand up in a crowd and say, “If you want to become a Christian, slay yourself! Refuse to associate any longer with yourself, reject all the things your self longs and wants and hopes for! Be willing to die for the sake of Christ, if required, and while living slavishly, submit in obedience to Jesus Christ!”

That doesn’t sell! That’s not smart marketing.

It’s a message that’s hard to believe, because self-denial is so hard to do. It just happens to be the truth.

Matthew 7:21–23 (NIV84)

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

These many claimed to have spoken under the influence of divine inspiration, cast out demons in the authority of Jesus’ name, and performed many miracles, yet Jesus never knew them.

They were never led by the Lord; they went through the motions as if they were following the leading of the Lord, but they were following their own vain imaginations and the leading of the devil.

They claimed to act in Jesus’ authority and in submission to His lordship, and they claimed an intimate union with Jesus as the source of their power and preaching. All their actions were done by Jesus’ authority and power.

The claims these many made can be compared to many Charismatic churches today.

Many claim to have a word from the Lord.

Many claim to have cast out devils.

Many claim to have performed miracles all in the name and approval of the Lord (so they think).

When someone has a “word from the Lord,” how do you know that it was from the Lord?

When someone claims that he had cast out a devil, how do you know that a devil was cast out.

When someone claims to have performed a miracle, where is the proof?

This stuff goes on more often that you think, but there will be a day of accounting, where all these charlatans will be called on the carpet and stand in front of Jesus, the Judge.

“What makes you think that you’re a Christian?

“Why did you become a Christian?”

John 10:10 (AMP)

10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Romans 10:9–10 (NIV84)

9That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Many a person has been lured into thinking that they’re saved using the promise in John 10:10 as the bait and then saying a sinner’s prayer by repeating the words of Romans 10:9, that did not come from their heart but was merely a superficial repetition of what someone else told them to say.

Who wouldn’t want a better life just by believing that Jesus rose from the dead and confessing that He is Lord?

To suggest that this text is the biblical foundation for the sinner’s prayer that concludes many evangelistic tracts and sermons is a serious exegetical fallacy.

Because of this popular belief, many unconverted men, women, and children have an almost impenetrable assurance (“You can’t tell me otherwise!”) of their eternal salvation simply because at one time in their lives they affirmed a few biblical truths and repeated a model prayer.

Afterward, there was no transformation, no continuing work of sanctification, no rejection of the world, and no desire for Christ.

One of the chief evidences of saving faith and true conversion is the growing reality of Christ’s lordship in our lives and our willingness to follow Him, even at the greatest cost.

1 John 2:3–6 (NIV84)

3We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

4The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:

6Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

Those who are genuinely converted (born again) keep God’s commands.

Obedience to God’s commands is evidence of a saving faith, because it’s now what you are; it’s part of your nature.

1 John 3:7–10 (NIV84)

7Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray (let no one deceive you, lsb). He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

8He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

9No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

1 John 3:9 (AMP)

9No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.

10This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

Today, there are many who think they are Christians because they “completed the formula” for salvation. They “checked all the boxes” and said the right things. These who claim to be Christians practice:

Unmarried couples living together.

“Partying” while using drugs, drinking alcoholic beverages to excess, and engaging in promiscuous behavior.

Vulgar and profane speech

Attend movies that depict all the aforementioned behaviors and don’t think a bit that it may offend and discredit the name of Christ.

They say, “God is love; He’ll forgive me.”

These “Christians” are no different than those in the world. You can’t tell them apart.

Romans 2:21–24 (NIV84)

21you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?

22You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

23You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

24As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

There are millions of people convinced of their salvation because they have followed the “steps,” yet they continue in worldliness, without the slightest desire for the things of God.

When a believer falls into sin, his witness is ruined, and the name of His Lord is sullied before the world. Those who claim to be Christians but persistently live in sin give evidence that they carry the name of Christ in vain. And because there is no difference between their standard of living and that of the world, the Lord’s name is blasphemed.

John 1:10–13 (NIV84)

10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Received = λαμβάνω lambanō = Metaphorically of a teacher, to receive, acknowledge, embrace and follow his instructions.

In the Scriptures, to believe is not limited to an intellectual understanding of certain facts or even to the acceptance of them.

Instead, it is to trust in and rely upon the object of our faith to the degree that we base our actions upon it.

Our faith or belief in Jesus Christ is not validated by the strength of our verbal confession or even by what we supposedly feel in our hearts (volume or emotions); rather, it is proven true or false by the degree to which His person and Will determine our actions and direct the full course of our lives.

To receive Christ is to trust or rely upon Him to such a degree that we stake both our temporal and eternal well-being on the truthfulness of His claims, and we direct the entire course of our lives according to His will.

To believe in the name of God is to believe in the totality of His person or to believe in everything that He has revealed about Himself.

It is unsound to think that a person could “receive” Jesus as Savior at one stage in life and then receive Him as Lord and King later.

To receive Jesus in a manner that results in salvation and sonship is to receive the whole of Him as prophet, priest, and king. (Savior and Lord)

Modern-day evangelism leads seekers to believe they can receive the benefits of Christ’s salvation without submitting to the rule of His sovereignty.

They often feel assured of their salvation because they prayed the sinner’s prayer with sincerity, even though there is no evidence of a continuing work of sanctification in their lives.

This is the disease of our time, leading to the deception and destruction of many people.

The gospel does not call us to receive Christ as an addition to our life, but rather as our life.

Jesus Christ is not to be treated as an accessory to our lives in the same manner that a belt or pair of shoes might accessorize a certain outfit.

It is the worst thing to tell sinners that they have a great life, a wonderful family, a beautiful home, and a great job, but they lack one thing to make it all complete—a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

Such language portrays Jesus as a cherry on top of an already great life.

It makes Him nothing more than a necessary or complementary addition.

It is foreign to the Scriptures and to those saints throughout the history of Christianity who best understood the supremacy of His person and the privilege of His gospel.

Luke 6:43–45 (NIV84)

43“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.

44Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.

45The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

The condition of a person’s heart will manifest itself in his or her behavior.

John MacArthur: Many Sinner’s Prayer Advocates quickly offer assurance of salvation to the one praying. I remember hearing an evangelical leader lead thousands of people in the sinner’s prayer at a stadium, after a crusade. When he was done, he told them, “You are now Christians, born again, and don’t let anyone ever question that.” These people had not heard a word about discipleship, repentance, or submitting their lives to the Lord. Instead, they were led to believe that they were saved simply because they said the prayer. Imagine the horror of living a carnal life that dishonors Christ, believing the entire time that one is saved, only to come face-to-face with the Savior and hear those terrifying words, “Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23).

Matthew 7:13–29 (NIV84)

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

29because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Hell will come as a surprise to many. This is not something we can take lightly and just assume we are saved and going to heaven, because we were taught and led to believe a certain way.

Just because we are convinced of something, that doesn’t make it right.

What does the Bible say?

Luke 18:18 (NIV84)

18A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Is there something that we must do to be saved?

Is praying the Sinner’s Prayer a requirement to be saved?

Is the Sinner’s Prayer Scripturally correct?

Next Week!!! (The Lord willing)