Sound Doctrine-10

Sound Doctrine – 10

Titus 2:11–12 (NIV84)

11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.

12It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

As we go through each of these commands to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, we must always keep in mind that commands never change a person; only the grace of God can do that.

A church can quickly become legalistic by stressing the commands without the grace of God.

God want us to live a holy life, but He enables us to do so by the grace of God.

Christianity is not just another religion that we follow by keeping its moral admonitions and guidelines.

Christianity is Jesus Christ: knowing, loving, and following Him.

The grace of God is not some attribute or distant force; the grace of God is Jesus Christ Himself expressing His kindness towards us through the Holy Spirit.

John 12:32 (NIV84)

32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

When we lift up Jesus, He will draw all men to Himself. It’s all about Jesus. He, and He alone, is to be exalted in all we do.

When we do that, He does the drawing.

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (NIV84)

3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4The weapons we fight with (the weapons of our warfare, esv, lsb) are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

What are the weapons of our warfare, if they are not the familiar weapons of the world?

Ephesians 6:10–18 (NIV84)

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The full armor of God consists of five defensive pieces and two offensive pieces.

The two offensive pieces are the spiritual weapons with which we demolish strongholds.

They are the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and prayer.

When we look at these verses, it’s easy to look at the armor of God as merely weapons that we use.

The armor of God is Jesus Christ. In fact, all of Scripture is Jesus Christ, because He is the Word.

Romans 13:11–14 (NIV84)

11And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

The spiritual soldier must “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (v. 11).

The church walks in “the armour of light” when it obeys this injunction: “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:12, 14).

William Gurnall: “Till Christ be put on, the creature is unarmed.”

Galatians 3:26–29 (NIV84)

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,

27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The weapons of our warfare is Jesus Christ present within us through the Holy Spirit enabling us to wield the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, to effectively demolish strongholds.

Every piece of the armor of God is Jesus Christ present within us through the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 2:20 (NIV84)

20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Romans 8:10–11 (NIV84)

10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Ephesians 6:14 (NIV84)

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

John 14:6 (NIV84)

6Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV84)

30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Ephesians 6:15 (NIV84)

15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 2:13–14 (NIV84)

13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

Ephesians 6:16 (NIV84)

16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Psalm 18:2 (NIV84)

2The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

1 Peter 1:3–5 (NIV84)

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you,

5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV84)

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Acts 4:12 (NIV84)

12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Revelation 19:13 (NIV84)

13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:4 (NIV84)

4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Demolish = καθαίρεσις kathairesis 3x = demolition: the act of tearing down (a building) so as to make flat with the ground.

(2 Cor. 10:8; 13:10): tearing down: the act of making something less full, complete, or mature (in order to disassemble it completely); understood as if assisting in the demolition of a building. (versus complete extinction)

pulling down; razing to the ground.

demolition; extinction.

Strongholds = ὀχύρωμα ochurōma 1x = of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavors to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent.

The arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavors to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent.

Entrenched patterns of thought that exalt themselves against Christ.

How important are thoughts to the Christian? What does the Bible say about thoughts?

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV84)

5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We take captive = αἰχμαλωτίζω aichmalōtizō = to subdue, bring into subjection.

to subjugate, bring under control.

make every thought obedient.

Every = πᾶς pas = each: every one considered individually.

Thought = νόημα noema = that which one has in mind as product of intellectual process.

(an evil) purpose: to cause whoever is devising evil against Christ to desist from his purpose and submit himself to Christ.

Thoughts come from three sources:

God

Devil

Us

Romans 12:2 (NIV84)

2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Do not conform outwardly to the standards of this world, “the way in which people in the world think one ought to act.”

This sum of contemporary thinking and values forms the moral atmosphere of our world and is always dominated by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4).

One of the ways we are transformed is when the Word of God changes the way we think.

Luke 6:45 (NIV84)

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.

Stored up = θησαυρός thēsauros = anything laid up in store; hence, treasure, wealth.

The storehouse of the mind, where the thoughts, feelings or counsels are laid up.

Treasury, place where treasures or stores are kept.

that on which the life centers.

Nothing shows the state of our hearts so well as words spoken without careful consideration, when talking freely and saying, as we put it, the first thing which comes into our heads.

Matthew 6:19–24 (NIV84)

19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Wherever our focus lies, whatever occupies our thoughts and our time—that is our “treasure.”

Matthew 15:17–20 (NIV84)

17“Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’

19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

20These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ ”

Psalm 19:14 (NIV84)

14May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Where do these evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander come from?

How can I make the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in the sight of the Lord?

Meditation = הִגָּיוֹן higgayon = muttering (sounds spoken to no one in particular).

Meditation or thinking in the heart as opposed to speech.

Close or continued thought; the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind; serious contemplation.

A thought process that may include speaking the thoughts out loud in low tones, to no human in particular.

Joshua 1:8 (AMP)

8This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

Joshua 1:8 (CEV)

6Long ago I promised the ancestors of Israel that I would give this land to their descendants. So be strong and brave! Be careful to do everything my servant Moses taught you. Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land.

Meditate = הָגָה hagah = ponder, give serious thought and consideration to selected information, with a possible implication of speaking in low tones reviewing the material.

Meditation implies reasoning about the Word and deducing insights from it.

Meditation always has application as its goal.

God wants us to put His Word into practice.

Meditation plus application equals success.

The English Annotations: It is as if the Lord says, “You shall continually take all opportunities to think and consider of the law, as being the only rule to direct you in all private and public affairs …, not departing or declining from it at any time, or in anything, either to the right or to the left. Neither is it sufficient for you to read and know it, or to meditate and ponder on it in all its precepts and passages, unless you also observe and practice it in the whole course of your life. And so shall you carry yourself prudently and prosperously in all your undertakings, and have good success in all your counsels and enterprises.”

John Calvin: People never act skillfully and regularly except insofar as they allow themselves to be ruled by the word of God. Accordingly, the prudence that believers learn from the word of God is opposed to the confidence of those who consider their own sense sufficient to guide them aright.

Psalm 119:15 (NIV84)

15I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.

The word, meditation, brings feelings of caution and wariness due to the erroneous methods that are used in New Age beliefs.

What is the Biblical method of meditation?

How can we distinguish it from the erroneous methods that are so vastly popular in today’s culture, including within the evangelical church?

Next Week!!! (The Lord Willing)