Sound Doctrine-11

Sound Doctrine – 11

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?

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.

Entrenched patterns of thought that exalt themselves against Christ.

Thoughts come from three sources:

God

Devil

Us

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.

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.

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?

Many Christians do not realize that the erroneous New Age concepts and teachings have entered their way of thinking.

Have any of you ever made a statement similar to these?

“That’s Karma; What goes around comes around.”

“Everything happens for a reason.”

“Speak it into existence.”

“Visualize your success.”

“You create your own reality.”

“I just love their energy.”

“That place has bad vibes.”

“Follow your heart.”

Colossians 2:1–5 (NIV84)

1I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.

2My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ,

3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

4I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.

5For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Colossians 2:6–8 (AMP)

6As you have therefore received Christ, [even] Jesus the Lord, [so] walk (regulate your lives and conduct yourselves) in union with and conformity to Him.

7Have the roots [of your being] firmly and deeply planted [in Him, fixed and founded in Him], being continually built up in Him, becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and abounding and overflowing in it with thanksgiving.

8See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding [the teachings of] Christ (the Messiah).

Colossians 2:16–23 (NIV84)

16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:

21“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”?

22These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

The purpose of the letter was to provide the resources that the Colossian Christians needed to fend off some kind of false teaching to which they were exposed.

The false teachers were downplaying the supremacy of Jesus Christ and exalting angels.

The false teachers were appealing to spiritual beings, visions, and rules to find security; they were questioning the sufficiency of Christ.

Paul’s intent in writing the book of Colossians was to make the centrality and supremacy of Christ, especially with respect to other spiritual beings, a central plank in his response to the false teachers.

The false teachers believed that “angels and principalities played a prominent role in creation and the giving of the Law. They were regarded as controlling the communication between God and man and so needed to be placated by keeping strict legal observances.”

1 Timothy 2:5–6 (NIV84)

5For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

6who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

Heresy tells its followers that Christ is not enough.

We need Christ and…

Dietary restrictions

Religious festivals

Special days of worship

Angelic messengers

Many false religions originated from a “divine message” that came from a supposed angel.

In today’s world, false teaching still abounds. One serious area is the infiltration of New Age doctrine into the Christian worldview.

New Age theology includes these eight points:

God and creation are one. God is an impersonal force or energy.

Revelation is special and continuous. The Bible is not authoritative. In fact, the four Gospels of the New Testament present symbolic details about the mysteries of God.

Humanity is one with God. Every person is divine.

Jesus is a man who evolved into a godlike being. The Christ spirit, an impersonal “force,” dwelt in Jesus, just as it did in any number of other great religious leaders.

Humanity’s crises are all the result of people’s ignorance of their own divinity.

Humanity needs a complete “transformation” in which each person is made aware of his or her oneness with God.

Through various techniques an altered state of consciousness can be produced in individuals, resulting in a perceived change of reality.

The “transformation” of each individual is the basis for the transformation of the entire world—“global transformation”—which will result in social unity.

Colossians 2:18–19 (NIV84)

18Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.

19He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

New Agers insist on knowing the names of their contact angels. This seems to give them a sense of security, authenticity, and reality to what they cannot always see. Much of New Age teaching, it is claimed, comes from angelic instruction.

In New Age thinking, angels have replaced God, and for many the messages the angels bring replace the Bible.

The Word of God must remain our standard, our norm, for evaluating all that people past or present say about angels. The Bible is as authoritative in its teaching about angels as it is in everything else in its pages.

Karma is a principle often quoted by Christians today.

What’s wrong with “Karma”?

Karma (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism):

A universal moral law that governs actions and their consequences across multiple lifetimes.

Rooted in the idea of reincarnation; good or bad actions influence one’s future births.

Karma operates impersonally; there’s no divine being dispensing reward or punishment; it’s an automatic moral law built into reality.

Sowing and Reaping (Bible – Galatians 6:7–9.):

A spiritual principle taught within a theistic framework; God oversees the outcomes of human behavior.

“Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap” refers to both moral and spiritual consequences in this life and eternity.

Rooted in God’s justice and mercy, not an impersonal cosmic mechanism.

Karma:

Each person’s current state results from past actions (in this or previous lives).

There’s no concept of forgiveness; negative karma must be “worked off” through suffering or virtuous acts.

Emphasis on self-effort and detachment.

Sowing and Reaping:

Consequences are real, but forgiveness and redemption are possible through God’s grace (e.g., through repentance and faith).

God can intervene; mercy can override judgment.

Emphasis on relationship with God, not merely cause and effect.

Karma:

Operates over many lifetimes; the effects of one’s actions may manifest in future incarnations.

The goal is ultimately liberation (moksha) from the cycle of rebirth and karma.

Hebrews 9:27 (NIV84)

27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

Sowing and Reaping:

Generally refers to this life and eternal life after death, not multiple reincarnations.

The aim is spiritual maturity and eternal fellowship with God, not escape from rebirth.

Karma is justice without mercy; sowing and reaping is justice within mercy.

Meditation

Another area of concern is in the area of meditation.

Biblical Meditation focuses on God, His Word, and His works.

New Age focuses on the self, energy, or the universe. Often seeks a mystical oneness.

New Age meditation focuses on emptying the mind to become detached from the world and to merge with the so-called Cosmic Mind. There is no living, personal God to attach to, to listen to, and to be active for.

Matthew 12:43–45 (NIV84)

43“When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

44Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.

45Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”

There is a big difference between emptying one’s mind to meditate on nothing and filling one’s mind with the Word of God to meditate on the Living God.

Donald S. Whitney: Meditation is not folding your arms, leaning back in your chair, and staring at the ceiling. That’s daydreaming, not meditation. … As opposed to daydreaming wherein you let your mind wander, with meditation you focus your thoughts. You give your attention to the verse, phrase, word, or teaching of Scripture you have chosen. Instead of mental aimlessness, in meditation your mind is on a track—it’s going somewhere; it has direction. The direction your mind takes is determined by the method of meditation you choose.10

Rather than emptying our minds, biblical meditation involves filling our minds with God’s Word. This is the intentional chewing, tasting, and ruminating upon God’s Word. Far from “swish and spit” meditation, it is “sit and steep.” We need to steep the Word in the water of our soul so that we are flavored and colored by the Bible.

Psalm 119:97–99 (NIV84)

97Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.

98Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.

99I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.

Biblical Meditation emphasizes filling the mind with Scripture, prayerful reflection, and deliberate thought.

New Age emphasizes emptying the mind, repeating mantras, detaching from thought, or suppressing reasoning.

Biblical Meditation’s goal is transformation through the renewal of the mind, obedience to God, and delighting in Him and His precepts.

New Age’s goal is inner peace, altered consciousness, self-actualization, and escape from reality.

Biblical Meditation’s Authority is Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) as God’s truth.

New Age’s authority is subjective experience; mystical insight becomes the measure of truth.

Biblical Meditation’s View of Self is the self is sinful apart from Christ (Romans 3:23); true life is found in union with Christ (Galatians 2:20).

New Age’s view of self is the self is divine or can evolve into higher consciousness.

Biblical Meditation’s Spiritual Power comes from the Holy Spirit illuminating God’s Word and applying it to the heart (1 Corinthians 2:14).

New Age’s spiritual power is derived from techniques, vibrations or supposed universal energies are invoked.

Biblical Meditation’s fruit is deeper love for God, holiness, obedience, assurance, and Christ-centered joy.

New Age’s fruit is a temporary calm, which can foster pride; spiritual confusion or syncretism.

Syncretism is the blending or mixing of different religious beliefs and practices into one system. Instead of keeping the worship of the true God pure, syncretism combines elements of biblical faith with pagan or worldly ideas.

Syncretism = “mixing truth with error” in worship or spirituality.

Is this occurring today?

Have we allowed a mixing of truth with error?

Next Week!!! (The Lord Willing)