The Five Enemies of God's Truth - Part 2

March 14, 2021 Part 2 Mother Clement Birthday Five Enemies of God’s Truth [SLIDE] 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Jude 17 But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: 18 how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 19 These are [i]sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. Page | 1 GM GP . . . This morning we’re resuming our teaching on identifying the Enemies of God’s Truth. This message comes to alert Believers to the schemes and deceptions cooked up by Satan which are intended to trick them out of living by the Truth of God as well enlighten us to fake truth that is so persuasive until it comes across as God’s Truth to the untrained, undiscerning eye and ear. In this mini-series, I want to present 5 Enemies of God’s Truth. [SLIDE] By definition, an Enemy of God’s Truth is defined as anyone or anything that opposes, resists, hates, rejects, copies, counterfeits or disbelieves God’s Revealed Truth. The opposer or enemy can be a “who” or a “what”, a person, or a power, a force, a thing, a concept, a philosophy, a place, an entity, or an institution. And so, for good measure, let me remind you of what Truth I’m talking about since there are so many versions of truth in the world today. In reality, truth be known, there is only one Truth that has ever been or ever will be – and that Truth is God’s Truth alone. [SLIDE] God’s Truth is Comprehensively Defined as the Word of God which is God-breathed, infallible, living, breathing and all powerful; it is the mind of God; it is the revealed word contained in the Holy Bible and it is Page | 2 life-giving Truth that gives man a new birth unto eternal life. Analogously, and distinguished as the Capital “T” TRUTH vs. small “t” truth stems from man’s intellect., human wisdom, and man’s portable, convenient Small “t” truth. [more on that later]. [SLIDE] Let me remind you Why is the Truth so important? ● It makes us free from ourselves and the bondage of sin – John 8:31& 32 says: 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ● It is the basis of our faith – Jude 3 urges . . . 3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. ● It is our protection and discernment-gauge in differentiating between the Truth and a Lie; Truth and Error. 1 John 2:21 says . . I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 1 John 4:6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Page | 3 Now, let’s resume identifying the 5/7 Enemies. So far we have identified enemy #1. Page | 4 The First Enemy of God’s Truth is: Satan the Devil – Isaiah 14:12-17; Luke 10:18; Rev 12:8-10 What makes Satan an enemy of God’s Truth? He became an enemy of God and God’s Truth when he rebelled against God at the beginning of time. [SLIDE] Revelation 12: 7-9 says . . . 7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Satan and his demons were thrown out of heaven at the time of their original rebellion, but still have access to it (Job 1:6; 2:1). That access will be denied eventually and they will be forever barred from heaven. The word “devil” comes from the word meaning “to slander” or “to falsely accuse”. He is a malignant liar (John 8:44; 1 John 3:8). His accusations against believers (v.10) are unsuccessful because of Christ our advocate (1 John 2:1). The word Satan means “adversary,” or enemy. It appears especially in Job and the Gospels. Page | 5 [SLIDE] As he has throughout human history, Satan will deceive people up to and during the Tribulation and even for a short time after God releases him at the end of the Millennium. [SLIDE] 1. He is a Deceiver and He’s Real - Revelation 12:9 2. He is a Practicing Liar and Deceiver - Genesis 3:1 – 5 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 3. He is A True Enemy of the Kingdom – Matthew 13: 24-30; 36-43 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 4. He is Equal Opportunity Truth Enemy - Matthew 4:1-10 His main goal was/is to replace God and destroy Jesus. 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 5. He is Most Concerned with Taking Your Bible from You Mark 4:3, 4 & 15 The Second Enemy of God’s Truth is . . . Small “t” truth vs. Capital “T” Truth This second enemy is man’s attempt to use “Small “t” truth” to discredit and reduce God’s Capital “T” to a mere philosophy, a collection of religious ideas, or a fable. This is done by rejecting God’s Page | 6 Truth as the absolute Truth and a refusal to acknowledge whether He really exists or not. [SLIDE] Small “t” truth is defined as worldly truth and worldly wisdom; it is man’s truth which encompasses human wisdom, man’s philosophies, man’s laws and sciences, and man’s intellect, and man’s reasonings. Small “t” truth is driven by an absence of God; therefore, it is powerless in its ability to save man, add one cubit to his stature, or give him a spiritual afterlife – especially eternal life. Small “t” truth focuses on the natural side of man. There is no absolute right or wrong about it. One group of Small “t” truth supporters believe that the story of creation found in the Bible is a lie and that God isn’t actually the one responsible for the creation of our world, at least not directly. They claim the evidence of this comes from the imperfection, tragedy, and evil in our world. They contend that a good God could never have created it. 2 Timothy 3:7-9 speaks of the enemy nature of Small “t” truth” followers. He says they are . . . [SLIDE] 2 Timothy 3:7-9 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. Page | 7 [SLIDE] Finally, the defeat of “ Small “t” truth” as an enemy of God’s Truth is found in 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 which says . . . [SLIDE] 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. The Third Enemy of God’s Truth is: Church Traditions, Church Doctrine and Church Culture These very innocent practices turn into vile enemies when they override God’s Truth. Commonly, a strong commitment to church traditions, Page | 8 doctrines and culture by church organizations and church people make God’s Truth secondary to everything. In fact, Traditions, Doctrines and Cultural practices often replaces God’s Truth because they are held in higher regard than Bible Truth. In Matthew 15: 7-9, Jesus chides a group whose “church practices” made God’s Truth of no effect in their lives. [SLIDE] Matthew 15:7-9 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” Let’s look at examples of how Church Traditions, Doctrine and Culture can be an Enemy of God’s Truth: [First] Matthew 15: 1-6 addresses the detriments of Church Tradition: [SLIDE] Matthew 15: 1-6 15 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He Page | 9 [SLIDE] who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. [SLIDE] Romans 10:1- 4 shows how Church Doctrine can become an enemy of Truth: 10 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. [SLIDE] Church Culture gone too far is demonstrated in Acts 6:8-15 . . . 6:8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” Page | 10 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13 They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel. 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