E17 - The Pastoral Epistles: Biblical Ministers & Biblical Ministry - The Dangerous Reality of False Teachers

You're listening to Key Life Fellowships pulpit ministry

podcast. We thank you for tuning in as we

learn from God's Word together. If you would like more

information regarding Key Life or to speak with one of our

pastors, please visit us at keylifefellow-ship.com.

Aren't you thankful this morning that the words of that song are

true? That God has loved us so much

that he sent His Son to die for those of us who have would just

trust in Him by faith, and He invites us to lean on Him.

I know what many say, right? Christianity is just a crutch.

I need something to prop me up. Christianity's just.

A crutch. So I can't live without Christ.

Christianity is just a crutch. I can't stand without Christ.

But don't you think that's just a crutch?

I can't walk without Christ. I need Christ.

And yet he and his love invites us to fellowship with him, to

commune with him. And it's OK because?

We're all going to go through those times where we.

Need to lean on something? He invites us to lean on Him, to

lean not on our own understanding, but in all our

ways. Acknowledge Him and He will make

our paths straight. Thank you Jesus, that we can

truly lean on you, dependent upon nothing in ourselves,

nothing of ourselves, but dependent upon you.

You have your Bibles. If you would turn to First

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

Timothy chapter 6 as we continue our journey through the Pastoral

Epistle of First Timothy, looking at biblical ministers

and biblical ministry, at the risk of causing all of you to go

into a panic, this morning we will be covering verses 3 all

the way to verse 10 today. I know last week we covered only

two verses and it took us a minute.

Those who were in the first service are thankful that they

came to the first service because we have to get out.

For those of you in the late. Service we don't have to get out

and so I intend on going through all of these verses this

morning. Only kidding.

It won't take any longer than the normal tumor being removed

from your brain. When we look at this, and I want

you to see that this is a topic that is not addressed nearly

enough, I want us to look at the dangerous reality of false

teachers. Paul is going to point Timothy's

attention now, in this third verse, back to false teachers

who are leading people astray in the church.

Now this is 2000 years ago and there was a problem with false

teachers infiltrating the church.

Let me just tell you this, it is more so a problem today.

False Teachers false. Teaching false.

Ideology. And to many they would say this.

Is it really that important that we should take a whole Sunday

morning and address this? Yes, it is very important.

It is that important. I'll tell you how important it

is. Out of the 27 New Testament

books, 19 of them explicitly mention or warn about.

False teachers, false prophets, or false doctrine?

Some of them? All three.

Three out of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, they all

record the Lord's warnings. That one of them we read a

moment ago in our scripture reading.

They record the Lord's warnings himself about false.

Teachers and false prophets. How they come dressed as sheep,

but inwardly they are ravenous wolves in acts.

Upon Paul's departure from a group of believers there, he

knew this and he warned them. He said when I leave.

These ravenous, vicious wolves are going to come, these false

teachers are going to come in, and they're going to try to

destroy that which has been built upon the word of God and

sound teaching and upon the gospel.

Paul also doesn't shy away from false teaching and false

teachers and addressing those properly in his epistles.

Paul addresses the subject in Romans, First Corinthians,

Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,

Colossians, First Timothy. As we're looking here today,

also in Second Timothy and his pastoral epistle to Titus, it's

very important to Paul that the church be warned about false

teachers and false. Teaching.

Other epistles, which would include teaching about false

teachers, would be Second Peter. We're going to talk a lot about

Second Peter's Presley chapter 2 today.

First John. John and his epistle there.

That first epistle of John, he teaches against false teaching

and teachers. Second John, he does the same

there. Jude.

The brother of Jesus, he says, I wanted to write to you about the

salvation that we have. He was excited about Christ and

the Gospel and he said, but I can't because I need to

encourage you to contend for the faith.

Why? Because there were false

teachers who had crept into the church.

In the Revelation, the end of your Bible, Jesus gives John 7

letters to seven churches in Asia Minor during his day.

And in those letters to the seven churches, Jesus warns

against false teaching and against false teachers.

And in fact, Jesus even uses strong terminology.

When he talked about the heresy of the Nicolaitans, he said I

hate it. He hasn't changed his mind about

the subject. So something that many do not.

Ever or very rarely give any thought to the New Testament

explicitly warns against. As a church, we can't ignore it.

We can't get to this passage of Scripture and say, you know

what? This is probably best.

If we jump over this and ignore it because it makes people

uncomfortable and it bothers some people, we have to address

it head on. We're going to do that.

We're going to explore the dangerous reality of false

teachers, those who distort or who dismantle the word of God

for their own purposes, their own agendas, and in doing so,

they exploit weak and ignorant people.

And it's a very dangerous tool in the hand of Satan.

We must be warned this morning because the majority of popular

teachings and popular teachers of our day, I make no apology in

saying this, The majority of those teachers and teachings in

what we know as modern Christianity are unbiblical at

best. And we need to be warned of the

dangers of this unbiblical teaching because not only does

it lead to destruction for those who are teaching these false

ideologies, but it leads to the destruction of those who are

following them. So as we open the Word of God

today, my prayer is that the Word of God would teach us all

that we need to know, to identify these dangerous

teachers, to discern them, and to safeguard against them as a

church and as individual. I wish I could be with you all

the time, but I can't. I wish I could actually take

your remote control away from you or take those religious

stations off of your television that spew heresy and false

teaching constantly. I wish I could warn you about

every author and every teacher who is leading people astray,

just as Jesus warned that they would.

Let me just make this statement as we begin to read our text.

Anyone who settles for an unbiblical Christianity has no

Christianity at all. There is no such thing as an

unbiblical Christianity. If you can't back up everything

that you believe and the reasons as to why you believe it with

the word of God, you may have been duped already.

I pray today that God would open your eyes to see the truth, that

He would set you free from the lies of false teachers.

First Timothy chapter 6, verse three, it says this.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to

the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly

teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing.

He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about

words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil

suspicions, and constant friction between men of corrupt

mind who have been robbed of the truth and who think that

godliness is a means to financial gain.

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

But we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing

out of it. But if we have food and

clothing, we will be content with that.

People who want to get rich. Fall into temptation and a trap,

and in the many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men

into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of

all kinds of evil some people eager for.

Money have wandered from the. Faith and pierced themselves

with many griefs. Let's pray together.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you now asking that your

Spirit what teach us this morning as the Word is

proclaimed and as the Word comes forth.

God, I pray that you would give us insight and wisdom into what

we hear and what we see from the pages of Scripture today.

I pray that you would use it to sanctify Your children, that you

would by Your word make them more like Christ this morning.

Lord, I pray that it also would open the eyes of the unbeliever

today that they would see their need for Christ and that they

would see their need for Christ according to the Word of God,

not the traditions of man, not the philosophies of man.

They would see the true gospel as defined by the Scriptures.

Lord, we thank you for what you're going to do now as we

devote our time to learn your word and we may teach others to

follow in the footsteps of Christ.

And we pray all these things in Christ's name.

Amen. As I said before, Paul makes a

zero apology in addressing false teachers at any point in his

earthly ministry. And.

I want to make this clear today. I make 0 apology for doing the

same this morning from standing behind the pulpit with the Word

of God opened up. I make no apologies.

Some of you perhaps would get offended by the things that are

going to be said this morning. Let me remind you of this.

The things that I say are coming from the word of God.

If you are offended by them, you are offended by the very word of

God, not the opinions of Kirk Hall.

And so we look at this this morning and Paul not being

afraid to address these things, that begins to teach Timothy the

dangers of false teachers. And how does he do this?

He starts with the doctrines of false teachers.

And that's what I want to start with today.

He says in verse three, if anyone teaches false doctrines

and does not agree to sound instruction of our Lord Jesus

Christ and to godly teaching, what he wants us to understand,

what he wants Timothy to understand so that the believers

there in Ephesus can understand is that there really are false

teachers and they are dangerous and they need to be identified.

And one of the identifying markers is this, the doctrines

that they teach, the things that they promote from the pulpits,

from the stage. Unfortunately, so many times

that's all it is. It's just a stage.

But what are they? He makes it very clear, He

begins with this, that the teachings of these false

teachers are contrary to the Savior's teaching.

He says that they teach false doctrines and do not agree to

sound instruction that came from our Lord.

They actually in their false teaching, contradict that which

Jesus Himself, while He was here on earth during His earthly

ministry, taught from His own mouth as recorded in the Gospel.

They oppose the very teachings of Christ while claiming to be.

Christian. Now let me just help all you

folks out. If someone opposes the teachings

of Christ while claiming to be a Christian, mark this down.

That is a false. Teacher, because those who are

teaching true sound doctrine from the Word of God will never

oppose the teachings of Christ. And you say, well, Kirk, in what

manner do they oppose the teaching of Christ?

Well, I'll start with this. How about how they distort the

gospel message? They preach the gospel these

days that does not include repentance at all.

In fact, they almost teach the gospel as if repentance is

optional at some point in your Christian life.

But here's exactly what Jesus talked about in presenting the

Gospel. He says in Luke Chapter 9 verse

Luke 9:23

23, It says then he said to them, all these were people who

were saying, what must we do to be saved?

He said to them all, Whoever wants to be my disciple must

deny themselves. That's surrendered, that's

surrendered to his lordship, that's returning from yourself

and your will and your sin. That's a turning to Christ.

He said. They must deny themselves and

take up their cross daily and follow me.

That is a willingness to sacrifice and to suffer for the

Lord Jesus Christ. And we see many times in the

American church the whole element of surrender and the

element of sacrifice and suffering is completely left out

of the equation. Therefore we don't have the true

gospel at all. And we know what Galatians says.

When Paul addressed those people there in Galatia, he told them

if anyone preaches a gospel other than the gospel we preach,

let them be a cursed. Yet we have false teachers

preaching a gospel that does not include repentance.

There is no surrender. There is no continual sacrifice

or suffering in our surrender to Christ.

It's interesting that when Jesus preached his first gospel

message in Mark chapter 1. Here's the message that Jesus

Mark 1 · chapter mention

preached. Here's the gospel according to

Jesus, not the gospel according to the American idea.

Here is the gospel according to Jesus.

Mark chapter one, verse 15. Here's how he began to preach in

his earthly ministry. The time has come, he said.

The Kingdom of God has come near.

Repent and believe the good news.

How can you preach the gospel that does not include repentance

when Jesus himself, in his first gospel message, included

repentance and faith side by side?

What am I saying? I'm saying that true faith will

always repent and true repentance will always believe

the 2GO hand in hand. You cannot have one without the

other. They are the opposite sides of

the same coin. One can't have true salvation. 1

does not have the true gospel. It does not include faith and

repentance. Gospel message that doesn't

include repentance. Let me repeat it again, is no

gospel message. That's for all the people who

think that you can still live the same life that you've always

lived and claim to know Christ. That is a lie hatched straight

from hell. That is the voice of Satan

speaking through false teachers who would have you believe

something contrary to Scripture. These folks believe in that

gospel. It doesn't have to include

repentance. They also believe in a

relationship with Christ that doesn't have to result in

sanctification. We have a problem there, don't

we? That problem is this John

John 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17. I hope that you have read John

17 and you have seen the Lord praying and the Lord praying for

us. And he prays in John 17 verse

John 17:17

17, he says sanctify them by truth.

Your word is truth, but so often in today's Christian circles we

have this gospel that does not include sanctification, meaning

you never have to become more like Christ.

You're never set aside. There's never any amount of

holiness being built in your life through the power of the

Holy Spirit by the Word of God. However, that would contradict

even the prayer of Jesus. Now I can.

Imagine a lot of things in this life, but one thing I can't

imagine is Jesus praying something that was in

contradiction to the will of the Father.

In fact, when Jesus prayed taught us how to pray.

He taught us to begin with the Father's will.

Not our will, but His will be done.

And Jesus himself said, I came not to do my will, but to do the

will of him who sent me. And Jesus here praying in John

1717, prays that the believers would be set apart, that they

would be sanctified, that they would be made holy through the

Word of God. It's so many false teachers in

our day leave sanctification completely out of the equation

with their hyper grace antinomian mentality.

You can send all you want, do all you want, do what you've

done before because you have grace and that is the farthest

thing from the gospel truth. That's a lie.

They not only teach a gospel message that doesn't include

repentance in a relationship that doesn't include

sanctification, they teach a justification that's built on

our own human works. If you've been a key life

fellowship in any amount of time, you know this.

You have received ample teaching about the fact that we are

justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

And that is it. Then our works do not justify

us. And why do we take that stand?

Because Scripture over and over and over again tells us that

that is where we are to stand. I don't seek to revisit a

message on justification by faith in alone in Christ alone

again today. Hopefully at this point you get

that, but there are these false teachers who in their human

ideologies somehow act as if we can work our way to

justification. That's the farthest thing from

the truth. John's Gospel, the 6th chapter.

In a conversation with the Lord, some of his disciples asked him

Verse. 28 of chapter 6 What must we do to do the works God

requires? He's talking about the works God

requires to save a man. Jesus doesn't go into

conversation about works. Here's what he says.

Jesus answered the work of God. Is this to believe?

In the one he has sent. The only work that is going to

save you is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work that

he did at Calvary 2000 years ago.

His death is buried on his. Resurrection.

Yeah, there are these false teachers who constantly want to

insert the idea that we can somehow work for salvation, and

that is the farthest thing from the truth.

It is by grace you have been saved through faith.

This is not of works. It's not of yourself.

It's a gift of God so that you can't boast about.

Is that not what Ephesians 289 tells us?

Of course it is. And so these people who are

contradicting the Savior's teaching oppose the teachings of

Christ. They also oppose the theology of

Christ or the theology surrounding Christ, right?

They promote to this theology that says that Jesus isn't God,

he's just a good man, or he's just a prophet of some sort.

Or he's maybe from God, but he's not necessarily God.

Can I, can I insert this for you?

John 11 in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. He's always been God.

He always will be God. When he came to this earth and

he took on flesh, He is now God Incarnate.

The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ was not taken from him.

The humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ was given to him.

So don't mix that up. There are many promoting that

Jesus is not God when Jesus himself said that he is God.

So I don't remember any scripture where Jesus said that

he is God. Then you don't remember John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8 and John chapter 8. Jesus referred to himself as I

John 8 · chapter mention

am. He says in verse 58 very truly I

tell you, Jesus answered before Abraham was born.

I am that term ego I me. That is the Greek term.

And it means just that I am from the Hebrew Yahweh who is with

you. I am.

I am the same I am who spoke from the burning Bush to Moses.

Jesus always has been and always will be God, the second person

of the Triune Godhead. You have many false teachers

refuse to teach, refuse to believe this, and lead others

astray by their false teaching. First John chapter 2 verse 22.

1 John 2:22

John says this. Who is the liar?

It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ.

Such a person is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son.

When we talk about Jesus being the Christ, we are talking about

Jesus being that Savior who came from God, the one who Isaiah

referred to as Emmanuel. God, not some substitute God

himself with us and. So it's important that we

identify the doctrines of these false teachers, those who teach

against the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, promoting a Jesus

who is not God. He's a lesser God.

This type of thinking goes all the way back to Gnosticism.

They would teach a theory of demigods, lesser gods.

He is not a lesser God. He is King of kings and Lord of

Lords who will reign and has always reigned and will reign

forever. He's false teachers opposing the

theology surrounding Christ promote a God who is not

sovereign. Second Peter identifies them as

this second Peter chapter 2. He says this in verse one.

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

But there will we're also a false prophets among the people,

just as there will be false teachers among you, and they

will secretly introduce destructive heresies.

Here's their destruction. Destructive heresies, even

denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift

destruction on themselves. Many would say I don't deny the

sovereignty of God, but then they would turn around and limit

it. I want to propose.

This to all of you who bear the name of Christ this morning.

God is either. Sovereign or he isn't sovereign.

There is no such thing as kind of sovereign or little

sovereign, but it's dependent upon your free will.

He is either fully sovereign or he is not sovereign at all.

There is no middle ground. Jesus taught that He is

sovereign, and I choose to believe that which Jesus teaches

about His own Lordship that He is sovereign Lord of all.

So they teach things contrary to the Savior's teaching, but they

also teach things contrary to the Scripture's teaching.

Look what it says and does not agree to the sound instruction

of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching.

And we know that we can get godly teaching from the Lord

Jesus Christ, But where? Else can we get godly teaching

from? From the Word of God we can take

Genesis all the way to Malachi and we can say this.

Even those Old Testament scriptures are as much scripture

as Matthew through Revelation. And we can trust in them.

We can trust in them for all godly teaching.

Why? Because everything that we need

for life and godliness is found here.

But these false teachers, they teach contrary to what the

scriptures teach, refusing to align with it, refusing to

acknowledge it. How do they do this?

How do false teachers repeats that which is contrary to

scripture? Well, first they do this and

I'll make it easy for you to remember.

All you have to do is remember some M words.

Are you ready? They do it first by

misrepresenting the scriptures. They have poor hermeneutical

practices. What what do I mean by that?

Hermeneutics. And I know that everybody's

going Herman who? It's not a man.

It's the science of interpreting Scripture and before.

You get all crazy and think that God and science are separate.

They're not. Only the liberal thinking has

separated. God in science, He is the God

over science, and he's given us a science so that we can

interpret scripture. And what is that?

To read Scripture as scripture, to read it in its proper

context, to read it in its proper historical context, to

see who the the proper audience is.

Who is he addressing? Why is he addressing them?

How does this apply to our lives using good and clear

hermeneutical practice? Yet the false teacher does not

do this. Instead of exegesis, we had

properly interpret the scripture.

He uses what we know as eisegesis, where he, from his

own vantage point, the subjective view and that and

that alone, begins to analyze the scripture.

He makes the scripture in his mind say what he wants the

scripture to say. And isn't it easy to do that?

And that's what the false teacher does.

He teaches contrary to Scripture's teaching because

he's misinterpreting the scriptures.

Secondly, he's doing this. He's miss applying the

scriptures, completely missing the application that is given in

the Word of God and what he. Does is if he doesn't.

Miss it, Maybe he sees it. He redirects it just to fit his

personal agenda. Second, Peter chapter 3 verse 16

speaks of these ignorant and unstable people who distort the

scriptures. And yes, that is what Scripture

calls them. And so that's what I will call

them as well. They're ignorant and they are

unstable, contradicting the very word of God by misapplying the

scriptures that God has given us.

Thirdly, not only do they misinterpreted misapply, but

they also mishandled the Scriptures, using the scriptures

inappropriately to manipulate the weak.

And the feeble and the ignorant, because the ignorant can only

get away with leading the ignorant right for those who are

sound. Biblically, you're not going to

be LED astray by some ignorant false teacher.

Why? Because the Word of God is going

to give you wisdom that is beyond your humanity.

You're going to know. Wait a second.

This does not add up with scripture.

They're not going to be able to prey on you because we're going

to see in just a moment, these teachers prey on weak and

ignorant and unstable people, mishandled the scriptures, using

them for their own desires. And then lastly, what they do is

they mutilate the scriptures. They mutilate the scriptures.

What do I mean by that? They, they literally remove

things from the Word of God. Sometimes they remove those

things by jumping over them. Sometimes they remove those

things by not acknowledging them.

Sometimes they act as if they don't exist.

I don't really know how they pull it off.

That is why it's so important that when we look at the Word of

God, we teach the Word of God and we study the Word of God

verse by verse by verse by verse.

Why? So that we see it in its context

properly. We don't jump over something

just because we don't like it, and we don't just preach the

subjects that we do like or that are easy to preach.

Yet these false teachers, that's what they do, always appealing

to themselves and to their listeners by mutilating the Word

of God. Oh, there would be many who

would tell me about this very sermon.

You can't preach that to those people.

People won't stay. If you preach those kinds of

things, unbelievers won't. They'll either get saved or

they'll leave the digital believer, the same Holy Spirit

who lives in me, who lives in you, who inspired the very Word

of God to be penned. He bears witness to the fact

that this is the truth. We're not going to be LED astray

by those who pick and choose what Scripture they want to

believe and what Scripture they want to leave out.

It's a very dangerous thing. We begin to mutilate the Word of

God. In fact, in Deuteronomy chapter

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

4, we see a warning against that.

God gives Moses commands. He tells the people to do these

things verse 2. He then tells them don't take

anything from it. Don't remove it then in

Revelation we see in the New Testament a warning given there

at the end, chapter 22, verse 18.

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of the

scroll. If anyone adds anything to them,

God will add to that person the plagues described in the scroll.

If you've never read Revelation and know about these plagues,

you don't want anything to do with them.

He says if anyone takes words away from the scroll of

prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in

the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in

this scroll. And I know what many people say

at this time. Well, Kirk, that's just talking

about Deuteronomy, and that's just talking about Revelation.

Why would you try to justify removing Scripture from other

places? Is Deuteronomy any less

scripture than Exodus? Is Revelation any less Scripture

than First Timothy that we look at today?

Is Revelation any less scripture, any more Scripture

than Genesis or Numbers? No, it is the Word of God

completely. We're not to mutilate the Word

of God. We're not to take that which we

like and discard that which we don't isn't.

That's what's happening in the American church, right?

We have taken things that God has explicitly commanded against

and we have embraced them as alternative lifestyles,

completely just removing it from scripture and acting as if it

doesn't exist or it never existed.

Or we look and look and look for the most liberal translation

that we can find so that it will say what we want it to say.

That's why the translation of scripture that you read from is

so important. Don't read a paraphrase that's

just for free said, well, I don't know if I can understand

it in any other way. Pray that you can pray that you

can read the word of God. Don't take anything away from

it. They mutilate it.

They mishandle it, misapply it, misinterpret it.

They do exactly as Satan did when he deceived Eve in the

garden. Do you know that's what he did?

She knew that she had received a command from the Lord and.

Yet he talked her into thinking that it wasn't true.

Isn't that what the false? Teachers are constantly doing as

they are led by these deceptive spirits controlled by Satan,

saying, Oh yeah, I know the scripture says that, but that's

not what it means. No, it means exactly what it

said and it says exactly what God means.

And you don't have the right to change the meaning just because

you don't like the outcome. Exactly what Satan did in the

garden. It's exactly what he tried to do

in Matthew chapter 4 when he was tempting Jesus.

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

He tried to use the Word of God against the Word of God.

Not a very smart thing to do, but how did he do it?

He took it out of context. He left some things out.

He added some things. It wasn't really what it was

supposed to be. It's very dangerous when we

handle the Scriptures this way. This is what these false

teachers are doing. Exactly what Satan did in

tempting Jesus. Exactly what Satan did in

tempting Eve in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

And so the teachings and doctrine of these false

teachers, Paul wants that to be. Clearly notated, he wants

Timothy to know that if they're teaching these things, they are

false teachers. Everybody understand that if

someone is teaching something that is contrary to that which

Jesus taught and something that's contrary to the rest of

Scripture, they are false teachers.

We don't hug them and say, you know, they're Christians.

They're just a little in error. There's no such thing as I

little in error. It is that a little leaven

leavens the whole loaf. So we must see it as Scripture

says that it is, and so we see the doctrines of false teachers.

Secondly, we see this is the demeanor of false teachers.

I told you Paul wants the believers there at Ephesus to

know the false teachers when they see them.

And you can look at the demeanor of a false teacher and you can

recognize some things very. Quickly, and Paul's going to

outline that he says this about the false teachers that he's

addressing to Timothy. He says he is conceited and

understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in

controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy,

strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant

friction between men of corrupt mind.

Who have been robbed of the. Truth.

So who are these teachers? What do they look like?

Right. That's what Paul is addressing

here. It's important that we know,

isn't it? Important that we identify?

Can we all agree that false teaching is an enemy to the

church? Shouldn't we?

Identify our enemies. Yeah, because we definitely

don't want to shoot our friends. So we have to identify our

enemies. What?

What do they look like? What is the demeanor of the

false teacher? Why he says they're conceited?

What does that mean? It means that they're controlled

and led by their own pride. Now, before you get worried, let

me ask you this question. How many of you struggle with

pride? The ones who don't have their

hands in the air. You're struggling right now and

you're lying to yourself and God and everyone else because we all

struggle with pride. Here's the difference between

ourselves, those who struggle with pride as believers, and

that false teacher. He doesn't struggle with it

anymore. He just full blown gives into

it. He's conceited.

He he is trusting in himself and his own ability and that alone.

He has his own agenda and he gives no regard to the will of

God controlled by his own. Pride Second Peter, chapter 2,

2 Peter 2:10

verse 10. Peter says this.

This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt, desires

the flesh and despise authority he calls them.

Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on

celestial beings. They they they heap abuse on

things that they do not even know anything.

About this is how foolish and arrogant they are.

Let it be known today at the false teachers of our day,

they're just as arrogant, just as conceited.

Well, I would challenge you to do this, though I would also

warn against it all at the same time.

Turn on the Christian Broadcasting Network, which

everyone you choose, and sooner or later you're going to find

some false teacher. And if you'll be honest with

yourself, you will recognize them because they are arrogant.

Dressed in five or $6000 suits with $30,000 watches about to

jump on their multi $1,000,000 airplane to go to whatever next

venue that they can go to to rob people.

When you listen to them talk, it's all about them and never

about Christ. It's all about what they got

going on their ministry. Can I say something to all of

you? Any aspiring ministers in there?

You don't. Have a ministry.

Your ministry is Christ. Your ministry is the gospel.

You have the ministry of reconciliation.

That is the only ministry that you have, and Christ is in

charge of that ministry. Stop lying to yourself or anyone

else about the fact that you have a ministry.

If you have a ministry, you're in grave danger.

These men are owned by their pride, they disguise it.

Their bold arrogance is disguised as godly wisdom,

sometimes even false humility. But Richard Baxter said this

about these false teachers. He said take heed of a proud

self conceited teacher. That thinks himself too wise to

learn. You'll know them because they

know everything. They they can't learn anything.

You can show them the word of God.

And if they already have their mind made-up, what they're going

to believe and what they're going to teach, as many of these

charismatic teachers do in our day, they are going to shun you.

They're going to say that you are somehow the one who's held

in bondage. I'm held in bondage because I'm

telling you plainly from the word of God that what you're

teaching is a lie. And right here in black and

white is the truth. And I'm in bondage.

No, Sir, the truth has set me free, and you need to be set

that free by that same truth. They're conceited, not.

Only they're conceited, they're controversial.

He says he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and

quarrels. No, just an unhealthy interest.

Sometimes we have to stand our ground.

Sometimes we have to make a good case for Christ.

There's nothing wrong with that. But he's talking about unhealthy

controversies and quarrels. Arguing for the sake of arguing.

We've all met those aspiring theologians who learn a little

bit and then they want to argue about what little bit that they

know, and very quickly they run out of things to argue about.

Because they don't know a whole lot.

I've said it. Often, and I will say it again,

the people who argue the most are usually the ones who know

the least. Because a godly man knows this.

Sometimes it's best. Just to shut your mouth.

Sometimes it's best just to be slow to speak.

It's going to become angry. I'm quick to listen.

It's James Time. But these teachers, they're

controversial. They like controversy.

They thrive in controversy. They're always the victims in

the controversy. You just watch the charismatic

movement. You will see this over and over

and over and over again when someone calls them out on their

false doctrine. The person who called them out

becomes the bad guy. And how's that person the bad

guy? All he's simply doing is caring

about the soul of that person and the souls of those that they

are leading astray. Yet a true Shepherd.

Is then known as the bad guy. You know, the one who calls a

wolf a wolf and wants everyone else to know that he is or she

is a wolf. These false teachers

controversial, bringing division in the church.

Wherever they show up, you've seen them, you know them.

Everywhere they go, they go. There is some type of argument,

there is some type of quarrel, there's some type of

controversy, there's some type of division that is brought

because of them. Pay very close attention to

those people because they bear the mark, the demeanor of false

teachers. Romans 1617.

Here's what Paul says about them.

He says. I urge you, brothers and

sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put

obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you

have learned. What is the?

Teaching, they have learned the Scriptures, the true gospel, he

says. Keep away from them.

That's how dangerous they are. Stay away from them.

I know, right? Because you haven't been trained

properly in the American church. There are sometimes, and there

are some people you just need to distance yourself from.

People who are about sound doctrine need to distance

themselves from people who are about false doctrine.

Period. You say, well, isn't that

controversial? No, there's no controversy at

all. I'm mandated by Scripture to

live at peace with all men as much as it depends on me.

And sometimes in order to live at peace with people, I have to

distance myself from them. Learn that lesson from Scripture

with these false teachers. We need to distance ourselves

from them. We need not fellowship with

them. We need not.

Commune with them. We need not go out to lunch with

them. We need not entertain their

teaching. They're cancerous.

Very controversial, he goes on, and he says after the fact that

they're controversial. These are controversies and

quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk,

evil, suspicion and constant friction between men.

He says that they are of corrupt mind.

They're conceited, controversial and corrupt.

What is he saying here? Does this mean that they're just

having a bad day? No, he says, who have been

robbed from the truth. Robbed of the truth.

What is he saying? These men are totally apostate.

They are unbelieving. They never have been Christians.

They have only posed as Christians.

They are very dangerous. They are corrupt.

To the core. Matthew 17 verse 16 back to our

Matthew 17:16

scripture reading for this morning.

He says buy their fruit. You will recognize them if.

People pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles.

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

bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad

fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and

thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will

recognize them. Look at their demeanor.

Christian, listen to me. Do not apologize for being

discerning. Especially in our day.

If something doesn't seem right, it's probably not.

What right? Your grandma told you this.

You didn't know she was so proverbial.

But watch this. Wherever there is smoke, there

is what fire? Unfortunately in regard to this,

where there's smoke, there's strange fire.

Fire that is not biblical, fire that that does not point to

Christ, fire that only reveals that their corrupt hearts Jesus

calls him in Matthew 17. I mean, 7 verse 15, He calls

them ravenous wolves that are dressed like sheep.

Ravenous wolves dressed like sheep, Agents of Satan in

disguise. You better know what you are

dealing with. See their demeanor, it will be

obvious. If you will just discern, it

will be obvious and you're going to see in a moment there are

other reasons other than their demeanor that you can take note

that they're false teachers. But this is a great starting.

Point Acts 20, verse 29. Paul calls them savage.

Acts 20:29

Wolves, you said. They're going to come in,

they're going to do harm. Peter calls them springs without

water in his second epistle, meaning they promise the living

water, but they don't know the living water.

There is no water inside. Jude calls them ungodly people.

These are not. People who were ever believers.

These are people who they seem to be believers, who have

apostatized them from the faith that they are not believers at

all. They're not to be played around

with. They're corrupt through and

through, robbed of the truth. What does that mean?

Well, they've heard the truth. They've heard it with their

ears. They've come to the knowledge.

Of the truth. Yet they reject the truth, and

one who comes to the knowledge of the truth and rejects the

truth is no believer at all. They never were believers.

So we can't play around with them.

We can't play around with their demeanor.

We have to discern it. We can't apologize for that.

We have to call it what it is. It's interesting that Satan has

created a church culture in America.

We're afraid to call a wolf a wolf.

We're afraid to call a spade a spade.

May not be so any longer that we do our due diligence and calling

the false teachers exactly what they are so that others will be

warned about them so they will not be LED astray.

Thirdly, why do they do this? What do they get out of this?

Because that's what the question we ought to ask, what do they

get out of this? What do they get out of knowing

the truth of the gospel, knowing a little bit about Christianity,

even faking it to some degree, then leaving sound teaching

What? How do they benefit?

You know how they benefit. Let's not play around with this.

They benefit today the same way that they benefited 2000 years

ago. Here's what Paul, Paul says in

verse 5, the second part he said and who think that godliness is

a means to financial gain. There is the drive behind false

teachers. The ball's going to give a

lesson here, but godliness with contentment is great game.

We brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing

out of it, but if we have food and clothing we will be content.

With that, what's the drive behind these false teachers?

The lust for cash? Make no beans about it.

You know what they want? Money, Riches.

The world. And you know what?

They've discovered I can get that through the church.

And how do I get that through the church?

Through ignorant and uneducated Christians, I will come into

their church. I will tickle their ears and

tell them what they want to hear, and then I'll do the old

bait and switch. Here's how it works.

And I know it seems foolish to biblically sound people, but

some of you have been caught up in this in the past.

They will tell you this. God wants you to be rich.

Well, the problem with that is scripture doesn't say that God

wants you to be content. God wants you to be content with

godliness. He wants you to be content in

Christ. He wants Christ to be your

sufficiency, he said. Well, pastor, do you say a

person's wrong to be rich? No, A person is wrong when their

wealth controls them, when it is a God to them, when they won't

let it go for Christ. Then there's a.

Problem. But a person who's driven by

their lust, their greedy lust for money, he comes into the

church and he teaches it like this.

Give to my ministry and if you'll give to my ministry, God

will bless you however many fold He decides you're going to get

blessed that day. I don't know why he got to

decide that and these ignorant people.

Give gobs of money to this person who is funding their own

lust for cash in the church. You say?

I know, but pastor, he was a preacher and I've known him for

many years. Yes, and he lost his way.

He forgot what it's about. He forgot godliness with

contentment is great gain. That's why Paul is telling this

to Timothy. He's saying, Timothy, don't lose

your way. There are many people who they

have discovered that they can make money off of Jesus.

Don't be one of them. We'll be driven by a lust for

cash, by your worldly riches and your worldly gain.

Hebrews 13 The author of Hebrews says this.

He says keep your lives free from the love of money and be

content with what you have because God has said never will

I leave you, never will I. Forsake you What promise?

You say, well that never would I leave.

Will I leave you? Never will.

I forsake you. Seems kind of out of place, does

it? He's saying keep your lives free

from the love of money and be content with knowing me.

Be content with knowing that I am always there to meet every

need that you have. I am your supply.

I am sufficient. You need nothing else.

It's important that we remember that.

Why? So that we don't become driven

by worldly riches. These false teachers, they have

a lust for cash, just like their predecessor, Judas Iscariot.

We had a lust for cash. Didn't he sold out the Lord for

30 pieces of silver? Oh, let's not forget, that's not

the first time that he was identified as being driven by

riches. There, as Mary took that vessel

of nard, and she broke it, and she poured it on the feet of the

Lord. He was the one who said but this

is worth a lot of money. We could have done a lot of good

things with this. That's not really what he meant.

He was the keeper of the treasury.

He meant I could have more in my hands.

That same Judas Iscariot, predecessor to all apostates who

would have a lust for cash and bring it into the church,

exploiting people for their greed, using Christianity and

some kind of false godliness to do the opposite of what Jesus

said. Isn't that interesting?

Because that's exactly what they do.

They use this to do the opposite of what Jesus said.

Here's what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

That's why I told you the teachings of Jesus.

They're they're important, they're essential, he says in

verse 19, Do not store them for yourself.

Treasures on earth where malls and vermin destroy, where

thieves break in and steal, but store them for yourself,

treasures in heaven where malls and vermin do not destroy and

where thieves do not break in and steal.

You say, well, how does that contradict?

How is that the teaching of the false teachers contradict that

teaching there of Jesus? Here's what they say, Bring me

money in this life and you'll get money back in your life.

Now why would Jesus teach the lesson that he taught there in

Matthew chapter 6 to turn around?

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

And then make it about our worldly riches.

He would never do that. He would never contradict

himself. Why?

Because He is the truth, and the truth cannot contradict itself.

Far too many false teachers are using Christianity to line their

pockets. You know it's true and I know

it's true. They're lining their pockets

instead of pointing others to Jesus Christ.

Shame on them. Shame on them.

There is a dark and desolate hell that awaits them.

They have a lust for cash, but they also are driven by a lack

of contentment. That's why Paul tells Timothy,

we'll be driven by by the same thing these false teachers are

driven by. You have contentment in the

Lord. Godliness with contentment.

That is the greatest treasure that anyone can have.

You, you want to know the key to happiness in this life?

Are you listening? Everybody's looking for it.

Godliness with contentment. It's a great game.

It's a great game. That means if you have $0.00,

you are content and you are joyful in the Lord.

If you have a gazillion dollars, you are content and you are

joyful in the Lord. And you know this, that he owns

your poverty as well as the fact that He owns your riches.

You glorify Him in every situation, not like these false

teachers who are driven by a lack of contentment, wanting

more and more and more and more. They forget that God has placed

them right where they need to be.

He's given them exactly what they need.

That's why he reminds Timothy here.

For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing

out of it. But if you have food and

clothing, we will be content with that.

What a heart. We have food and clothing, we'll

be content with that. Why is that important?

Because that's all Christ ever promised you.

Matthew 633 Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His

righteousness, and these things, what things your basic needs

shall be added unto you in this life.

He has promised to take care of you, just as He takes care of

the flowers and the field and the birds of the sky.

He hasn't promised you that you're going to be the richest

person in America. He hasn't even promised you that

you're going to be the richest. Person in east Montgomery County

fact. He warns US against a lack of

contentment over and over and over again, forgetting who we

belong to, forgetting that he's going to take care of us, losing

sight of those things. Know how dangerous that is?

How many have fallen victim to that, even in the?

Church because of these sly teachers, right?

If you love God, know that God loves you.

And if you love God, he'll bless you with earthly riches.

Show me that in the Bible. He's one of the richest men that

we see in Scripture. Job had everything taken away

from him. He said, well, God blessed him

in the end. He did, but he didn't have to.

But all the lessons that Job learned with just being content,

just being content and knowing that God is God and he is under

his care no matter where he finds himself in life.

He himself said the Lord gives and the Lord takes away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's godliness with

contentment. That is what Paul is telling

Timothy to be and to have, and he's warning that these false

teachers do not have that. We must learn to glorify God

with a little, because if you can't glorify God with a little,

you can't ever expect to glorify God with a lot.

Now I know what the charismatics do.

They act as if God is somehow holding that back from you until

you learn how to manage it. No, it's just a fact.

It's just common sense. Jesus teaches this.

Common sense lesson in Luke's gospel in the 16th chapter, he

says in verse 10, whoever can be trusted with very little can

also be trusted with much, and whoever's dishonest with very

little will also be dishonest with much.

So if you've been trust, been trustworthy and handling worldly

wealth, if you have not, excuse me, been trustworthy and

handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

What is he saying? You can't even handle the little

bit that I've given you and allowed you to have by my grace.

As far as? Worldly riches is concerned.

What makes you think I'm going to trust you with any kind of

heavenly riches? That's the lesson there.

That's something. That we all need to pay

attention to why godliness with contentment is great gain.

Paul reminding Timothy of this. These false teachers

contradicting that at every turn, never satisfied with their

earthly possessions or their earthly positions.

Right. Always telling the church how

you deserve more. I don't hear that a lot.

You deserve more. You're somebody.

I see churches who put it up on their billboards.

I am not somebody. Christ does everything.

I am dead. I died with Christ.

Kirk Hall does not matter. Any riches I have or in Christ,

the end. Yeah, we see this false teaching

come out constantly because of the American Dream, that bill of

lies that you've all bought into that is not biblical at all.

You're never satisfied with your earthly possessions or the OR

your earthly position. Always and constantly wanting

more, more, more. Why?

Lack of contentment, the lust for cash.

Greed is that idol that you worship.

Covetousness is just something that you do and you are.

You must repent of this. But unfortunately, these

teachers, they exploit it. They exploit your weaknesses,

they drag you into their trap. And the lust for worldly riches

mixed with the basic discontentment of the American

church drives us to covetous desires and false ideologies

that are opposite of the word of God.

The sad thing is this, and let us be warned, the destruction of

false teachers. And the sad thing is this, as we

get to that fourth point, the destruction of false teachers,

not only do they destroy themselves, but they destroy all

those who are falling. This isn't verse nine.

People who want to get rich fall into temptation, in a trap, and

into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into

ruin and destruction. Why is he saying this?

He's warning the people there at Ephesus now.

Your lust for more is going to be fed by these teachers who

have a lust for more. Be careful, he says in verse 10,

for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

Watch this strong language here. Some people eager for money have

wandered from the faith. This is apostasy.

They've completely wandered from the faith and pierced themselves

with many griefs. American Christian, American

Church, please hear this warning.

Hear it. It's for you.

Many of you have been sold a lie, a bill of goods from false

teachers for hundreds of years in this country.

They have told you that you can follow Christ and have all your

greedy desires of the flesh. And now they've repackaged it in

our day in a nice little neat, concise package, right?

The Word of Faith movement. It is a lie riddled full of

false teaching. Period.

Stay away from it. Don't listen to their podcasts,

don't buy their books, don't watch their services.

Don't please. Attend one of their services.

Shut them down. Stop the life vein that feeds

them. Teach the word of God accurately

so that Christians won't be ignorantly throwing their money

at these charlatans. These thieves heed the warning.

Lust for worldly riches will be the destruction of false

teachers and those who follow them.

Matthew 624. We can't take back what the Lord

has already said. No one can serve 2 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.

Do do I need to read that again so that the American church can

hear that you cannot serve both God and money that is from the

Lord Jesus Christ? That is not Kirk Hall standing

up here making up something. Because if it was up to Kirk

Hall, you know what I would say? Line my pockets with your

stupidity and I would tell you any lie that I had to tell you

so that you would do that. But I'm not corrupt.

I'm not a false teacher. I'm not one of these people who

are exploiting the ignorant and the unlearned.

What is their destruction? Because they have destruction

coming. What isn't?

Well, first, they're devoured by greed.

They don't have to wait on this. Greed is already eating at them.

Second, Peter 2, verse 1, he says.

But there were also false prophets among the people, just

as there will be false teachers among you.

He says they will secretly introduce destructive heresies,

even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them, bringing swift

destruction. I want you to pay attention to

this. I know you've read this passage

already for another point, but read it again.

Swift destruction on themselves. It's coming now.

Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way

of truth into disrepute in their greed.

These teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.

That's why they don't preach the scriptures, they preach stories.

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them and their

destruction has not been sleeping.

It is going on actively. They are being destroyed from

the inside. Out because of their greed.

It's eating it now. Devoured by it, they're trapped

by chasing their own sinful desires and greed.

I believe many of them know the truth intellectually, but they

love their greed more than they love the God who created them.

What do they do? They teach others to do the

same. Isn't that the big danger of

false teachers? They duplicate and they make

disciples. That's why it's important that

those of us who are sound in doctrine make disciples, because

these false teachers do the same thing.

They lead others into destruction.

That's how it works. That's why Jesus said in Matthew

1514, He says this. Leave them.

They're blind guides. He's warning.

His disciples leave the Pharisees.

They're blind guides. They're false teachers.

What they're saying is not true. He says the blind lead the

blind. Both will fall into a pit.

That's the danger of that false teacher who is devoured by

greed. He will lead others to be

devoured by the same greed. That's why Paul said earlier

this first epistle or this pastoral epistle to Timothy

chapter 4. He says watch your life and

doctrine closely, persevering them, because if you do, you

will save both yourself and your hearers.

You know what a true man of God wants to do, what a true

shepherd wants to do. He wants to save both himself

and his hearers. How does he do this sound

doctrine, Sola Scripture, the word of God over and over and

over again without compromise. But the false teacher does the

opposite. He's the blind leading the

blind, and he leads the blind into.

Pit devoured by their own greed. Jesus is not silent about their

judgement. He says in Matthew 18-6.

If anyone calls as one of these little ones, those who believe

in me to stumble, that's the Christian who's perhaps a little

ignorant. He says it would be better for

them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be

drowned in the depths of the sea.

I stood at the place where Jesus would have said this.

And the fact is that when they actually mined this site, the

archaeologist came in and they found several 100 millstones

right there on the Sea of Galilee.

And those millstones were I couldn't pick them up.

You couldn't pick them up. Probably three or four of us

couldn't pick them up. Jesus would have used that word

picture and he would have said it's better for you to have that

millstone right there tied around your neck and thrown into

the sea that was right behind him as he preached the sermon.

Why do I say that? Because when we follow false

teachers, we are devoured by that same greed as they are.

They will suffer for it, and you will suffer as well.

You will suffer in this life, and if you were not careful, you

will suffer for all eternity. They were devoured and are

devoured by greed, but they're destined for grief.

Grief, a dune. In the Greek it means this.

It means sorrow or sorrowful grief.

They are brought to the deepest grief, and they are brought to

this grief even in this life, having known the truth but

openly rejected it. That is how the apostate is

described, coming to the knowledge of the truth.

There are so many who have come to the knowledge of the truth

and yet do not know Christ and. Did you know that's very

possible you can come to the intellectual knowledge of Christ

and yet not know Christ? And how sad it is what grief

must be upon them to have heard the truth, to have known it

intellectually, but to then openly reject it because of

their own corruption. Oh, the misery of the apostate.

The misery, you say, Kirk, do you really believe that an

apostate is miserable? Do you think that they know?

Yes, they know enough to be miserable.

Go and look at Judas Iscariot. What did he do?

He apostatized from Christ. And what did he do?

He was so stricken with grief, even in this life, he hanged

himself. Oh, they're full of grief.

This is what they're destined for.

Destined for grief unless they repent.

They've pierced themselves with many griefs even in this life,

but unfortunately, grief for all eternity.

Or here's the eternal part of this, they're destined for grief

not only in this life while they're getting rich off of

Christ and off of his church by scamming people, one day they're

going to pay for it for all eternity.

Second Peter chapter 2 this first God did not spare angels

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

when they send verse 4, but sent them to hell, putting them in

chains of darkness to be held for judgement.

If he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood

on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of

righteousness, and seven others. If he condemned the cities of

Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes and made them an

example of what is going to happen to the ungodly, And if he

rescued a lot, a righteous man who was distressed by the

depraved conduct of the lawlessness.

For the righteous man lived among them day after day, was

tormented and in his righteous soul by the lawless.

Deeds he saw and heard. If this is so, then the Lord

knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the

unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgement.

This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of

the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not

afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings.

He's saying this. This is especially true of those

false teachers. They will experience eternal

grief in hell without apology. Second Peter 2.

The latter part of chapter 2, verse 17 says these people are

springs without water and mist, driven by storm.

Black as darkness is reserved for them.

For they mouth the empty boastful words, and by appealing

to lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just

escaping from those who live in air.

It's an interesting how those who come to faith in Christ

immediately these false teachers want to try to suck them up

right? The charismatic movement tries

to draw them in. Oh yeah, you have Jesus, but

you're missing so much more. You're not missing anything.

You're missing nothing. If you have Christ, you have it

all in Christ. All is contained.

Stop listening to those people. So they promised them freedom

while they themselves. Are slaves of depravity for

people who are slaves to whatever has mastered them.

If they have escaped the corruption of the world by

knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are again

entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at

the end than they were at the beginning.

I know many people. Want to say, well, see, he's

talking about losing salvation. He's not.

He's talking about a person who comes to the knowledge of Jesus

Christ and they even have some moral reform.

But watch what he says at the end.

It would have been better for them not to have known the way

of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn their

backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.

Of them the proverbs are true. This is why it doesn't mean a

person can lose his salvation. A dog returns to its vomit.

What is he saying? Did that person ever cease to be

a dog? No, if you're in Christ, you're

a new creation. You're not a dog anymore.

Therefore you're not going to go back and lick up vomit.

He uses another illustration, and a sow that is washed returns

to her wallowing in the mud. I know many of our students,

they show animals in the fair. Every year I go and I watch the

pig show. I know nothing about it, but I

like to watch what's interesting to me.

These kids will get these pigs all cleaned up for the pig show.

And you know what? Before they enter into that

arena, a pig is going to lay down in another pig's mess.

Why? They're pigs.

That's what pigs do. These people were never

believers. They prove it by their lives.

They prove it by they're teaching.

It'll be proved for all eternity and hell, when they perish

because they did not repent and they did not turn to Jesus

Christ. And so just as this deception

falls upon these false teachers and those who follow them, so

will the destruction that follow.

And so be warned, be warned. Know that this is not something

to play with. This is not something to just

pass off as, oh, another sermon to fill time.

This could be the difference for you between eternal life and

eternal death. Some of you have been LED astray

by false teachers. I pray that you would see that

today for those who teach false things.

I'll make no mistake when I read those things about them.

Spending an eternity in hell does not throw my heart, causes

me to pray for them, causes me to pray for the Jesse

Duplantises, Kenneth Higgins, the Joel Osteens.

You say? Well, Kirk, you're naming some

pretty big names there. They're all false teachers.

And I grieve for their soul because they've LED people down

a path of destruction. And if they don't repent, they

will spend an eternity grieving in hell.

Can you imagine? In hell, when you have 100%

consciousness and you were there and for all eternity, while you

were in torment for all eternity, all you can think

about is how you distorted the gospel for your own gain, how

you blasphemy Christ. What misery awaits them?

I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

May they hear the truth and may they repent of their sin and

turn to Christ and be saved. So we wrap this up, believer.

I can't wrap it up any other way or any better way, and remind

you again of what the Lord said in Matthew Chapter 7.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

He says watch out for false prophets.

They come to you in sheep's clothing.

They're in pulpits, but inwardly they're ferocious wools.

Buy their fruit, fruit. You will recognize them.

You pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles.

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

bad fruit. Good tree cannot bear bad fruit,

and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good good fruit is cut down and

thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will

recognize them. So, pastor, why is it so

important that we recognize them so that they don't bring you

down, so they don't lead you astray?

Let us be devoted to sound doctrine from the Scripture in

the Scripture alone to the unbeliever having heard the

gospel message today. What is that what Jesus

preached? Repent and believe.

I pray that the Lord would graciously allow you to do that

today. He would regenerate you to a

point by His Spirit where you do have a desire to repent of your

sin and to trust in Jesus Christ alone because only He can do

that work. Because the sad fact is, this

unbeliever, you've already bought into the lives of the

false teachers. Oh, maybe in many ways, but I

can tell you too that potentially you have bought into

some of you have bought into the ideology that's being spewed in

this country that you don't really need Jesus, that all

roads will eventually lead to heaven.

The problem with that is John 14 six where Jesus said I am the

way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father, but

by me. It is only through Christ that

anyone will be saved. Turn to Christ and be saved

today. There is no alternate route.

Stop buying the lives of these false teachers, the good old boy

ideology that if I just do enough good, I'll somehow make

it. You can't do enough good.

Completely depraved. There is an unrighteous no, not

one, no one seeks after him. You must be born again.

According to John chapter 3. You must be born again.

John 3 · chapter mention

I pray today that God would work a new birth in you.

Maybe you rub the school. In the modern church in America

where you say this, you've bought into this lie.

Well, I have Jesus, but I also like the things of the world

too, so I kind of have them both.

That's a lie I had straight from the pits of hell.

For if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in

you. That's what the word of God.

Proclaims you can't serve 2 masters.

That's not difficult to understand.

Jesus is Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.

Are you following Christ because you can't have both Jesus and

the world? Are you following Christ?

You're never going to get there on your own.

Those are lies that false teachers spew.

Have you repented of your sin? And have you believed on the

Lord Jesus Christ and that alone to be saved?

Then and only then, the person be biblically saved, cleansed of

all their sin. Let's pray together.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that it is true and we know that it will accomplish

exactly what you desire for it accomplished today.

God, I pray for the Sinner who's here, the unbeliever.

I pray that you birth faith and repentance in them today, that

they would believe that they would turn from their sin and

turn to Christ as their only hope and be saved this very day.

God, I pray for each believer in this room.

I pray that you would protect them by your word from the many,

many false teachers who are out in this world today seeking to

devour, seeking to dismantle, sinking to cause division.

And I pray that you give us discernment, that the

discernment would come from the truth of Your Word, empowered by

Your Holy Spirit that lives in us, that we would stand and we

would contend for the faith that we have been entrusted to

contend for, just as Jude has commanded us to do.

May you be glorified in our lives.

And we pray these things in Christ.

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